Kevin Standlee: Fandom Is My Way of Life

One of the good things about having to come down to San Jose this week was that it gave me the opportunity to see one of the final performances of Emojiland, which runs through Sunday.

I initially worried that I was going to miss the show, because when I went out to catch the light rail train, it turned out that they were kicking everyone off the trains because the line was closed at First and Brokaw Streets, where an idiot driver had turned down the railroad tracks rather than onto North First Street. I walked to the next station in the hope that they might be running trains from there. As it happens, while I was walking to Metro/Airport, a tow truck managed to get the stuck car off the tracks and rail service resumed, and I made it to the theatre before they started seating people.

( Very Important Emoji )

The only bad part about attending the show (and making a wrong turn that cost me 15 minutes waiting for the next light rail train back to the hotel) is that I"m now going to get less than three hours of sleep until I have to get up and get ready to go home. Thanks to the way the schedules work, I have to be on a 4:30 AM bus out of San Jose Diridon if I'm going to catch the train back to Reno. There's no public transit at that hour, so I have scheduled a Lyft ride to the station for 4 AM. At least there shouldn't be any traffic.

Thanks to a very helpful member of the 3Below Theatre group, I got a couple of pictures of my turn on stage. As a special favor, they provided me with a couple of screen captures from their archival footage of the performance.

( A Brief Time in the Spotlight )

One of the things about going through the musical number was that I was close enough to Shannon and Stephen that I heard them singing directly, not via the theatre's speakers. Now I think I've hear Shannon before at close range (probably in "Who's Holiday"), but not Stephen. It was a novel experience.

If you haven't yet figured it out, I'm a frustrated wannabe actor at times. The closest I've gotten previously was a minor part in a play in my second year of high school. The older I get, the less inhibited I am. But I'm terrible at memorizing lines, which is why hosting game shows is much easier for me. And between that and the times I've been on stage for Worldcon and Westercon, I think I've gotten better at performing.

The reason I was down here in San Jose this weekend was to attend the final three performances of the 2023 production of Thanks for Playing the Game Show Show, the musical about the game show scandals of the 1950s and the rebirth of game shows in the 1960s. Long-time readers will remember me waxing lyrical (ahem) about the original production a decade ago at the RetroDome. Since then, the RetroDome moved to the 3Below Theatre in downtown San Jose and their theatrical productions are under the San Jose Playhouse name, but it's the same people. They reworked Game Show Show and remounted a production this summer. I was afraid I'd miss all of the shows because of the Winnipeg trip, but was able to come see their final three performances: two yesterday and one today. And today, the final performance, was going to be the day I was on stage.

( Come on Down! )

I did not take any pictures during the show (except a couple at the very end which I'll talk about in a minute), so I can't show you the set configuration during Act I when I was on stage.

Here's the set-up for my turn on stage: the sponsor of game show "The Secret Square" has ordered the producer/host of the show, Bill Todson (Stephen Guggenheim), to get rid of unattractive contestants and bring an attractive looking guy (that turns out to be me in this case) on the show and make sure he wins, in order to get better ratings and thus better sales for the sponsor's products. So at the right point in the action, associate producer Frankie Marks (Shannon Guggenheim), who has no idea of the nefarious goings on, comes out to where I was sitting and where I'd been spotlighted as the next new contestant. She asked quietly (they might have muted her mic; I don't know) if the step onto the runway was okay. It was. I'd already checked during the intermission of yesterday's show. So now I was on stage. The action proceeded with the leads turning me over to Jack Parker (Nicholas Tabora), the in-show director, who took me back stage to "prep" me.

Once back stage, he very briefly briefed me on what was to happen. I reassured him that I'd seen the production before so I had pretty good idea what was supposed to happen and how I was supposed to react. I also said, "I saw this show seven times during the first run," so he got the idea. He asked me, "Is back stage what you thought it would be like?" I told him that it was, and that I've been back stage at various theatrical-type productions before. (I was thinking of Worldcon major events.)

