City of Angels

RCNELSON

I know the instrumentation of the reed books per Bret Pimental's website:

1: Piccolo, flute, clarinet, alto saxophone
2: Piccolo, flute, clarinet, alto saxophone
3: Clarinet, tenor saxophone
4: Clarinet, bass clarinet, baritone saxophone

I also understand that reed 2 is primarily clarinet. But does any one know the details of the other books? How much piccolo in reed 1 (and I'm assuming reed 1 is the 1st flute chair)? Is the reed 3 book worthwhile to play or would 1 or 2 be more exciting/challenging?
 
Well, I guess this show is not too popular here in this forum based on the lack of replys. I got the gig. It's 3 weekends (Friday-Saturday nights, Sunday matinees) in March. Because of budget constraints we are going with a VERY SMALL group. I have the honor of being the only reed player. I'll get all 4 books but I'm guessing based on what I have heard on the CD, it's going to be mainly Reed 1 (I'm guessing that is where the alto solos/leads and the 1st flute is) with a possible mix of 2 and 3 ( may want a bit of tenor when it's a full brass/reed sound) Stay tuned. Will probably get the books in January.
 
We've found that some schools (high schools and colleges) do this because they don't know that there are people out there willing to play in a pit for some pretty reasonable money.

These days I play for three Lutheran high school productions each year, netting about $1200 for three weekends of work (plus some rehearsals, of course). One school started using me and some of my sidemen, then the second found out, and finally a third has just caught on.

And, there are a number of shows that I'll play for free. It's A Bird, It's A Plane, It's Superman! is one, and the Threepenny Opera is another. Both are solid shows, with jazzy charts for the first and period 1920's tunes for the second, and both are a hoot to play.

But, dangle Once Upon A Mattress in front of me and I just might highball you on the price, just to make sure. Fifteen shows of that dog are enough for one lifetime, at least in my opinion.
 
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The books have arrived. And as I stated before, it looks like primarily reed 1 with pieces of 2 and 3 mixed in as needed. As musicals go, it doesn't look bad from a technical point of view, only a tricky flute passage or 2. The only hard part is that being the only reed, I can't hide.

Our MD said that rather than being back stage (it's a small community theater w/o a pit), we are going to be incorporated with the "city backdrop". Should be fun.
 
RCNELSON said:
The books have arrived. And as I stated before, it looks like primarily reed 1 with pieces of 2 and 3 mixed in as needed. As musicals go, it doesn't look bad from a technical point of view, only a tricky flute passage or 2. The only hard part is that being the only reed, I can't hide.

Our MD said that rather than being back stage (it's a small community theater w/o a pit), we are going to be incorporated with the "city backdrop". Should be fun.
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Watch out for the lights. The last time I was part of the stage dressing, half of my face was tanned/burned by the lighting, and my favorite clarinet cracked big time. Other than that it was fine.
 
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