The Last Real Record Store

Rob Gordon here. These are my records, currently organized, not alphabetically, not chronologically, but...wait for it... autobiographically. Yup, the order in which they were purchased...

Rob Gordon, High Fidelity

Jeff Wright here. This is my online record of the experience of New Line Theatre's production of High Fidelity. I have no idea how it will be organized yet, although it would make a lot more sense to do it chronologically and autobiographically, instead of alphabetically...

A bit of history: High Fidelity is a musical production based on the movie (starring John Cusack and Jack Black, among many others) and the novel (by Nick Hornby) of the same name. There was a short-lived production on Broadway in 2006. Believe it or not, I was one of the few to actually see that. More on that later. This is the first production of the show outside of that Broadway run, which is actually very exciting for all involved. The show runs June 12 through July 5 at the A.E. Hotchner Studio Theatre at Washington University in St. Louis.

I'm playing Rob, which is an amazing opportunity, and more exciting than I can possibly say. We had our first rehearsal last night. The cast is absolutely awesome. Several of them are good friends of mine from previous shows at New Line or with other companies around town. Many new faces as well, which is always very cool.

I had a unique perspective last night, as basically that of a bystander or audience member. We rehearsed the song "The Last Real Record Store," for which Rob sings a lot of solo and lead with the whole ensemble. So why wasn't I singing? Well, I got laryngitis the day before. Seriously. The timing was awful, but far better to occur early in the rehearsal process of a show. Anyway, it allowed me to listen to the rest of the cast make some really amazing harmonies with each other. What quick studies, and what a great sound! Scott Miller sang Rob's parts while I recorded them, and he also did an awesome job (thanks, Scott!).

My daytime work is in the healthcare arena, where I cross paths with physicians all the time. I spoke with a very trusted otolaryngologist (ear, nose, and throat physician) today about my inability to speak or sing. He gave me some great advice, as well a prescription for some great meds, so hopefully I'll be back on my game at my next rehearsal on Thursday.

I've never blogged before, so this is all news to me, but I'm excited to give it a shot. I have no idea if anyone actually reads these posts, so feel free to post comments if you like. My goal is to try to add a post about once a week, from the first rehearsals all the way through the closing production week. We'll see how it goes. Since I can't talk today, I probably got more long-winded on the keyboard than I will in others.

So now it begins. Best wishes to all who read this.

Rock on,

Jeff