Observing Road Show at The Public Theater

Shira here.

I had my first day at the public yesterday - it was so fascinating. For the next 2 months I'll be observing on "Road Show" the new musical by Stephen Sondheim & John Weidman. The show has had many previous incarnations - they've been working on it for ten years - but John Doyle, the director, was very clear that he thought of this as doing a new musical, and we should think of it that way, too. It was a great way to start the day, and a really positive tone to set in the room.

He doesn't do read-throughs. We spent the first day, after the meet & greet, jumping right in and learning songs. The cast is remarkable and the story has a lot of heart.

Oskar Eustis gave a great speech at the beginning of the meet & greet, and between him and John, I learned a lot about how to present yourself on the first day. It's a leadership lesson, and one I'm always looking for tips on everywhere I go. The first day makes me crazy with fear. Both Oskar and John demonstrated excitement, and a little trepidation that they admitted to, but great joy. They were articulate about what they wanted to say, and didn't try to say everything in one 2 minute speech. It made for a happy day. I'm really happy to embarking on this adventure at such a wonderful theater.