Closing night.

It was amazing to be back in Weston, even just for 19 hours.  And it was beyond amazing to get to see this production of the show one last time.

Just as we suspected, it had all settled beautifully.  No one was running on adrenaline anymore - not the cast, not the band, not the crew behind the bathroom mechanism - so the energy relaxed where it needed to and things were happening organically on stage.  Everyone was in really great voice and some songs sounded better than ever.  All in all, it was a great way to leave Weston!

And beyond what was happening onstage, the audience had settled in beautifully, as well.  The audience was responsive, vocal, and fully engaged.  It's amazing that in one short week we were able to build an audience for our show.  All along, the Weston community was engaged and open but after a few performances it also became a known quantity.  By the final performances, much of the audience came in ready for the show and were able to lead the rest of the audience through the sometimes rough emotional terrain.  The laughs were harder and easier.  The gasps were more audible.  The tension was more palpable.  Friday night's performance even included our first full standing ovation!

Our final talkback was with Branden Huldeen, the New Works Director at the National Alliance for Musical Theatre.  Steve and the whole cast joined us onstage for one last discussion about the future of musical theatre and were Pregnancy Pact might fit into that.

There were so many hugs and so many thanks that night.  It was a perfect way to bring a pretty perfect experience to a close.