Amish Acres Memories - My Past is Vanishing

The decade started and ended with the closings theaters I worked at. January 2010 saw the closing of The Carousel Dinner Theatre in Akron, Ohio and January 2020 saw the closing of Amish Acres. As I get older the places I worked close (The Sears, Kmart, and Gap stores I worked at are gone. Filene's and Carl's went out of business. Moody's Investors Service and the NFL in NYC have moved to new locations) The people I worked for pass away or retire. Pretty soon I'll have no history! I'm old!!!

Amish Acres. Some interesting stories.
1) I wasn't planning to audition for them. I went to an audition for Seymour in Little Shop for a dinner theatre in New Jersey at the Musical Theatre Works studios on Lafayette in the Village right across from the Public Theatre. They had three floors of studios. I ran into an acquaintance (I don't remember his name other than he was the boyfriend of Gabrielle Mason and I sublet their apartment on West 95th Street for a couple of months). He was also auditioning for Little Shop and told me that one floor up they were having auditions for the season at a place called Amish Acres.
So I went upstairs and signed up, looked at their brochures, (looked like a nice place), sang for them and got a callback for later that afternoon. I called in to my job at Moody's Investors Service and told them I would not be coming that day.
I went back later that afternoon and was given sides to read for the part of Dan King in Plain and Fancy. Jerry O'Boyle the artistic director said he was looking for a Dick Van Dyke type of vibe for the scene. And then he said something like, "Richard Van Slyke, Dick Van Dyke. I just got that!"  I was told they would be making calls in a couple of weeks. A month went by nothing happened. I had written it off.

2) I thought my casting might be an April Fools joke. Monday April 1, I'm sitting at my desk at Moody's Investor's Service and I get a call from my answering service (or it may have been voicemail by then. This was 1996). An actor had quit and they needed a replacement for the role of Dan King. It would mean flying out to South Bend on Sunday and starting rehearsals on Monday the 8th.

I would be playing Dan King in Plain and Fancy, Ike Skidmore in Oklahoma!, The Rabbi's son in Fiddler, the brothers parts in Joseph would be decided at a later date, and I wasn't sure I wanted to stay beyond October to do Annie, but he was thinking maybe Daddy Warbucks.

I packed up over the next few days. Sunday the 7 was also Easter and the start of Daylight Savings and there was a one hour time difference from NY. All those combined, lets just say I got about two hours of sleep. And with no one to sublet my apartment, I was scared I wouldn't be able to get by financially. But off I went.

I flew to South Bend where I was picked up buy the company manager, Sara Heigaard, who also played my leading lady Ruth in Plain and Fancy. Then, we had a 45 minute drive to Nappanee where I would be spending the next six possibly 9 months.

Amish Acres sits about 1 mile west of Nappanee, a small town population @6600. One grocery store, one co-op, one movie theatre with one screen that only showed movies on Friday and Saturday nights. Restaurants included, McDonalds, Burger King, Subway, Dairy Queen, Taco Bell and Pizza Hut. There was also a Chinese buffet place, a pizza place (that closed and re-opened as something else), a country kitchen, a sports pub, a bakery café only open days, a tavern. Then there was the Restaurant Barn on the property where we got one meal a day in the kitchen if we chose.

There wasn't much to do there and for an actor flown in from NYC with no car, not fun. There were three of us hired from NYC, Gene Westbrook, Cece Pleasants and myself. Most everyone else in the cast house came from Chicago, AJ Wester, Derek Phipps, Cindy Lawrence, Joe Lehman, Robert Geils. Sara was from North Dakota.  Nine of us living in an old farm house on the Amish Acres property. And two local hires who commuted daily, Jenny Yoder and Doug Yockey. The Chicago People all came with their own cars so we had rides when we needed and if we were lucky maybe they'd loan a car to you. I often did so I could drive to Elkhart or Goshen to go to the YMCA to workout. I got a flat once driving Sari Engle's car!

There was an old bike in the pantry that I would take on Monday mornings and ride one mile to the cneter of town where two state routes crossed. There was a very nice town library where I could get Sunday's New York Times and go throught the Arts and Leisure section. I would also take pout books. I was into Armistead Maupin's Tales from the City at the time.

I was FedExed the script and score in advance of my trip and I tried my damnedest to be off book as much as possible for the first day of rehearsal. I was saved because my character was only in a couple of musical numbers. So I wasn't used for many rehearsals upfront. Which gave me time to work on my lines at home while the rest of the cast was in rehearsal. It helped! I only used my script to record my blocking and then tossed it off stage to run scenes. We only had a little over a week to put the show up. I remember going shopping in Mishawaka with Jerry to buy my suit at Value City.

Our first day off on Friday, we all drove up to Mishawaka to go out to eat and see a movie. I rode with our musical director SD Lewis who was married to our choreographer Kent Lewis at the time, They had a soon to be 3 year old daughter. Yeah, she is now 27. I'm old!

I remember discussing Annie with SD in the car.  She and Jerry had talked about me maybe playing Daddy Warbucks. I told her I was more interested in Rooster. She agreed stating that now that they had worked with me for a few days, they could see that was a better fit.

It was a fun time. Eating in the Restaurant Barn kitchen where our choices were fried chicken, turkey or ham. The store at the front of the barn sold free baked breads, cookies, pies, cheese. I would do my "grocery shopping" there and buy cookies and bread every week. That didn't last long!

Opening night of Oklahoma!, we raided the ice cream and fudge shoppe for a party back at the cast house. Here is a picture from that night with me showing off some of the cheese we scored!

Jenny Yoder hosted a Mary Kay cosmetics part at the cast house one night (see below)

And there was my 35th Birthday party (below)

My parent sent a gift basket. More cheese!

A mostly quiet group of people. We didn't go out after shows.  We would go home and watch TV and then got to bed each night. That changed as new cast members came on board and the housemates changed.

In July, we lost Joe to a Shakespeare play in Chicago and Jenny to CCM where she was entering her sophomore year.  In came my friend CoriLynn Peterson from NYC and another actor named Ryan who came from a summer stock playhouse a few miles away that went under that season. Also, Sari Engle was brought in to direct Joseph. CoriLynn and Ryan moved into the Christmas Shop on the corner across from the entrance to Amish Acres. They let them live on the second floor while the shop was downstairs.  Sara and Robert also moved across the street and Sari moved into the house with us.

Sari was very close to Jerry, Robert and Gene and we started socializing more, often going out to the local dive bar in town, where I swear to God some nights we were the only ones in there with full sets of teeth. That was the first time I had real beef jerky out of a jar on the counter.

The season was so successful that the sales department wanted another rep show for October after Joseph closed. The staff put their heads together and came up with a show that could be done with just the core company, Godspell which Sari also directed. Rich Snyder was brought into take over the role of Peter in Plain and Fancy when Ryan went back to school and to play Jesus in Godspell. I played John/Judas. It was really lovely production all tied into the site's fall harvest.

After Godspell, AJ and Cece left and a whole new crew came in to do Annie and the house became much livelier with Joby Raines, Kacy Levy, Darren Murrell and my friend Jason Mosher.  With only one show to perform and none to rehearse, we went out more often. And this crowd was also more of late night group. Remember the late nights playing video games? Was it Nintendo? I don't know!

