Some Like It Hot…(ter)?… Reheated?…

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Hello Gentle Reader!

I hope you are well and being able to enjoy some time to energize/heal your self. I know that I wrote that in two words. I meant it any way you want to use it. You can heal your spiritual self, your personal demons, your emotional health or physical, It has been a massive 2 weeks and a lot has been shown to the world. I know that it has brought up some inner things that I didn’t realize I was refusing to face. So I hope you are having a chance to find a little peace for you.

One of the things that I wanted to talk about today was a show that is forthcoming to Broadway next season, Some Like It Hot.

A few days ago, in my favorite fails, I mentioned a show called Sugar, which is basically the musical version of the movie Some Like It Hot. Can you see where I am heading?

While there are some small differences between the musical and the movie, the script for the musical has most of the dialogue lifted directly from the movie. This begs the question, Dear Reader, why make this musical?

Well, one of the big “gets” is that the songwriting pair of Scott Wittman and Marc Shaiman will be a part of the creative team. These are the men behind some great Broadway music from Hairspray (One of my personal favorites.), Catch Me If You Can, and Smash. So there will be a massive update in the sound of the music. The music from Sugar which is by Jule Stine (Gypsy) and Bob Merrill (Funny Girl) and is, in my opinion, really cute but has room for deeper emotional payoff. I know Sugar is a comedy, but adding heart never diminished comedy. I think Wittman and Shaiman can offer this.

As far as the book, which will be penned by award winning playwright, Matthew Lopez, I hope they make Joe similar to the character that was made for the show, Sugar. He is always looking out for himself, but he is at least charming and funny. In the movie, he is a legit bully with threats of violence which I found completely dislikable and was hoping he wouldn’t make it to the end of the film. Mr. Lopez easily has the skill to deepen the lives of the characters in this show.

In the story, one thing I would like to see more of is the “villain”, Spats. I feel like the threat he posed in Sugar was not as heightened as could have been and the way the show ties up his story feels so quick and generic to the times and style of the piece that it really makes it seem like his whole character arc is an afterthought; the catalyst to get Joe to Sugar, and that is all. I know all of this stuff is ridiculous to be hopeful of to stuff into a show that should run about 2 hours and 30 minutes, but it can be done. I fully believe that it can if some scenes were run in a split stage style and a few other stylized directions.

I hope that when Broadway finally does reopen, it can thrive and Some Like It Hot gets the chance to show the world how hot some people really like it. With the pedigree of the people involved, I am REALLY excited for this show to open. I am incredibly intrigued to see what’s changed, what’s been left the same, and what has been flushed out more. I am also going to make a guess that while the basic plot of the story is the same, all the dialogue will be much different. I am just giddy with anticipation!!

Now, if you’ll excuse me, Kind Reader, I am going to go and listen to the Hairspray cast recording.

Until next time, stay safe, alert, and willing to listen and learn.

New Year, New Me… Wait! NO!!

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🎉 Happy New Year, Gentle Reader!

Every new year finds articles and lists of the same old cliché of “new year, new me.” Ugh!😞😴 I get it. All the resolutions and fresh starts and what not. It makes sense. It really does. Do I really need a “new” me?

I used to fall into that same sort of pit of quicksand every year.

2017 was different though.

Yes, I know last year was a political poop show for America for we are now “‘Merica; Inc.🇺🇸” No longer the land of the free and home of the brave that we used to be since we are losing freedoms quicker than a tapper can shuffle off to Buffalo. But that is not what I want to talk about.😶

2017 allowed me the opportunity to check off a bucket list role that I didn’t ever think I would get to play AND one that was a little lower on my list than the top 10 but still just as incredible. In addition to Paul (A Chorus Line)✨ and Hysterium (A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum)🃏, I got to add Carl Hanratty (Catch Me if You Can) and Cheech (Bullets Over Broadway)✍ to my resume. All of which I am incredibly grateful for and proud of and it just happened that I had received pretty good reviews for.😄😄😄

Now to the point, Dear Reader, because that last paragraph sounded super braggadocios. In all four shows, I followed my tried and true methods of preparation and instinct to build my roles. That process has gotten me into some wonderful patterns and discoveries of myself and my character choices. I also was lucky enough to work two of those shows with another actor that is on her own journey of discovery. 👍

