I'm going to do something here I rarely ever do. That is, I'm going to actually post in this little blog o' mine. Here's what's up, y'all. I'm about to transition to a new role at work, and I'm incredibly jazzed about it.
You know I love lists, so here's one for you. Why I'm stoked:
- My new managers are hilarious and incredibly supportive. And we type with monster claws.
- This is a new team being built ground-up, which makes my input even more valuable than on other teams in the past. I got to debate and discuss strategy with the Vice President yesterday, and he took my ideas into account, changing his thinking on some things. That would never have happened on another team.
- I get to manage social media outreach. All this blogging and tumbling and tweeting and facebooking and foursquaring and so on that I love so much? It's now my job to figure out how we can use that in our campaigns.
- The mundane tasks that I hated about my current position. Gone. I'm sure there will be other tedious things to deal with, but not the same ones I've been battling for two years now.
- We are awesome at Mafia.
The transition is in about two weeks, and I'm counting down the days. I'm ready for it to officially be summer in the city, and I think that's a nice starting off point.
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
So much for me being better at updating this. I hope all is well for those of you who might still get alerts for this or subscribe to it or whatever.
Yesterday started my birthday week, and it's already a crazy one. Someone call/text me and remind me to come back later and update on everything that's going on, because it's going to be awesome.
But if you want to know what I'm up to tonight, you should check out www.americanidiotbroadway.com after 5 p.m. I helped my friend film a short video that won a contest, so we will be at Opening Night tonight! There are lots of cool thing that go along with it, including the fact that we'll be live tweeting, which will stream right to the website. Also, my personal Twitter will be updated with the stuff I'm not allowed to say on the official one. ;)
I have my outfit all ready and I'm about to go get my makeup done! Last night was our backstage tour, tonight we do the red carpet, sit front row at the show and then hit the afterparty! Happy opening, y'all!
Yesterday started my birthday week, and it's already a crazy one. Someone call/text me and remind me to come back later and update on everything that's going on, because it's going to be awesome.
But if you want to know what I'm up to tonight, you should check out www.americanidiotbroadway.com after 5 p.m. I helped my friend film a short video that won a contest, so we will be at Opening Night tonight! There are lots of cool thing that go along with it, including the fact that we'll be live tweeting, which will stream right to the website. Also, my personal Twitter will be updated with the stuff I'm not allowed to say on the official one. ;)
I have my outfit all ready and I'm about to go get my makeup done! Last night was our backstage tour, tonight we do the red carpet, sit front row at the show and then hit the afterparty! Happy opening, y'all!
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
When Emma asked me if I wanted to go to the 7:30 RSO with her, I said I shouldn't because I already had tickets to the 9:30 show and I figured that once was enough. Well, after seeing it, I kind of wish I had gone to both.
I'm getting ahead of myself, though. You probably don't know what RSO is, if you're reading this. Rated RSO is a show that the composer Ryan Scott Oliver (see what he did there?) has been doing since last summer, featuring music from shows he has composed and other projects. It just so happens that some of my favorite people have also been attached to this project, which is what piqued my interest in the first place. It was just lucky that his music happened to be fantastic too.
The energy in Joe's Pub was off the charts last night - maybe it was a result of this being the "last" of the series, or the fact that there were so many amazing people involved (the cast was larger than usual, and all incredibly talented), or the fact that I knew half the audience or some combination of those factors. But it was an incredible night. There were a ton of songs I already knew, which were performed beautifully and at times by new singers, but there were also some stunning new songs I had never heard. "The Odyssey" was one of those, and it was absolutely gorgeous.
Of course, I am still holding out hope that the next show from Mr. Oliver will include a repeat performance of "Cut You a Piece", or that it will at least go up on YouTube.
And then I pretty much overdosed on love after the show ended, but I won't get into that here.