Closing night party of Plain and Fancy when we all took turns shaving Gene's head for his upcoming role of Daddy Warbucks in Annie with the razor we all chipped in to get him for his birthday.  Poor Gene. He thought it would be fun but it really got to him. He has a beautiful full head of hair. It was hard. Fortunately, it all grew back.

I played FDR. Jerry gave me a CD of FDR radio speeches to listen to, specifically the "We have nothing to fear but fear itself" speech, which was the very first line I spoke in the show. Darrin as Harold Ickes was responsible for pushing me around in the wheelchair. I remember getting a blocking note at one rehearsal and saying to Sari, "Why are you giving me the note? I just sit here. Give it to Darrin. He's the one who moves me. " LOL

And that poor dog we recruited to be Sandy. Not a stage trained dog. LOL It was the groudnskeeper's dog. He was a sweet dog. I was the official handler and basically I had to tell the entire cast to stay out of the wings when the dog was on stage otherwise, he would go towards them no matter how many Annie had in her cardigan pockets.

Oh my God! and there there was the night one of the orphans asked if I wanted my neck adjusted. And before I could say a word, she took my head and jerked it and snapped my neck. Yeah. That happened.

The day after we closed Annie, Gene and I packed up CoriLynn's car and drove back to NYC, (CoriLynn rode back with Jason).  It was a 13 hour drive. We got into NYC about midnight the night before New Years Eve. Long drive.

Amish Acres - A Tribute

You're asking yourself what is Amish Acres and why is Richard talking about it? Well...

In 1996, I spent nine months working in the Round Barn Theatre there and yesterday they performed their last show there.

Amish Acres is closing after 50 years.  Amish Acres is an Amish tourist attraction in the small northern Indiana town of Nappanee. It was opened in 1968 on the site of an Amish farm by a local businessman named Richard Pletcher.   In 1987 they began presenting the Broadway musical Plain and Fancy with 6 or 7 actors in the former town meeting hall on the premises.

And in 1992 they had a round barn from a nearby farm dismantled and reconstructed on their property and attached a stage and backstage area as well as a balcony. It was a very nice space. Very rustic with handmade Amish quilts hanging on the walls and from the balcony.  A grand piano was on house left at the foot of the stage and the entire score was played by the musical director.  They employed 11 actors.

View of theater from the stage

In 1996, they added a full season of shows. This was the year I arrived. Plain and Fancy was performed five shows a week with the current rep show four times a week. The shows were Oklahoma, Fiddler on the Roof, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. With Annie playing solo the months of November and December. The year went something like this. Arrive in Nappanee on Sunday April 7, start rehearsals for Plain and Fancy Monday April 8. Show opens two weeks later with core cast of 11. Beginning of May start rehearsals for Oklahoma! during the day while performing Plain and Fancy at night expect for matinee days. Oklahoma! opened around Labor Day Weekend and ran four weeks. We did nine shows a week, ie. five Plain and Fancy, four Oklahoma! with two show days on Wednesdays, Thursday and Saturdays

We had to change over the sets in between shows and we rehearsed the next rep show while we were performing the current one. So in June while performing Oklahoma and Plain and Fancy we were rehearsing Fiddler on the Roof. Since it was summer, local high school and college student shome for the summer were hired to fill in the casts.

The shows were almost instant sell outs. We added rows of seats to the mezzanine level to accommodate the crowds. It was general admission seating. I was also the house manager. Because the season was so successful, the sale steam wanted to add a show to October. So we were approached by management about doing Godspell for October with 9 of us. It was a really special show because they tied into the fall harvest season on the farm. We set the show on lakeside cabin with tall reeds and a small dock, as well as a small working fire center stage that we gathered around to tell the parables.

We got one free meal a day in the Restaurant Barn, but we had to serve ourselves and eat at picnic tables they had set up for us in the kitchen.  Fried chicken, ham, turkey were the main courses along with smashed potatoes, cole slaw, peas with ham in them. But  the pies! Oh My God the pies! Whatever was in season, they had fresh pies. Every pie imaginable. You could get fat eating there every day.

The Greeting Barn with the Round Barn Theatre behind it

The restaurant barn also had a grill out in front in aloft that was open for lunch every day, burgers and fries and such. And the main lobby was a gift shop that also sold fresh baked goods, breads, cookies, etc.

I needed money to help pay for my rent in NYC because I didn't have a sublet throughout my entire time there. So I worked night audits on the weekends at the adjoining hotels owned by Amish Acres and in the Christmas season, I worked at their Christmas Village in the site of the Pletcher family's former furniture store to make a little extra cash.

The Inn at Amish Acres

Amish Acres also had an annual Arts and Craft festival that was among the top 100 in the country an people came from all over the country. Their were license plates in the parking lot from all 48 continental states. It was something to see.

We stayed in a cast house on the property. There was a pond right outside my bedroom and during the festival there were swan boat rides and port-a-potties were lined up outside our house. They put up signs on house saying not to disturb the tenants asking for bathrooms.

I loved my nine months there. I was hopeful that someday I might return.  It was a special place. I'm sorry that is closing.  Thank you Dick Pletcher and Jerry O'Boyle for giving me one of the best  early professional experiences of my career.


I hope someone will want to buy it and keep it open. Any takers?

I'm All Shook Up

Hi there! It's been awhile. What have I been up to? Well, I've been back in San Diego performing in San Diego Musical Theatre's (SDMT) production of the Elvis Presley musical All Shook Up. I play Jim Haller the leading lady's father. It's a fun role and its a great showcase for me.  I've had a blast. Yesterday was our final performance and now I'm back in Los Angeles and reality.

Fan artwork of our cast. 

But first, let me backtrack. I was approached by the artistic director about a month before the auditions to come in for the role Jim. Well, I wasn't familiar with the role so I did some online research and saw it is a nice role with a decent story so I said yes.  I went to the callbacks and knew as soon as I was reading the sides that this part was written for me. I got the part!

I went into this show thinking, "This is great. It's going to play to my comedic strengths, really allow me to be big and goofy. I can really do something with this part." And while that is true to an extent, I realized quickly that while I have a couple of really funny moments in the show, my character actually has a very sweet, touching story line.

First, let me say that I love working at SDMT. They put on superior productions. The casts are always amazing as are the staff and crew. And I did have fun backstage with this crew.  And I had fun onstage.  I got to play all the emotions from sad and lonely to head over heels in love and giddy to heartbroken and it felt great. I got laughs. I got tears. My favorite thing was when the audience would audibly say "Awwww" after I get rejected by the object of my affection.

Here's an example:

This job was a gift. I got to do everything I love on stage. Sing, dance, be goofy and get laughs and then play some nice tender, sweet moments.  It was a gift. I said that before. It bears repeating. I've been in dozens of shows over the years. I have many, many favorites among them. I have been very lucky that way.

I gave up a very nice paying job a couple years ago because I wasn't happy and I HAD to pursue acting full time. It is the one thing in my life that brings me joy. And sometimes we as actors forget that. We get bogged down in the business side of show business. The constant auditions and overwhelming rejection, the ridiculous insecurity and struggle to survive on little or no income. it sucks. It's tough. I struggle every day. There are days when I just don't know if I can keep going. This is why I do theater. It brings me joy. I can be somebody I can't be in life.

My favorite place to be in the whole world is in the wings backstage watching the show. One of my rituals is to go onstage by myself behind the closed curtain before the show starts, listening to the audience on the other side. (Oh. I also use that time to stretch because at my age, if I don't stretch before a show...well let's just say it saves me some pain later). Why did you have me on my knees so much?! God, were my legs stiff every morning!