One day during rehearsals for Bullets, she told me that she was inspired by me because I live honestly and fully in my passions. 🙀I was floored. What can you say to something like that? It is one of those moments that made me look at the way I live. I love who I am. 💖Some people may not, but I do. So why in the world would I need a “new” me? What I would like, however, is a better me. One may ask, well isn’t that the same thing? No. It isn’t. A new me would imply that I don’t like enough of myself and that I want to overhaul most of what makes me me. I just want upgrades to certain things. There are times I get too comfortable in my methods and routines that when things get a little shaken up, it turns my world wackadoo. I don’t know about you, Kind Reader, but when that happens, I stress out and worry that my whole way of prepping is going to fail. That is SO not a good mindset to be in. It just so happened that I had that experience twice last year. In the end, it was a wonderful learning tool for myself, but if I can get out of my “usual” I think I would be more effective and efficient for projects that have a different pattern than what I am used to. I am planning to head back into study mode for 2018. Because I want to be sure that I am learning and growing, I decided that it would be beneficial to stay off of the boards while getting my system upgrades. I want to be as open to this new information as possible. I feel that jumping from show to show like I have done the past 6 years would divide my attention too much to accomplish my task as fully as I would like. So not new, just better.

So forget all that new year, new me, Gentle Reader. I am sure You are a pretty amazing person already. 👏👏 So what do you think about the “New Me” madness that media tries to shove on us? If you would like to, which one of your “files” would you like to upgrade?

Until next time, Dear Reader…

Catch Me Success Rate = 100%, So Far…

Don't Break the Rules — Photo Credit: Edmond Kwong of ImageWurx

Hello Gentle Reader!

So far, I’ve “caught” him every show! LOL!

Let’s talk about CMIYC. 🎭

This has been a great experience overall. I know that wasn’t what you were expecting me to say. Yes, it did have its struggles like all rehearsals do and I will get into that in just a sec.

This has been so much fun to play Carl Hanratty. 😜 I have begun to love the end of this show so much. “Goodbye” is such a great song to tie the two men’s lives together. This begins with Agents Cod and Branton mocking the hotel room mess left by Frank Jr. as Hanratty’s. Then, the realization that it could be true is in “Man Inside the Clues.” 😱

The great thing about Carl, though, is that he has this arc in the show where he goes from strictly seeing right or wrong to having some doubts about whether things are as simple as that.

Dear Reader, do you recall last year when I spoke of having a hard time with the rehearsal process of Lend Me A Tenor because I wasn’t understanding what was being asked of me. 💀 I wasn’t asking the right questions to get what I needed so in the end, I just had to let it all go and focus on the mechanics. And that helped. But I learned that I needed to work on MY communication. In this process, I would hit points where I wasn’t understanding how A and B connected, but knowing what I knew now, I was able get what I needed to give the director what she was asking for. That experience itself ended up not only being super fun but it was one of the greatest lessons I learned.💖 I will be forever grateful that I was a part of it.

The one area that freaked me out the most was that they respected our time a little too much, I felt. 😳LOL! 😂I had almost two weeks off in the middle while they worked on other scenes I wasn’t needed for. It was cool and all, but when it came to putting all together, I was in panic mode trying to make sure that I was synced up with everyone in the scenes we had together. However, in the end, through all the stress and panic, the show quickly smoothed itself out and the nitpicking got to happen almost right away when it came to full run-throughs.

The time moved so fast that our first time on the set through to Opening Night felt like a blur. It is incredible to think that this show is already nearing the end of its run. It also makes me a little sad to think about. I have had such a great time working with these folks that I know I will be bawling in my dressing room while Rachelle Abbey sings the hell out of “Fly, Fly Away” on closing night. 🎶

Gentle Reader, this has unexpectedly become a favorite role in my list of credits for sure. Have you ever had an activity or event that you weren’t certain about that ended up being one of the best things you’ve ever done? What made you nervous about it? How did you handle it? Let me know in the comments!

Until next time, Dear Reader, have a wonderful day!

1 Thing, 2 Thing, She Sing and She Sing…

thetunnel Dear Gentle Reader,

Last night, towards the end of rehearsal, I finally had the opportunity to listen to Rachelle Abbey sing “Fly, Fly Away” from Catch Me If You Can. Now, look, I think Kerry Butler is great, but I what I heard last night blew the cast recording out of the water. I can’t stop thinking about it to this very minute. I am so excited to hear this at every show. I got chills and everything. This is one thing. The other thing, not so good.

But then, Dear Reader, I got home and I heard about the terrible news from Manchester. It is just so utterly heart-wrenching. Of course, to feel bad for the victims is natural, but I also feel terribly for the artists that were performing. What a weight that must be! I know it isn’t the artists’ fault in the least, but if it were me in that situation, I would be devastated. Such a cruel act and for what purpose? The average age of Ariana Grande’s fanbase is estimated at 18-23. What is the purpose of targeting young innocent people? A group has taken credit for the attack, of course. If it is them, ( like King Cheetoh, I refuse to say the name as I do not want to contribute to their self glorifying ways) I suppose the idea of a strong self assured woman really terrifies them. And for that same woman to be a beacon for younger people must really shake their manliness to nothing.