I'm getting ahead of myself, though. You probably don't know what RSO is, if you're reading this. Rated RSO is a show that the composer Ryan Scott Oliver (see what he did there?) has been doing since last summer, featuring music from shows he has composed and other projects. It just so happens that some of my favorite people have also been attached to this project, which is what piqued my interest in the first place. It was just lucky that his music happened to be fantastic too.
The energy in Joe's Pub was off the charts last night - maybe it was a result of this being the "last" of the series, or the fact that there were so many amazing people involved (the cast was larger than usual, and all incredibly talented), or the fact that I knew half the audience or some combination of those factors. But it was an incredible night. There were a ton of songs I already knew, which were performed beautifully and at times by new singers, but there were also some stunning new songs I had never heard. "The Odyssey" was one of those, and it was absolutely gorgeous.
Of course, I am still holding out hope that the next show from Mr. Oliver will include a repeat performance of "Cut You a Piece", or that it will at least go up on YouTube.
And then I pretty much overdosed on love after the show ended, but I won't get into that here.
Monday, January 18, 2010
I'm trying to think of interesting ways to update you, dear reader(s), on what is happening in my life lately without sounding like a broken record, because I really have done a lot of the same stuff this past week, but I'm drawing a blank.
I'm working at going out less, especially during the week, and going to fewer "events", though that's almost impossible in the next few months with all the cabarets and shows coming up. I also kind of failed at that this week. Going to Therapy (a HK gay bar) on Tuesday was definitely worth it, though, to hear Matt (this guy) sing "My Man" and be generally looser than I'm used to seeing him. We even got him to dance with us to "You Can't Stop the Beat" when they played it - of course L and I know all the choreography. Please. It's actually been a week full of Matt run-ins, since we had a good long gossip session while walking home from work (for him) and shopping (for me, L and S) on Saturday night, too.
And one of my other Ls came home from being out of the country, so having do-nothing-but-curl-up-on-the-couch-and-watch-Toddlers-and-Tiaras time was wonderful. And there were cupcakes involved, which is always always a good thing.
OH, and thanks to my wonderful aunt, uncle and cousins, I had a gift card to the Colony, which I used to purchase this: The Judy Garland Souvenir Songbook. My friends have decided I need to use one of these songs to audition for the non-eq Wizard of Oz tour and/or American Idol. Ha.
I'm going to finish out this lovely day off by doing nothing but laundry and lounging. I might even venture to Amy's Bread for a snack later, but let's not get too crazy. I have lots of interviews to conduct this week at work, and no major plans for the weekend yet, which means the possibilities are wide open (though we are probably going to Rockwood on Friday for the third week in a row, and post-Rockwood karaoke was suggested). Suggestions are welcome.
<3
Friday, January 15, 2010
Sometimes I can't believe the hatred that spews out of the mouths of people who claim to be doing work of "God". I won't get into questions of religion and my personal beliefs here, because I think that's a very private matter, but I will say that if there's one thing I do believe in, it is that we are all deserving of love and equality. I think that's pretty obvious.
Saturday, January 9, 2010
Lazy weekend.
Last night I caught a nice little set from Johnny Gallagher in the East Village with my friends Louise and Rob, and then we hit my favorite Italian place followed by my favorite trashy dive bar.
I must say that my decision to wear cowboy boots was a great choice, and that Rudy's will stay classy forever. There was even a dance party to "Single Ladies" with a bunch of random cute hipster boys; my favorites were the trapper hat guy and the one who asked each of us who we were putting a ring on.
Today has been lazy, and I've loved every minute of it. In fact, I've barely left my room, let alone my apartment. I'll venture out into the icy air in a few to pick up some things, but aside from that it's a quiet night in HK, my friends. All the better to celebrate deadline week.
Monday, January 4, 2010
Back to reality, barely.
I made it back to NYC after a lovely little break in Tennessee and Texas. The holidays were nice, if uneventful. Actually, I think they were nice because they were uneventful. Mine were comprised mostly of hangtime with the family, playing with puppies, playing the piano and watching a lot of movies.
