09 04 05 + 7 - 6 Having a mistress
you may have heard by now..
that ive taken this job. guys and dolls in the west end. with ewan mcgreggor and jane krakowski and jenna russell.
im playing the franksinatra part. yikes. eight shows a week, six days a week. bit of a departure for me.
these two lives - me singing my stuff in little mission halls around the country and me acting other peoples stuff finally begin to collide. its like having a mistress that u finally bring out into the open. (apparently).
of course its a near perfect piece of writing. a bombshell of a musical that was impossible to resist. there is some kind of ambrosian drug embedded in it that seeps effussions of good feeling into the audience every few minutes. like a black n white batman episode where some vivd reverse villian squirts happiness into the ether every seven minutes - like those suspicious air freshener things on the walls in Marylebone Railway Station Toilet.
and you know it is a full on very disciplined thing...o my acheing limbs
rehearsing it is like meeting forty athletes and pretending im one of them.
theres an eighteen piece band. musicians galore. dancing girls.
i sing in the ensemble for luck be a lady, sit down youre rocking the boat, guys and dolls, the oldest established and then a duet - sue me and also a solo theyve added - adelaide - which was in the movie but apparently im going to do it at the first preview and then mrs loesser.. (the loesser of two evils presumably) and the wife of the great Frank Loesser who wrote it will decide whether it stays in or not.
(better come to the first preview if u want to hear that song then)
and the dancers... oh the dancers ... with no seeming concern for physical modesty... well wheres Degas when u need him.. they are simply physically beautiful... the women and also the men actually...
im going to stick around after rehearsals too and play some London Gigs for the next few weeks - open mics wherever we can find them and meanwhile i'm gradually putting together a sort of tour which will happen in december - just turning up and playing songs. the album seems to be growing everyday, more and more people playing it and telling friends - so thankyou for that if this is you.
i played the 12 bar club in denmark street (by tottenham court road) on wednesday night - a curious line up with one guy singing a song that seemed to be about an ashtray.. and.. please come... they booked me to do a late night there august the third 11pm. it could be such a laugh. its a bit of an awkward steaming bunker of a venue but its buzzing with life and its right on englands tinpan alley so i reckon old frank loesser mightve approved if hed been hanging around late that night.
meanwhile... back to the mistress. o yeah sorry... she's my wife now.
four comments, already:
Have you noticed how ‘Having a mistress’ and ‘Love without Hope’ have drawn no comments? Interesting.
jj
jj () - 15 04 05 - 18:05
yes. so what does that mean?
tom - 16 04 05 - 15:29
Hi Doug,
I’ve just stumbled on your Website, if one can use that term, or maybe electronically tripped might be better – and was astonished to find such interesting info. As a huge lover of everything musical, especially of the 50s era, (which I hate to admit was when I was growing up), I was delighted to note your enthusiasm for one of the greatest examples of genius in the Musical genre.
Unfortunately, there are so few Artistes left from that glorious period in time, that it’s so wonderful of performers like yourself to perpetuate the American Musical for a new generation to enjoy. The role of Nathan Detroit is an exacting and demanding one, especially when following in the footsteps of Actor/Singer giants like Sam Levene, Jerry Orbach and Ol’ Blues Eyes himself but I’m confident that you will do it and do it well. However, I don’t recall ever seeing Nathan Detroit in a dance/ballet sequence?!
I have to confess though, that I only know of your dramatic work, so I would love to hear your rendition of, I Got the Horse Right Hear and Adalaide etc. and would love to catch the show when it opens – when will that be?
By the way, I’ve had a quick listen to your tracks online and am very impressed with your music, you have a very strong, expressive voice and your lyrics are great, they really tell a story. My congratulations – you sing as well as you act. So – Actor extraordinaire, Singer, Musician and now Dancer, is there no end to your talent? And that comes from a former music/theatrical/literary agent, so I speak with some authority – I hope!!
I’ve been living in L.A. – got back to the U.K. a few months – so I’m a bit out of touch with what’s been happening over here, theatrically that is – I’m more in tune with the movie scene – but I suspect it will all become clear … very soon. I’m now looking for a home in Oxfordshire, so when I find one and get settled, I’ll check out the Ex.
Anyway – break a leg (not literally – heaven forbid) with G and D – hope the C.D. goes well too.
Best wishes,
Susan
Susan () - 13 05 05 - 11:10
thanks susan – i think i know why nathan never usually dances now too. actually somebody told me that the song guys and dollls was originally written for nathan and sky but the original nathan couldnt sing so they gave it to nicely and benny! shame i’d have liked a crack at that. glad u liked the songs – im going to play some sunday gigs in oxford pretty soon.
doug - 07 06 05 - 13:44