All I can think about today is the loss of life, the unrealized potential of the victims. It truly is a sad situation to realize that the possible ideas and lives of the victims could have advanced our world to peace, or not (I mean, I have to be realistic. However, I am ALWAYS hopeful of the positive.) The other think I am also dreading is how politicians will use this. It is a terrible thought, I know, but again with the realism here. Why is it that those few awful people can bring millions and millions of good people to their knees in sorrow. Why don’t the acts of kindness change the world in the same fashion?

In this situation, Kind Reader, these two things just seem to hold hands in my mind now. Most notably for lyrics like this:

We didn’t get to say goodbye,

Goodbye

No need to tell me why, my baby

Maybe it’s because you’ll fly back home to me one day

Baby when you’re in the clouds

Please keep a lookout

Maybe, darling, find a hideaway

For you and I

I know that this song is sung by a someone in love to her fiancé, but when I think about the kids at that show, I also think about the pain of the parents. It is such a heavy, heavy situation but I can’t stop thinking about it.

Dear Reader, I hope you are safe where you are. I hope you follow what makes you happy. I hope you remain strong in spirit and hope.

Until next time,

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17353099_10155178316507577_3053752464596427323_n — This is, perhaps, my most favorite picture taken of me. This is wholly and fully everything about me in one shot. Thank you to the amazing Rhona McFayden!

Dear Gentle Reader,

Hello! How have you spent the last few weeks? I have been working through the closing of one show 😞, starting a new job 💵, and beginning rehearsals for a new show😄, so life has been a hurricane of madness! But it is all working out in the right direction, so I shan’t complain about it. How can I, when there are worse things in the world?

🎭A Chorus Line ended three weeks ago, and still this week, I am reminded of the show by people who happened to have seen it. I am grateful for the many very kind words of the show and my portrayal of Paul. It means the world to me. The thing is that they don’t mean so much because it may be validation of whether or not I am good at acting, but that the approach that I took with the big monologue to make it my very own while keeping true to the show’s legacy, and as powerful as it should be, worked. I am a very physical actor. I gesture. I use all of my body for everything and not just my face to tell a story. This means that to do the monologue the same way it is traditionally done would totally ring false in me, which could show in the performance. It was a chance I really didn’t want to take, especially since this was such a personal role to play. So, I set it up the way that felt good to me and when I rehearsed it for the first time the director, Bill Starr, loved it. There were, of course, tweaks made and suggestions, but what we were able to wring out of each sentence felt like truth. And it felt right. For me. The hope was that the audience wouldn’t be pushed away in this version.

Then, something remarkable happened. People began telling me that as the monologue went on (the first few times I rehearsed it, it felt like it went on and on and on…) people said they began to lean in; they wanted to know more about Paul’s story! ❤️ I am certain that there were people that wanted it to be traditional, and I get it, but they didn’t dislike what they saw. What at first seems like a wonderful dauntingly incredible challenge became a piece that I am extremely proud of. I have loved ALL of the amazing opportunities that I have had but to say I am proud (which I almost never do) of a piece of work is rare. There are literally a handful of pieces that would qualify.

And that being said wraps up my second run of A Chorus Line. I loved the show the first time I was in it and I loved it this time around too. So many wonderful new people that I can now cheer on and be a fan of. ❤️ That’s one of my favorite things about theatre.

Dear Reader, last month, I made mention of job interviews and the need for adjusting my financial course 💵. As I hinted at in the beginning of this post, I got the job! I am excited for all of the new challenges and security this will bring, but first I have to play catch up with the two and a half months of work that has been left behind while this position was vacant. 😜BUT this is not a blog about working stiffs, so let us carry on!👍

Two weeks ago, we began the process for Catch Me If You Can. Kind Reader, if you have seen this show, please tell me, did you find it strange that nearly every song has to have a scene in the middle of it? While going through the script, I found myself wondering what Terrance McNally, Marc Shaiman and Scott Whittman were thinking. There is incredible music throughout this show and it feels like it abruptly stops the number to add the scene. Maybe that was just because I was reading through and making notes and whatnot. I shall keep you posted on the findings of this query. The other thing that struck me was that even though the script is only 120 pages, if FEELS longer. I am curious if that is because of the song scenes. Only time shall tell.

Good Reader, if you have input on the Catch Me question, I beg you, let me know in the comments below! Am I the only one in thinking this script setup is awkward? Does the show feel like it has a Lord of the Rings-esque ending? Do you get what I mean by that reference? GAH!! The questions seem to never end…

Until I find my sanity, Dear Reader… 💖