(no subject)

:
I write these words on the first morning after opening night of our Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg.  

Before you ask: Yes, that was me in the uncredited role as the Nightwatchman.  The uniform was even more itchy than it looked, and despite my protests that the luster of my scales was wholly under my control, I was still under a centimeter of makeup.  The performance allowed me to sing loudly, and noise and thunder is what this dragon of heaven needed.

From my perspective, the cast performed excellently -- there were no signs of the feckless bohemianism that I had been forced to endure for the last season.  All were professional.  Perhaps my fretful habit of chewing the sleeves off my helitrope smock had inspired them, but I have doubts.

Afterwards, the celebration party was a jubilant affair.  As producer, I had arranged for a varied spread, including a keg of benzene discretely tucked away lest some carbonite mistakenly poison themselves.  In fact, it was my nerves that led me to become undecorously intoxicated -- if you were there and I don't recall, I apologize.  I sought chemical oblivion, to drown myself in an insipid smile.  There were many folk I had recognized: N_M_ was in attendance with the ghost of Leni Riefenstahl; of course, she was insufferably amused with herself.  Reverend M_ was also there, surrounded by his hangers on.  H___ spoke few words but I believe he meant them.  No sign of E___, naturally -- probably for the best, the resulting scene would have been fodder for the society pages.

Speaking of the press: the early morning critical reviews are predictably mixed.  Most critics agree with me that the Feast of St. John was much too busy, clumsily blocked.  And as usual, I find myself disagreeing with the consenus over my favorite point -- I thought Sachs' performance of "Wahn! Wahn! Überall Wahn!" was particularly inspiring.  In my heart of hearts, I suppose I enjoy any hero who delights in chaos.

Well, since we did not close on opening night, there is much work to be done.  You might not believe the mess that society leaves behind in a theater, and you simply cannot rely on the custodial staff to sweep it all up unless they are driven to do so.