Saturday: ugh, I'm up super early for morning rehearsal and Kelly canceled because she's not feeling well. Sigh. They are supposedly starting rebuilding the stage at 8 a.m. and I said I wasn't going until 10, which makes me feel guilty and like I should go at 8, even though I know crapola on this topic and probably won't be much of a help here anyway. Maybe I will just eat before I go.

Later, I was at the theater for stage rebuilding from 10-3. Here is what I did:
(a) Costume fitting. Black top/skirt for the mob scene. Black turtleneck/pants for the cutlery. I did get to pick out an adorable purple top/skirt/apron/hat for the "Belle" and ending scenes. Later the wine bottle costume was revealed and it's...giant padded cork head that falls over when you move (uh-oh) and I am going to have advertising on me. Sigh. I did get super amused by Steve photo bombing me while those photos were being taken, though. I'm using that photo as his pic on my phone, hah hah.
(b) Cleaned out detritus in the stage/floor area, mostly scraping it out with a putty knife and sweeping.
(c) Helped Dannette with finding/filing the letters for the marquee.
(d) Ate free pizza.
This was yet another situation where half the people here have construction experience (Rachelle was there, having somehow not caught covid this time, said she definitely preferred building stuff with dad to doing dishes, and who would not?) and the other half ain't doing much of anything. Supposedly painting the stage was going to be a thing, but I left before that and I doubt they got that far today anyway. I don't really have a better solution for the issue of (a) they want a lot of people to come but (b) those of us who don't know how to do construction are pretty much useless on days/sets that need nothing but construction. Hence why I have the book and yarn, of course, until someone gives me something I can do.

Notable conversations I had:

Steve apologized to me for dissing my laugh the other night--said it was "infectious" but a bit much, and noted I didn't do that during Tailwind. I said I honestly don't know how it's going to come out from time to time. (But yeah, still wanted it toned down. I get it.) I really appreciated the apology, honestly.

I hung out with Eve and Jessica in the seats most of the time and got to know them. Jessica said she did see me and Scott together a lot and asked if he was coming today (don't think so, I said) and I said we've been in a lot of shows together and left it at that. (God, I hope she doesn't get into him romantically too, we don't need more of this fucking drama. I so far don't get that vibe, but who knows any more.) She asked what is in my "fanny pack of mystery," which amused me greatly.

We talked about being in other stuff and the shows coming up, and I note that Eve said "I saw Newsies at Music Circus, and you know what? It's supposed to be a bunch of starving boys, but it was done by these strapping young men..." Me: "Uh-HUH, good point." I still think it's a long shot doing a virtually all men show when they can't get dudes as is, and Eve was all "dancer guys should come out of the woodwork." Uh, we'll see, I guess. Not gonna be my problem since I'm the least inclined to consider auditioning for that one.

During lunch, Steve was super cheesed off at someone who used to perform here slamming the theater on the Internet after he didn't get a part. He wanted to write something rude. Dannette (doing the marquee sign) wrote back instead, saying that not everybody gets every part they want, including herself and she's president of the board.

He also grumbled later that Camelot and Mary Poppins had bad casts--Virginia was there volunteering and she was all "bad cast?" to me and I said ah, I think a few other people in both casts were being difficult there.

Quotes:

Jean (costumes) to me on being stacked: she calls herself "boobilicious."

Jean (costumes) to Other Steve on his wardrobe: "You are kinda dull." Other Steve: "And crazy, according to the script."

Steve (director): "I want my actors happy, but I really don't care. It's a benevolent dictatorship." "That's what we run here, a theater of the absurd." "I'm not really a benevolent dictator, I'm worse." Steve told a story he heard about Spielberg coming to this town for something I didn't catch: "He looked like every other town dad." On a related note, another lady there (not in the show) told a story about seeing Robin Williams in a restaurant. "Sometimes a good Internet fight is fun."

Jessica: "I always eat while operating heavy machinery."

I note that Steve did get Alisa two apple fritters.

Tonight's other people accompanying us to the theater were my cousin's cousin (cousin squared) Randall and his sister Cynthia and her husband, which is new. I ended up talking to Cynthia about mystery shows, specifically watching Only Murders In The Building, so that was great fun. Mom ended up talking to Cynthia about how she got invited to my cousin Cassie's graduation in Tennessee and we weren't even told it was happening (this is typical for my family, though, albeit a bit jerkier than usual). Randall brought Mom plumerias, which got her over her whole "nine dollars" rage very nicely.

I really enjoyed "On Your Feet!" I've seen it once before at San Jose Broadway and enjoyed it, it's been a few years, but I kind of feel like I got more out of it or remembered it more this time? It's the musical of the lives of Gloria Estefan (famous Latin pop singer I got raised on the music of) and her producer husband Emilio. Both of their families fled from Cuba, which is a plot point. He originally had a band and wanted to ask her to sing with them, but he mistook her for her same-named mother, and Awkwardness Ensues. Also Emilio's English is not the best and he malaprops fairly often, which at one point Gloria is all "We all speak English, well, not him so much!" about it. She joins the band instead of becoming a psychologist, and the first act is how they become a hit in Spanish-language music and then are trying to break into the English-language market despite the execs being resistant to it. By the end of the first act, they make a hit out of "Conga." The second act focuses more on Gloria being estranged from her mom, who's a bit pouty about Gloria being a success, and then Gloria's tour bus gets hit by a semi and she breaks her back and has to have surgery and come back from that. This helps to make amends. I sort of wonder if they rewrote it a bit from last time since I don't remember the details about how they got into the bus crash because Emilio wanted to meet the president on her day off. But it ends well, it's a very sassy and dancy (even if the audience wasn't into getting on their feet) and I enjoyed it a bunch.

On the way home, I had an awkward but not bad conversation with Mom about how nobody wants me and I'm inadequate everywhere and she asked what I'm doing about it, and I said "well, I'm taking singing lessons," and demonstrated. She seemed to like it (particularly the Julie Andrews, which she sung along to), so there was that. She also spent both the car ride there and back getting on me to online date again and why do I keep sticking with this situation, and I said I keep having things happen here that are really weird and frankly, that make me feel like he does care. (And when I tried to back out, that didn't work.) I know I sound like a crazy person on this topic, and I am. I know I should get over it and online date already.

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