Remember when I wrote, several entires back, that I was excited because I had begun to write something I was making real progress with?

Well, guess what happened.

Everything is working again. Sitting here anticipating my very early, very nifty birthday gift of a digital video camera. It probably won't arrive for days, but I find myself laughing with fiendish glee in anticipation of the receipt of this long-awaited tool of my evil plans for world domination.

My birthday isn't for nearly two months, but this present was given early due to my recent spate of less-than-happiness. I mean, it's not as though there's anything I really want, even.

Even though "Bah" has been and probably always will be my favorite word, I'm generally a happy guy.

Learning "Titanic" now. Great show, great music. Used to hate it - didn't know enough about it. I have some great music and a great death. I'll be very interested to find out how they're going to stage the death. Actors love stage deaths. If you're an actor and you don't enjoy a good death, then you obviously haven't seen "The Impostors"... Actually, you aren't really an actor and you're likely some kind of spy or mole or rogue part of the Matrix trying to destroy our simple way of life. Be gone!

In case you haven't noticed, there are apparently major problems with the blog host. If you see the comments links and more than this and/or the previous post, it's fixed. Thanks for letting me know about the problem, and anyone else who notices anything else screwy -i.e. the marquee not showing up - let me know. You'll get a no-prize.

Wil Wheaton is a damned cool guy, in case you don't already know that. Read his site, and I highly recommend his book, available from links on his site. His blog post today was especially smile-inducing.

So the troubles referred to in earlier posts are touch-and-go, but hope is a hard bitch to kill and though assassination attempts have been made she remains ever vigilant.

Tonight I went out with some people in the cast and a friend who's in town with his show for the weekend, and I lasted all of five minutes. I might be getting old, but really loud, crowded yuppie bars are not my scene. To each their own.

Lately, my own thoughts are loud enough inside my head - crowds and shouting don't really help.

So much goes so well, so the great cosmic scorekeepers who watch over us reach out to try to put things in balance.

Damned cosmic scoprekeepers. I'd like to kick them in their cosmic asses.

Current Donmood: Extra unhappy with a side of bah.

On the plus side, we've been getting reviews which almost universally agree we're superior to the current b'way revival. That's not really saying much though.

Also, one review described what I do in the show with what is now my favorite word used in one of my reviews ever:

Malevolent.

Major unhappy upheaval in Don's world. No film at 11, the station has been overrun.

Opening weekend: Done. First day off: Almost entirely behind me.

Going into a long week of performances and promo stuff. Bah.

Went outlet shopping, bought too much stuff, am now pretty well broke.

My back is touch and go, right now it's okay.

Saw "A Mighty Wind", must see it again soon. I liked Best In Show, though only about 70% as much as I loved Waiting For Guffman - but A Mighty Wind is right up there.

Of course, This Is Spinal Tap is the gold standard.

A little down right now. Send me the funny.

Son of a bitch.

We opened our show - which has grown so much, I honestly think it's solid all around - not a significant "weak spot" I could point to. All went well.

Then I threw my back out. It was during the combat scene in Act II, on Thursday afternoon. It didn't happen DURING the combat, but as I jumped onto a platform to get to the combat. It wasn't an impact thing, just a wrenching as I jumped. Pretty much just pulled muscles, I think, but it's made me ache pretty much constantly since then.

Still, the show goes on and I'll be fine. Hrmph. It'll be fine, after the day off I imagine.

About time to start learning TITANIC.

"Man of La Mancha" opens Friday, previews are tomorrow night and Thursday twice.

Still waiting for my script and music to start learning "Titanic."

The big news - for the first time in a good long while, I've STARTED A NEW PLAY!

I write a lot, of course, but I haven't ever done anything better than a false start or an abortive run at a bad idea for the past ... well, awfully long time.

What's it about? I have no idea. It's going somewhere though, like nothing else I've written. It's taking me along with it. So far it's about (not to "pollute my own process" or anything... don't believe in that nonsense. Bah.) two roommates, one wakes the other up in the middle of the night because he's afraid he's going to be the target of a terror attack. It goes on like that for quite a while, until a big reveal points out that he was afraid and upset by something else entirely. Or maybe not. As I said, it's taking me with it. It's nothing special, it's just good to feel like a piece is going to be completed.

Someone out there bought a copy of my play "Martin and Olive" off the site recently, you know who you are... We were discussing the play and were mid-conversation when we stopped e-mailing. Fix that!

We played "La Mancha" to our first audience today - sort of. Theatre employees and cast members from the currently running show watched a run-through in the afternoon.

We have a solid show. Our Cervantes/Quixote is very, very good. Our Aldonza and Sancho are... fine, okay, a bit uneven. We have a splendid ensemble, dedicated and involved. So far. Our director is wonderful, with a real love for the material that breeds respect from all involved. It's a great group of people all around. No one from the show reads this, so no worries. I'm being honest.

It's such a great piece, it's hard not to commit to it.

Saw X2 tonight - good stuff!

X2 opens tomorrow. I refuse to bow to the corporate whim of the 20th Century Fox marketing department and call it "X-Men United" - that was added post-production by people who had nothing to do with creating the film.

Very excited. 15 from the cast are going, we'll own the place.

A quote came to mind from the director of "Tartuffe" I did ...wow, eleven or twelve years ago. It applies to "Man of La Mancha" as well. Mutato nomine de fabula narratur.

Anyone who knows what that means wins a no-prize.

El Presidente Bush is giving a speech to an audience that must applaud, on an aircraft carrier.