Catching Up is Hard to Do

Yesterday, after going to bed late (Rainbow Room see below) I woke up early (for me)...thank you Jet Lag! But I need all the waking time I can get. I gave one of my lectures for the Elderhostle groups I adore. I have given many of these now over the years. They are about, well, me! It's about my career as a writer in the musical theatre, but recently I have taken to including my writing of books as well. I usually cue up several videos and talk about how I have written musicals since I was 15 and show clips of my work. Lately though I have been telling the amazing but true story of how David Krane and I wrote Aspire as the first commissioned American musical to be presented in the Middle East. This story always goes over brilliantly and now that we have actually written (still writing) a musical called The Road to Qatar! The story has a great punch line and is a big hit. The upside of doing these lectures is always that the people are so marvelous. These elders are far from hostile. They come from all over the country to enjoy theatre and learn something about the inner workings. And they appreciate every word I give them. The laughs are great. I love performing and I come away with more than they do. Yesterday was no exception. I came away with a very clear understanding of what is great about the story and I was inspired to really get down to finishing my rewrite of the first 20 or so pages of the show. So now I have new and reshaped material to send to David and he can get to work on recomposing (as opposed to DEcomposing, which one of my other collaborators is doing, but that's another story, never mind). I am excited again about the show and the truth of the matter is, the real fun lies in the writing. The rest is just the rest. Today I had a meeting at the Morgan Library about the Kander and Ebb evening and made some strides in the producing end. Got a sound and light guy and asked my friend Elliot to stage manage it for me. Still need some more talent, but it will come. Who knew I would have to produce this? Well, produce, direct and write...that's now my label. Onward and up! Taking a first class ride as we hit the road to Qatar!