Open and Close

Today I finished the load-out for 'The Scottsboro Boys'. After 49 performances, the producers decided that we were going to shut it down. It was sad to see the show go so quickly. We are not the only ones shutting down though. There are close to twenty Broadway shows closing before the new year. So, maybe it was a combination of the subject matter, the economy and the good ole' 'sign of the times'. It was a tough show to sell. It had great music, great direction, great acting but it was a tough story and subject matter to sell to the public. We were lucky enough to close the show with a week of sold out performances. The last eight shows started late due the extreme line at the box office of people trying to see it. It felt really good to have the support of people who realized how good the show was even though the subject matter was not necessarily what you would call a 'feel good' story. As one of the reviews put it, if you want to see something that won't make you think, go see Mamma Mia. As a former employee of that show, I totally agree! That is not a bad thing though. There are tons of different kinds of shows. Some that are entertaining, some are sad, some make you think, others are just not worth your time, and they all have a place in the entertainment world.
So, we shut down Sunday night, had a little party and the crew was in Monday morning to tear it all out. It took us three days to tear the whole thing out and now the show is history. Maybe it will come back in the future, Who knows what will happen in this industry...
The good news is that I am very fortunate to have another job lined up. I start tomorrow as the Head Electrician of 'La Cage Aux Follies' at the Longacre Theatre. It is a show that opened last year and won three Tony awards including Best Revival. It currently has Kelsey Grammer (as in the guy from Cheers and Frasier) and Douglas Hodge (last seen in the latest Robin Hood movie) in the cast. In February, those two leave and will be replaced with Harvey Feirstein (Tony Award for Hairspray. Oh yea, he was the Make-up artist brother in Mrs. Doubtfire, Match Maker, Match Maker, make me a Match...) and Jeffery Tambor (from Arrested Development) in February. So, I have some hopes that this show will be open for some time. I will spend two days learning the show and will run the show over the weekend. Then I have a week off that I am spending with the family in Livonia. It should be a lot of fun. I am excited to see everyone and not have to work on a holiday. It will probably be one of the last ones for awhile that I have off completely. 

In other news, I get to spend New Years Eve in Times Square with a million of my closest friends on New Years Eve, and I am getting paid for it. Not only do I get to be in New York, in Times Square for the coming of the New Year, I get to work it as well. It will be some long hours, but it is something that not a lot of people can say they have done.

Here is a Picture of my Cousins...

Putt-Putt Moeller Style

That's all. More Next Week, Thanks for reading