The MST Q&A: Music the Doctor Ordered

Janel Badrina has been working with MST since 2000. As both Stage Manager and Sound Designer, she has made quite a mark on our productions. You might remember her rockin' sound track for The Pie Dialogues a couple of seasons back, the swinging touches she added to last season's The Last Night of Ballyhoo or the bluegrass sound of the Oklahoma Dust Bowl in Driftwood.

This season, Janel starts us off in the classical mode as she fills turn of the LAST Century London with the sounds of composers like Saint-Saëns, Prokofiev, and Rachmaninoff for THE DOCTOR'S DILEMMA. Let's learn a bit more about Janel as she fills out the MST Q&A...

Full given name: Janel Joy Badrina

Hometown: Houston born & bred!

Zodiac sign: Gemini

What inspired you while preparing for this production? The composers from this era (Impressionism & late Romantic) - which also happens to be my favorite time period in classical music. I was especially inspired by Claude Debussy (my favorite composer) and Modest Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition. I love the way Mussorgsky paints with music - you can almost see the pictures just by listening to the music!

First Houston show ever saw: National Tour of The King & I (with Yul Brynner) - I know it's not a Houston show, but it was the first show I remember seeing in Houston.

Current show you have been recommending to friends: The Doctor's Dilemma of course!

Favorite post-show meal: Champagne (does that count?)

Favorite show tune: It varies - at the moment it's "Breeze Off The River" from Full Monty

Performer you would drop everything to go see: John Mayer and Yo-Yo Ma

MAC or PC? MAC! (was that a serious question?)

Most played song on your iPod: You're asking me to pick 1 song??? 4 of my most played (at the moment) are "Tainted Love" (Marilyn Manson cover), "Jesusland" (UNC Loreleis cover), "All Will Be Well" (Gabe Dixson Band) and "Encore" (Jay-Z + DJ Danger Mouse)

Last book you read: Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows (I'm prepping for the movie!)

Must-see TV show: Glee, West Wing, Gossip Girl, Battlestar Galactica (the recent remake)

Last good movie you saw: It's been so long since I've seen a movie, I can't remember...

Pop culture guilty pleasure: Twitter and Foursquare

Favorite board game: Cranium

Favorite cereal: Captain Crunch with Crunch Berries

Special skills: Doing just about anything in stilettos (scaling ladders, hanging lights, scene changes, chasing down actors, etc.)

Most “happy mistake” on a production: Finding muzak versions of Tool, Marilyn Manson and Led Zepplin which I then used as background music for the restaurant scene in Pie Dialogues. I was determined to get some Tool and Manson somewhere in that show!

Worst job you ever had: Data entry for a research project at MD Anderson. That was one of the most boring and mind-numbing jobs I've ever had! I dozed off a few times mid-entry. Thank goodness I never fell asleep on the keyboard!

Preview audiences really wanted to know what the music selections for THE DOCTOR'S DILEMMA were. Here is a list from Janel of the pieces selected for the production proper. Sorry, no preshow or intermission here.
First Half
Top of Show - Camille Saint-Saëns: Carnival of the Animals - No. 10 "Aviary"

Act 1 – 2 - Sergei Rachmaninoff: Preludes, Op. 32/5 - Prelude In G

End Act 2 - Sergei Prokofiev: Symphony No. 1 in D, Op. 25 (‘Classical’), 4. Finale: Molto Vivace

Second Half
Top of Act 3 – Claude Debussy: Suite Bergamasque, IV. Passepied

Act 3 – 4 - Franz Liszt: Consolation in E Major, S. 172

Act 4 – 5 – Antonín Dvořák: Serenade In E Major Op.22, 2. Tempo Di Valse

End of Show/Curtain Call - Camille Saint-Saëns: Carnival of the Animals - No. 14 "Finale"

And that's the word on the street!

A Penny Saved

Okay all you discount seekers, penny pinchers, starving students and just plain paupers. Do you think the cost of a theater ticket is out of your reach? Does even buying a “slightly obstructed” seat at $26 break your weekly budget? Maybe you are a fan of musicals or comedies, but not sure you want to risk it on a new or a classical drama?

Well, MST is here to help! We have done away with some of our old MainStage discount programs like Half Price Rush and Pay What You Can and replaced them with some new and exciting ones. Read on if saving that buck is the difference between a great theatrical experience or curling up with the DVR ... again ...

GUARANTEED SEATS
Probably the hardest thing about discount policies in the past is you didn’t know what you had until you got there. “You mean, I have to drive 20 – 30 minutes, find a place to park and still, I might not have a ticket?” Torture! I know!

That risk is now entirely GONE! Take advantage of the new discount programs and be rest assured, there will be a seat for you in the theater when you get here!

$10 PREVIEWS
For years now we have offered $10 previews in advance of the press opening. That’s as good as the price of a movie and cheaper than the new “3-D spectaculars”. And it is in the original 3-D format. No glasses required! What’s a preview you ask? Check out my previous blog for that answer.

$5 FRIDAY
Replacing our Pay What You Can performance is $5 Friday. The day after opening has always been a slow day. We used to just take the day off! Now we are performing that day and every seat in the house is only $5! Get out you say! Yes, you can get a $40 seat for only $5 on $5 Friday.

Well, not for The Doctor’s Dilemma. Those seats are already gone.

You can get a $36 seat for only $5 on $5 Friday! And I don’t mean just at the door. Go now and buy it on-line or call our box office and grab that ticket, and know your efforts to get here will be rewarded with a seat.

BUY EARLY AND SAVE
The ART Discount (or Advanced Rush Ticket) can save you $5 or $10 per ticket for a regular performance IF you buy the ticket before the show’s opening night. Beat the rush, get the best seats and save big before that rave review hits newsstands and everyone wants a seat.

STUBDOG IS A THEATER-GOER’S BEST FRIEND
Are you tired of calling the theater the day of, hoping for a chance to get half-priced tickets at the door? Well, throw that worry out the window because we have thrown the Half-priced Rush ticket out the door.

But, if you are still looking for that half-priced ticket, try our friends over at StubDog.com. If available, a small allotment of tickets will be made available through the discount ticket site for the run of the production about a week before it opens. And these half price tickets are guaranteed seats. Basically, we take the guess work out of Half-price Rush by giving you the chance to get the tickets ahead of time!

But act fast! Once those seats are gone, they are dog gone.

... AND STUDENTS
Don’t forget, students are ALWAYS only $10 for regular performances for any MainStage show. That price cannot be beat, especially if you have a paper due the next week.

All these discounts are available for THE DOCTOR’S DILEMMA which starts previews tonight!

Previews are SOLD OUT!

ART – Deadline to use this discount is Thursday, September 9th. Use on-line code DOCART to buy the tickets on-line. (Find the other ART discount codes on our website.)

$5 Friday is September 10th. Tickets are still available!

Half-priced Seats have been sent to StubDog.com. They are beginning to go, so get on it!

And that’s the word on the street!