Oliver! Oliver! Oliver! It has opened at last!

My apologies for not updating yesterday, I had an unexpected engagement after the show . . . plus I was pretty darn tired, and happy just to enjoy being in my house again after such a long absence. :P

Anyways, I believe I left off before Friday's rehearsal, correct? Yeah. Just checked, yes I did.

Okay, so Friday's rehearsal . . . hmmm . . . if I remember, the rehearsal was basically just running through the show again (as usual), only with more of an excitement around because everyone had the thought, “We're opening tomorrow! We're opening tomorrow! Yay! Cool!” Unless, of course, you're Megan, who had the thought “We're opening tomorrow! Yay! Oh no! My first main part!! I'm so nervous I can't even breathe . . .” (sorry Megan, couldn't help it)

Did have one interesting thing happen, though. I called home to tell my parents that I was ready to come home, and some creepy dude answered the phone. He was speaking in a whisper, trying obviously to disguise his voice. I was just starting to settle into the whole thing of him being some robber or something, and then he has to go and ruin it by saying, “I'm commenting on your blog.” *sigh* AJ, why don't you ever do anything fun? Haha j/k :P

Okay this is weird. A few minutes ago, I was in a pretty bad mood . . . not like I was mad or angry, I was just lonely, because I've grown accustomed to hanging out with Oliver people all the time, and now all of a sudden I'm not going to see them until Friday. So I was really lonely, and I actually got on the computer because I was hoping that someone would be on AIM that I could talk to . . . But alas. And now, all of a sudden, I started writing and now I'm in a really good mood. Yay for blogging!

In any case, Megan and AJ and I had had multiple discussions about his meeting her (because we know they've met before, but he couldn't remember who she was). So Megan hung around until he showed up to take me home, and then the three of us were talking for a while (and Wayne called me “polite” and “brilliant” and then took them both back :P).

Eventually we got home, and I looked up something online, and was talking to some folks online for a while, then I went to bed. My AIM message for the next day was, “*chants* It's opening day! It's opening day! It's opening day!” So, of course, I was very excited. I seriously hadn't been that excited for an opening since Tom Sawyer . . . Jeremy suggested it was because I hadn't been in a show with a Prince since then (although I don't think that's true). I think it's probably two main reasons: 1) Lots of my friends have main parts (Nick=Dodger, Megan=Bet, Jeremy=Oliver, Dave=Fagin, Tim=Mr. Bumble), and 2) I have two of the coolest parts ever in Mr. Sowerberry and Townsman (aka Stupid Shoe-throwing Man).

So, what exactly happened on Opening Day, you ask? I answer: I got up, showered, ate, etc., then went to rehearsal (daytime rehearsal to prepare for nighttime show). The rehearsal actually felt like a show, although not an opening show. Anyway, it went well, and we went on dinner break excited and ready for opening.

For dinner, as usual I stayed at Lifehouse, talking with Josh B. and Jake for a while, then Taylor joined us, and so Josh and Jake started talking to their parents and I started talking to Taylor. And for a while it was like Pollyanna again, the two of us constantly hurling vicious insults at each other . . . ::sigh:: Ah, for the good old days . . .

Eventually we returned to the auditorium to begin warm-ups for opening, the excitement level rising. Then, all of a sudden, I realized why the excitement level was so high: twenty little kids had just drunken Starbucks!!! Not like any of you will understand the analogy, but it was like having twenty Prestons!!! Scary times, scaaaaary times.

Anyway, we got going and had announcements, prayer, and warm-ups. Then we went backstage to begin getting ready. As usual, I was ready at least 15 minutes before the show was supposed to start, so I hung out in the makeup hall and the surrounding area, telling people who were nervous not to be. I also spent several minutes trying to calm Taylor down (she was feeling extremely stressed out because she's basically in charge of Fagin's gang), but she ended it by stomping HARD on my foot and walking away. ::sigh:: I hate it when I try to help people and that kind of thing happens . . . especially when the helpee is wearing heels . . .

And OH MY GOSH, was Megan nervous. Oh, stop glaring at me, you were. But I don't want her to be mad at me, so I'll stop now before I say something rash.

Okay, so since there are no Milligans in this show, Taylor is the headset person (the person who confirms the cast is ready to start the show). Which of course only added to her stress. Especially because no one would listen to her. I got in trouble for helping her, too . . . since no one in the makeup hall was listening, I spoke in a slightly-louder-than-normal voice (which did get the wanted response), and Larry was walking by, and wasn't too happy about it. Taylor did have the courtesy to thank me, though, which was nice.

Finally, the call from Taylor came: “Places.” And the overture started. I climbed up the ladder and into position. Wayne's voice concluded his announcement: “Ladies and Gentlemen, Lifehouse productions now proudly presents Oliver!” The crowd went wild. It's so nice having tons of parents and Lifehousers there, they cheer so loudly . . .

Anyway, from the first “Buy my bread,” I knew it was going to be an awesome show. And, of course, since I know all, I was right. There were a few minor snafoos (such as Mrs. Bumble calling Mrs. Sowerberry my maid instead of my wife), but on the whole it was really good.