I wish there had been time to take a picture back stage, but there was only a couple of minutes while we waited for the intervening scene to play out, and then we re-entered for my "stage prep." They put me behind the contestant podium and Todson and Marks explained how we'd do some light banter during the actual show and suggested I say something. I'd already seen others semi-freeze up at this point, so I confidently looked toward the camera and said, "I'm Kevin Standlee, I'm 57 years old, and I live in Fernley, Nevada!" They praised me, and then a musical number ("I've Got a Secret") broke out around me.

As I'd been instructed and as I expected, I let them walk me through the number while they sang and I followed their lead. I also tried to give the right sort of reactions to they way they addressed me. The woman sitting next to me in the audience (who had seen many of the shows; her daughter was a member of the cast) told me that I did just fine.

The number ended, Frankie Marks exited, and Bill Todson moved in for the big moment.

( The Envelope, Please )

Because of how the show worked, I was never an actual contestant in that I never participated in either of the games that happened in the musical. The Big Scandal broke in the next scene, the original Secret Square went off the air as game shows perished in a cloud of scandal and the intermission happened. But that's okay. In fact it was more than okay.

While I didn't originally expect to be in the I've-Got-a-Secret position (I thought I was going to be in the Act II "New Secret Square" game, using Match Game mechanics, which I obviously know like the back of my hand), whoever decided to put me in this spot made the right decision. I knew what my role was and for having had no actual rehearsal other than thinking it through while sitting in the audience during Act I, I think I did pretty well. I just wish that I could see how I looked!

( Curtain Call )

Then it was time to go. After using the bathroom, though, my left leg (which continues to trouble me; I started chiropractic work on the pinched nerve last week and will resume treatment once I get home) cramped, and I had to hobble back into the lobby and sit for a few minutes to unkink it. I'm sure glad that did not happen while I was on stage! I waved goodbye for the final time and headed out.

I limped over to The City Fish a few blocks from 3Below and bought a lot bigger meal than I probably should have done, but I'd not eaten since breakfast and was very hungry. I was fortunate that an LRV was pulling up just as I got to the station, and about twenty minutes later, I was back at the Holiday Inn Express. I tore into my meal, then called Lisa to enthuse about the shows and to thank her for encouraging me to come and see them.

I had an absolutely wonderful time as I have always had at any of the 3Below/San Jose Playhouse/RetroDome productions. And I'm once again grateful to whoever decided to push me out of my comfort zone. I hope my contribution to the final performance looked as good to the audience as it felt for me. It was a blast!

Yesterday evening, after a busy afternoon traveling up and down the Peninsula by both VTA light rail and Caltrain heavy rail (about which more later), I went to downtown San Jose to see the 3Below Theatre production of A Spoonful of Sherman.

( A Most Delightful Evening )

By now anyone reading this knows how much I love the work of the Guggenheim family who run 3Below. I'm a bit embarrassed sometimes about how much I gush over them, and I try not to monopolize their time when they're so generous with it, including how the cast generally comes out and socializes with the audience after the show. (Easier to do with such a small theatre, of course.) If I lived still lived close enough to know I could reliably attend more shows, I would take out a subscription. Alas, I've already been obliged to miss several shows earlier this year due to the extended engagement of winter in the Sierra Nevada.

Sherman was originally to close this weekend, but has been extended. If you can get to downtown San Jose and haven't seen this show, and have any interest in all in the Shermans' music, I encourage you to go see it. If you're at all like me, you'll come out of the theatre with a smile on your lips and several songs in your head.

The reason I am in San Jose today was to see a play.

( Drood )

If I still lived in the Bay Area, particularly if I still lived at the Atrium Gardens apartments near the Gish light rail station (3Below is convenient to light rail downtown), I would have, when this show opened, inquired about the cost of a "season pass" that would have let me attend every performance, just so I could see as many of the show's "paths" as possible. As it was, I got an excellent room rate at the Holiday Inn North First Street in San Jose for tonight only, drove the 300 miles from Fernley to San Jose this morning, and will drive back to Fernley tomorrow.

