"West Side Story" Opening Weekend

Seemed like a good opening night. People had a few bumps and bruises. Scene changes mostly went OK. I believe Arthur said there were 134 in the audience, 6 shy of the number in the audience for "Wizard of Oz", making "West Side Story's" opening night the second-most-popular so far in the New Theater.

One strange thing was Katherine Vanderford rear-ending someone just short of the Yolo Causeway on Friday night (in the stop-and-go traffic, the woman ahead of her stopped just too quickly). It's always been my fear that I'd have an accident just prior to a show and couldn't make the show in time. Fortunately, Katherine's accident wasn't so bad, and she didn't miss anything.

I'm surprised by the different number of teenagers asking me about Lieutenant Schrank's reference to the "DTs": delirium tremens. According to Wikipedia:

Delirium tremens (colloquially, the DTs, "the horrors", "the shakes" or "rum fits") is an acute episode of delirium that is usually caused by withdrawal or abstinence from alcohol following habitual excessive drinking. Delirium tremens can also appear after a rapid reduction in the amount of alcohol being consumed by heavy drinkers, or as a complication of withdrawal from benzodiazepine or barbiturates. It only occurs in individuals with a history of constant, long-term alcohol consumption. Delirium tremens typically manifests about 18 to 24 hours after discontinuation of alcohol consumption, but can appear on the second or third day of abstinence.

Five percent of acute ethanol withdrawal cases progress to delirium tremens. Unlike the withdrawal syndrome associated with opiate or stimulant addiction, delirium tremens (and alcohol withdrawal in general) can be fatal. Mortality can be up to 35% if untreated, though if treated early, death rates may be as low as 5%.

The fact that most teenagers today DON'T KNOW what the DTs is a statement about what a happy society we really live in, and how few people are familiar with end-stage alcoholism. A similar group of teenagers, 50 or 80 years ago, would have known all too well, through bitter personal experience with parents and other relatives, just what an evil it is. I knew about the DTs as a teenager (early 70's), but only because it had a special horror for my father, and he talked about it - A LOT!

Oh, happy age!

Then again, those teenagers of olde never heard of AIDS either, so maybe there is a conservation principle at work - Conservation of Pain in the World: exterminate smallpox, and you get hantavirus instead.

On Saturday, the Cokes spilled after the Scene I Doc's Shop scene. The two Shop carts bumped into each other, and the Cokes spilled. The ensuing Rumble scene was more tense than normal as a result, because there was no time to inform the Jets and the Sharks of the danger. Only Andy stepped in it, though - he said he never knew there was anything wet on-stage at all.

On Sunday, Dannette got skinned knees after getting hit from behind and falling, while removing clothes dummies from the bridal shop scene. It's so easy to get hurt during scene changes!

Speaking as Officer Krupke, my nightly tumble backwards went OK, for the most part, but I bruised my upper hip on Saturday night. I generally practice beforehand, tumbling backwards several times in the dressing room, but on stage, Andy (who is on all-fours right behind me as Ryan pushes me from the front) gets in the way, so the tumble over him is generally clunky and awkward. Buffee said she thought it looked painful. Sometimes, yes!