The last few days of Ain’t Misbehavin’ rehearsals were really crazy. We were gearing up for two shows days for Once Upon A Time and then afternoon/evening rehearsals for Ain’t Misbehavin’, all around a pretty busy schedule. I think it’s safe to say we were all a bit worried about whether or not we’d be ready on time. We were only 4 days away from an invited dress rehearsal preview and most of us felt like we barely knew certain parts of the show. But I guess things work out the way they should. Mother Nature threw the cast of Ain’t Misbehavin’ a bone and we were able to have full rehearsals days because of the snow. It was bad for the theatre, but it was really important for us to have that time. By the time we had our dress preview on Thursday we were in pretty good shape.
Although we had already had a run with an audience on Thursday night, I found myself really nervous for Friday’s opening. I didn’t really get nervous until I was standing in the lobby getting ready to sing. You see, I’m the first actor who enters the theatre in both Act 1 and Act 2 of the show. I’ve never been the first person out on stage. I was a little unnerved by it. What if I crack? What if I trip down the stairs? What if I drop something? I was imagining the worst! Luckily none of those things happened, but I was really nervous. I didn’t start feeling like a normal person until the third or fourth song in the show. My heart was racing.
I’m not someone who normally gets really bad pre show jitters. It just depends on the situation. On Friday night when I was standing in the lobby, it dawned on me that I was finally doing my dream show. The show that I imagined myself performing in for years. The show that I performed to an imaginary audience in my living room in Brooklyn. I didn’t want to let myself down. I was also nervous about my voice that night. It didn’t help that it was freezing that day, which mean it was also freezing in our dressing rooms and I got a pretty bad case of the sniffles at the beginning of the show. I thought that it affected me vocally at the beginning of the show, but everyone said I sounded fine. Sometimes you really are your own worst critic.
My mother was in town last weekend for the opening of the show. She always likes to try and come to openings. I don’t really know why, since the show grows so much over the course of the run. She saw the show on Friday and Saturday night and saw Once Upon A Time on Saturday afternoon, which she really seemed to enjoy. We went to Nashville on Monday and visit the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum which was really cool. I realized that I knew more country songs than I thought! I really enjoyed the exhibits and learning about artists such as Hank Williams and Tammy Wynette. Since it was Valentine’s day, my mom and I went to dinner and I treated myself to ribs. It was a good day and a great visit!