Then it was back to the city and "real life", if you can call it that. I've already caught up with most of my lovelies here in a span of 2 days, so you could call that a success. I also consider it a success that I was able to introduce Emma to the joy of Will & Grace. Seriously, she'd never seen it. Ridiculous, I know.
Somehow in that span of two days, I've also managed to hit up several of my favorite eateries, at least the ones in my neighborhood. Just FYI, ice cream shouldn't crunch - Five Napkin seems to have issues with their desserts, but we always come back. And it was a small joy that the barista at Amy's Bread remembered how I take my tea. Sure, it was only a matter of weeks since I'd been there, but considering how frequently I'm usually there, I considered it a success.
Yesterday was also a sad day - the final performance of Aaron Tveit (and therefore the OBC) in next to normal. Louise and I went, sitting in excellent seats I was able to get thanks to a tip from Adam, and cried our little eyes out.
I'd write a mini review, but most of you haven't seen it and wouldn't really be interested in the details, so I'll just say that it was an incredible show, though also incredibly sad, but I'm quite glad I was able to be there.
Now it's back to work. Joy.
Then it was back to the city and "real life", if you can call it that. I've already caught up with most of my lovelies here in a span of 2 days, so you could call that a success. I also consider it a success that I was able to introduce Emma to the joy of Will & Grace. Seriously, she'd never seen it. Ridiculous, I know.
Somehow in that span of two days, I've also managed to hit up several of my favorite eateries, at least the ones in my neighborhood. Just FYI, ice cream shouldn't crunch - Five Napkin seems to have issues with their desserts, but we always come back. And it was a small joy that the barista at Amy's Bread remembered how I take my tea. Sure, it was only a matter of weeks since I'd been there, but considering how frequently I'm usually there, I considered it a success.
Yesterday was also a sad day - the final performance of Aaron Tveit (and therefore the OBC) in next to normal. Louise and I went, sitting in excellent seats I was able to get thanks to a tip from Adam, and cried our little eyes out.
I'd write a mini review, but most of you haven't seen it and wouldn't really be interested in the details, so I'll just say that it was an incredible show, though also incredibly sad, but I'm quite glad I was able to be there.Now it's back to work. Joy.
Friday, December 25, 2009
Hey, strangers.
So, as you can see, I pretty much stopped blogging this year. Oops. I'm still all over the internet, but I spend more time elsewhere (like Twitter).
I'm going to try to be better about this though, because perhaps there are still some people out there who are interested in reading about what's going on in my life (besides the douchey comments I make on said Twitter).
So, here's my resolution - a blog a week for 2010. And I might need someone (cough*SAM*cough) to help remind me about that.
LOVE TO ALL!
(And a Merry Christmas.)
Friday, May 29, 2009
An update
New numbers for the countdown:
- 7 days until Kely comes to NYC to be my dapper date for the weekend.
- 9 days until the Tony Awards (the event for which I need a dapper date).
- 17 days until my conference in Houston. Yeehaw!
- 19 days until I see my dad in Paris.
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Equal rights! Right now!
This past Sunday in NYC, there was a big rally for marriage equality organized by Broadway Impact. I had the good fortune to get involved with this group a few months ago, and I volunteered to help out with the rally. This truly is the great civil rights fight of our generation, and I was thrilled to get to be a part of a day that turned out to be so amazing.
As you may have seen all over my Facebook, we've been promoting this pretty hard for the past couple of weeks, but when Sunday came it was time for the final push. My first duty as a volunteer was to pass out flyers the morning of the event, which I did for about 5 hours. I was assigned to the Theater District because I'm loud, not shy, and not afraid to engage people - not to mention the extensive flyering/handbill passing out experience I got in college. Thank you, CAC. I think I talked to around 300 people about marriage equality and the rally. It was so encouraging and exciting for so many people to engage and be so supportive of our cause.
