Jere-Rigged

Wedding Pictures

Celebrity Sighting of the Day: Musical Director, Arranger, Writer and sometime Cabaret Star Seth Rudetsky heading west on 55th Street and crossing 9th Avenue. Neat.

Hey, remember my brother's wedding last fall? The social event of the entire Huntsville, AL season? The second half of The Cactus Wedding Tour, storied in song and fable? Well, I just got a CD full of pictures from that weekend from my mother's best friend Loretta.

I debated posting some of these snapshots here. Would I be giving up a certain level of anonymity? Would I be risking readers and/or potential dates deciding that I'm ugly and replusive and never returning to hear more about my wacky dreams, my life in the theatre, and Ginger Carlucci? Yikes!

But...

I have decided to take the risk. I think these pictures are really cool.

This is me in the famous tuxedo, which had arrived via FedEx only moments before.

This is me with my father and brother the groom. As you can see, we look nothing alike, which is fine considering that we ARE nothing alike. We are now racing to see which of us will end up looking like the man in the middle in thirty years.

This is me with my Mom. No, I have no idea what I'm looking at here.

This is my Mom with her two sisters. These three are all very different and, yet so much alike.

"Hey, Stephen, your college roommate? Gay, right?" "I don't know; I was hoping YOU'D tell ME." "Well, he's been ringing on my meter since I met him." "I think so too." "I'll get him drunk at the reception and let you know for sure in the morning." "You realize there's no alcohol at the reception, right?" "Oh, Fuck!"

This is the Penis Cake. That thing in the middle is actually supposed to be an airplane (my brother is an airline pilot), but it looks like Dick to me. Only smaller.

Mom with Loretta, her best friend. They've known each other since the second grade and she's known Stephen and me all our lives. She's a grand eccentric in the Auntie Mame sense and ever so much fun. You can probably tell all that though. Loretta is responsible for most of these pictures.

What's a wedding without a bride (at least in every state except Massachusetts)? This is my new sister-in-law. Pretty.

This is the official engagement picture. Nice, huh?

So what do you think?

This Blog Is NOT Ashleigh Davidson's Answering Service

Okay, last year I wrote a review of a summer stock production of State Fair that I happened to catch down the shore. That production happened to feature an actress named Ashleigh Davidson in the role of Margy.

Ever since then, random people have been going back to that archived posting and leaving messages for this girl as if she'll be checking in here (and that entry specifically) on a regular basis to pick up her messages.

To be fair, around the time of the original posting, someone left a comment using the name "Ashleigh Davidson," but I have no idea if this person is really this actress or not.

Now, I just want to be clear on this: I am NOT Ashleigh Davidson, nor do I even know her. In fact, though I did see her give a performance, at this point I wouldn't know her if I fell over her in the street.

I don't really mind acting as the go-between here, but I want to make sure that these people leaving messages for Ashleigh Davidson know that leaving comments on this blog is not, perhaps, the most expedient way of reaching her.

And if Ashleigh Davidson does happen to be reading this and would like to either comment on this situation or email me privately with instructions on what to tell these people or not, I'd be happy to hear from her.

Stage Crew and House Staff Wanted

If anyone is interested in either working on the running crew or on the house staff for Village Light Opera Group's production of My Favorite Year, please let me know as soon as possible and I can put you in touch in the appropriate contact person.

Working on the house staff is basically volunteer ushering and you could volunteer for a single performance (and get to see the show for free) or for as many as you desire.

Working on the stage crew would involve about a week and half worth of committment and I'm promised that it's lots of fun. Plus you get a free tee shirt with the production's logo on it.

These same tee shirts, by the way, cost the cast (who've all been working very hard on this show for months now) $15. And you can get one for free, just by doing some crew work. Horribly unfair, of course, but then neither life nor theatre is fair. Glad I don't need another tee shirt...I couldn't afford the $15 anyway.

And the people are really great! I highly recommend coming out and getting to know them.

More later...

A Little Ginger'll Never Injure

The neverending saga of Ginger Carlucci continues.

After the long email I sent her last time, I got the following reply:

thank you for your email.
in good faith, i will send you a payment toward the
$175 that i owe you.
best regards,
ginger
p.s.
can you confirm your mailing address for me?

I found this to be encouraging and I responded with my correct address and, basically, forgot about it. Then a few days later, a mysterious envelope arrived with the name Carlucci and a return address on the Upper East Side.

Inside was a note:

Jere

G.

The note was accompanied by a five dollar bill.

So, this is very encouraging. I'm pleased with her effort and am looking forward to receiving the rest of the money.

$5 down, and $170 to go.

Who'd a thunk it?

Beer and Ecuadoran Food in a Room Behind A Gym

Happy Easter, Everyone!

I spent the entire day Saturday on Roosevelt Island working on My Favorite Year. We rehearsed for several hours and then I hung around to help paint and build.

During the course of the rehearsal, we were working on putting in a new bit that involves a girl jumping onto my back and attempting to beat the hell out of me while a spin about and generally get us off stage so I can do a costume change for the next number.

Our director, Evan Pappas, was trying to explain exactly what he wanted here and asked me if he could jump onto my back.

Me: Of course...do it.
EP: Are you sure, I don't want to hurt you.
Me: Don't worry about it; you're just a little guy.
EP: Uh Huh (and muttering stuff I couldn't quite hear).

