If ever there were characters in a book, the characters in 'Friends Are Thicker Than Water', are definitely 'characters'. They all truly did exist and Don wrote them with all their glorified, humorous and endearing foibles and characteristics.
Having such well defined and funny characters to work with made creating this musical comedy a true joy. Don't get me wrong, I did question Don on some things I felt needed explaining; such as, some of the names of the characters which I felt just couldn't be real, some of the situations that occurred which led to such outrageously funny events plus the innocence and naivete of some characters. I felt that these things just had to be contrived and created in his imagination, All,however, were admonished by Don as being totally accurate. To Don's credit, our brother, Marty, who was involved in much of the books adventures corroborated the fact that these characters and situations were in fact real and accurate. I was only seven at the time and was usually not privy to the goings on of my older brothers, but, yes, many things and characters I do remember and Don did do them justice.
Now I had to replicate theses characters in SAINTS the Musical as well as Don had done in his book! Keeping the humor from becoming slapstick was at times challenging. But the humor comes from the situations and the characters reactions to the situations. There's no laugh track in live theatre so the audience has to experience the comedy as it unfolds before them and be tickled by what they see and hear on their own. What was funny when read can become hilarious with talented actors adding their own adept interpretations into the fray and hearing an audience laugh at what you had hoped they would find funny is extremely rewarding!
I can only hope I have done these wonderful characters justice. We shall see!
Stage Left: The Do-Re-Mi and ABC of the Music & Lyrics!
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