<p>Nine opens this Thursday at the Arts Bank. I am so looking forward to seeing it as my D is in the ensemble, and I know MichaelNKat’s D is Saraghina, and sonlovesmt’s S is also in the show (sorry, don’t know what part). I won’t be going to Philly until the second weekend, but I hope all you people in or near Philly go and get your friends to go. From what my D tells me, the costumes alone are amazing (sort of Lady Gaga-like) and she’s going to text me a picture of herself in one of her costumes. I have seen the lead, who plays Guido, before and he is very talented!</p>
<p>I am excited to be going to Philly this Thursday to be there for opening. My D is a sophomore MT and is also in ensemble. Also attending Saturday ( best way to actually see her while I am in town! ) This is her first show other than a cabaret performance and she is so busy but so happy at UArts.</p>
<p>My daughter and those others in the cast I have spoken to tell me everyone is very excited about the show. They are in tech week now and did 2 full run throughs at rehearsal on Sunday. My daughter also tells me the costumes are great and sent me a photograph of herself in costume. The director is Patty Raine, the head of the MT program, and the show will be a tremendous learning experience for the entire cast. We will be attending all but one of the performances (a benefit of living 35 minutes away ). Break legs to bktheater’s and oregontheatermom’s daughters, sonlovesmt’s son and to the rest of the cast and crew.</p>
<p>Just saw that there are a load of pictures from the first full dress rehearsal posted on Facebook. If you are friends with your kid on Facebook and they have been tagged in a photo, it should appear on your home page. Bktheater, your daughter is in one of the pictures. The set is amazing!</p>
<p>My son who is a sophmore MT major and loving it is not in the cast of Nine. He was in The Adding Machine in September and it was excellent. We are looking forward to seeing Nine but have to wait until the weekend of the 19th to do so. I am sure it will be fantastic. Congratulations to all of those students cast.</p>
<p>So nice so see the parents as pumped up as the cast! My daughter (a sophomore) is thrilled to be part of this cast and I’m so excited to be flying up to see the show this opening weekend. Break legs to all! (going to fb to see pics… thanks for the tip!)</p>
<p>oregontheatermom, if you are coming in early on Thursday, the dress rehearsal that night is an open dress. The kids always enjoy having as full an audience as possible at the final dress; it makes it much more high energy and really adds to the building excitement for opening. Also, my daughter tells me that the 2 children playing “young Guido” alternate performances and that it is very much worthwhile seeing them both. She strongly recommended that we come to the open dress on Thursday to see young Guido #1 since he will be next on at the Saturday matinee which we normally do not attend.</p>
<p>MichaelNKat - Unfortunately not in until 10:30 - or I would love to be there! I am attending Friday and Saturday but not sure which one on Sat. </p>
<p>kb1127 - we met in NYC last year - will look for you at show. Excited to see all our kids.</p>
<p>Michael thanks for the info. Unfortunately she didn’t tag herself, so I can’t see the pics. I sent her an email asking her to do so, so hopefully she’ll have time to do it before we come next weekend. Can’t wait.</p>
<p>Saw the final dress tonight. The show was a delight. Not going to give anything away for all of you who are coming in but I will tell you that it is a real ensemble driven show. Those in the ensemble have almost constant stage time with a load of singing and speaking parts. You will really enjoy the opportunity to see your kids perform.</p>
<p>bktheater, I will try to email you the Facebook links.</p>
<p>sonlovesmt, I saw your son tonight. Wow has he grown up since I last saw him 4 or 5 years ago. I wouldn’t have recognized him but for the Abington sweatpants he was wearing!</p>
<p>Saw the closing performance of Nine last night. What a great run of the show. The cast, set costumes and music were great and made for a memorable experience. bktheater, your daughter shined in the ensemble and was delightful as one of the 3 Germans in “Germans at the Spa”. (Unfortunately, I don’t know by sight and associated parental screen name the daughters of others who posted their kids were in the ensemble, but I can tell you that all in the ensemble were great.)</p>
<p>The show was a great demonstration of the caliber of training and production values that exists at UArts. The set, designed and built by students, was an architectural masterpiece. It remained constant throughout all the scenes but yet always seemed to fit what was occurring on stage. It was an extraordinarily creative use of the space that visually grabbed you and was full of nuanced details of function that worked regardless of whether the scene occurred at the hotel, the spa or on the beach. It became whatever the scene required. I frankly thought it was visually and functionally brilliant. The lighting and tech aspects of the production could not have been better, always matching the action and mood on stage and drawing the audience into the scene. The costumes were again student produced, were perfectly matched to each character and made a strong statement in each character’s portrayal. The orchestra, students from UArts school of music, were as good a pit orchestra as any professional production. Led by Owen Robbins, who serves as music director for professional productions throughout the Philadelphia area, it impressed my brother-in-law, whose professional endeavors involve all of the professional musicians who work the theatrical and classical performing venues in Philadelphia. And then, of course, the cast. Patty Raine’s casting was perfect, particularly where it came to the principal roles. The match between the actor and the role could not have been better nor the roles better played. Most of the principals were seniors and watching their performance left no doubt that they are ready to go out into the world of professional auditions and shows. The ensemble players were the backbone of the show and were polished and in sync with each other and each scene in which they appeared. Various ensemble players were featured prominently at various times and were simply excellent. I found myself looking as much forward to certain ensemble scenes as to the principal performers. One of my daughter’s friends, who is a senior MT at another prominent BFA program in Pennsylvania talked about all the time on this Board, came to the show and was floored by it’s quality. We had another guest whose daughter is a well known successful professional recording artist who extolled the professionalism and quality of the show. </p>