But Evan did indeed jump onto my back. I guess you always remember the first time you have a Broadway star on your back.

After the rehearsal, I stuck around to put in a few hours painting and helping out building things. Yikes! But, yes, they are still trusting me with a paintbrush, among other things.

Now, I have to admit that I think working in shops like this is the seventh ring of hell. It's loud, it's dirty, I don't know what I'm doing, and I have 112 other things that I need to be doing instead.

But tonight it was all worth it. See, the rehearsal/shop space that VLOG has out on Roosevelt Island is in a building that must be an old school of some kind that been repurposed as a sort of community center. There's a gymnasium that plays host to an indoor soccer league whose teams seem peopled by players from various Central and South American countries.

Well, I had no idea about this, but there is also a sort of impromptu snack bar in this little room behind the gym that actually happens to be BETWEEN the shop and the gym. It's run by some Ecuadoran folks and this is no hot dogs and nachos kind of snack bar.

What am I talking about? How about a whole plate full of rice, pork, and vegatables. For $2. That's right. I couldn't believe it. This food was SO good. And then the group of us ordered a couple of pitchers of Budweiser ($12 apiece) and sat around talking and, dare I say it, bonding.

Afterward, we rode across the East River back to Manhattan on the Roosevelt Island Tram, a New York landmark that you will recall got a lot of screentime in the film Spiderman (the first one, the one that actually took place here in New York). I'd never ridden the tram before. It was REALLY neat!

Then I cam back to the apartment and caught the last 45 minutes or so of the movie Easter Parade, which I love. Judy Garland is really wonderful in this film. I know how fucked up she was in real life, but on screen (at least in this movie) she exudes a sort of normalness. She doesn't look like a movie star, but, boy, does she sing and dance like one. Everyone remembers the lady for her one-of-a-kind singing, but she could really hold her own with Fred Astaire and Ann Miller in the dance department. I love that.

Yeah, that Garland chick was something all right...

And how was YOUR Saturday?

Audiences Wanted

So who's up for a reading of a new musical on Easter Sunday evening?

I have been invited to participate in a reading of the new musical Scarrie, David Cerda's new parody of Brian De Palma's film classic Carrie. I have been told to warn you that this is a cold reading with little rehearsal and that all music will be presented via the demo tapes featuring the author himself.

David Cerda, as you should know, is the genius behind Poseidon: An Upside Down Musical and Rudolph the Red Hosed Reindeer (which, once upon a time, featured yours truely), among others. He is the Artistic Director of Hell in a Handbag Productions and author of the The Handblog. He's also a great guy. And he will be present on Sunday for the reading, since he is in town from Chicago to attend another event.

If you are interested in attending, the reading will be held at the SoHo Playhouse on Sunday, March 24th at 7.00pm. Following the reading, the audience will be invited to a brief talkback session.

Wall To Wall To Wall

It's taken me awhile to digest the experience, but early on Saturday morning I went uptown to Symphony Space to see the Wall to Wall Sondheim concert, the massive, once-in-a-lifetime, 12 hour event celebrating the 75th birthday of uber-composer/lyricist Stephen Sondheim.

What A Day!. It was THRILLING...it was EXCITING...it was AMAZING...it was LONG.

And I lasted, right there in the second row, through all 12 hours of it. I'm ever so glad to have gone and I was so happy to get the hell out of there at the end. Here are some highlights:

-A bunch of material from Sunday in the Park with George. Michael Cerveris and Melissa Errico sang "Sunday in the Park with George" and "Color and Light," Cerveris was joined by Mary Beth Peil for "Beautiful," original cast member Dana Ivey and Isaiah Sheffer did "No Life," and, later on in the day, Carolee Carmello and Gregg Edelman performed "Move On." The last number of the long day was the Juilliard Choral Union performing a Jason Robert Brown arrangement of "Sunday." And I was in tears through most of it. It was literally edge-of-the-seat thrilling. I've been a big fan of Errico's since I saw her as Eliza Doolittle in the early 90's revival of My Fair Lady. She brings something to even the worst productions (ahem...Dracula) and when given the gift of superior material, as she was here, she's brilliance personified. In fact, I've always said that she's the new Bernadette Peters and here, singing Peters' finest role, she proved my point admirably.

-Seeing Angela Lansbury perform live in person. Can I just say "Wow!"? This lady hasn't been on Broadway in over 20 years and likely will never again do another play or musical. I was so happy to see her and George Hearn appear to do "A Little Priest," a number from Sweeney Todd. Lansbury still has the stuff of Mrs. Lovett in her and, even when she had some trouble due to an awkward page turn, the crowd LOVED her. She seemed surprised at the sheer adulation and love that emanated from the crowd. She shouldn't have been; if she didn't know she was one of Broadway's most beloved icons, she sure does now. I only wish she'd performed something from Anyone Can Whistle as well.

-What can one say about Elaine Stritch? I'd seen her do her signature number "The Ladies Who Lunch" before in her own bravura turn on Broadway, Elaine Stritch At Liberty, and she certainly didn't disappoint here. No one does this number like her and nothing else in the world exists when she's doing it. All this woman has to do to provoke an ovation is speak the song's opening line, "I'd like to propose a toast." I love it.

