The final script for Frogway has been sent to the producers. What? You thought it was done 4 weeks ago? Come on Lecram… it was part of a Count for crying out loud! Yeah, it was… but that count was celebrating the opportunity to re-do something that was first done 27 years ago. I didn’t exactly stand around in a flight suit saying “Mission accomplished”, did I? And I’ll be the first one to tell you there are probably more tweaks to come… but they now have a new and vastly improved full working script… with the definitive lyrics and all.
SO WHAT HAS BEEN HAPPENING SINCE THEN?
Well, it started off as a nip and tuck 4 weeks ago. The more we got into it the more each of us individually realized that we almost had to treat this as a brand new project. Old songs were reworked and new ones developed. The plot was further developed and adjusted. A tighter integration between all the elements were worked on.
Back in Malaysia a power production team was assembled. Mike took several creative meetings with the team and a lot of great creative ideas were shared to further enhance the piece. Finally both of us got to go to our corners to choose what could be infused into the piece without compromising it’s original charm.
Auditions were held last week as both of us worked feverishly to complete our individual tasks… him with music arrangements, me with rewriting certain sections and “spriting” up the rest of the script. (BTW… I have also been told that the cast is pretty powerful as well. On Friday and Saturday we pulled 2 lengthy sessions via Skype going through the script and songs doing more fixes. I finished the final clean-up by 4 PM yesterday and sent it off via email.
NOW WHAT?
From what I gather rehearsals happen in July with previews at the end of that month and the show runs August 8-26. So, if you happen to be in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia around that time… go see it and let me know how it went.
THOUGHTS ON… … working with Mike after a 27 year break.
It was most enjoyable. We both bring different things to the table yet there is a sympatico between us… so it’s more like a banquet than bones of contention. Even differences in opinion are handled with mutual respect with either of us deferring to the better idea. Though we are both very easy going… we are also both pretty anal about striving for excellence. This re-collaboration of the M & M Song Factory half a world apart will hopefully lead to more collaborations down the line… since we now have the means and know it can work.
… the show itself.
I think the show is what it is. It was a charming piece 27 years ago and it’s still charming now… just a lot tighter, fuller and slicker. Our experience over the years has really paid off and I think the final product will celebrate that. The music is really good and the script is tons better than what was. I think we have managed to reinvigorate a freshness and zest into it… a quality that was it’s strength originally. I am curious though as to how this production will be pulled off. I am a little disappointed that I can’t make this opening night… but thrilled that it will be happening anyway. This is also the first time in a long while that I have been the playwright and only that on a project… I actually am enjoying that quite a bit. This was what I set out to be in the first place so many years ago… the wordsmith who cranks it out for others to produce.
What is strange is that I moved away from this genre of theatre a long while back… yet I found it oddly stimulating as I worked on it. So, in a lot of ways this wacky idea about a musical centered around a singing frog has come full circle. It belongs to the director, designers and cast now to make it their own. I’ll keep you updated on it’s progress as soon as I get them.
Anyway… so much for that for now.