The award for Best Comedic Moment (planned) goes to ... Nate!
We all fully expect Nate's virtuoso solo dance performance to "SexyBack" to be one of the show's funniest moments. But it became even funnier Wed. night when Jenna asked him to (after his full-body opening flourish) tone it down and just find some sort of crotch-focused repetitive movement he could do in Josh's face until driving Josh to shout "Will you stop that, you freak!" Somehow his subtle groin grinding was unbelievably hysterical and even funnier than much wilder dances he's tried in the past. I suppose this award could also go to Jenna for wisely making the call for restraint.
The award for Best Comedic Moment (unplanned) goes to ... Robby!
Our hardworking stage manager Robby has the difficult task of calling cues from on stage. The board will be behind the bar on set, and Robby doubles as both stage manager and bartender. Generally, he doesn't interact much with the cast other than handing them beers, but in a fabulous moment in rehearsal, he made Josh and I laugh so hard we almost fell out of our chairs. As Stuart, Nate has to complain about how long it's taking the bar to make and serve the wings he ordered. (Spicy garlic wings to be exact, a reference in homage to the cast of "The Gulf" at Dobama's Night Kitchen in 2001.) So, naturally, now that he has a bartender on stage with him, Nate directed his anger toward Robby, who looked up from his script with great disdain and gave Nate a slightly annoyed, shrugging, "what?" gesture. Perfect.
The award for Cutest "Awwwwww" Moment goes to ... Shawnikins and Joshikins!
After the failed fight scene between Jeremy (Shawn) and Kevin (Josh), the two best friends sort of resolve their differences and return to the bar. At Wednesday's rehearsal when Josh asked Shawn "Are you still going to be my best man?" Shawn responded with such adorable sincerity and handed Josh his baseball cap, which had come off in the fight. They exited together with such tentative sweetness (the way only guys who are trying to be manly when they want to be sensitive can be) that Jenna actually turned around to look at me, and we totally cooed "Awwwww!" at each other. Precious.
The Award for Best Use of Bar Props goes to ... Stuart!
The entire cast has become quite comfortable gesturing and interacting with beer bottles in hand (because they never do that in real life). But Stuart gets props (hah!) for embracing all props including plastic forks, bar peanuts (which he tossed into Nate's mouth with great expertise), and napkins, which he turned into a shroud for Sierra's dead beer. Classic.
The award for Best Line Flub goes to ... Sarah!
She asked Stuart H., "Are you and your kids thinking of having wives?" Now, that's an entirely different play! Strike that; reverse it.
Everyone was in partial costume Wednesday night too, which was great fun to see. The top half of the show is pretty sharp, but it's clear they haven't spent as much time working the back half. It was slower and there was more hesitation with lines. But the whole shape is there. Last night, Jenna was planning on working some of the more serious moments, and this weekend tech begins. We're getting close.
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KNEEL BEFORE NATE
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