Fiction books
Agatha Christie. Spider's Web
PC Hodgell. Deathless Gods (e)
William Shakespeare, ed. GR Hibbard. The Oxford Shakespeare Hamlet
Robert Louis Stevenson. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (e) (re-read)
Arthur W Upfield. The Sands of Windee (e)
CN & AM Williamson. The Lightning Conductor (e)

In progress
Rachael Allen. Harley Quinn: Reckoning (e)
L Frank Baum. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (e) (re-read)
Alexandre Dumas. The Count of Monte Cristo (e) (re-read)

Non-fiction books in progress
AC Grayling. The Good Book
Hallie Rubenhold. The Five: The Untold Lives of the Women Killed by Jack the Ripper (e)

( short, screen, and stage )
( books bought and borrowed )

Top of the to-read pile
Neil Gaiman, JH Williams III. The Sandman: Overture

Fiction books
Vivien Alcock. The Haunting of Cassie Palmer
Sophie Aldred, Mike Tucker, Steve Cole. At Childhood's End
Jane Austen. Persuasion (e) (re-read)
Lois McMaster Bujold. Penric's Labors (e)
Esther M Friesner. Yesterday We Saw Mermaids
Zenna Henderson. Ingathering: The Complete People Stories (e)
Bram Stoker. Dracula (e) (re-read)
Timberlake Wertenbaker. Our Country's Good

In progress
Alexandre Dumas. The Count of Monte Cristo (e) (re-read)
Robert Louis Stevenson. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (e) (re-read)
CN & AM Williamson. The Lightning Conductor (e)

Non-fiction books in progress
AC Grayling. The Good Book

( short, screen, and stage )
( books bought and borrowed )

Top of the to-read pile
Sharon Lee, Steve Miller. From Every Storm (e)

We have completed our run of The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. It had some complicated staging and lighting requirements, and I was worried it wasn't all going to come together in time, but it was working well enough by opening night. (On closing night I felt as if we were stopping just as we were really getting the hang of it, but I always feel that way on closing night regardless.) It would have been nice to get larger audiences, but the people who did come enjoyed it, and that's sometimes all you can ask for in community theatre.

A few days after it closed, I read the original novel for the first time, which I'd decided during rehearsals that I wanted to do for comparison purposes but also that I would leave it until after the show closed so I wouldn't get confused if it turned out to be very different. It did turn out to be quite different, most obviously in the fact that it makes "Who is Mr. Hyde?" the big central mystery in a way that is now impossible. Another striking thing was that in the novel there is a minor character named Enfield who appears in only two scenes and exists mainly to trade exposition with the protagonist about the mysterious Mr. Hyde; in Noah Smith's stage version, Enfield has a greatly expanded part, becoming one of the six main characters and the biggest villain beside Hyde himself.

Next up for the Rep Club is the annual Christmas show, which this year is a vaguely Arthurian bit of business entitled A Knight to Remember. I will not be involved, as I have been in rehearsals or performances continually since March, and I feel the need for a bit of a break. Particularly since I have already been offered a part in the first show for next year.

The first show for next year is to be a musical, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. The director first tried to do it here a couple of years ago, but that didn't work out for various reasons beyond anyone's control, and about half the people who were cast then have subsequently left town. Those of us remaining have been guaranteed parts in the second attempt if we're still interested (which I am), although not necessarily the same parts, because it will depend who auditions to fill the gaps and how the group dynamics shake out.

I've been vaguely pondering directing something again, but have no particular ideas about what.