Another joy, watching younger actors grow in the process. So proud to work alongside and watch them discover and grow as artists. This cast was amazing from top to bottom. Not a weak link in the bunch. All so very hard working and professional. 💗

So thank you to Jill, Robert (so glad we got to work together), Neil (the first person to cast and direct me at SDMT), Ron, Steve, Heather, Jessica, Max, Janet, Amy, Preston, Crystal, Jaz, Andrew, Don, Michael, Erin and Gary.

Richard

Pretty Women from Sweeney Todd

Pretty Women from Sweeney Todd sung by me in The gift of Song benefit at Repertory East Playhouse in April 2013. Part of a tribute to Sondheim evening.

Another Closing of Another Show

The stage after the final bow.

Yesterday, we closed The Full Monty. I slept in today. I didn't work. I took the day off to rest and recuperate. This was another special show. I've been in many shows over the years and you get used to goodbyes. Its the life of an actor. You go from job to job. You get close, the show closes. You go your separate ways. When you're young its hard. But over the years, you get used to it. You don't take it so hard.

But every once in a while, you get cast in a show that is really special. This was one of them. I was a little emotional. Just as I was when I did another production of this show 10 years ago. There's something about this show.  But I won't get into that here because I did that in my previous blog.

What do I want to say here? I want to express how much I will miss doing this show. It is so much fun and so moving. I love playing Harold. It is one of my favorite roles in one of my favorite shows that I have ever done and just wish that more of my friends had seen me in it. I'm very thankful for the friends who did make the trip down to San Diego but I do wish more could have seen me. This role just fits me like no other. It plays to all my strengths as an actor.

The owners of San Diego Musical Theatre (SDMT) welcomed all of us who are new to their them into their family when we started in January. And yesterday, when we closed I realized that it is a family. Everyone who works in that theater treated me with kindness and love. ALL of them. The whole crew. Michelle, our lighting designer, Jessica and Brooke, our sound team, Heather, Jonathan and Sarah, backstage, Stephen our TD, and my rock, the women who were there for me every single night through all the crazy, insane costume changes, Keira and Lexi. I can be a rather quiet, conservative person in life. I tend to keep myself at a safe distance. And yesterday it hit me, how at home they made me feel. And that this really was like a family.

It comes from the top, producers Erin and Gary Lewis, who we didn't see much because of their moving to a new house, created this family atmosphere. Don, our music director, Paul David, our choreographer and the two to whom I am most grateful, our stage manager Marie and director Neil.

It was intimidating to me, playing Harold for a director who himself played Harold about five years ago. But he gave me nothing but support and encouragement from day one.

And now the cast...Damn! I'm welling up as I think of them. The six as we were called, Steve, Danny, Jon, Ron Jack and myself. I can't believe we don't get to do this again. Sharing the stage, a dressing room and our fears and anxieties about revealing all to the world is something I will never forget. You guys rule MY world! (sorry for the obvious pun). I'm going to miss you terribly.

The Six.

And now, my favorite moments of the show:
Karyn in Life With Harold. Specifically, her stuff with the boys and her big arm gestures as she went upstage.
Ron on his last exit laughing and strutting after he thanks God for putting the burden on "That Poor White Boy."
Oh, and his Big Black Man. Nuff said.
Luke's "I do this thing with a bull whip." Prompting me to run for the proscenium arch and hug it. Oh! and sticking out his big beautiful ass for "What do we think of that guy?" "I've seen better."
Paul''s hilarious audition as Reg.
Danny, breaking my heart every single night when he grabs Jerry and tells him not to ever call him a fat bastard again. I never told you this Danny, but I used that moment to help get me where I needed to be emotionally for my next scene.
Karyn, again, for bringing me up to your level in our final scene.
Jack, your physical comedy astounded me.  And the expression on your face when Jon took your hand in You Walk With Me. It caught my breath every night.
Jon, the way you did a little Fred Flinstone dance with your feet before running into Danny and Steve's arms for "C'mon, group hug.", your three act cross in Act Two. LOL "Teddy bought hockey tickets." You Walk With Me. Harold melted in that scene. Every. Single. Night.  You and Jack together holding each other. Wow.
The company in the hallway every night at the end of Act One waiting for the six of us to come upstairs and greeting us with high fives, low fives, videos, signs etc...
Alex as the ballroom dance instructor. OMG. My fave costume and wig in the entire show.
Stella as the old woman. Hard to keep a straight face listening to your ad libs. "It's already hot."
Amy, you make a great old Jewish mother. :)
Beth, "I don't think so pop-pops." and all your sass as Estelle in the break room scene. "When are you coming over?"
Joy and Danny. "Who wants to see this?" "Me, Dave. I do." So honest and raw. Every night.
Devlin's stumbling on Jeanette's lines: "Moxyoron" "...and a bad ta, a bad ta, ta, ta, ta...He had a bad wig."
Danny humping the piano and do an Irish jig to "get Harold"
Steve, the anti-wrinkle cream, and my favorite...how you laughed with joy every single night as we walked off stage "nekkid" after the finale.
Keira dressing me as I stripped down to nothing but my g-string before the final scene.
Jon, Jack, Danny and I bumping, grinding and dry humping one another behind the set during "The Goods"
Some of us boys mooning each other from either side of the stage during the bows.

Going The Full Monty...Again

This past weekend I opened in The Full Monty at San Diego Musical Theatre as Harold Nichols. Opening night was electric. It felt amazing considering it was a very daunting experience. Six men getting buck naked every night. It's scary. I've done the show before, but it was still scary.

Yes, that is actually the six of us on our stage.

Fortunately, our production team made sure that the six men in the cast felt safe. We were supported by our entire cast from day one. We rehearsed the show for two weeks in a rehearsal space and then moved into the theater for 10 days of rehearsals prior to opening night. We did not strip all the way until two nights before our preview performance in a closed rehearsal with no one but the director, choreographer, and dance captain present.

Coming off stage after the final bows and running upstairs and down the hall to our dressing room was an amazing feeling. Our entire cast was cheering us on as we ran down the hall. The six of us share one dressing room at the far end of the hall from the stairs down to the stage. Once we were all present, I broke out a bottle of champagne for the six of us to toast ourselves on a successful opening. We earned it. We've shared a unique experience with one another that no one else can share with us. We're in it together...a team.

One of our show posters in front of the theater.

Another poster in front. 

I've done the show before so it was not my first time. So I was not as scared of the final moment in the show as some of the others in this cast. I did the show ten years ago in a small 99-seat theatre production in Los Angeles. A very different experience to say the least. A much smaller theater with a much smaller budget and none of the lighting effects typically used for that final moment of the show.  That was a very special experience for me. I had wanted to play the role of Harold since seeing it on Broadway. And our little L.A. production almost didn't happen. But through a series of fortunate events (a benefactor) and good old fashioned "the show must go on chutzpah" we did it. I'm still very close with most everyone from that cast. Getting naked in front of them every weekend will do that. It remains one of the best theatrical experiences I have ever had and one of my favorite roles I've ever played. I've always wanted to play Harold again.