I also volunteered to be a marshall at the rally itself. My friends Louise, Alexa and I were assigned to the 45th Street block, and then I got pulled to do crowd control at the southwest corner of 45th and 6th, aka where every speaker/performer entered. It was also the busiest place where people coming to the rally were entering, so there was a lot of excitement. It was definitely not a glamorous job though, mostly consisting of crowd control - keeping people moving along the sidewalks and making sure the rally stayed peaceful and that the "pens" in the streets didn't get too crowded.
Many notable people were at the rally, including Governor Paterson and Mayor Bloomberg, among other speakers. There were also live performances from fantastic Broadway performers like the cast of HAIR, Cheyenne Jackson and Audra McDonald. Seeing the HAIR cast march down 45th was moving, and speaking to them as they left after the performance was wonderful. I love how tuned in and turned on they actually are. The entire experience was truly touching. I only got to catch snippets of speeches in between directing traffic and answering questions, but all of the people there were so inspirational.
After the rally, I scored a great seat on the right aisle of the orchestra for HAIR. I mean, come on, I had to be there. So I went, still decked in my Broadway Impact shirt and bright orange armband. It was beautiful, amazing, fantastic, everything else I can't imagine to say to describe the feeling. I cried a bit during "I Got Life" and was moved during "I Believe In Love." Oh, and random but awesome - Bryce RIFFED THE SHIZ out of his note in "3-5-0-0." It was phenomenal - as in, I spontaneously burst into tears because of HIS SINGING. And at the end, dancing on stage was even more exciting than usual just because there was so much joy.
We had a great time at the stage door, and the moment Gavin (who is one of the founders of Broadway Impact; I don't think I've mentioned that) came out, saw all of us supporters there and threw his arms up victoriously was just a culmination of the way today felt. Hugs and love were all around, and we all couldn't help but grin and be exuberant at being a part of history. As Gavin says, "It's going to happen, because we're right." As a side note, as we were standing there all talking, we heard the news that HAIR won the Drama Desk Award for Best Revival of a Musical, which was thoroughly exciting.
There are not enough words to describe how wonderful the day was, but there's my feeble attempt. Now it's time for everyone to start calling their Senator and urging him/her to vote for the marriage equality bill. We have until June 20 to get this passed, and I know we can do it.
Oh, and I thought it would be cool to include some press coverage of the rally, too.
A video from broadway.tv
A story from Democratic Underground
Photos of the rally from Playbill.com
Photos of the rally from BroadwayWorld.com
For more info on getting involved, visit the Broadway Impact Web site.
As you may have seen all over my Facebook, we've been promoting this pretty hard for the past couple of weeks, but when Sunday came it was time for the final push. My first duty as a volunteer was to pass out flyers the morning of the event, which I did for about 5 hours. I was assigned to the Theater District because I'm loud, not shy, and not afraid to engage people - not to mention the extensive flyering/handbill passing out experience I got in college. Thank you, CAC. I think I talked to around 300 people about marriage equality and the rally. It was so encouraging and exciting for so many people to engage and be so supportive of our cause.
I also volunteered to be a marshall at the rally itself. My friends Louise, Alexa and I were assigned to the 45th Street block, and then I got pulled to do crowd control at the southwest corner of 45th and 6th, aka where every speaker/performer entered. It was also the busiest place where people coming to the rally were entering, so there was a lot of excitement. It was definitely not a glamorous job though, mostly consisting of crowd control - keeping people moving along the sidewalks and making sure the rally stayed peaceful and that the "pens" in the streets didn't get too crowded.
Many notable people were at the rally, including Governor Paterson and Mayor Bloomberg, among other speakers. There were also live performances from fantastic Broadway performers like the cast of HAIR, Cheyenne Jackson and Audra McDonald. Seeing the HAIR cast march down 45th was moving, and speaking to them as they left after the performance was wonderful. I love how tuned in and turned on they actually are. The entire experience was truly touching. I only got to catch snippets of speeches in between directing traffic and answering questions, but all of the people there were so inspirational.
