The sitzprobe

What is that, some of you may ask. It's basically the cast's first time sitting and singing with the orchestra. It's always one of my favorite days of the process. It is the first rehearsal that happens outside of the rehearsal studio before heading into tech week, and it is always a lovely way to start the next part of the process for me. I love rehearsing, so the rehearsal room for me is a safe little cocoon that I can get used to, but usually by this point in the process I am anxious to get into the theater. Because of the rep schedule on this show, I have to say that I was kind of itching for a few more days wrapped in the safety of the rehearsal room. But the sitz (as we theater folk like to call it) is always heartening. Once the show leaves the studio, the process for me becomes about applying icing onto the cake that is the show itself, and adding the orchestra is the glorious first layer. I'm always reminded what an integral role the orchestrator plays during the process of creating a new musical. They add colors you could never imagine. Songs that you think of as dark gain a beautiful warmth when orchestrated a particular way. We are incredibly blessed on this occasion to have Andy Einhorn as our orchestrator. He has done an extraordinary job. The score just soars because of what he has done. You could feel the excitement in the room from the actors-- the orchestra just adds incredible energy to the show. Now... on to tech!