So here I am 10 years later playing the role in a bigger theater on a much bigger scale. What's different? Well, I'm ten years older. I have arthritis in some of my joints. I get stiff.  My knees bother me. I don't learn choreography as quickly as I once did. The steps come to me fairly quickly, its memorizing the sequence that takes some time. It's frustrating to me because I've always put pressure on myself to be perfect. And I am not perfect. Not even close. My body doesn't work with the agility it used to.

When people hear you are doing The Full Monty, they automatically assume its about the strip. But its not. Its the ultimate underdog story. Six very different men all down on their luck come together and create something. It's about the journey. Not the destination. The audience is so caught up in the adventure that by the time we get to that final moment, they want the men to go all the way. Its not about the strip, its about them following through on what they set out to do despite all the setbacks.

The view of the stage from the back of the house.

And it feels so good to play that story and to go through that emotional roller coaster six times a week. This cast. These six men are so perfectly cast and all bring something amazing to the show. And the actresses playing the women in our lives couldn't be more wonderful and supportive. There is a lot of love and support from everyone backstage that includes the whole cast and our crew at The Horton Grand Theatre. This is why I wanted to do this show again. The love. The story. I hope if you're in Southern California, you'll come and see us.

We run through February 25. Link below to tickets:

San Diego Musical Theatre

A Look Back at 2017

On New Years, people make lists. They look back at the last year and list their top 10s or just reflect on the highs and lows of the past year and make resolutions or perhaps set goals for the next year.

I am not one for making New Years' resolutions.  Why use the first of a new year as a reason to make changes or improvement in my life?  It should be ongoing.  Right? However, the end of the year can't help but make you reflect on the past year. And so much has changed in my life this past year, I do want to take stock of where I was and where I am.

I spent all of 2017 working in the theater. And I got to play a variety of roles in various genres. I started the year playing (don't laugh!) Cornelius Hackl in Hello Dolly. The reason you may be hearing about for the first time here is because it was for a one-weekend only church benefit cast mostly with church regulars and I was one of the pros brought into the production.  You may scoff at me playing Cornelius at my age but based on the age of the other actors, it worked and I got to check off a dream role from my bucket list. Cornelius is the heart and sole of this show and I got sing a beautiful, ballad, dance and show off my comedy skills.

I went straight from Hello Dolly to 42nd Street at the Candlelight Pavilion Dinner Theatre in Claremont.  I had a great time working there and may some new friendships that have lasted beyond the run of that show. I played Pat Denning and while not a huge role and once again I was back in a musical in an almost non-singing role, Pat Denning sings about 16 bars of one song. But he does play a pivotal part in the plot as Dorothy Brock's love.  I played opposite the wonderful Sarah Meals as Dorothy and I know I'll be back to Candlelight in the future.

While performing in 42nd Street, I began rehearsals for Hello Again, the musical which I directed at Chromolume Theatre in the spring. It was a big challenge. Not only is it rarely produced but it is the compete opposite of a Broadway blockbuster like the previous two shows.  And as is typical of me, I had some pretty serious doubts that I could pull it off. But I did.

While in rehearsals for Hello Again, I heard from two other theaters in town asking if I would be interested in auditioning for their upcoming shows. Crown City Theatre in North Hollywood was producing an original play written by one of their Co-Artistic Directors. Somewhere in the Middle was a comedy-drama about a Jewish-Catholic family whose college-age daughter brings home a black, Palestinian, Muslim fiancé to meet the family on Passover. Think Norman Lear 1970s sitcom. I played the father and I loved being able to play a straight role as the patriarch of a family.  We got great reviews and extended for a couple weekends.

And finally, I was asked to audition for the part of the Old Man in a stage adaptation of A Christmas Story, not the musical recently seen on FOX, but a straight play based on Jean Shepherd's stories. We opened in mid-November and closed on New Years Eve. The show was amazing. We sold out almost the entire run. The set, props and costumes were all top notch and the reviews were all raves. And best of all I had a role that was a real showcase for my talents. It was probably the most physically demanding role I have ever had. I was constantly out of breath backstage early in the run but as the run progressed, I noticed I wasn't as out of breath. And I lost some weight. Like seriously, my pants are hanging off of me.

And next, to start 2018, I return to one of my favorite roles of all time, Harold in The Full Monty, opening January 26 at San Diego Music Theatre and running through February 25. I start rehearsals tomorrow. Its a great to start the new year.

As I look back at last year, one word comes to mind...GRATEFUL. Look at the parts I played this year. All very different. Big budget musicals, small family dramas and comedies. I got to stretch my acting muscles and play so many different roles.

But the biggest step I took this year was quitting my job of 11 years so I could focus on my acting. Scary. Risky. Some might say Bold, maybe even crazy. Time will tell. I am scared but I also know that if I want to make a living as an actor, I need to focus on that and nothing else.

My goal this year is to book some co-stars on TV. I'm already off to a decent start with some auditions in the last couple of months. Based on the words listed at the top of this blog, what shows would you cast me in? Let me know in the comments section of this blog.

Thanks and HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Post thoughts on Hello Again (the show I directed)

I directed a production of the musical Hello Again by Michael John LaChiusa that closed this past weekend, after a four week run.

The cast and crew of Hello Again at Chromolume Theatre

Now that a couple of days have gone by, I have time to reflect on the experience. For those of you who don't know unlike TV or film, once a show opens, a director's job is done. Typically. He or she might be called in to put in a new actor or actress after the show has been running for a while. But usually, the show is turned over to the stage manager once the show has opened. It is the stage manager's job to maintain the integrity of the director's vision from that point on. The stage manager will give notes if an actor has changed their blocking or the intent of a line or scene, etc.

So the last four weeks have been rather uneventful and not so stressful for me because, basically, my job was done. But this theater's policy is to guarantee all of its understudies two performances which meant we had to rehearse and put in all of them. But other than that, I had little to do.

The four weeks of rehearsal leading up to opening night was very stressful though.

Me "Directing"

We had an amazing turn out for auditions back in March. The talent was outstanding and it was very difficult to cast this show because there were so many great performers there. But we came up with our ten actors and five understudies. Rehearsals went smoothly for the most part.  We had difficulty sometimes with scheduling as the theater rents out its studios and stage to paying customers. Makes sense. So we might sometimes have to relocate to a different space from where we were originally schedule to rehearse. 

The music for this show is very difficult. It styles span all 10 decades of the 20th century and the composers music is often dissonant which can make it hard for performers to learn. And its not an easy piece to play either. In addition, we performed on a very low budget. We could only afford one musician, the piano player also our Music Director. I have to give a major shout out to here to Brenda Varda my partner in all of this. She was in fact a last minute replacement for someone else.  And we really lucked out. She worked so hard. I literally could not have done it without her. She blew me away.  She played that score solo every single night. And she worked with the actors and whipped them into shape. There are some difficult harmonies. And there were a couple of harmonies that were not coming together. Two nights before we opened, there were still some harmony issues with a couple moments in the show. And I told her, if the actors involved cannot fix it by final dress, then those harmonies will need to be cut. They came together and never faltered from that day on. I love this woman!

I stress over everything. I stressed that I wouldn't have a music director. I stressed that I wasn't casting any friends that auditioned and they would hold a grudge. I stressed that the actors who were cast would quit out of frustration since this was such a low budget show and they might not like the circumstances. I stressed that there was no way we could afford to costume the show. I stressed that understudies might feel short changed. I stressed that one or more of the actors might refuse to let their understudy go on. I stressed the set wouldn't look good. I stressed we would run out of money and have no sets or no costumes. I stressed that I didn't have what it takes to direct this piece.

