Well, dear readers, I must write these here notes in a hurry because I was busy making a show order and writing the commentary for next week’s Kritzerland show. I got everything done but three song commentaries, so that’s a big load off. And now – some notes. Quick notes. Brief notes. Notes noted fast. Speedy notes. So, I did manage to watch two motion pictures yesterday. The first motion picture was entitled The Boy Friend, starring Twiggy. I watch it every few years. I saw it on opening day, the 8:30 showing at the Picwood Theater in Westwood, with my new friend Gary Burkhart, who worked for Mann Theaters and who walked us in because he knew everyone at every major theater in town. I had no idea what to expect. I didn’t know all that much about Twiggy, just that she was skinny and had been a famous model but whose first movie it was. I’d seen the show on the stage and wondered how they were going to take such a piece of fluff and make it into a big ol’ movie musical. That first day ad read, “Fall in love with Twiggy in Ken Russell’s The Boy Friend. That very day, critic Charles Champlin had given the film a really good review in the L.A. Times, and it received very strong reviews from other publications, too. I read the review in the Times that morning, so was really looking forward to the movie because Champlin explained HOW Russell had adapted it and that sounded like a great idea. He did hint that MGM’s idiot leader at that time, James Aubrey, had trimmed the film, much to Ken Russell’s chagrin. Of course, we’d find out more about that later. Mr. Aubrey was notoriously notorious for doing that to movies – he did it to Blake Edwards’ The Wild Rovers and The Carey Treatment, took twenty minutes out of Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid, and more – turns out what we saw that night had been shorn of twenty-eight minutes and we wouldn’t see those twenty-eight minutes until the DVD release that restored them. What we did see that night was 109 minutes of pure pleasure, amazing musical numbers, terrific choreography by a whole slew of people, an endearing and lovable performance by film newbie Twiggy, fun support from the supporting cast, and a great cameo by Glenda Jackson, that garnered huge laughs and an applause on her entrance. We loved the movie and over the course of its run at the Picwood, I think I saw it about eight times. It did reasonably well at the box office and the following week that simple opening day ad was suddenly loaded with love letter quotes from critics everywhere.

For me, it’s Russell’s finest hour. His filming of the numbers is fantastic, and all the backstage shenanigans are really funny and fun. The musical arrangements and orchestrations by Peter Maxwell Davies are nothing short of sheer genius. The sets by Tony Walton, who’d end up being a lovely friend of mine, were also sheer genius. When I first talked to him on the phone, I told him I thought his sets were the most joyous sets ever put on film, and I still think so. The costumes are equally brilliant, by Shirley Russell. The Blu-ray is lovely and complete, and one only wishes it had some decent extras – Twiggy certainly would have done an interview and so would Tony, so why not? Anyway, I loved it all over again.

The second motion picture is from 2025 – a film called Nuremberg. Well, we knew that wasn’t going to be a fun walk in the park, didn’t we? Now, I’m a fan of Judgment at Nuremberg, the Stanley Kramer film, but this is a whole different kind of film, even though it covers some of the same ground. It stars Russell Crowe, Rami Malek, Michael Shannon, Colin Hanks, John Slattery. Crowe is good except for mumbling the entire film so that it is, at times, virtually impossible to understand what he’s saying. I’m sure the director, even if he’d wanted to fix the problem, didn’t because actors today do what they want if they are stars. The sound man should have said something, but I’m sure didn’t. Everyone else speaks up and you can understand everything. It’s an interesting movie that goes on a bit too long, but not as long as Judgment at Nuremberg. There is a coda scene that basically warns that it can happen here, and I’m sure that’s there because complacency and allowing it to happen is kind of where we are these days.

Earlier, I got about four and a half hours of sleep, got up, answered e-mails, then got ready. Before being on my way to the theater, I stopped at my local gas station and filled up the motor car, then moseyed on over to the theater for our ten o’clock rehearsal. Cheryl Baxter was right on time, we showed her the top of the number she was going to finish, and she needed to rethink a few things she’d planned once she saw the set model. I stayed with her, while our leads went in the other room and drilled their lines. Cheryl didn’t quite finish the number but it’s close. We then showed her all my stuff, which she liked, and she cleaned up what needed cleaning, which was very helpful – I can stage and I can show what I want, but I’m not a dancer nor a teacher – she is, and so she knows what lingo to use and how to talk about the body. Very helpful to all.

After that, I came right home and ordered my pasta dish from Stanley’s and that arrived twenty minutes later and was excellent, although perhaps a bit too rich for the tummy these days. After that, I did a few things, organizing-wise, then watched The Boy Friend. After it, I dozed off for a bit, then watched Nuremberg. After that, I made a show order and got most of the commentary done and here we are.

Today, I’ll be up by eleven or thereabouts, then we have two people rehearsing and we should be done with that by one. Then I’ll eat, finish the commentary (three songs to go), and then I just need to rest my weary bones and watch, listen, and relax.

Tomorrow, I will be another age, I’ll attend a birthday lunch with friend Marshall Harvey, and then I’ll just relax and enjoy the day and evening. Tuesday is our stumble-through and I go directly from that to our play rehearsal. Wednesday, I relax until sound check, then we do our show, hopefully sell a few books and some CDs, too. I still have to figure out how to get the credit card app for PayPal onto my phone.

Let’s all put on our pointy party hats and our colored tights and pantaloons, let’s all break out the cheese slices and the ham chunks, let’s all dance the Hora or the Swim, because today is the birthday of our very own beloved dear reader, Jane. So, let’s give a big haineshisway.com birthday cheer to our very own beloved dear reader Jane. On the count of three: One, two, three – A BIG HAINESHISWAY.COM BIRTHDAY CHEER TO OUR VERY OWN BELOVED DEAR READER JANE!!!

Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, be up by eleven or thereabouts, have a brief rehearsal, eat, finish the commentary, rest, and watch, listen, and relax. Today’s topic of discussion: It’s free-for-all day, the day in which you dear readers get to make with the topics and we all get to post about them. So, let’s have loads of lovely topics and loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland, always happy to have seen The Boy Friend again.