-Donna Murphy has obviously recovered from the health problems that marred her run in the recent revival of Wonderful Town on Broadway. She showed up here looking glamourous and every inch a star to do a most compelling rendition of "Losing My Mind." Zowee!

-Some people love Patti LuPone and some do not. She said it best herself on a recent episode of TV's Will and Grace where she played herself, "They either love me or hate me." I'm on the fence here. I very much appreciate the lady's talent, while wishing that she would increase her appreciation of consonants and control her legendary backstage behavior. I'd even seen her do "Being Alive" before, but never like this. She showed up, diction intact, and electrified the crowd. Awesome! Awesome! Awesome!

-Michael Cerveris and Judy Kuhn, reuniting from the DC production of Passion to sing "Loving You." I'd never seen Kuhn on stage before and she's as magnificent as I'd heard. Someone find this woman a show. Now.

-Lonny Price, the original Charley of Merrily We Roll Along, reprising his "Franklin Shepard, Inc." There's just something special about seeing the originator of a role coming back to it 20+ years later. Neat.

-Laura Benanti singing the role of Anne in two selections from A Little Night Music, "Now/Soon/Later" and "A Weekend in the Country." If ever an actress was born to play a role, this is it.

-Joanna Gleason, who popped in between performances of Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, (with props, I might add) to hoist herself up onto a piano and do "The Boy From...," Sondheim's hilarious parody of "The Girl From Ipanema." This song is pretty fool-proof, but Gleason knocked it out of the park. I wish she had a number even half as good in DRS.

-the yeoman work of Michael Cerveris, Kate Baldwin, Telly Leung, and Michael Arden, all of whom stuck around the entire day and sang an enormous amount of material in big spots and small. Cerveris, in particular, had a field day, assaying the roles of Georges, Booth, Giorgio, and Happgood, at various points during the day in addition to an array of smaller duties.

-the discussion groups, with the exception of a truncated one on the creation of Merrily We Roll Along (where Daisy Prince's answer to every question was "I don't really remember; I was very young at the time."), were very informative and funny. Sondheim, himself appeared in a couple of them and he seems much more relaxed talking about himself and his work now at 75 than he has ever been in the past. He seems like a really nice man. Of course, all the moderators steered clear of his personal life, but that's not really why we were there anyway.

Some random observations:

-Bernadette Peters, perhaps Sondheim's greatest star, was not in attendance. She was stuck in California where she is doing a pilot with Christine Baranski. The star did telephone though and the conversation was broadcast in the hall.

-Both Alice Ripley and Emily Skinner appeared, but not together. I was hoping they'd do a live version of their "You'll Never Get Away From Me," which they first did years ago as a comic counterpoint to the musical in which they were then starring, Side Show. It's also on one of their duet albums. I have heard that they mutually agreed to stop performing together at some point because fans kept confusing them. Well, that shouldn't be an issue anymore; I doubt anyone could confuse the waif-thin Ripley with the zaftig Skinner. So , get with it girls! You've never been as good apart as you were together. Do another album, do another show. Somebody write a big diva musical for these two to reunite and kick some ass in.

-There were four real-life married couples in the mix of talent: Jason Danieley and Marin Mazzie, John Dossett and Michele Pawk, Jason Robert Brown and Georgia Stitt, and Gregg Edelman and Carolee Carmello. Everyone got to do a number (or, in the case of Brown and Stitt, a panel) with their spouse. There may also have been some couples up there, gay or straight, that I just didn't know about. I wanted to tell the pack of screaming girls a couple of rows behind me (testing their lung capacity in service of Michael Arden, mostly) not to waste their time and that the men on stage were either married or gay. Or possibly both, who knows?

-there was one father/son duo amongst the performers, although Alexander Gemignani did not sing anything during the part of the program when his father Paul was leading the American Theatre Orchestra.

-I amused my friend Greg, sitting next to me, by leaning over and whispering "I saw her boobs" whenever appropriate to the current performer. Just in case you were wondering, there were four actresses up there whose bare breasts I have seen on stage: Alice Ripley, Melissa Errico, Kate Burton, and Marin Mazzie. There were also three men I'd seen shirtless on the stage: Jason Danieley, Michael Arden, and B.D. Wong.

-the piano players were ALL amazing and versatile; most of the program was accompanied by piano only. Where are these guys when I'm trying to sing a little Sondheim in an audition? The cutest one was a guy named Sam Davis. Whoo-Hoo!

-there were quite a number of performers singing songs whose originators were also present at the event. Yikes! It was an interesting choice to not have everyone do the numbers they originated. Sometimes I agreed with it, sometimes not. I especially felt bad for Debbie Gravitte who had to sing "Me and My Town" with the great Lansbury in the building.

I may add stuff about this incredible day as I think of it, but I just gotta tell you...

I was physically ill afterward from sitting all day. You'd have thought I was out digging ditches or something. I was wrecked. It was a combination of no food, not enough bathroom breaks, and all the screaming. I was headachy and nauseous for about the last hour or two. But damn it, I was going to stick it out if it killed me.

Greg, Jason (my other friend in attendance) and I all went out to Park Cafe afterward for a very expensive, too close to Times Square meal that helped, but I wasn't feeling normal again (shut up, Fosca) till the next morning when Greg and I finally roused ourselves.

