{"id":809,"date":"2022-06-04T18:57:06","date_gmt":"2022-06-04T22:57:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blt-online.org\/wordpress\/?p=809"},"modified":"2022-06-04T18:57:06","modified_gmt":"2022-06-04T22:57:06","slug":"rock-island","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blt-online.org\/wordpress\/2022\/06\/04\/rock-island\/","title":{"rendered":"Rock Island"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Bethesda Little Theatre presents an original musical revue featuring songs from all the Broadway shows you\u2019ve been wishing you could see in one night but couldn\u2019t\u2026 until now. Come From Away, Six, Dear Evan Hansen, Chicago, Tina: The Tina Turner Musical, Company, Hadestown, Hamilton, and more. We even have some side trips to some of the wonderful music clubs Times Square has to offer. Don\u2019t miss your chance to see numbers from some of the hottest shows on Times Square! A Night Out on Times Square<\/em>, runs June 10, 11, 12 and 17, 18, 19 at the Montgomery College Cultural Arts Center. (For tickets and more information click here: blt-online.org<\/a> or call 202-796-3431.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In our blog series \u201cInside the Numbers\u201d we take you backstage with the performers to discuss a sampling of the songs they\u2019ll be presenting; today we\u2019re going to explore the opening number to \u201cThe Music Man,\u201d a crowd favorite that very few people know is titled \u201cRock Island.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Alright gents, there\u2019s a lot of rhythm and a lot of words here \u2013 how\u2019s it going?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Justin: <\/strong>It\u2019s coming. We are getting it up to speed and it gets better every time we do it. Getting off book will be the fun part. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Aref: <\/strong>Number of words: no problem. Rhythm: no problem. Choreo\/staging: no problem. Hardest part is tempo, which we are conquering, courtesy of Leslie Blaha in the beginning with her blasted metronome.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gordon: <\/strong>I\u2019m lucky I only have a few lines so the rhythm and words don\u2019t pose a problem for me personally. It\u2019s the other guys who need to be concerned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Arthur: <\/strong>Personally, I think it\u2019s going well. I do hope that I don\u2019t end up running out of breath during my spiels. If so, let\u2019s hope there\u2019s an O2 tank back stage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Eric: <\/strong>Going as well as it could be. There\u2019s still practice to be done to get it closer to ready.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Aref Dajani and Arthur Glover first learning the words.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

What did you think when Cathy first handed you this song?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Aref:<\/strong> WOAH\/WHOA! When I heard \u201cMusic Man\u201d, I thought, \u201cYa Got Trouble\u201d which is so much fun!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Editor\u2019s Note: And might have even MORE words in it!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gordon: <\/strong>I knew it was a difficult piece to do. A few years ago I was in a production of \u201cThe Music Man,\u201d and I remember that the folks in \u201cRock Island\u201d never did quite get it right!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Editor\u2019s Note: Our guys are on the case though and it\u2019s going to be a great rendition!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Arthur: <\/strong>I really didn\u2019t think about it, my mind went blank and the first thing that popped in my head was, \u201cWhat is this?\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Eric: <\/strong>Oh no. How are we going to do this?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Editor\u2019s Note: Sounds like they\u2019re figuring it out! Can\u2019t wait for you all to see how it\u2019s come together!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Justin: <\/strong>I thought it was an interesting choice.  But trying to find an all-male group number that works for a cast as varied as ours is not as easy as it sounds.  <\/p>\n\n\n

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Jeff Hayes, Justin Cunningham, and Darren Midkiff<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Music Man \u2013 love it, hate it, or something in between?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Editor\u2019s Note: Sounds like lots of folks have some favorite tunes from this show; seems appropriately named.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gordon: <\/strong>I really like it. Although I played the mayor (non-singing role) in the show referenced above, it was fun playing a character who always had a lot to say even when he didn\u2019t know what he was talking about, which was most of the time!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Arthur: <\/strong>I always liked the musical Music Man. When I was in my school choir, I really enjoyed the song 76 Trombones.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Eric: <\/strong>It\u2019s a classic for a reason. I don\u2019t like too many classic shows, but everyone likes \u201cThe Music Man\u201d.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Justin<\/strong>: I like the show. Not my favorite ever. Though Marian the Librarian is a great song!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Aref: <\/strong>Love love love it!! Or as Arthur exclaims, \u201cHe\u2019s a what? He\u2019s a WHAT?!!<\/p>\n\n\n

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Putting words and choreography together<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

How do you mentally prepare for a song like this before you walk on stage?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Eric: <\/strong>Don\u2019t panic and forget everything!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Aref:<\/strong> There is only one way to mentally prepare for a song like this: Lots of faith in the other six guys! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gordon: <\/strong>The two things I try to remember are (1) timing is crucial, and (2) the words must be understandable, even though they are spoken very rapidly.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Justin: <\/strong>FOCUS. FOCUS. FOCUS.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Arthur: <\/strong>Practice, practice, practice, take a shot of oxygen and have FUN. <\/p>\n\n\n

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Practice makes perfect!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Anything else to add?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Aref:<\/strong> My grandfather was a traveling salesman for hardware with exclusive rights for a super popular product at the time. His territory was the entire states of Missouri, Kansas, Iowa, and Nebraska and he traveled exclusively by train, so the opening \u201cRiver City, next stop!\u201d would have totally resonated with him, though more like Kansas City, Dubuque, or Omaha.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Arthur: <\/strong>Since our show is about Times Square, it seems we could change the name of the train station from River City Junction to Pennsylvania Station, which is near the heart of Times Square \u2013 I know the territory. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Editor\u2019s Note: That\u2019s an inside joke \u2013 come see the show to understand it!!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n

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\"\"<\/a>
The Usual Suspects<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Bethesda Little Theatre presents an original musical revue featuring songs from all the Broadway shows you\u2019ve been wishing you could see in one night but couldn\u2019t\u2026 until now. Come From Away, Six, Dear Evan Hansen, Chicago, Tina: The Tina Turner Musical, Company, Hadestown, Hamilton, and more. We even have some side trips to some of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-809","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blt-online.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/809","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blt-online.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blt-online.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blt-online.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blt-online.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=809"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blt-online.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/809\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":810,"href":"https:\/\/blt-online.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/809\/revisions\/810"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blt-online.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=809"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blt-online.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=809"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blt-online.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=809"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}