The Scarecrow Cometh

Yesterday I arrived at home to find this hay-feverish visitor strung up on our front porch with 2 other buddies. It was a stark reminder that at precisely 9:03 pm tonight it becomes Fall. Happy Autumnal Equinox, everyone! It is the day where day and night are approximately the same length. As of tomorrow, however, those of us here in the Pacific Northwest get approx. 4 hours of daylight and 20 hrs of darkness each day until next March. There’s no gradual change. It just happens overnight. Daylight eludes us and we poor working class schmucks are forced to trudge to work in the morning in total darkness and eternal rain, and enjoy the same conditions coming home. It’s no wonder that theatre companies assign their seasons beginning in the Fall and go through Spring. No one has anything else to do in the evening except escape the harsh external conditions and ER reruns and enjoy themselves in a bit of live fictional storytelling. And on the subject of live theatre, the Sweeney review has been published. Why do we performers always say, “no, I don’t read the reviews. I don’t want one opinion to affect my performance. Please do not show that horrid opinionated article to me.” But we lie. Lie lie lie! We’re all vain and want to know, ‘you like me! You really like me!’ So I took a peek at the review on this day we do another performance, really just to predict whether we will have a packed house, or if the potential audience will run with their hard earned money straight down the block to the pub instead. And DANGIT if now I’m going to listen to the DADBLASTED reviewer and try to alter my make up tonight! Of all the nice things she wrote I have to fixate on the one comment about my pale make-up. Well, what am I gonna do? She thinks that Sweeney Todd was basking in the sun while in PRISON in Australia? I think not! His skin was pale! Read it in the script! Got a problem? Bring it up with His Majesty, Mr. Sondheim. But all is forgiven. I’ll just invite her to my barber chair for a free toothpulling. Sweeney out!