I have a brother-in-law who cannot wait for “The Dark Knight.” He talks about it constantly. He speculates about the plot, he discusses how awesome Christian Bale will be. He even discusses whether it will make more money than Indiana Jones.  He’s had it marked on his calendar since the release was first announced.

This is the easy kind of waiting.

Because it is solely a question of patience. The movie WILL come out. It WILL be in theaters on the designated day, and Christian Bale WILL be awesome. He always is. There’s no questioning these things. It is not like only one movie will be playing July 18th, “The Dark Knight” is in the running, but may not be released. No panel of five individuals are in charge of whether or not “The Dark Knight” plays on thousands of screens across the country and once again make Batman the powerhouse comic book film adaptation that raises the bar to yet another level.  It’s the easy kind of waiting. Completely different than the maddening lull that undoubtedly ensues that allows the production staff to make their final casting decisions. 

The final callbacks were Wednesday. For the rest of the week, I did everything I could to keep busy. Thursday was easy. Going 24 hours with the expectation that they won’t make calls until Saturday at the earliest, that was easy. Friday, you start to think about it. Friday night before you go to bed, you really begin to measure the odds. By Saturday, I was pretty shaky. With such a huge commitment weighing in the balance, one that would hopefully be both challenging and extremely rewarding, It’s along the same lines as waiting to hear whether or not you got the dream job. Or whether your fiancee is going to say yes. Or whether you won that out-of-print DVD of Condorman on Ebay.

A part of me already knew I was a long shot. This was bleeding Jekyll & Hyde! One of the most challenging male roles in a musical (I know. The fact that David Hasselhof performed the role on Broadway really make the previous statement almost laughable, but it’s true, Hasselhof aside. The man didn’t even come close to realizing the show’s potential. Knight Rider? Yes. Broadway Musical? Not only no, but Heck no! For a more realistic view, please listen to either the original broadcast recording or to the Concept Album) that requires both steel-plated vocals and an ability to differentiate your entire demeanor. My limited resume and my lack of familiarity with the theater – or rather, the theater’s lack of familiarity with me – had to be considered.  There is no other part that is more critical or can even take up the slack. No comedic relief, Lucy can draw some of the attention away, but too much of her character relies in the audiences ability to believe her relationship with both Jekyll and Hyde and that she can’t tell the difference between the two.  The more I thought about it, the more choosing me didn’t make sense. Not when they had three other capable, powerful performers to choose from who were, in fact, known entities.

After digesting this thought, I knew I was out. Mid-day Saturday, it all came crashing down, and my hopes to return to the theater had vanished as quickly as they had sprouted. But this was the pattern. Had been for a while, now. I could take solace in the fact that Tommy Tubberman had been vanquished (at least this time around) and that I had been considered among the best of the best for the role.  The moral victory. This was a positive experience for me from which I can build upon and move forward.

Banana oil.

It was all true, it just didn’t help in the slightest. I wanted this role. Meeting Mike in the parking lot of a random grocery store did not feel like an accident. I had worked out conflicts, scheduling. Obstacles seemed to get themselves out of the way just to make this possible. And the hardest part of all, I would never know why. There’s no feedback in auditions, perhaps the biggest oversight in the history of theater. I’m not saying for EVERYONE that auditions, just those who went through the arduous battle to final consideration. Spending hours throwing your guts on the floor I think deserves a 5 minute phone call saying thanks, you’re great, but you’re not right for this show and this is why.” But no ever has.   At least, no one’s ever offered it to me. The voice? The look? The performance? The shoes? The hair? Was it the 9 times it took me to find the note? Was it the “Lloyd Webber freakout?” I’ll never know.

The rest of the day just sort of wrapped around my throat as it passed me by. At least, until I got a call from a number I didn’t recognize.

“This is Danny.”
Nothing.  What kind of sick game --
“Danny, hey, this is Scott. Hang on.”
“Uh...” Scott...Scott....
“Sorry about that, Danny. This is Scott from Rodgers Memorial.”
Wow, I thought. Really? A feedback call?
“I’m just getting the information while talking to you, sorry about that.”
What kind of information do you need for a feedback call?
“We would like to offer you the part of Henry Jekyll/Edward Hyde, if you’re still interested.”
I paused. For maybe .3 seconds.
“I’ve given it a lot of thought, and yes.”

I had a million questions about things, but he, of course, had a million other calls to make. So he gave me some important details of the agreement, what will happen next and could I please lose 15 pounds (he was much more diplomatic about it, but that was pretty much what it came down to.)  I told him sure, I’d be happy to if he would foot the bill for a gym membership. He said no, and I said I’d be happy to. Yep. I’m a king among negotiators. Frankly, he probably could have told me I needed to pay for his gym membership and I would have agreed. I took a few minutes to teach myself how to breathe again, found my wife, wrapped my soon to be lean and strong arms around her and told her the news. Now that I think about it, all those failed auditions happened before I was married. Now that I am, could there be a connection? I say yes. There is no greater ace than to have someone who you absolutely adore, believe and support you in your endeavors. We need to believe in hope whenever we set out to achieve our ambitions. The difference now, however, is I have Hope believing in me.

First gathering is later this month. Rehearsals start mid-July. About the same time Baby Tarzan is due. About the same time The Dark Knight is released. Looks like it’ll be a momentous occasion for the lot of us.