I was really scared I was over my head. And then I remembered something. I felt exactly this way the last time I directed. And the time before that. And the time before that. In fact every time I've directed, I have felt that way. Exactly that way. And the shows always turned out great.

And you know what else was pointed out to me? Most those things I was stressing about are out of my control. That's right. I can control what's on the stage. The look, the performances, the staging. 

But that's it. All I can do is make sure my cast is well rehearsed and that they are comfortable doing what I have asked of them and doing what they bring to their roles. I provide a place for them to experiment and play and develop their performances. Its a collaboration between us. We work together to find their performances.

My cast was excellent through and through. They all brought their unique talents to their roles. The show looked good. It was very low budget. The set was minimal but it worked for us. The cast looked and sounded great. Again, thank you Brenda! The costumes were wonderful. They helped us in setting the time and place for each scene. We didn't need the sets to do that.  We got three excellent reviews. This is an unusual piece and not for everyone so that's something.

Now that its over I breathe a sigh of relief and I move on to the next project. Well two projects actually, both as actor. I'm currently rehearsing Chaturbate the Musical for the Hollywood Fringe Festival as part of the NMI programs.  The week before that opens I start rehearsals for an original play called Somewhere in the Middle at Crown City Theatre in North Hollywood, opening September 1.

So when is my next directing project? I don't know yet. Chromolume has asked me about a show for 2019.  For now, I'm happy to act and write my next project. Another web series maybe? Or some shorts for youtube? We'll see.

The Career that Giveth and Taketh Away - Acting: It's not for the faint of heart

So far 2017, has been a mixed bag. I was excited coming into 2017 having booked roles in two films. A small but fun a part in a low budget parody film and a significant role in a USC film school student film.

I was especially looking forward to the student film because it would give me an opportunity to play against type. I typically play ineffective middle management or authority figures or goofy dads/neighbors, etc.  In this, I was to play a sympathetic single dad to a gay teen son who is being bullied into a sexual relationship with another teen who threatens to out him. I was really looking forward to it. A week before Christmas, I was sent the shoot dates and I told them I was fine but I had a day job and would not be available during the week. A couple weeks later, I received emails confirming the shoot dates and times, transportation information and costume measurements.  I made arrangements to take a day off for one day of filming. I worked on my lines.

And then the day before I was due to shoot, I received an email telling me that due to my last minute notification to them of my limited schedule, they could not use me. What?! Exactly, what was last minute? I told them as soon as they notified me of the shoot dates. They never said word one that there was a problem. They sent me a shoot schedule for Friday Saturday and Sunday. I took Friday off form work.  They were in constant contact with me, adding me to the contact list, asking about dietary restrictions, talking with the wardrobe supervisor about wardrobe. No clue.

I wasn't sure how to react. I mean I was really looking forward to this. It was a great opportunity for me to show something I haven't on film yet. I sent an email asking if they had the right person. Or wondering what had happened. I was too impatient to wait for a response, so I called the student the email came from. I asked her what was going on. She said because I had conflicts they couldn't use me. ME: But you never said anything to me. I've been responding to all the emails you've sent regarding wardrobe, transportation, dietary restrictions, etc. You sent me a filming schedule on December 18 and I emailed back that I had a day job, so weekdays could be a conflict,. You then sent me a shoot schedule with shoot days of Friday Saturday and Sunday. I took Friday off from work to shoot. Not once did anyone say, three was a scheduling issue. You lead me to believe those were my shoot dates. If you had called me, I could have changed my schedule to fit your shoot schedule. And now the day before the shoot you tell me to my late notice of conflicts. What late notice? I told you three weeks ago as soon as you sent the shooting dates.  HER: Well, we really loved your audition. We thought you were great. But we can only have the location for certain days and can't change it and our lead actor is only available certain times and couldn't change his schedule. ME: But you didn't tell me any of this. You've been communicating with me as if I had the part. HER: Well, we have someone else. ME: I thanked them for their time and wished them good luck with the project.

Frustrating! Did I mention I really wanted to play that part?

Film number two was also supposed to shoot in January. So far, I've heard nothing since I accepted the part and they sent me a copy of the script. It's now February. I'm beginning to feel like that might not happen. So a few days ago I sent an email asking if there were any updates on the filming.  I've gotten no response back. Its been four days.

Oh Acting Career, you giveth and you taketh away.

These are the joys of being an actor.  You feel good one day and then down the next,. You're only as good as your most recent work. And your self-esteem is so low that if you're not working, you feel pretty low. It's been a slow commercial audition period for me as well. So of course, my esteem is low presently.

Now on to the positive!

Tonight, I am opening a show on stage that I am very excited to be a part of. And it's going to be a really good one! 42nd Street at the Candlelight Pavilion Dinner Theatre in Claremont, CA. If you're in the neighborhood, come and see those dancing feet. It's going to be so good.

Hairspray Live!

Last night NBC aired their annual Live Broadway musical adaptation, Hairspray Live! Following The Sound of Music, Peter Pan and The Wiz.  The first three shows were produced on a soundstage in New York City (well Long Island) with no audience.  The leads in the first two were not great but the producers wisely surrounded them with award winning Broadway vets. Last year's The Wiz was an improvement and a lot of fun. It was nice to see a show that isn't done that often. And the casting was more inspired. They very wisely cast an unknown actress in the central role of Dorothy and surrounded her with names.

Last spring, FOX aired Grease Live! which was a broadcast from the Warner Brothers Studios in Burbank, and used many outdoor sets on the lot and had a live audience incorporated into the gym and dance sequences as well as on the streets outside. It added an energy that some felt was lacking from NBC's broadcasts. I will admit that sometimes it seemed flat when a big production number ended and there was no applause, just silence and then cut to commercial.

So taking a cue from FOX, NBC aired Hairspray from the Universals Studios in Hollywood and also used the backlot for outdoor shots. Once again, they had a big search for an unknown actress to play Tracy and surrounded her with name talent. Harvey Fierstein recreated his Tony award-winning performance as Edna. Martin Short, Kristin Chenoweth, Derek Hough, Jennifer Hudson, Ariana Grande, Andrea Martin, Sean Hayes, Rosie O'Donnell and games by the original movie Tracy, Ricki Lake and Broadway Tracy, Marissa Jaret Winokur.

Hairspray is one of my favorite musicals of the last couple of decades. I love the score. Its got a great early 1960s sound.  And the show is just plain fun. I love it! I think it was an excellent choice and since its not that old show they were able to have one of its original stars re-create this role.

There were some technical issues throughout with some shaky camera work, sound going out a couple of times, and some odd camera angles, or blocked shots. There was a moment in one of the dance numbers where a couple of dancers were blocking a shot of two leads in an embrace for instance.  But I think that kind of adds to the excitement of doing it live. But then again I don't think I've noticed as many technical glitches as I did in this one. Lots of shadows on performers' faces too. The jail scene between Tracy and Link as one example. A couple times, Tracy was briefly out of her light in the Corny Collins Show stuff.

And I loved the retro commercials. Those were fun.  The Reddi-Whip milk man had me scratching my head. Was that a thing back then? But then I realized they were dong retro style commercials. I loved the Toyota spot best. I have to say it was jarring to see Derek Hough finish a number and then walk directly to the camera and do an Oreos commercial.

