November 28, 2007

The time I had figured as serenity and regathering has exploded on me, again, and I have nobody to blame but myself, for saying “yes” to “Christmas on Broadway.” Chris did give us a $2000 discount on the space for Crown of Shadows, and if this exhausting week has anything to do with that, then it is well recompensed. For me its awfulness is an alloy of chaos and T. Chaos comes with working with children in a show primarily for parents, at Christmas, when elegance does not count but cuteness does. I understand and accept that. It is in fact cute. T is a different story. He is not a useless musical director, but his usefulness is sown thinly in a rank garden of attitude, snideness, low competence and, paradoxically, showing off. Asked to play a part, he plays it very fast and very loud, so that the exercise is futile for learning purposes, but he has shown you a level of peppy shrillness to which you can never properly aspire. The fact that many notes were played wrong is meant to diluted by the speed and confidence of the playing. A section which is to be done without conductor he was conducting madly last night, at thrice the speed it should be done, to show. . . to show I don’t know what–that we were hopelessly distant yet from the Land of Peppy Shrillness over which he reigns with such pride. His beautiful voice is undeniable, but he should use that rather than other skills which may not be so singular. This all may be beautiful to me by the end. We’ll see. The kids are charming. Chris is a joy to watch. I would be exhausted in an hour. The other adults are warming to me, but there seems to have been a club to which I did not have automatic entrance.

Ann Rhymer has asked me to write the words to her proposed musical about Lady Jane Grey.

My sabbatical for the fall is approved by the Powers. It is called "ambitious but plausible."

Some spirit–good or bad– sat me down at the computer this morning and made me buy tickets for Ireland. The New Year shall be welcomed in Dublin. That is most well. Incredible how knots in my stomach smoothed themselves out as my flights were being confirmed. A month from now I will be living just off Parnell Square.