Rehearsal today was a bifurcated experience for me. Of course my focus is on the cast—their vocalism, their musical accuracy, their sense of style, and (I never share this explicitly) their memorization. I’m there to guide them, and since we don’t have a stage...
written by
Steven Blier
NYFOS@North Fork 2023: Day 2
Tuesday is a day of infinite possibility. The concert is five whole days away—a lifetime!—and no one is freaking out about memorization yet. Not that these three have anything to worry about in that department: they arrived with most of their material well under...
NYFOS@North Fork 2023: Day 1
I reluctantly tore myself away from the lunch table today to begin rehearsals for my annual concert out here on the North Fork. This year we’re doing a program called 100 Years of Broadway Love. I chose the theme because I thought that it would have a user-friendly,...
Caramoor 2023: Finale
The thing I most desired after our two concerts was a day to lie in bed, eat bonbons, and watch movies. Unfortunately, my schedule did not offer me such indolence. Wednesday, in fact, turned out to be a high-stress day. I’ll spare you the details, but by the time it...
Notes on the Program: Mediterranean
Note: Due to illness, this program's song list has changed since the notes were written. It will be annotated from the stage at tonight's performance. When I hear the word “Mediterranean,” I immediately think of the Cannes Film Festival, Barcelona’s Sagrada Familia,...
Caramoor 2023: Day 6
Today was dress rehearsal, and after yesterday’s challenges things were looking up. Colin, who spent Friday holed up in his room, reported for work with every indication that he was back in the game. Indeed, he was feeling a lot better and he’d lost the green pallor...