After the rally, I scored a great seat on the right aisle of the orchestra for HAIR. I mean, come on, I had to be there. So I went, still decked in my Broadway Impact shirt and bright orange armband. It was beautiful, amazing, fantastic, everything else I can't imagine to say to describe the feeling. I cried a bit during "I Got Life" and was moved during "I Believe In Love." Oh, and random but awesome - Bryce RIFFED THE SHIZ out of his note in "3-5-0-0." It was phenomenal - as in, I spontaneously burst into tears because of HIS SINGING. And at the end, dancing on stage was even more exciting than usual just because there was so much joy.
We had a great time at the stage door, and the moment Gavin (who is one of the founders of Broadway Impact; I don't think I've mentioned that) came out, saw all of us supporters there and threw his arms up victoriously was just a culmination of the way today felt. Hugs and love were all around, and we all couldn't help but grin and be exuberant at being a part of history. As Gavin says, "It's going to happen, because we're right." As a side note, as we were standing there all talking, we heard the news that HAIR won the Drama Desk Award for Best Revival of a Musical, which was thoroughly exciting.
There are not enough words to describe how wonderful the day was, but there's my feeble attempt. Now it's time for everyone to start calling their Senator and urging him/her to vote for the marriage equality bill. We have until June 20 to get this passed, and I know we can do it.
Oh, and I thought it would be cool to include some press coverage of the rally, too.
A video from broadway.tv
A story from Democratic Underground
Photos of the rally from Playbill.com
Photos of the rally from BroadwayWorld.com
For more info on getting involved, visit the Broadway Impact Web site.
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
How about a countdown?
- 11 days until my bestie Brin gets to the city.
- 24 days until yet another bestie, Kely, arrives.
- 26 days until the Tony Awards.
- 34 days until my conference in Houston (yay Texas).
- 36 days until I see my dad in Paris.
Sunday, May 10, 2009
I promise I'm not dead.
I've been really terrible at updating, and I apologize. However, I think it's going to be a trend here for a little bit - my lack of posting, that is. There's just too much going on.
Right now, I'm sort of busy at work, wrapping up everything from the 09 campaign and shifting into 2010 mode. I will be on a new team with new portfolio starting June 1st, and I'm really excited because I will get to recruit at OU! So all of you Sooners be prepared. ;)
Also, as spring has sprung and summer's on its way, a lot more time is being spent outside on patios rather than with my computer. Sorry, but I think you understand, right?
Big exciting news, though! The Tony Awards are exactly a month away, and I will be there! I'm especially excited to go because there are so many shows that I adore that are nominated (8 for HAIR, 11 for next to normal, 15 for Billy Elliot!). Kely's coming in for that weekend, and we have tickets to the awards ceremony. We'll also be at the first performance of HAIR after the awards. And I have to take him to see next to normal while he's in town.
But prior to that, my dear friend Erin is coming to visit, and I'm so excited to see her.
And then in June I have a work conference in Houston that I'm extending into a visit to Paris to see my family.
And somewhere in all of that mess, my friend Brian and I are moving in together (whether we're moving to a new place or staying in my current apartment is yet to be decided).
So, as you can see, I'm quite a busy bee. And though this post is far from poetic or insightful, hopefully it will tide you over until I have time to think of something more interesting to say.
Peace and love!
Thursday, April 23, 2009
The Beatles said it best...
"You say it's your birthday
It's my birthday too, yeah
They say it's your birthday
We're gonna have a good time
I'm glad it's your birthday
Happy birthday to you.
Yes we're going to a party party..."
Today is April 23, my 23rd birthday, which means it's my GOLDEN BIRTHDAY!
Actually, I'm not even playing hookey. I'm in the office right now, finishing up a few things before my vacation, and the festivities, begin at 11:30. Already today has been wonderful - I played the awesome new playlist I made while getting ready and when I walked out my bedroom door, there were gifts on the coffee table from my wonderful roommate. She gave me a bunch of pretty little daffodils, a Brooklyn blackout brownie from my favorite bakery and a cute card.
