Incredibly, we all agreed that last night's performance was even better than opening night's. It ran more smoothly and fewer lines were dropped. Only snafu was when Mary Ellen, as M'Lynn, missed her entrance in the middle of the first act by three or four minutes--a lifetime in this situation. It could have been a disaster, but Heather and Ellen, as Annelle and Ouiser, reacted like troupers: They improvised and ad libbed until Mary Ellen came on and we picked up the written play.
I really think the audience was even more appreciative and receptive than on Friday. They roared at a lot of the lines, many of them mine, as Clairee's role is wonderfully funny. The climactic "HIT THIS!" scene, in which I offer Ouiser as a punching bag, was especially effective. We got an ovation at the end--what a pleasure!
Afterward, we mingled with the crowd and experienced the same wonderful reaction as before. I was thrilled to see my darling niece, Joan, husband Jim, and other dear family members. They gave me a gorgeous bouquet of yellow roses and we happily took pictures and videos. I was proud to introduce them to other cast members, and I met their friends and relatives. More of my Sunrise Bay "family" were there and I accepted their congratulations with pleasure.
There was a somber note, though: As we were about to assemble for cast pictures, we were told that Mary Ellen's house in Barnegat Light had had a fire. She rushed home with visiting friends and, at this point, I have no idea of the extent of the fire or even if Mary Ellen is going to be able to go on for our final performance this afternoon. That put a damper on our cast party; it was fun, but not as much fun as it would have been, knowing our colleague and friend was visited with such trouble. I hope to find out more today.