I am very glad I went. I am very glad it's over. I am very glad I never have to do it again.

All hail the great Sondheim. Amen.

My Fair Baby

I had two odd dreamlets last night, both involving the same person.

In one, I was having drinks with Matt and, after a few too many, he confessed to me that he had had a baby with a woman named Sophie. I was shocked. He asked me not to tell his boyfriend, but I felt awkward about that and made him promise to come clean as soon as possible.

In the second one, Matt and I were discussing the news that Gary Griffin's two piano production of My Fair Lady, that was such a hit in Chicago and Princeton, would soon be coming to Broadway. He lamented the loss of the grand sound of a full orchestra, but I, ever sanguine, pointed out that ANY production of My Fair Lady would have to be superior to dreck like Wicked, fully orchestrated or not.

That's my subconscious for you...melodramatic, soap operaesque revelations and debates on musical theatre minutiae.

Sorry, Matt.

Who Pissed Off the Snow Miser?

After many days of spring-like weather here in the Big Apple, it is once again snowing, and has been all day.

Fuck.

WYSIWYG Starring The Tin Man

I had a fuck of time getting downtown for tonight's WYSIWYG Talent Show at P.S. 122.

To begin with, I was running late because I got SO into both the Freecell game I was playing on the trusty laptop AND the original cast album of Ruthless! that was playing on the stereo.

Why? I have no idea. If I could explain everything I do, I'd be in such better shape in my life.

Then I somehow got it into my head that I needed to take the F Train down to the Second Avenue stop and go from there. When I got off the train I couldn't remember how to get to P.S. 122. I walked frantically over Houston Street, finally taking out my dying cell phone (Guess who forgot to recharge his phone?) and called Matt...who had his phone off. Yikes! Then I called The Tin Man himself thinking that surely, being a performer, that his phone would be off as well and I'd be royally fucked.

But, The Tin Man answered the phone! Praise be to The Tin Man! He was able to set me straight (so to speak). Turns out I was about nine blocks south of where I needed to be and I had 10 minutes to get there.

Yes, I was that guy racing up First Avenue tonight at paces varying from a full-out run to an Olympic-qualifying speed walk all the while "fuck fuck fucking" under my breath.

About midway to P.S. 122, it hit me like plunging dirigible full of lead what I had done wrong. Last time, I took the L Train to the First Avenue stop and headed downtown the few blocks to P.S. 122, an infinitely easier choice that what I had done tonight. Argh.

But I will know for next time, won't I?

The performances were fun and my favorite was, of course, The Tin Man's tale of a Holden Caulfieldesque all night walk around Manhattan. He did so well. I was so proud to know him.

I only wish that I had gone out afterward, but I have an early, and shit-filled day tomorrow and I decided to be a good boy and head home.

Replying To Ginger Carlucci

Well, I finally had time to send a reply email to Ginger Carlucci today.

And I've decided that it should be a private matter just between the two of us. No, I'm just kidding...here's what I said:

Ginger

Good to hear from you, as always...

I wanted to go ahead and clear up some misconceptions for you.

First, I would never seriously wish for harm to come to anyone, including you. If I had the kind of power to make my every wish come true, I would put it to use making wishes regarding world peace, my career, and the current administration in Washington. I have chosen to give your robbery/assault story the benefit of the doubt and you do indeed have my best wishes for a speedy and complete recovery from your injuries.

Second, unless your own theory about "karma kicking [you] in the ass," has merit, none of this has anything to do with you owing me $175. You should have left it in the apartment before you left as asked. If you didn't have the money at that time, you shouldn't have agreed to the sublet. It's a pretty simple equation.

Third, I've said nothing about you on-line that has not been the truth, unless, on the occasions in which I've used your own words, you were lying to me. If you are going to attempt to cheat someone out of money you rightfully owe, you can't then be pissed that your name is being dragged through the proverbial mud on the internet. Had you lived up to your portion of our agreement this would not even be an issue.

I certainly understand how unfortunate things happen in this world, but you must look at this situation from my point of view. You disappeared without paying me the money you owe. Your cell phone number was then almost immediately "unavailable." The one time I WAS able to reach you, you told me you'd call me back in "five minutes." I'm still waiting for that callback.

If injury did prevent you from paying me, you had any number of options. You or your boyfriend or someone else could have called me, emailed me, sent me a letter, or even stopped by the apartment to let me know the situation and your plans to repay me. I'm not a hard guy to contact. I'm even listed in the phone book.

When you do come through and pay me the $175, I will be happy to remove your last name from my website in every place that it appears, if you wish. That should clear up any issues that you're having with that. After all, you wouldn't want anyone doing a search of the internet to think that you're dishonest (heaven forbid!), would you? I will also be happy to alert my readership that you have paid me in full and that the matter is closed. If you would like to take one reader's suggestion and forward to me copies of the police and hospital reports documenting your story, I will be happy to confirm for my readers, without releasing personal details, that you were telling the truth after all. They would be thrilled.

Oh, and I will be happy to give or send you that DVD that was left in the apartment as soon as I get the money, if you want it.

I am very prepared to believe that this situation is nothing, but a huge series of misunderstandings. But it's YOUR misunderstanding to correct. I owe you nothing, and you owe me $175.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Jere [Last Name Removed]

We'll see what kind of response I get from her, if any.

