Easter Eggs

Today is the calm before the storm. I generally spend the day before opening either happily writing opening night cards, or wallowing in a sea of blind panic. Mainly opening night cards today. Speaking of cards, at right are the cards that Pooh Bah hands out to the audience when he describes all his various entrepreneurial activities. He dines with middle class people, dances at cheap suburban parties, accepts refreshment at any hands and retails state secrets. His address has a few Easter eggs--the postal code is Gilbert's initials and the year the piece was written. The phone number has several references, most notably "42" which as any fan of Douglas Adams can tell you is the ultimate answer to life, the universe and everything. The occupations listed are all included for their humorous value except the last. OBE (Order of the British Empire) is my nod to Colin Grahm, the late and much missed Artistic Director of OTSL, who shared that title. Hopefully he would find it a fitting tribute.

There are several other Easter eggs hidden throughout the show. For instance, one of the stickers on the back of Nanki-Poo's guitar case is the symbol the singer Prince used for many years. As Nanki-Poo is a prince himself, it seemed fitting. Most apparent, perhaps, are the references to the three other operas in the OTSL season (La Traviata, I Puritani and Anna Karenina). There are others as well, for the quick of eye and ear.

I am not posting any pictures of the show today, because most of my new photos are pictures of the show, and I want to maintain some surprises for those of you who will be there tomorrow. Looking forward to seeing you there!