We did it!

It was a great weekend.

Unethical opened Friday and closed Sunday, and I couldn't have been happier with the run. We sold out both Friday and Saturday nights and had around 50 people on Sunday. Any local actor can tell you, 50 people on a Sunday is amazing. I'd have been over the moon about 20 showing up.

The cast (and I) were pretty drained after tech week, with Kristy, who's been fighting various infections all year, probably struggling the most. But once it was show time, everything seemed fine. We knew in advance we had sold out Friday, so everyone was excited going into it. The show ran smoothly, and the large crowd (which included many of my coworkers) seemed to really get it. After the show, I had so many people coming up to me and venting about the horrible things that have happened at their offices, or how they've been asked to rat out their coworkers for misbehaving. It obviously struck a chord. 

The other cool thing about Friday was that there was a party of about 35 people who attended - CPT board members and their guests. The board member who chose my show as the one she would host a gathering around was very complimentary and seemed to like the production. That's pretty awesome, having the board show up in force to my opening night.

I missed Saturday night's show because I was at a wedding, but I had family there and of course Lisa reported back for me. My family felt the show was more energetic, more animated than Friday night. Lisa felt it was a little slower, because the actors were anticipating pausing for laughs more, and Allen confessed he thought he was pushing it a bit that night. Either way, I did not expect Saturday to sell out. And everyone who was there who Facebooked or emailed me had nothing but good things to say about it. The comments I'm hearing the most have to do with the play having a good balance of humor and seriousness and that it presented an important contemporary issue in a relatable way. I really can't ask for better compliments than that.

Sunday was a very strong show - the closest to word perfect with strong energy and intent. And with a decent-sized audience, there was enough noise to keep the actors from having the usual Sunday let down. We struck fast, and I went home and absolutely crashed. Long week. Long 2009.

I'm definitely eager to rewrite UnE again, tweak a few things, streamline some clunky dialogue, etc. But the run was great. I couldn't be more pleased. A few people asked when we'd do it again so they could bring others to see it. Hopefully we can someday. (Hey CPT friends, what do you think?)

Thanks to everyone who was a part of it, from the cast and crew to those of you in the audience!