If any of you out there around the world reading this would like to send Ginger a "get well soon" email and/or remind her about the power of bad karma, here's her email address again:

wordsarefree@yahoo.com

In fact, here's an idea...it could be like a chain letter. If every person reading this would please drop Ginger a note, we can see what happens. Remember that scene at the end of Miracle on 34th Street when the courtroom is inundated with children's letters to Santa Claus and the judge has no choice, but to rule for the side of the good and pure? That's what I'm envisioning here. Not that I'm so pure, of course, but I think I am, basically, a good guy.

Oh, I understand that some of you reading this may have blogs of your own. Hmmm...while I would never suggest that you donate time and space on your own blogs to spreading the word of Ginger Carlucci, it might, indeed, be interesting see how far this can go.

I'm sort of curious myself. I'll keep you informed.

Never Watch THE APPRENTICE Right Before Going To Bed

I dreamt last night that I had to quit the children's theatre tour I was doing that was being produced by Donald Trump. You see, I'd gotten an offer (for a lot more money, I might add) to play Leo Bloom in a tour of The Producers.

Trump was sympathetic in a "you gotta do what you gotta do" kind of way, but I could tell that he was disappointed that I hadn't quite worked out the way he wanted.

I was speaking to Trump in a rehearsal studio and it's possible that he was directing the children's theatre tour as well, because I don't remember seeing a director in the room.

Going into The Producers was scary and exciting, but I think I was doing some really good work. I was a replacement Leo and most the cast had been with the show already for some time. The production was very unlike the original and I (the observer, which I was this time, in addition to being in the dream as a character) didn't recognize the show at all.

By the way, Trump told me before I left his rehearsal that he was sorry to lose me and wanted to work with me again. I told him to produce his own tour of The Producers and I'd happily come do the show for him. He said he'd had that in the back of his mind all along.

Hmmm...yeah, definitely stay away from The Apprentice before bedtime.

The Tax Man Cometh

Crazy day at the Desk Jockey Day Job. I picked up a whole new project to add to my list of responsibilities. No idea how where I will find the time to do this extra work. Oh, well...

I stepped away from my desk for a few minutes to go to the men's room and, at the urinal, the handy-dandy cell phone rings.

It's my Aunt Lois' partner, Randy, who I really should call Aunt Randy, but they've been together since I was a little boy and before they were out to the family. I called her Randy when I was a kid and she was Aunt Lois' roommate and I still call her that. But she's family and I love her like a lesbian mother.

Anyway, Randy is a CPA and does my taxes for me. She was calling to tell me how much money I owe to the Federal Government and the State of New York this year. Yikes! Because of my peculiar employment situation, I expected to be funding the President's next invasion of some random Middle Eastern nation (Helloooo, Syria!).

So what was the damage? It turns out that I only owe a little over $1,000 to the Federal Government. And I will actually receive a token amount back from the State of New York, which is a small miracle. Usually, New York has to be handcuffed, bound, gagged, and forced to lick some dominatrix's stiletto boots before it'll give back any money. But I'm "destitute" or some such thing and, as such, am getting some money from my beloved state. Whoo-Hoo!

Sooooooooo...

Anyone know how I can earn $1,000 over the next couple of weeks?

The Saga Continues

Hey, Everybody! Remember Ginger Carlucci, my sublet who never paid me the remaining $175 that she owed me for living in my apartment while I was in Tucson in January? If you're new to the blog, you can catch up with the soap opera here, here, here, here, and here.

Well, the other day, I sent her yet another email (you will recall that her cell phone has been "unavailable" since she left my apartment) asking for the money.

Anyway, here's what I said:

Ginger

Jere [last name deleted]

And I actually got a reply from her. Wonder of Wonders! Miracle of Miracles! Here is what she said:

dear jere,

ginger

I'm nearly speechless. Nearly. There's so much I want to say to her in reply that I'm really taking my time here to gather my thoughts. Where's Julia Sugarbaker when I need her? Any suggestions?

Alma Mater

Have you been keeping track of the news regarding the man in Atlanta who shot four people while escaping from a courthouse? Turns out that the shooter, Brian Nichols, went to the same university that I did.

According to this article, courtesy of CNN, he started there in 1989, played on the football team, and dropped out after three semesters.

I did not know him. But, if he started in the fall of 1989, his third and last semester at the school would have been my first semester there. And my roommate that semester was also on the football team. I do remember meeting some of his friends on the team, so it's possible that I did meet the guy. And I may have gone to a game or two, so it's possible that I even saw him play.

Think this will be in the alumni newsletter?

Elegies

I'm sitting here at 12.41am listening to the cast album of William Finn's Elegies, which was recently sent to me by Randy, a new friend that I've made through this very blog.

And I'm crying.

Specifically, what got to me was a song called "Only One," the fourth cut on the album, a song sung by Betty Buckley about a dying poetry teacher hoping that she has touched at least one student and knowing that, if she has, her life has not been in vain.

God, I wish I had made the time and/or found the money to go see this when it was running at Lincoln Center. I didn't know this music before, but loved Finn's A New Brain and The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee and I liked Falsettos very much.

This is a terrific collection of songs. I love them all. I want to perform in this show.

