Two days after A Little Night Music was cast, Director Harold Jurkiewicz called for a read-through rehearsal. The cast assembled in the Guild’s Clubroom and were greeted by John Sczomak, President of the Guild. John introduced the producers, Frann Stempek and Jeff Bartos, and the various governors who would be working with the cast during the course of the production.
Dues were collected from new members and librettos were distributed. As the Guild has to return the librettos to Music Theatre International at the conclusion of the show, cast members are required to give the guild a $35 libretto deposit in the event of loss of damage.
Harold introduced Jennifer Maiseloff, Scenic Designer for the show. Jennifer, who has trained in scenic design at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in England, showed the cast her set models. Jennifer had fashioned the Guild’s stage to scale and the Night Music model was complete with the drops that would be used in the show. Jennifer also had made models for all the set pieces and furniture the cast would use. Her models gave the cast a good idea of what the set would look like and what they would have to contend with on stage. See the photo of one of the drops above.
Then the cast read through the play with individuals reading the parts for which they had been cast. Harold played pieces from the show’s score from the original cast recording at appropriate places during the read-through. He even played some of the songs which had been cut from the show.
The rehearsals for A Little Night Music were underway and I think everybody felt it was going to be a challenge.