Speaking of Derek Hough, I knew he could dance, but he can sing and act too!

I think Maddie Baillio did a great job as Tracy. I loved that they had a talent search to fund an unknown and she did a great job carrying the show. She had great energy, which Tracy needs. I really liked Dove Cameron as Amber too. Garret Clayton as Link was the weak link in the main cast. He looked and moved great. He had some killer moves on the dance floor but not the strongest actor up there.

I LOVED Harvey Fierstein and Martin Short as Edna and Wilbur Turnblad. Their second-act song, You're Timeless to Me, was a high point for me. A couple of sketchy camera shots but otherwise, perfection. Two old pros showing you how its done. THAT'S Broadway to me.

Jennifer Hudson as Motormouth Maybelle? Singing I Know Where I've Been. Amazing! Brought the house down. But I felt she was a little small in stature to be Big Blonde and Beautiful.  Still loved her though.

Kristin Chenoweth was great as always. And they clearly re-wrote her numbers so she could hit those high notes at the end.

Speaking of re-writes, there seemed to be some re-writes form the stage version. There was no Big Dollhouse number and Tracy was the only one to get arrested and go to jail. In the Broadway version all the women wind up in jail.  But one of things I noticed with Grease Live! too was that they were doing a hybrid of the Broadway and movie versions of the show as opposed to doing a straight-up televised stage production.

The production design was amazing. Seriously, I loved the Baltimore street set with the Easter eggs in the names of the shops, Waters Plumbing, Divine Pet Food with a pink flamingo on the sign. Nice! And I totally geeked out when I realized that the two women escorting Tracy and Edna in and out of Mr. Pinky's were Marisa Jaret Winokur and Ricki Lake.  But seriously, I loved the set design. So much goes into these live productions. And this one looked fantastic.

Picky stuff...in opening number, Good Morning Baltimore, it was clearly not morning but nighttime as the scene was done outdoors after sunset in LA. And since when are there mountains in Baltimore? You could clearly see the Hollywood Hills in the background. I know I'm being nitpicky but these are the kinds of things I notice.  Like Billy Eichner as the news reporter with a couple of days scruff. That is a very NOW look. A TV host/emcee/reporter in 1962 would never go on the air looking like that.

Again, I'm being nitpicky. Most people wouldn't notice or care. And does it ruin the experience for me? No. It just takes men out of it when I see something that isn't period in a period piece.

I loved it overall!  And I think this one is the best of the NBC shows so far. Nest year, Bye Bye Birdie with Jennifer Lopez.

Sometimes I Get Depressed

Sometimes I get depressed. No, really depressed. I feel like I'm all alone. There is no one here for me. I feel like my life has no meaning, no purpose. I'm just drifting through life. No place to go. Nothing to do.

I do like my alone time and at my age I've grown used to it. But sometimes, it gets to me. When I feel like I'm not accomplishing much in my life. When I stop and think that no one has called me in ages. When I think about the future. When I think about my day job that I absolutely hate but I have no idea what I would do if I were to quit.  And sometimes it all adds up and gets me super depressed.
And the the lack of auditions also causes me to lose confidence in my abilities as an actor. My friends on facebook are impressed with how much I do, but in my mind it's not enough. Its never enough. I'm a failure.  I'm always acting in something. Well, yes, but its not Broadway. Its not a part on a big network TV show. I'm not making a living at this.

Then I start thinking I'm not that good at this. I'll take a class for instance and there are other people in the class better than me. So clearly I'm not the best and therefore I am not loved nor liked. I'm a hack, an amateur. I'm untalented. The other actors don't have respect for or admire me.

There were times when I was younger, I would be surprised that fellow cast mates or classmates would praise me and love and laugh at everything I did. I felt like I wasn't even trying.  I didn't earn it. I couldn't understand why they liked me so much.

Is it because I'm older now? I'm not young and so I'm not cool. (BTW: I was never cool!) Maybe because I'm older, younger cast mates, etc think I'm unapproachable or I'm older and therefore secure and confident and don't need to be praised. Or why hang out with me? I'm too old. Believe me, it's not true. I'm just as insecure and lacking in self-confidence as I have ever been.

I'm thinking about not only quitting my job, but getting out of pursuing acting as a career. I'm also thinking I don't want to be in Los Angeles anymore. I don't think I like it here. The weather is nice. It's better then the Northeast, where I'm from. But where would I go? I miss NYC sometimes, but what would I do if I moved back there? And my hometown area, Albany, NY? Not crazy about the winters. And again, what would I do?

Maybe if there were someone in my life to share my life with, I would feel better about myself. Or even the feeling of a real sense of family among a group of friends. But I have none of that.

My therapist says it's good to share or to disclose your feelings so that is what I am doing here. Will this surprise some of you who know me? Perhaps. I do tend to not let on. I think you would be surprised how often and how deep this goes.  Full Disclosure: it's been really bad at times. Really bad. Not right now, but in the past.

I need a change. That's for certain. And perhaps being in class will strengthen my confidence. But right now, I'm not in a good place. This too shall pass. It always does. As soon as I book another acting gig it will probably pass. :)

Another Opening Another Show

Well, I've been a little quiet the last couple of weeks. Why? I close done show on June 25 (How to Succeed at GCT) and went into tech 6 days later for another (25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee at SMP).

And now, Spelling Bee at Sierra Madre Playhouse has opened.  And what an opening it was! So relieved to finally have an audience and full house at that! Great audience. So responsive. For those unfamiliar with the show, it is a Tony Award winning Broadway musical from the mid-2000s. It is about a spelling bee. Its very funny and also very touching. It brings us the stories of the kids who participate in the bee. All of them quirky in their own ways. Kids who in school are probably labeled as nerds or geeks, but in this world they are embraced.

What makes this musical special is that it involves 4 audience members. Yes, patrons are pole din the lobby before the show an four are selected to come up on stage as spellers. They sit on the stage with the other spellers and are called up to the microphone to spell words. It is not scripted. In fact, the reader, played by me, chooses what words to read the individual volunteers and in what order to call them and eliminate them. I have inventory of cards with words on them and some are very hard and some are very easy. So I can choose what ones I think will work. But you never know what will happen.

Last night was a perfect example, I had designated someone to be eliminated on a word. I chose a word that I have never heard anyone spell correctly...until last night. The woman I read it to got it right and therefore stayed in the game. I now had an extra person on stage and no rehearsed spot to eliminate her. But there is a suggested spot in the script for elimination if needed. We never rehearsed there, but I decided as I was sitting there that it needed to be done there. So we did it. And I made sure I gave her the hardest word in the bunch.

It was an exciting night! We had some press there and each of us was interviewed by a radio interviewer. We had two critics there. I had a few friends in the audience. It was a terrific experience. I've done enough shows that openings seem to be pretty routine. This one was different. A very special evening.  And I dod believe because this is such an unusual show needing that audience because the audience is a character in the show and without an audience you don't have a complete show. And there;'s that unknown element of what those volunteers are going to do. It keeps you on your toes. Every night is different.

Them there is the cast. I've done the show once before, as have three others in the cast. We know it pretty well. This is a solid cast. Very talented, actors and singers. Yes, you have to hear the singing. Amazing! Of course I can say this with our bragging because my character does not sing. (I join in on a couple of songs but that's it) So, yes this cast can sing! And act! I'd say and dance but its not a dance show.

