Paul Melone

I Won!

2010 Elliot Norton Award: Best Director Midsize Company

for Adding Machine: A Musical

Christmas

More photos of William and the family:

http://www.paulmelone.net/photos/william_5_months/

My morning routine

More photos of the little guy:

William, One Month

William, Two Months

New Season

SpeakEasy Stage is up and running with the 2009-2010 season.  Every time I try to type 2009-2010 it goes like this:

1. 2009            Ok so far,

2. 2009 - 200   um...

3. 2009 - 20    backspace,

4. 2009 - 2010    sigh.

First show: The Savannah Disputation.  First Globe Review.  First photos.

It's a boy

William Daniel Melone,

Born July 20th 2009 5:26pm

View more photos here:

Photo Gallery

North Shore Music Theatre in Trouble

Update: They're done.  10 mil in debt and property at only 5 mil, the board of North Shore pulled the plug.

Please let "Too Big to Fail" apply here: the largest non-profit theatre in New England has hit the skids.

Boston Globe Article: New funds or curtains for North Shore Music Theatre

Yesterday afternoon the phone started ringing with rumors that North Shore management called an all-staff meeting with with dire news of layoffs and possible closing. North Shore helped SpeakEasy Stage Co. with our production of Caroline or Change by Tony Kushner and Jeanine Tesori.  NSMT  helped bring the show to Boston and supported us with assistance in marketing, inviting their very large subscription base to venture out to see the show.  Caroline was a banner show for SpeakEasy, a success that showed our little company could fill our new home at the Roberts Theatre.

I don't get out to Beverly very often, and the last NSMT production I saw was "Abysynnia" the musical staged downtown at the Wilbur theatre, as it opened right after the tragic fire that destroyed North Shore's stage.  The piece was a well done, achingly earnest story of a girl who rebuilds her spirit after a soul-crushing event.  North Shore held up their end of the bargain to their subscribers, hiring busses to meet patrons at the parking lot of the ruined theatre in Beverly and driving them downtown.

Let's hope the patrons, businesses, and government on the North Shore repay the Music Theatre in kind, contributing the money needed to keep them around for another fifty five seasons.

I got the press release in my e-mail at work this morning, click to read the whole thing.

NEAT ad for Rick

Download NEAT Rick Lombardo ad

in Memoriam, Paul W. Melone

My grandfather, whose name I share, passed away on August 12th. He was a lifetime creative professional, a man for whom art and aesthetics were inseparable from daily life, who also conceived, planned, and brought to life many big projects in his community. You can tell by this brief epitaph that he gave me more than just is name.

Here's both of us after a performance of Little Dog Laughed last winter at SpeakEasy Stage.

Obituary here.

William Finn at SpeakEasy benefit

We at SpeakEasy had our annual fundraising bash last Tuesday, the 18th, and invited Willian Finn as an honored guest.  He came and was awesome.  That is all.

Playwright Douglas Carter Beane

Playwright, author of The Little Dog Laughed, came to the show last Saturday January 26th. The Boston Globe was gracious enough to host him as part of their Arts and Entertainment Weekend. We took him out to lunch afterwards. Cobb salads were ordered but with the utmost humility and grace.

Here's some pictures of him with the cast. Amazing writer and a really nice guy, it was great to meet him. Thanks to Eric Hess for the photos.