I hate mornings. Always have. Getting out of bed before 9AM goes against everything I believe in.
So of course I found myself at The Greene Space at WNYC this morning, setting up a drum kit in a radio studio before most people had finished their coffee.
Cast members from Cats: The Jellicle Ball performed five songs live for All Of It with Alison Stewart. And here’s what a room like that teaches you fast: Broadway volume will destroy it. No baffling. No house to fill. Just microphones pointed at everything and an audience close enough to hear you breathe. You’re not playing the show anymore — you’re playing a version of the show that has to feel just as big while staying half as loud. Intensity without volume. That’s a harder needle to thread than it sounds.
We found the line. I think.
It was really a lot of fun — early call and all. A room that small doesn’t let you hide. The music either comes alive or it doesn’t — and everybody in there knows which one it is. The audience seemed to like it.
Mission accomplished.