I got to the office early to get things done and because I always get an early start on my birthday, and so when my friends rolled in, they greeted me with big smiles, hugs and gifts! Sarah gave me a beautiful bouquet of flowers and a really sweet card, and Rena gave me a cute little change purse from Bendel's, which she says is so I can keep up with my Metrocard. She also sneakily bought the beautiful Papyrus card we ogled last week.
I'm sure there will be more to update you on later, with all the excitement coming up:
loVe!
It's my birthday too, yeah
They say it's your birthday
We're gonna have a good time
I'm glad it's your birthday
Happy birthday to you.
Yes we're going to a party party..."
Today is April 23, my 23rd birthday, which means it's my GOLDEN BIRTHDAY!
Actually, I'm not even playing hookey. I'm in the office right now, finishing up a few things before my vacation, and the festivities, begin at 11:30. Already today has been wonderful - I played the awesome new playlist I made while getting ready and when I walked out my bedroom door, there were gifts on the coffee table from my wonderful roommate. She gave me a bunch of pretty little daffodils, a Brooklyn blackout brownie from my favorite bakery and a cute card.
I got to the office early to get things done and because I always get an early start on my birthday, and so when my friends rolled in, they greeted me with big smiles, hugs and gifts! Sarah gave me a beautiful bouquet of flowers and a really sweet card, and Rena gave me a cute little change purse from Bendel's, which she says is so I can keep up with my Metrocard. She also sneakily bought the beautiful Papyrus card we ogled last week.
I'm sure there will be more to update you on later, with all the excitement coming up:
- Lunch with my girlfriends at Burgers & Cupcakes
- Broadway Show League opening day at Central Park
- My parents arriving this afternoon
- Choosing some swanky restaurant in Hell's Kitchen
- HAIR HAIR HAIRHAIRHAIR HAIR HAIR HAIR
loVe!
Thursday, April 16, 2009
The sun is shining, it's a lovely day...
The beauty of my job is its flexibility. I always have a ton to do, and generally work pretty long hours, but there are some nice perks. For one, I can take a little bit longer of a lunch break than usual, if I put in the extra time to get things done later in the day.
And that was absolutely necessary on a day like today. The weather is gorgeous and it feels like the city's finally waking up to spring. At lunchtime, I ventured over to Central Park to soak in some sunshine. I also got to watch a bit of softball with the Broadway Show League. My favorites from HAIR were playing 9 to 5, along with matchups pitting the casts of shows against one another in a little friendly ballgame.
Coincidentally, it's also the first game in the new Yankee Stadium today. I missed out on that one, but I'll be at a Yankees game soon, I assure you.
Nothing like watching softball in the sunshine Central Park on your lunch break to pep up the day. And shout-out to Tommar and Jay for being ballers.
Dig it, people. It was about time to let the sun shine in, for real.
And this weekend is supposed to be gorgeous, too!
And that was absolutely necessary on a day like today. The weather is gorgeous and it feels like the city's finally waking up to spring. At lunchtime, I ventured over to Central Park to soak in some sunshine. I also got to watch a bit of softball with the Broadway Show League. My favorites from HAIR were playing 9 to 5, along with matchups pitting the casts of shows against one another in a little friendly ballgame.
Coincidentally, it's also the first game in the new Yankee Stadium today. I missed out on that one, but I'll be at a Yankees game soon, I assure you.
Nothing like watching softball in the sunshine Central Park on your lunch break to pep up the day. And shout-out to Tommar and Jay for being ballers.
Dig it, people. It was about time to let the sun shine in, for real.
And this weekend is supposed to be gorgeous, too!
Friday, April 10, 2009
I can't believe I forgot to tell you this!
Guess who I met on Tuesday night? Go on, guess.
Ok, clearly you can already tell since there's a picture right here, but I'm excited to tell you that it was THIS GUY:
He didn't go dance on stage at the end, sadly. However, I did, of course, and Caissie pulled me up to the front to dance/sing with her for the Let the Sun Shine encore, and there was Tom dancing and smiling and sharing the loVe from his seat.