I was happy that I got to see one of the permutations that allowed a focus on Lilly Guggenheim, daughter to Shannon and Scott Guggenheim, in her first professional role. I made a point of complimenting her on her performance.

3Below (the former RetroDome) has never disappointed me. If I could afford it (I can't), I would take Monday off so that I could stay one more night and see the show's final performance on Sunday afternoon. But now I must have a quick bite of very late dinner (a burrito picked up from the taco place near the Fairmont before I got a train back to the hotel) and get a few hours of sleep before heading for home tomorrow.

Today was the SFSFC board of directors meeting in Fremont, after which some of the directors went to lunch/dinner. During the meal, lisa_marli mentioned that she was going to The Retro Dome showing of Pirates of the Caribbean. Not only had I never seen Pirates (although I've played the pinball machine), but this finally gave me the opportunity to see one of their shows in their current temporary home at the Century 21 Theatre. After moving into my hotel-of-the-night (the Holiday Inn Express Union City), I worked my way back down to San Jose (a long drive; crazy traffic for a Saturday evening) and plonked down my $18. I was happy to see the crew there and chatted with them, picked up my goodie bag of props, and headed in to the theater, sitting next to lisa_marli.

The movie was great fun, and the extra added touches (like spraying water on us during the driving rainstorm scene and handing out "rum" at the correct point in the movie) just made it that much more fun. I left with a big smile on my face, and a resolution to try and attend more of their shows. I'll be happy to get home for the next two weeks, but I'm sorry I won't get to see their showing of It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World next weekend.

Last weekend was the last "public" event for the RetroDome (that is, an event for which you could purchase a ticket), but Saturday night was the final event of them all. The RetroDome put on a special retrospective/farewell event for friends, family, invited guests, and a few lucky fans who were able to get the handful of remaining seats (I read that they "sold out" in fifteen minutes). You couldn't buy a ticket for this one. They performed numbers from the shows they've done over the years, brought back lots of people who had performed there in the past, brought up on stage many people who have been involved with the 'Dome, and generally had a wonderful (albeit sad in other ways) time.

A group of us that Shannon Guggenheim has dubbed the "super fans" who come to their movie presentations in costume had been invited, including me. (I was deeply grateful to receive an invitation.) Lisa was invited to come as well, but the weather conditions and the need to keep the fire burning at Fernley House and prevent the pipes from freezing meant she had to stay home. However, she played a part in my participation. None of my costume stuff is down here. Lisa mailed my Spamalot tabard, which arrived in Saturday's mail, just in time. This is a case of the costume having been at the 'Dome before but not me in it, since I'd loaned it to the "superfans" for a Monty Python and the Holy Grail quote-along experience. We were actually given assigned seats in the audience down close so that Shannon could call upon us and thank us for participating as well.

After all of the performances and thank yous, there was one final song to sing. I had been taking photos from my good camera (cranked up to ISO 1000; no idea how many of them turned out yet) from my seat in the third row. As Shannon sang the first verse, I realized that this was a one-off song and utterly un-recreatable. I quickly spun the dial on the camera to its video-recording setting and managed to capture the rest of the song, the finale of live performances on stage at the RetroDome. I asked afterwards if there was any problem with me posting it, and Shannon said it was fine to do so, so here it is:

Following an intermission, as Shannon alludes to at the end of the video, there was the final movie screened at the RetroDome. It was another un-recreatable experience, and no, I can't explain why; for this one, you had to be there, sorry. On the way out for the last time, I thanked Shannon for inviting all of us into their oversized living room to show us a movie on their massive home theater system with the great sound.

As always, I left the theatre with a big smile on my face. I only wish I had really known about this place when they opened in 2009, and I really look forward to them finding a new home in the Bay Area.

This won't actually be the last time I'm in the building, since I've volunteered to come back in February and help tear out the seats from the Red Room where we were tonight, after having done so in the Blue Room last week. I just need to remember to bring my heavy boots down from Nevada with me so I feel less worried about putting a spike through my day to day work shoes.

Thank you once again to the RetroDome for being so wonderful and sharing the memories with us on Saturday night and for letting me be there to witness it.