<p>And now things go back to “normal” for the cast. Take a deep breath, get a night’s sleep and then dive back into classes and preparing for next semester’s auditions and then juries in 2 weeks. For the seniors, things are even more nuts. They get today “off” and have auditions for the senior NYC showcase on Monday. The week after Thanksgiving, they have their senior cabaret that runs for 4 days of performances. In their spare time, many seniors are auditioning for professional productions as part of their graduation plan. Some of the seniors are in rehearsals for area professional shows in which they have been cast as understudies. It is a non-stop 3 ring circus for these kids!</p>
<p>I had the pleasure of seeing Nine this weekend and was very impressed with the quality of the performance. The ensemble was excellent - they sounded amazing together and had opportunities for each to stand out. The leads were excellent.<br>
Michael N Katz - what a joy to see your daughter. She was amazing. My S raved about her performance and commended her acting in such a “down and dirty role.” He thought she truly stood out. He was right. I told him you saw him in his Abngton sweats - he has changed a lot in the last 4 years -a good 6 inches. Congratulations to all the cast.</p>
<p>Since getting home from Philly I have been too busy to write - but can’t go without saying how beautifully done Nine was! MichaelNKat - yes - the scenery was amazing. and the cast marvellous. I will never forget Carla’s “hot” number, or Seraghina’s fantastic portrayal (your daughter I believe?) with so much warmth to go with the "down and dirty " aspect. She was beautiful. Guido was a complex fellow and what a voice. All lead roles were so well done. I went to a professional performance this weekend in Portland and could not help but notice that the UARts kids were more professional - and the cast today in Portland was certainly quite good. What a wonderful weekend in Philly. Plus great dinner at Mixto following Sat. show. It was great fun to meet up with another ensemble member’s mom and dad (KB1127 hello!)and talk about how terrifically our kids are doing, and how happy they are (though fairly exhausted!) at UArts. BTW my daughter was the ensemble member who is rather petite and wore the shortest skirt I have ever seen her in - she had to rise from the floor as if being levitated! She had one line about Guido’s movie. Ensemble members had much to do and were all very “together”. She had long very straight dark brown hair (colored for the show to “be Italian”) with a poufy bit on top and wore very patterned tights and little boots. Also I liked the ambiguous ending. I heard that Mario Fratti was in the front row in Thursday. How exciting for the cast. OK - I’ll stop now - as you can tell I was very impressed. Congrats to all involved.</p>
<p>I just got in from Philly and after sleeping on the plane most of the way home, I’m taking this time to write about what a wonderful job the cast of Nine did. Michael, I’m sorry we didn’t get to meet, but I have to say that your daughter was fantastic. She was really into the character and so believable. She had excellent chemistry with Rory and with Josh, the little boy. I especially loved the end where Josh runs into your D’s arms and she hugs him with such warmth. Brilliant. My S, who lives in Philly now, came Sat. night, and he thought she had the best performance because she was completely committed to the role. I think your D has a bright future ahead Michael. I wish her all the best. </p>
<p>I thought the casting was superb as well, and thought the vocals, especially of the entire cast together, were amazing. I’m still singing the songs. I loved Rory’s interpretation of “Guido”, and loved seeing my D have such a good time…also loved the Germans, LOL. We were surprised it was so funny. We also loved Carrie’s Mdm. LaFleur and our favorite songs were: Follie Bergeres and Be Italien; My husband really liked “You’re on your own”. I thought it was all fabulous. (Superlatives are the only suitable words I can use.)</p>
<p>I also thought the scenery was perfect and the lighting and sound were spot on. </p>
<p>My husband and I also thought they were very professional, and we were so glad to see it twice!!! We were thrilled we were able to come.</p>
<p>Thank you all for the kind comments about my daughter. My daughter really enjoyed the role of Sarraghina and was very gratified to have that part. </p>
<p>Mario Fratti was at one of the evening performances as noted by oregontheatermom - I think it was last Thursday’s. He had also attended a Master’s Class with the cast at the beginning of rehearsals where the cast had the opportunity to hear from him first hand about the development of the show and have a lot of Q&A. After the performance he attended, he stuck around and greeted the cast, spending a lot of time chatting and having his picture taken. In talking with him and watching him interact with the cast members after the show, it was clear he was very pleased with the production.</p>
<p>bktheater, I’m sorry we missed each other too. On Friday and Saturday nights, I tried to watch your daughter when she came out after the show to see if I could catch her greeting any parents but with all the commotion of the crowd, my daughter coming out and the guests I was attending to, I must have missed you.</p>
<p>How funny Michael, I was doing the same thing, but did not see your D on Sat. night as we went outside right away; Friday night I saw her hug someone who could have been you, but she seemed surprised, so I didn’t think it could be you LOL.</p>
). Break legs to bktheater’s and oregontheatermom’s daughters, sonlovesmt’s son and to the rest of the cast and crew.</p>