Brigadoon update: Orchestras are cool. Particularly good ones, that play in tune, and can follow tempo. Especially ones that can even follow along when I insert random pauses in the lines I'm singing, which happens a lot when I "emote."

Don't worry, it shouldn't be too over the top; my range of emotions when I sing starts at about "mildly sad" to "not unhappy," with a good dose of facial expressions that denote "insanity" more than anything else. Hence my use of dramatic pauses that drive the orchestra and production staff insane.

We had our first orchestra rehearsals on Saturday, beginning with a run-through of the music at the Opera Delaware practice building in Wilmington. It went extremely well, despite me still being a little raw from spending WAY too much time at Hugo's the previous evening. After that, My Illustrious Costar^TM (aka Jennifer), Cindy and I headed over to Iron Hill Brewery, where I bought them lunch in exchange for them buttering me up like I was a piece of cornbread for 2 straight hours. (The lesson: the way to a man's heart is through his massive ego.) (Or perhaps by giving him cornbread.)

Then Jennifer followed me up 52 to get to Longwood for dress rehearsal. During the drive, she called me twice on my cell phone: once, as she put it, because she "figured she should bug me," and then again as we reached Greenville, to alert me to the fact that "Sweet Caroline" was playing on 104.5 FM. (Although I have to be honest with you, it was one of the highlights of my day. I'll have to arrange to sing it at Karaoke on Thursday.) It's heartening to note that Jenny's almost as strange as I and the rest of my friends.

The semi-dress rehearsal went very well, and then we all headed over to Mike's to get our drink on and our snack on (all except Jennifer, who to the disappointment of many, pleaded fatigue and went home to get her sleep on). We finally left there around 3:30 after I started falling asleep in a lawn chair (life of the party! That's me!) got home at 4 am, and slept until noon. Muchas thanks to Mikey for hosting all of us, and also muchas thanks to my internal demon for not awaking and causing me to run naked through the streets of suburban New Castle.

Tonight: final dress rehearsal! Tomorrow: preview night! And no, I'm not nervous. The only thing I'm nervous about is rain. And it will not rain.

I decree it.