by Steven Blier | Mar 13, 2024 | Blier's Blog
I am not quite sure how it happened, but the day started with a conversation between me, Bénédicte, and the cast. It began with them debriefing us excitedly about their previous night out at a restaurant with a patron, and then veered off into a variety of unexpected...
by Steven Blier | Mar 12, 2024 | Blier's Blog
I rolled into the Music Room at Caramoor, after spending an hour riding up to Katonah with my confidante and co-director Bénédicte Jourdois, and I thought of that silly kid’s song, “If you’re happy and you know it, clap your hands [clap clap].” I know that it’s light...
by Steven Blier | Jan 17, 2024 | Blier's Blog
We’ve had a bit of drama over the past few days. Trevor Haumschilt, the baritone in the cast, had been belting out his songs like a champ, seemingly tireless day after day. He’s a very tall guy, with a football player’s build, and he looks indestructible. Imagine my...
by Steven Blier | Jan 15, 2024 | Blier's Blog
I am always looking for the element that will lift a song from the memorized-and-well-executed to the owned-and-embodied. There are many ways to board that magic carpet, assuming the singers have the capacity for levitation. (Everyone in this cast does.) But it isn’t...
by Steven Blier | Jan 11, 2024 | Blier's Blog
I have had a lot of good times doing my annual Juilliard concerts, a tradition since 2006. But I had not anticipated how much fun I would have with this year’s show, Ned at 100: A Rorem Celebration. It is a revamped revival of a concert we did ten years ago,...
by Steven Blier | Aug 27, 2023 | Blier's Blog
Today was dress rehearsal—and out here that means actually getting into full concert regalia. That’s because Husband Jim comes to take pictures of the show the day before the performance. That way, no one has to disturb the crowd by skulking around the hall during the...
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