Sierra Madre Playhouse is on Sierra Madre Blvd. in Sierra Madre, CA.  Its an old movie theatre and an awesome place to work. Really great hard working staff. They hire the best designers in the business here in Los Angeles. Come see us. You're in for an exceptional evening.

Sierra Madre Playhouse FB Page

The Show Must Go On - Backstage Stories or That Time I Threw Up Onstage and more

I am currently in a production of How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. We close this weekend. Check link below for How to Succeed in buying tickets without really trying. (See what I did there?)

Glendale Centre Theatre How to Succeed Tickets

This past weekend, our leading lady lost her voice. She went on Thursday and got through the show just fine. But Friday, we cancelled due to the loss of her voice and no understudy. Saturday she was back onstage and her old self as well. What a joy! She is an amazing performer and all around fun sweet person. But that's not the subject of this blog.

Today, I discuss some of my most memorable onstage mishaps. And I will save the best for last (my all-time number one most memorable/most embarrassing onstage moment). This weekend, in addition to the above cancelled performance we had not one, but two performances where light and sound cues went awry. At one performance, the first act went smoothly, as did half of the second act. Then suddenly, in the middle of the lead's big 11:00 number, I Believe In You, the sound went out. Then it jumped to the next cue, which was the entrance into the next scene. Only half of us were in place for that entrance. We went in,. Started the scene with half the men onstage. The others joined the scene in progress. But the lights were dimmed for some reason. Then the phone didn't ring. So the actor speaking said I'm expecting a call any minute at which point the phone rang.

In summer stock, the power went out on us due to a thunder storm about 10 minutes before the start of the show so a bunch of entertained the audience waiting for the power to come back on by performing improv and singing a capella in the generator lights.  Years ago, I worked out at outdoor theater where shows might be called due to rain. Once it happened in the middle of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. It started raining in the first act. By the time intermission came, the stage had puddles. We never did the second act that night.

Another time, I was in a production of Babes In Arms. I played Lee Calhoun the arrogant playwright who is performing his play at the theater and the kids plot to sabotage his show so they can put on their own show. During the course of the scene things go wrong. Fake props are given to me, an actress walks off in the middle of the scene. Well one night, said actress decided to try slamming the door on her exit from the scene. This was on the advice of someone on the crew, not the director! Well when she slammed that door, the flat next to started to fall over with a small table and lamp right in front of it. I casually walked over caught the lamp with one had as it started to fall over and stopped the flat from falling with my other had and propped it up. It all looked like a part of the scene.  She never slammed that door again!

During a production of Kiss Me Kate, our Fred Graham was out on stage singing Where Is The Life That Late I Led?, when a drop came crashing down behind him in the middle of the song. He continued on. After all Lilli Vanessi was out to destroy him and his show at that point so it would make sense that a piece of scenery should come crashing down on him.  Thank God it was not literally! In the same production, the gangsters made an exit though one door that went into a three-sided set piece that swiveled around. and had an exit door on the other side. Unfortunately, at the moment they went in, it was turned in such a way that they couldn't get out the other side. They got our eventually. I don't remember how.

Another production of How to Succeed, our leading man got poked in the eye towards the end of Act One. Act Two was delayed about 20 - 30 minutes. When we cam back, he was wearing an eye patch. In Damn Yankees, there was a fire in the fly space above during Two Lost Souls. In college, our production of Orpheus Descending had a blackout just before the climax of the play. I went out onstage and spoke to the audience, (I was the A.D. and the director was across campus at a faculty dinner dance), we performed the last 10 minutes of the show by candlelight. The cause of the blackout was an April blizzard! Got to love upstate NY.

The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee provides all sorts of opportunities for mishaps because there are audience members on the stage worked into the show.  At one show, some audience members were talking. So in character as V.P. Panch, I reminded the audience that no talking was allowed at the bee as the spellers needed quiet for concentration.

Then there was the night, where I called up a young man in his 20s to spell Mexican. He spelled it Mexcian. Now mind you this is an intentionally easy word that the speller is supposed to get right.  When I rang the bell to eliminate him, he looked at me very confused. The next audience member is given the word Cow to spell. It sets up a joke and leads into a number in the show. The gentleman at the mike was very confused by this and thought (I guess) that it was some sort of joke or trick. He just kept looking at me not saying anything.  I kept looking at him and saying Cow. Please spell Cow. Its a Cow.  And since this is a cue into a song and this theater used tracks as opposed to live musicians, we went right into the song and escorted off the stage. Suddenly, I had only one audience volunteer on stage when I typically had three. It made for a shorter show that night.

I worked once with a man who was getting on in years and would sometimes forget his lines. In one scene, he is supposed to start barking orders at my character (his goofy lazy son-in-law) to pick up a bathtub that is lying in the living room and bring it upstairs. He said nothing. And I stood there thinking why would I say anything, I'm lazy. So I sat down on the couch and picked up a newspaper. After a couple of seconds, I looked at him and said, "Well I suppose you want me to take that thing upstairs and get it out of sight?" He fumbled a bit and got back on track.

Once, in Plain and Fancy, I started to fall asleep on stage in the middle of the scene...while standing up facing upstage with my back to the audience. One of the guys facing me saw me start to go, and took a step forward which got me out of it. The next night, I decided to have some fun with him and played like I was going to go again and faked him out. He was not happy!

And now the best of all time...Stop me if I've shared this one before.
You're A Good Man Charlie Brown in New York City 1994. I was playing Charlie Brown, At our last performance I got sick in my dressing room about an hour before the show. I felt better. Thought maybe I go it all out of my system and then went on to do the show. It was going fine until The Kite Song.  I started getting sick again. I got through the number but the urge to vomit was getting stronger.  I continued on thinking to myself "When do I get a break? Oh Damn! I don't leave until intermission."  I did a quick bit with Patty about the valentines cards and on my reaction, instead of saying I can't stand it, I ran behind Snoopy's dog house, got down on all fours, and threw up.

I then got up and walked off stage. The piano player continued to play. The cast gathered around me. (No one is on stage at this point.)  What do we do? I was leaning against the wall stage right prepping myself. I took a deep breath, stood up straight and said, "Let's go on." The Doctor Is In is next . Lets just go out there and go on. I walked out on stage, saw that the set was not in place for that scene, walked off the other side of the stage and looked at everyone and said OK, here's what we're going to do, we're going to go out there and change the blocks around for the Doctor Is In, hopefully the light booth will see what we are doing and go into the light cue for that scene. And that's exactly what happened.  I managed to finish the first act.

But Act Two, not so good. I got weaker as the show went on. By The Glee Club, I couldn't even stand without feeling sick, so I sat on a block next to the rest of the cast for that number. As soon as the show ended, I got in a cab and went straight home to bed where I stayed for the next two days.  Here's the thing...no one in the audience had a clue that I had thrown up on stage. It was all hidden behind the doghouse and it was clear, odorless and there wasn't much of it since I had gotten most of it out of my system prior to the show.

And that is my most embarrassing moment on stage. What are yours?

Grease Live!

Last night was Grease Live! on FOX.  This was their first attempt at a live musical after NBC has given us 3 over the last couple of years. The main difference between Grease and NBC's telecasts was that there was a live audience. However, like NBC's live musicals, Grease was shot like a movie as opposed to a stage production and in this case used the Warner Brothers soundstage and backlot to keep the show moving. As a result, the "live audience" was not sitting in a fixed audience or bleachers. They were scattered throughout the locations and integrated into the scenes.

