Shaven

And so the facial transformation is complete … shorn January 28, shaven February 10. I’m afraid I still look only vaguely like the historical Ben Hecht, but at least I look circa 1939, which is what Moonlight and Magnolias requires. Am I glad to see my face again in its beardless entirety? Mmmmm … not so much. Do I dislike it as intensely as I thought I would? No. Will I grow the beard back as soon as Moonlight closes? Most assuredly, yes!

But the big news today isn’t in the grooming section of the newspaper … my lines are recovered from the two years they spent in cold storage. I’m “off book,” as we say, lines memorized. Allen Evans, who played David Selznick in the 2007 production, will stop by tomorrow and Friday to run my cues with me and with that, I should be fully prepared for first read in Sanford on February 16.

Update (February 12): Michael Brocki’s reply to the email I sent him announcing my off-bookedness was “fuck you.” Now I’m really looking forward to first read. And my line rehearsal with Allen yesterday went very well. Thank you, Allen!