Ursina has more to say about Brighton Beach!!

Backstage at MLT is abuzz today with anticipation for the opening of Brighton Beach Memoirs!  Here’s another backstage look with Ursina!

Hello, MLT readers. We have the night before opening night off, which is both a blessing and a little scary.   We certainly need the rest after long rehearsals this tech week, but we must face the fact that the rehearsal process is over: tomorrow’s the real thing!  We are all excited to have an audience and put our hard work to the test.  Will they laugh at the things we think are hysterical, or will the jokes fall flat?  Every audience has their own personality, so it’s likely that we will experience a variety of reactions over the course of the run. 
 
We successfully implemented real food into our dinner scene last night, which was great. It continues to be a challenge to figure out how and when to plate the food so that it is…

a) warm enough to be palatable.
b) ready to go by the time the scene starts!

I am sure we will continue to fine tune the process as the show runs. I won’t tell you what we’re substituting for the liver!  The cabbage part of our “liver and cabbage” dinner is real, but none of us could actually stomach the thought of eating liver… I think we found a good alternative that is both believable and digestible.  You can guess….

One must mention the tireless efforts of those who work behind the scenes to make these things happen.  For example, Lee Creighton has assembled a huge amount of props, from mundane items like books and pillows to period things like vintage family photos and authentic Life magazines from 1937.   You might want to ask her for her nephew Andy’s secret recipe for fake mash potatoes—I have a scene in which I have to mash the aforementioned tuber, and and they whipped me up a realistic looking batch that will last the entire run of the show without spoiling. Just don’t try to eat them…
 
All this while nursing a broken elbow… thanks, Lee!

-Ursina

 

Don’t forget that Brighton Beach Memoirs opens tomorrow night and will be running at the Firehouse from January 27th-February 5th.  Head over to www.mltlive.org for tickets and more information!!