For instance, the opening took place outside, (right after the rain I might add) , and had people standing behind ropes cheering on the opening number. The same held true for the cheerleading tryout scene which was outside in front of the school building. In the gym, the audience members were in the bleachers as in Hand Jive too. The extras in the front rows of the bleachers were dressed in period (sort of) but everyone behind them was just  regular modern audience. The audience cheered at everything. It did add to the "Live" excitement of this event.

And it was an "Event" in every sense of the word. In fact it was a spectacular. Did you know that in the 1950s that is what the big TV specials were called, Spectaculars? Look it up. This production was an amazing feat. They used multiple sets, soundstages, and outdoor locations in and around the Warner Brothers Burbank lot. It was an incredible production and they pulled it off. Kudos to the amazing camera work. It was seamless. Because, ladies and gentleman, the truth of the matter is this was NOT just a filmed stage production. As I've said with The Wiz Live, this was hybrid of movie and stage.

In the case of Grease Live, this was even more true.  Why is that? Because they matched the movie almost scene for scene and shot for shot. This was NOT the stage version of Grease. Why? Because the movie is so beloved and iconic. And its what people expect. But the movie strayed far from the original Broadway play. Grease the Broadway musical started out in Chicago, moved to Off-Broadway and then to Broadway becoming the longest running Broadway show of all time running a then record 8 years (1972 to 1980). It was smaller, raunchier and grittier. It was not the sunny nostalgic look back at the 1950s that the movie was. Not that there's anything wrong with that. But subsequent revivals of the show now interpolate scenes and songs from the movie. I would love to see someone do the original version of Grease just to experience it the way it was originally intended.

Back to last night's show.  An amazing feat to pull off.  I was on a thread on fb with some friends where we were being snarky and dishing so many things. So I will use this to be positive. Vanessa Hudgens as Rizzo. OMG. When she sang "There Are Worse Things I Could Do", she nailed it. NAILED IT! Especially considering her father passed away the night before. Proof that the show must go on. Kudos to her. Loved Keke Palmer as Marty singing Freddy My Love. I loved the transition from her bedroom to the USO stage. I rewound and played it back to catch the costume and set change again. The same with the Greased Lightning transition. So well done.

Loved that they Didi Conn was the waitress with the "new" Frenchy. Although I was not a fan of the song they gave Carly Rae Jepson to sing right before Teen Angel. It didn't fit in with the style of the rest of the show.  I also loved what they did with Those Magic Changes. That montage was very well put together. And this is a prime example of the movie vs. stage. You can't do that onstage. Its an editing thing that can only be done in movies. But they found a way to do this. Awesome.

Hand Jive. Wow. So much going on. And think about this. Think about the logistics of filming this in a way so that the audience isn't aware of how its being done. But imagine all the cameras on that stage. All the crew holding those cameras. Running in and out of the dancers, or being lifted above the soundstage simultaneously. And all out of sight.

I read some complaining about the ages of the actors being too old. So? What else is new? So were the actors in the movie. They were mostly in their late 20s. Olivia Newton John and Stockard Channing were over 30. Get over it!

Loved Blanche played by Haneefah Wood. Why isn's she listed on the imdv page for this? At least not last night during the airing. She was a scene stealer. And considering most of her scenes were opposite one of my faves, Ana Gasteyer, thats saying something.

This was a big, fun, splashy event night of television. And I hope there is more to come. Well there is in fact. FOX is doing Rocky Horror at some point and then NBC is doing Hairspray in December.  Let's hope NBC livens up Hairspray with some audience.

Let's Put On A Show! The Full Monty

Today, I was surfing the internet and came across some publicity photos from a show I did eight years ago. (Really? Eight years? It can't be) And don't ask me how I "happened" to find pictures of myself online! Alright! You caught me! I was googling myself. But, it was for research. Honestly. I wanted to see if my website came up in the searches. And guess what? It didn't! So there?

So, anyway! I found these pictures from a production of the musical, The Full Monty, that I did eight years ago. (Still can't believe it's been eight years!)

That's me as Harold dipping my wife, Vicki played by Ellen Caranasos-Sharp

This has to be one of my all-time favorite times I ever had on stage. We were with this show for close to six months. We auditioned just before Labor Day 2007. The show opened a week after Thanksgiving and played four weeks. Closed for the holidays and re-opened in mid-January and closed in mid-February.

The best cast ever and to be perfectly frank a perfect role for me. I loved it and I never wanted it to end. And there's also a great back story. An underdog story for the ages!

I was a member of a theater company and The Full Monty was on their schedule. We had auditions, callbacks and were cast. And then a week went by. No communication from the production team. A little over a week after being cast, we received an email saying there will be a cast meeting at the theater on Saturday morning. So, I got my script ready, highlighted all my lines and stage directions in yellow. Got my Ticonderoga yellow number 2 pencil and an eraser, packed my backpack and headed to the theater. But in the back of my mind, I wondered, "Why did it say cast meeting and not read through or rehearsal?"

So, we arrive at the theater only to be informed by the production team that unfortunately the theater company did not have the finances to pay for the production. They were behind in the rent and had to pay the bills of the last two shows. So because the production team had worked so hard to assemble this great cast, (and it was  great cast), they had been meeting all and had finally come up with a way to do the shows with the cast. They negotiated with the owner of the theater, found a producer to pay for the show.

That's Not he Goods (that's me furthest right crouching behind the couch)

We were assured that this would not affect our membership in the theater company. We would still be members in good standing with our theater company and this would also give the theater an opportunity to focus on paying the bills and not go further into debt. Were we all on board?

Hell yes we were! And on we went. We lost one actress a couple weeks into rehearsals. She just was not a good match. I knew immediately at the read through. We all sat in a big circle. She sat in a corner outside the circle. Now, granted, she had a bad cold. So I gave her the benefit of the doubt. But then she started acting surly. She was having none of our goofing around and having fun. I chalked it up to her sickness. But in the weeks to come, she missed rehearsals or showed up late. And after a couple weeks, one of the producers called her and gave her an out. She clearly didn't want to be there. So she left and one of my dearest friends (who was also part of the production team) came in. Yes!

Normally, shows in Los Angeles run six weekends. Our original plan, was to open the last weekend in October and close in six weeks mid-December. But because of the late start, we opened a week after Thanksgiving and closed the weekend before Christmas. And then a last minute extension for four weeks after the holidays.

On the left, Me with Ellen as Harold and Vicki. On the right, Aileen-Marie Scott and Ed McBride as Georgie and Dave. 

I played Harold Nichols, the laid-off, uptight middle manager of the steel mill in Buffalo, NY. He thinks he's better than all the others because he's management and lives a better lifestyle than them. And they blackmail him into helping them. I loved the show, loved the part, loved the cast. I am still good friends with most everyone from that show.

The show was performed in a 99-seat theatre space in Los Angeles. The sets reflected a scrappy industrial look. It really was an underdog production. And the reviews were amazing!

I've been lucky an had many, many wonderful experiences in the theater. But this one holds a very special place and always will. I feel like we could do it again tomorrow if we wanted.

I miss this one. Anyone out there want to produce it again for me? I'll be your friend forever!

The men of The Full Monty about to take it all off. (L-R Tim Hearl, Ben Euphrat, Ed McBride, Me, Keith Wright)