Lisa and I joined a big bunch of BASFA members to see The Game Show Show at the Retrodome on Friday night. This was my first chance to see the revamped version of the show after I saw the summer "workshop" version four times. I once again had a grand time, and was very impressed at the changes. Most of the musical numbers were rescored to the better, at least one number was dropped, a couple were added, and elements of other songs changed. The play was also significantly rewritten at the end of Act 1 to make it far clearer what was happening and to make the male lead much more sympathetic.

As with the earlier version, five members of the audience become part of the show, and they were really lucky to have five live wires who made the show better by their presence. (I've seen some dead fish, including the person with whom I was paired the time I was a contestant; you never are completely sure what you're going to get when you pick people out of the audience like that.)

Speaking of fish, Kuma Bear really liked "Tripp" MacMurray's fish tie. (Bear didn't have to buy a ticket; he sits on Lisa's lap.)

I was delighted to be able to talk to most of the members of the cast when they mingled with the audience after the show. I thanked Shannon Guggenheim for using a suggestion I made and writing it into the script: the first contestant in Act 1 is always from Truth or Consequences, New Mexico.

Lisa and I had a wonderful time. Alas, the musical is on for but just one more weekend after this, and I'll be heading to Fernley next Saturday (and Lisa goes home this Sunday). I am seriously considering making next Friday night's show, however, and I've already signed up to buy a copy of the cast album when they make it.

Folks, if you enjoy game shows and enjoy musical theatre, you have this weekend and next to see this production, and then it's unclear when, where, or if you'll ever get a chance to see it again, due to the RetroDome's closure when their lease ends at the end of January. Take in the show now before it's too late.

When I heard that Ken & Jerry Patterson were going to be at this afternoon's final performance of Thanks for Playing the Game Show Show, I impulsively bought a ticket, finding the seat next to them (the only one available on the lower rows at that point). It turned out to be quite a BASFA affair, with a fair number of other members turning up for the show including lisa_marli and at least four others who I counted, plus kproche and bovil who came in near the end. They were there for today's special post-show feature, which was a Q&A session with the cast, and that was fun, too.

Jerry Patterson was one of the contestants in Act 2 (their "Match Game" type show), and boy was she fun! The show hostess, "Louise Carlise" (Breigh Finnerty) had been really playing up dancing with the contestants during the "think" music, including some priceless reactions to Jerry's antics. I wish we could have recorded it! (Of course, recording during the show is prohibited.)

I was happy to once again chat with many members of the cast after the show. Ric Iverson, who played "Tripp" MacMurray [Kevin waves to Ric, who has been reading this LJ] joked that after seeing so many performances, I was probably ready to understudy him. (I said it was much easier to simply host an actual game show!)

I tried to get the autographs of everyone involved with show, missing only Shannon Guggenheim, who had left. Breigh Finnerty was on the way out when I called out, "I want to get the autograph of the Best Supporting Actress!"

"That would be me," she said, turning.

"That would be you," I agreed with a big smile, presenting my playbill for her autograph. I hope she's able to come back for the September re-release of the play, although as she's a junior high school teacher in her Day Jobbe, this might be challenging.

Ken, Jerry, and I (with permission from the management) went back into the theatre to get a few on-stage shots. I sort of wish I'd worn my business suit, or at least the suit jacket, because these could have been good photos as set pieces for promoting Match Game SF.

( Live on stage! )

More photos are in the Flikr Set.

I find myself wanting the cast recording of this show. I'm such a fanboy sometimes.

Having been given a discount code good for $16 off the price of a ticket, and with Lisa's blessing, I've purchased a ticket to the final night of Thanks for Playing the Game Show Show at the RetroDome. (There's a final matinee performance on Sunday afternoon as well.)

Lisa says her foot is feeling better and better, and that she's good to go for driving home tomorrow afternoon. She won't be running the 100m dash anytime soon, and she says she'll have to put off working on painting the front porch because she doesn't want to do it wearing open-toed shoes, but otherwise the recovery is going pretty well.