And the best part . . . I laugh just remembering it. Okay, well obviously you all know about me throwing the shoes at Megan and Nick. Because I keep talking about it. Well anyway, we were approaching that scene, and Megan came up to me freaking out because she was so excited (“The song's coming up! Just me and Dodger!! AAHH!!!”) (Okay, I added that last part). So I laughed and climbed up my ladder (yes, it's MY ladder) into my house. They came dashing down the stairs, and did their song (they did an awesome job, as usual). The audience seemed unsure whether or not to clap, so I gave them an answer by leaning my head out of the window and chucking shoes at two certain trespassers.

And OH MY GOSH, the audience loved it. No exaggeration, it was the loudest applause any part of the show got. Even bows, even when OLIVER bowed, he didn't get as much applause as the shoe scene did. I seriously closed my window, made a fist, pulled my arm back and mentally yelled “SCORE!!!!!!!!!”

So after that it was kind of downhill, because of course nothing can top that. But the show was awesome, as the audience would tell you. At least, they had better tell you. Or they'll have a shoe coming through their window.

Anyway, the show ended, and we bowed, and were hanging out on the side of the stage for autographs and stuff. And man, it was HOT. The AC wasn't working again, and . . . yeah. 4 black layers. Sitting in front of a blazing light. Wasn't fun. Well, it wouldn't have been fun, but Rachel came by so I was talking to her, which took my mind off of it.

I should probably explain something before I go on to the next part of the story. At Lifehouse, we've always enjoyed being loud and obnoxious and just hanging out late into the night. As a result of this, they started a tradition a long time ago of having an after-opening party. Often times, people will offer their houses for the night. But more often, we have to find somewhere else to go. Naturally, we can't just hang out at Lifehouse, because that's just not cool. The only place in the immediate vicinity that's open 24 hours is a Denny's. So we spend opening nights making the Denny's waiters wish we weren't there.

So after the show we went to Denny's. I invited Rachel to come along, even though she wasn't in the show, because she's cool and everyone knows it. She caught a ride with us, and Doug needed a ride, too, so he also joined us. We, of course, were the first ones there. So we just hung out on the waiting bench for a while waiting (ironically) for the rest of the cast to arrive. Finally, after about 10 minutes or so, Tim, Amanda, and Nick finally showed up. Actually, a few minutes before that some audience members who we knew showed up and told us that the best part of the shoe was the shoe scene. Again, I inwardly yelled “SCORE!!!!!!!”

Anyway, once we had a fair amount of people we got our seven tables set up and sat down. Zach was there, and . . . well, let's just say that this drama thing he did messed up his mind a bit. He spent half of the night with a napkin in his mouth.

Megan was deserting us to go to a birthday party, so I was kinda bummed because I wanted to give her the traditional Denny's applause for a main character (well, honestly, it's usually just THE main character, but I wanted to be nice, it being her first main part and all). Then, all of a sudden, she showed up. Zach was talking to his dad at the time, so she just kind of took his seat while we all kind of stared at her with a “What are you doing here?” look on our face. Which is like the worst grammar in the world. But who cares

When I had overcome the shock of her arrival, I actually asked her what she was doing there, and she basically said she had just decided to come for a while. I asked her if she was ditching the birthday party, and her response was, “Are you kidding me? I wouldn't miss a birthday party for you guys.”

You know, I really should stop talking about Megan. Because I've probably already earned myself a good amount of slaps from this entry. So I'm just going to fast-forward until after she left to go to the party.

After Megan left, not a whole lot changed, other than the fact that with one less person at the table I had a bit more leg room. Zach kept being an idiot, we kept having totally pointless discussions about even more pointless subjects, etc. etc. Although Zach and Doug began having a phone picture war, which was interesting. Although Zach would claim that he won, I think that Doug clinched it with his picture of him and Jason (Bill Sikes) having a lightsaber duel on the stage.

Eventually, alas, pretty much everyone left, and it was just me and Rachel and Doug again. So we went out to wait for our rides outside the door, and Doug kept on talking non-stop about Homestar Runner and how his friend is the most awesome person and how the two are somehow linked . . . Oh, and cars. He also talked about cars.

Then my dad came and I went home, only to find that my house was full of college students. Most of whom will probably be reading this, and will hopefully be amused by my telling of the events after my return from Denny's. Oh, and also, one of them was named Doug, so keep in mind that when I say “Doug” in this next section it's Doug the college student, not Doug the guy who kills me in Oliver.

So it turns out that all of these college students know my brother, and that as a result of this I've met most of them. So I walked through the door, and met Doug and Stephen standing in the hallway. Doug asked me how the show went, then began guessing who I was. “Dodger?” “Oliver?” “Orphan #12?” “Dancer #4?” “Vegetable Seller #2?” After laughing at this, Stephen told him that if he would read my blog, he would know. To which Doug made some lame excuse about having restricted internet access or something.

After that, Doug went away to do something like set up the room he was sleeping in, and I was left to talk with Stephen. Oh, and just so I don't get yelled at, Rae and Eleanor both popped in and said hello during the time I was talking to Doug.