Tickets...We Got Tickets Here

Just in from rehearsal at My Favorite Year. We ran through music with our new conductor/musical director. It was all fine, but a little...slow. I get bored just sitting around singing music on this one. The fun for me here is in the playing.

There's a nasty rumour afoot that, in addition to everything else we're required to for this production (in addition to our actual jobs...on stage), we have to sell some tickets. Huh? Wha?

Now this is not something that I do. I have a job in this show and selling tickets is not it. If someone wants to come to the show, great. If not, fine. And it's not like anyone would be buying tickets to this musical to see ME anyway. My part is just that small. And, believe me, that is not a phrase I use very often, if at all.

BUT...if you are interested in coming to see this show anyway, you can buy tickets here. Or you can find information at the Village Light Opera Group website.

If you do buy tickets, shoot me email and let me know so I can claim you as "my" ticket buyers should it become an issue.

Thanks!

A Weekend in the City

This weekend was almost non-stop, so much so that I purposely stayed in on Saturday night to save on both my money AND my sanity.

Among the many highlights:

-meeting up with MAK at Barrage and getting to meet the (in)famous Bob, as well as a gaggle of other people. I think MAK knows way too many people named Steve. Coincidentally, I also happened to run into Jim and Ryan, two Chicago friends now living here in New York at Barrage. I love just running into people in a bar. So much fun. Jim even met (and got a free drink out of) the aforementioned Bob.

-auditioning for a reality show on SoapNet called I Wanna Be A Soap Star. This involved waiting out in the cold for quite a while outside the television studio on the Upper West Side where The View and All My Children are taped. The audition itself was an improv with the woman in line before me on the set of The View. "The town whore tells you that she's your real mother. Go!" My scene partner was not very good and neither of us was called back. Oh, well.

-meeting up with Matt and Jeff and having a great time talking and drinking at Fusion (until they turned into pumpkins at midnight, of course). ;) What great guys. Love them.

-painting sets in the scene shop on Roosevelt Island for My Favorite Year. Now I hate this kind of stuff and am, personally, a prime example of why you should never hand an actor a paintbrush. But I did manage to make it through a few hours without actually destroying anything.

-meeting up with Amy for dinner at Ollies' in Times Square and great conversation. Another great time with a great friend. Whoo-Hoo!

So it was a great weekend and included not only good times with friends, but also some time at home catching up on my reading and DVDs. Yeah...good times.

More Theatre

Did everyone see the entry I posted on McReele and Dessa Rose? For whatever reason, it posted UNDER the previous entry. Oops.

Okay, I've been totally remiss about writing about a couple of other shows that I've seen over the past couple of weeks. So let's take care of business...

So I caught Altar Boyz over at Dodger Stages, formerly the late, lamented $3 movie theater. Everything you need to know about Altar Boyz can be summed up in three words...Christian Boy Band.

Oh...yeah...

This show was so much fun, all the more so because it's not actually making fun of Christians OR boy bands. The music is exactly the sort of bland pop that you would expect from a boy band, but the lyrics are brilliantly pointed and, at times, filled with delicious double entendres. The choreography is sharp and precise and right on point for a show about a boy band.

The story finds the band on the final night of the soul-saving tour and they fill us in on how they came together as a band and their mission to spread the message of Jesus Christ to the masses.

The members of the band are Matthew (Scott Porter), the charismatic leader, Mark (Tyler Maynard), the "sensitive" (read "big ol' femme") one, Luke (Andy Karl), the streetwise punk, Juan (Ryan Duncan), the Latin one, and...Abraham (David Josefsberg), the Jewish one. Yep.

Everyone gets his moment here, but Maynard scores biggest with his "Epiphany," a song about realizing and who you are, being honest, and coming out (after a fashion).

Loved it. I'm not a boy band guy, but I had such a good time at this show.

And the new Dodger Stages complex is really amazing. It's this post-modern minimalist sort of space with 5 theatres of varying sizes, generous public spaces, and a well-stocked bar. It almost worth giving up the $3 movie. Almost.

And I also saw the Broadway-bound Second Stage production of the new William Finn musical The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.

What a charming little show! I loved it and couldn't be more pleased at its success. Now that it's transferring, it may become this season's Avenue Q and ultimately end up as a spoiler in a Tony race that had been thought to be between the two 1000 pound gorillas of Spamalot and Dirty Rotten Scoundrels.

The title here tells you exactly what to expect. We see the participants of the titular bee arrive and throughout the progress of the competition we learn about them, their lives, and how they came to be here before us.

It may sound dry and dull and boring, but trust me...it may be the best musical we'll see here in town all season.

Go see it. Tonight if possible.

Actually, scratch that. But a ticket for when the show transfers to the Circle in the Square Theatre on Broadway. And if you're looking for someone to go with, drop me a line. May it have a long, healthy, and profitable run.

Amen.

Let's Go To The Videotape

I spent part of today at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts up at Lincoln Center. I went out in the blizzard to watch the archival videotape of the original Broadway production of My Favorite Year, which starred Tim Curry, currently of Spamalot on Broadway, Lanie Kazan, and the director of my production, Evan Pappas.

