After You Type "Curtain"

A very nice person wrote to me privately tell me that I shouldn't be so hands on about the casting of my show. She told me a story about a composer who wanted to really be there for every second of the rehearsal process, etc. And she thought that could never work. Mind you, this composer had no experience in the theatre and might very well have been a block to the process of putting on a show. But the thought that people might think that after you type "curtain" you are done, is absurd. This is when the hard work begins. Some say they love having written, I prefer the actual writing, the creation. It's what comes after when you are lucky enough to actually get a production that is hard. The negotiations, the casting, the rehearsal, the rewrites, the misconceived notions that threaten to ruin the work that is on the page. The politics. The huge collaboration. Now I am not saying that I don't love collaboration, don't get me wrong. It's the heart and soul of musical theatre. But it's hard. Right now we are casting a very important role...it just happens to be the role based on me, but it has turned out to be a hard role to cast for some reason. Why, I haven't a clue. It's a short funny Jewish guy between 35-50 who sings really great. This is NYC...where are they? Yes, they are out there if you are paying big bucks, but for an off-Broadway not-for-profit theatre, where are they? It's wildly frustrating and makes you wonder why you typed the words "Scene One" let alone curtain. You write a book, it gets published, people buy it, and that's that. You write a musical with five fabulously funny comic roles and you get...tzuris! That's my thought for today. Am I lucky to get my show on? You bet your ass. Am I frustrated right now. Oh baby! Oh Baby! Oooooooooh Baby! But I have been here before and I hope to be here again. So that's today's rant.