Anyway, since Stephen and I had never been formally introduced, I formally introduced myself, and we then began talking about Star Wars, not surprisingly. Actually, it basically consisted of him talking and me listening and nodding and asking a question here and there. And Stephen, I promise you, I WILL read those books! And actually, I had forgotten at the time, but I did read the first X-Wing book. I'm not sure if you knew that or not, but now you do.

After talking to him for about 45 minutes, AJ cut in and told us that we had to go to bed. So I went upstairs to find that Eleanor and Rae were staying in AJ's room. But in any case, talking to Stephen had made me remember something, so I was writing some stuff down for a while, and I think that either I was hallucinating, or Eleanor and/or Rae were trying to do something . . . get me to open my door, maybe, or say goodnight, I couldn't tell. If they were truly speaking, I couldn't understand what they said (which is why I didn't answer). Then, at about 2 AM I was about to go to bed, so I opened the door into the bathroom hall, and Rae (laying in the bed on the other side) literally jumped . . . which was quite amusing. She then began cracking up, and I shut the door so she could fall asleep while I took my makeup off and my contacts out . . . but obviously it didn't work because after I retreated back into my room, I heard the door open and she said “good night, Mark!” So I returned the good night, then went to bed.

Which brings me to Sunday. We didn't know where church was, so we didn't go and slept in. I got up, did usual morning things, and went to Lifehouse for the second show. Which pretty much passed without incident . . . other than, once again, extreme heat, as the AC wasn't working nearly as well as it should have been.

Well, okay, I lied. There was an incident. Through the entire thing, Megan kept asking me if I was coming to her dance recital. Since I hadn't known about it, I didn't know whether or not I was aloud to go, so the answer she kept getting was “I hope to.” But she didn't seem to be satisfied by this, and kept asking. So now she'll probably slap me again.

After the show, I made a complete idiot of myself and probably significantly lowered myself in the esteem of some people. Well, probably not the people who actually knew me, but the people who had never met me probably thought I was a total jerk and an idiot. Which I suppose is true. But I don't feel like relating the story. Sorry.

Anyway, on the way home from Lifehouse, I asked Mom if I could go, She said yes, so I basically went home and kind of crashed for two hours or so, then went back to Lifehouse to see the recital.

Which was, in a word, amazing. I was very impressed by it on the whole, although some of the dancing wasn't exactly my style. No offense Megan, some of the stuff just . . . yeah. Seemed a bit out of place in a Christian theater. But mainly just the one dance, most of it was fine. And again, other than that one dance, I thoroughly enjoyed it. After all, seeing Michael Milligan kissing a girl has to rank among the most awesome things I've ever seen. Heehee . . . never thought I'd see the day.

So then I went home and crashed for a while, then went to bed. Which brings us to Monday. Basically, Dance and wasting time. I actually had kind of a bad day, because for some reason I'm missing the people in Oliver more than I usually miss casts during the week . . . and if it seems pathetic that I'm missing them even knowing that I'll see them again soon, you try being in almost constant company with someone for two weeks, and make great friends with them, then all of a sudden don't see them for a week.

But like I said, this is affecting me more than it usually does, I don't know why . . . maybe the menacing shoe-throwing content of my blood is just low.

I'd go into more detail about Monday, but I'm really tired and have lots of comments, so suffice it to say that I basically wasted time all day and wrote this, which I obviously finished on Tuesday, in the very early morning.

Comments:

AJ: The shocker in the HP book . . . oh, you mean where that one guy does that one thing to the other guy? Yeah. That was a pretty big shocker all right. No, seriously, it was. Zach said that he bought the book just so he could read the ending and run around telling people. He got lots of people mad at him.

Rachael: I'll have you know, AJ is the best speller I know. Okay, on to your second comment, here we go: Yes, I read Pollyanna. I never have had and probably never will have any desire to read any of the Anne books. Canada's healthcare has nothing at all to do with Anne. I absolutely HATED Latin, forgive me for trying to help you. Obviously your darn academic-ness has already taken over, and so there is nothing more I can do.

Dr. C: thank you, thank you. I rather liked the cape myself. Although I must ask, what is it with your family and “dashing?”

David's Three: Really? Well if you like wandering around . . . I've always wanted to go to Alaska. Maybe sometime I'll just get you up there when you're supposed to be in ballet :P And assuming your talking about what I think you are, the moment that incited the “Ol' Trouble 'n' Strife to kill” you was when you turned left. And thank you. I love that you call her “Dr. C.”

Rae: I read the abridged version, and trust me, I don't think you want to read the regular version. The Italics you mentioned were his telling you what he took out, and there was nothing in there that I wish he had left in. It was all stuff that I would've found very boring. And, if it makes you soften up to him any more, the guy who did the abridgment is the same guy who wrote the screenplay for the movie.

I think AJ's comments speak for themselves.

Stephen: You should've told me you hadn't read it while you were at our house. You could've borrowed my copy. I feel guilty because you lent me all those books and I didn't give you anything in return . . . In any case, I hope you have a lot of time on your hands, because you've got quite a bit of blog-reading to catch up on ;)

(Final Count: Pages: 7 (barely), Words: 3426)