There's a little room on the third floor filled with monitors that are hooked up to Sony Vaio laptops and large headsets that defy the term "earphones." At my appointed time, I sat down, put on my headset and there it was. So fuckin' cool. This archive is an incredible resource for those of us lucky to live in New York City.

And they don't let just anyone in to watch just anything. You have to have what the keepers of the keys would deem a good reason for watching. And you can't just go watch for the hell of it or because you want some free entertainment. Mine was that I was doing a production and wanted to take a look. Perfectly valid and reasonable, thank you very much.

It's also cool to take a gander around at what the other folks are watching and see if you can recognize the tape. Today, I saw people watching the original productions of Urinetown, A Man of No Importance, Falsettos, A New Brain, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (this one might not have been the original, but it was a pretty old, filmed stage production), and Into the Woods, which is, of course, available on commerical DVD anywhere.

How was the production? Well, it was interesting. This is still not a great musical, but I was glad to see it and see what the shape of the piece is supposed to be. I see now that the show's biggest problem is its lack of focus. There are three separate shows going on here and while there are tangential connections between any two of them, there's not much that actually ties the three pieces of the show together.

There's the story of the writers putting together a live tv show, there's the story of a has-been movie star trying to pull his live back together, and the story of a young writer trying to reconcile his long-ago abandonment by his father with the kind of life he saw as a kid at the movies.

So much is going on that there's a notable lack of focus in the show and it's hard to care about a lot of it. I think the original creative team should have dropped all the movie star pathos and concentrated on the sturm und drang around creating a live 90 minute comedy show. That would still allow a lot of the stuff with the alcoholic Hollywood guest star, the romantic subplot, as well as the lead character's family issues, and replace a lot of ballads with a lot more comedy.

There are points, especially in the second act, where the show just grinds to a halt while the Errol Flynn-inspired washed up movie star character sings ballads and feels sorry for himself.

I can't wait to see what our production turns out to be.

And The Theatre

I've seen some really good theatre in the last couple of weeks and just haven't had a moment to properly write about it all. I'll try to run through the highlights for you all. Where to begin? I guess I'll just wade right in.

Saw McReele, the new Stephen Belber play that the Roundabout is producing in the Laura Pels Theatre, their off-Broadway space within the ever-awkwardly named Harold and Miriam Steinberg Center for Theatre.

Really interesting play showcasing a handful of wonderful performances from New York stage veterans. It's about what happens when newly discovered DNA evidence exonerates a Delaware death row inmate, incarcerated for 16 years for murder.

The former inmate, a well-spoken, charming man, becomes a media darling and undertakes to run for the Senate with the help of the intrepid reporter who spearheaded the fight to free him.

Anthony Mackie (as the inmate) and Michael O'Keefe (as the reporter) carry the brunt of the play, but are ably supported by the ever-brilliant Jodi Long and Portia as the women in their lives.

You may recall that I loved Stephen Belber's last play, MATCH, and I really think that he may be New York's new go-to-playwright for intimate drama. Go see it.

And I also saw Dessa Rose, the new Ahrens and Flaherty musical currently in previews at the Mitzi Newhouse Theatre up at Lincoln Center. It's still a work-in-progress, so I won't say much here, but it's really good. Really. La Chanze and Rachel York are magnificent, which one would, of course, expect from La Chanze, but York is giving a performance that I would never have imagined from her.

Oh, and remember how I wrote something here not too long ago about the sheer number of Broadway plays and musicals in which the two leads are of the same sex? Well, in McReele and Dessa Rose we have two major off-Broadway attractions also with two leads of the same sex.

This could be the wave of the future.

What's Your Favourite Curse Word?

I think we all know by now what MY favourite curse word is...say it with me, class:

FFFFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCCCCCCCCCCCCCKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK!!!!!!!!!

The space where we are rehearsing My Favorite Year is on the same block as the New School building where Bravo's Inside the Actors Studio is taped. As I walked to rehearsal this evening, I saw the tech trucks set up on the street outside and could see through the doors into the auditorium and there was the familiar two chair and table set-up, empty of both talking head and sycophant. I should have thought to take a moment and ask the crew (lounging about on the sidewalk) who the guest was that evening, but I didn't. Not that it mattered. It could have been Laurence Olivier himself returned from the grave and discussing his same sex marriage to William Shakespeare and I would still have had to go to rehearsal.

Speaking of which...guess who has picked up a line? That's right...ME. A whole line. I was sitting tonight watching the progress of a scene and our director, Broadway star Evan Pappas, was choosing people to randomly appear on stage in a specific moment. He made eye contact with me and told me that he didn't want me in this particular scene because "I want to hold on to you because we need you to be Tess' Escort later on and I want the audience to forget about you for a bit."

My response?

What I should have said: "An audience forget about ME?! Fat chance, Pappas."

What I did say: "Well, then...you hold on to me as tight as you can then."

Uh huh.

Yikes! Am I flirting with my director? While he is certainly attractive, I have no idea what this man's status is and no first hand knowledge of his sexual orientation. He took it well though and said something to the effect of "He's such a flatterer."

But, anyway, in addition to "Cue Card Boy," I am also "Tess' Escort." Whee!

We have not actually blocked this scene yet, so I don't yet know what's involved, but I'm looking forward. I hear the actress playing Tess is really cute.

But, if not, there's always the director.

Happy Blogiversary To Me

It was exactly one year ago that I began writing here at Jere-Rigged.

What a year.

You will recall (or perhaps not) that I had been guest-blogging for Jon over at The Jon Blog in January and February of 2004, because he was out of the country, on safari in deepest, darkest Africa. And I liked it.

I had known bloggers before this and every now and then someone would tell me that I should write my own. I always demured. Jon's request that I fill in for him for a few weeks just to see how I liked it seemed reasonable.

Shortly after his return to the US, I told him how much I enjoyed it. He suggested starting my own and donated some space on The Jon Blog to the purpose.

Thanks, Jon! It's been an extrordinary year and I've met so many great people through the blog. Yes, I'm still single, but, in many ways, I'm not so alone.

And to all the people who check in here on a regular or semi-regular basis: thank you for letting me share a little of myself with you this past year. I've really enjoyed getting back to writing, something I hadn't done on a regular basis since college. And having an audience just makes me follow through and do it.

Before this blog, I'd never had any success at keeping a journal or a diary. I'd given it a try at various times only to get distracted and put it down forever. But this is something I've been able to keep up. And I'm glad. In future, I will have some sort of record of what I've been up to and what I was thinking at any given time. Sounds great to me.

So let's have another great year here at Jere-Rigged. Tell your friends.

Mr. Fix It

I'm having a much better time at rehearsals for My Favorite Year these days than I was at the beginning. Last night, for the first time, I saw some scenes that I'm not involved in and it's looking very promising.

However, I really want to take a red pen to the libretto and fix this show. It's such a strange amalgam of brilliance coupled with mediocrity. Some of the lyrics seem to magically capture a time and a place and a moment in ways that only poetry can do. And some of the lyrics sound like dummy words that were supplied quickly to give an idea of the song, but then somehow inexplicably got left in the show.

The book is hit and miss, but mostly hit, I think. A lot of it works beautifully. Of course, I've never seen the movie, and much of it could be a pretty direct translation.

I can't wait to see how the rest of it plays as our rehearsals progress. I've never seen a production of My Favorite Year before so I really have no idea.

This whole tendency toward trying fix flawed musicals is something that I just do and have done for a long time. Lately, the show I've most wanted to fix is the just opened Dirty Rotten Scoundrels. And I could have. But they would have had to delay their opening slightly.

I don't think I could have done much for Wicked, other than sending the creators back to the drawing board with a copy of Gregory Maguire's novel. First though, I think I'd have them pen a letter of apology to Maguire and each and every theatregoer who has had to endure that which is currently on the stage at the Gershwin Theatre.

Wouldn't be something if creative people had to apoligize to the public for churning out bad theatre? There's an apocryphal story about George M. Cohan doing just that. Apparently, he took out an advertisement in a newspaper announcing the closing and advising the public to please miss the remaining performances. Oops.

I'm going to be keeping an interested eye on the progress of My Favorite Year. It opens in a month or so.

Things That Make Me Go "Hmmmm"

Considering the title of that last post, it's very interesting to me that every person who commented and/or contacted me privately assumed that I actually did all those things.

As the title suggests, maybe I did...and maybe I didn't. But maybe I did. :)

Perhaps "Three Things That I May or May Not Have Done Over the Past Few Days" should be a regular feature here at Jere-Rigged.

Three Things I May or May Not Have Done Over the Past Few Days

1. Quit one paying job in favour of another, non-paying job.

2. Had an unbelievably hot threeway with 2 brilliantly sexy guys.

3. Ventured into an underground, byzantine lair beneath Canal Street in search of booty. Not THAT kind of booty. Get Your Mind Out of the Gutter.

I'm not saying a thing.

So, Jere, You're Not Really Committed To This Whole Blogging Thing Are You Since You Seem To Abandon It Whenever The Fancy Strikes?

Okay, so I've been busy. And whenever I've actually been home, I've either been too exhausted to write or I've been in company and, not wanting to be rude, chose to entertain my guest(s) with my sparkling conversation and witty repartee rather than the sight of me at the laptop tapping away...or both.

Today at the Desk Jockey Day Job, two hours before I was scheduled to leave for the day, all three of the people above me in my department assigned me a major project that needed to be done ASAP.

One of these projects is, in actuality, a responsibility that I technically share with a colleague, the other person in the department down on my level. But he, while a very nice guy, seems to have abdicated total responsibility for this particular thing, leaving it in my lap entirely.

I do not know how to deal with this.

On the one hand, I'd love to go rat him out to our boss and point out that I don't have time to take care of this project single-handedly, which is why it's been backing up and why someone had to specifically ask me to take care of an aspect of this today.

On the other, I like the guy and don't really see a need to make waves until such time as some shit hits a fan and the fallout threatens ME in some way. Why make trouble and cause bad feelings if I don't absolutely have to do so?

Luckily, the work hours of my colleague and I do not coincide a great deal and the risk of my actually blowing up in his face is slight.

Oh...and, by the way, of the three projects I was assigned, I was able to complete one of them. The other two should get done tomorrow morning.

I've Been Through Herbert and J. Edgar Hoover

I'm still here.

I've been incredibly busy the past few days with mostly good, fun stuff and just haven't had the time to write. I'll start writing soon (tomorrow maybe?) and tell you about all the things I've been doing.

Lots of stuff.