Afterwards, we were waiting at the stage door to congratulate Jay and Paris and chat with the cast, when who comes out first but Mr. Hanks himself. He didn't hang around for long, but he did stop to tell us all that he enjoyed the show. I complemented his dance moves, which he just kind of laughed at and said, "Thanks." Then some rando shouted "Bosom Buddies!" to which he replied, "Yeah... I was in that." And then he got into his car and away he went.
The cast was all star-struck when they came out. I think my favorite was John announcing that he must be infinitely more talented now that Tom Hanks had touched him. Ain't that the truth? ;)
Monday, April 6, 2009
In brief...
I don't have the energy for an update in prose, so we'll resort to the bullet-point format:
- I found out for certain that I will be returning to TFA next year on the recruitment team.
- I'll be working with schools in Dallas and Louisiana (most likely, it's about 90% set).
- Hooray for Iowa for embracing equality.
- Great quote of Friday: "You can get married in Iowa now, but just not to him."
- This guy has a great voice. And he's not hard to look at, either.
- No matter how many times I say that I need to get some rest, I can't make myself go to sleep before 1 a.m.
- I made new theatre-loving friends this weekend, which is always fun.
- Apparently, singing "Oh Great God of Lotto" works.
- I saw Josh and Chasten make their Broadway debuts!
- This girl is still my favorite ever.
- Our inappropriate lunch-bunch had an inappropriate brunch instead. No wonder they put us in the back room by ourselves.
- Free mimosas are wonderful.
- Justin went back to the land of cheese and it makes me sad!
- Only 17 days until my GOLDEN BIRTHDAY!
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Life is around you and in you.
Since I was too wrapped up in dancing onstage to get my camera out during the dance party at the end, I'll let BroadwayWorld.com's photo coverage show you what the scene was like.
Down to the gutter, up to the glitter
Oh, and just so you don't miss it, my BroadwayWorld.com debut:
I feel like the title of this blog post, a lyric from The Flesh Failures/Let the Sunshine In (which ends the show) perfectly describes this image.
Down to the gutter, up to the glitter
Oh, and just so you don't miss it, my BroadwayWorld.com debut:
I feel like the title of this blog post, a lyric from The Flesh Failures/Let the Sunshine In (which ends the show) perfectly describes this image.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Gavin Creel, don't read this blog post.
Gavin, who stars as Claude in the Broadway revival of HAIR, has made it publicly known that he does not read reviews, not even his mother's. So I wanted to make sure he knows that he should not read this blog post, because it is one giant (albeit glowing) review. ;)
As you regular readers are aware, I was more than excited to be attending the Opening Night performance of HAIR on Broadway tonight. The experience was incredible, and I attempted to put it down into coherent thoughts about the show. I realize most of the people reading this probably haven't seen it, so I want to warn you that there are spoilers in this review, but nothing that would spoil your experience seeing the show if you get the chance after reading it. It's also insanely long, so I don't blame you for not reading it if you're not all that interested. I mostly posted it for myself. So here goes:
---------------------------------
Nothing interesting/exciting happened at the red carpet or leading up to the show’s start, so I’ll skip right to the moment when the house lights dim and the audience roared. You could feel the loVe in the Hirsch for sure. I was sitting way back at the tippy top, and had a beautiful panoramic view of the stage, which I think was perfect for opening night, just to take in the whole show and the entire experience.
I knew I’d be a sobbing mess by the end of tonight, but I did not expect to tears to start streaming down my face during Aquarius. You know that line in Chicago about the audience loving Roxy and she loves the audience and they love her for loving them and they all just love each other? Picture that, only as a “transcendental meditation on the ocean of reality,” as Berger would say.
In his scene, there were a lot of extra pauses and playful asides to the audience. Instead of just BananaBerger and KarmaBerger and UnzipperBerger, we also had BigFuckinNightBerger. And he commented on how dressed up everyone was. The man he asked for spare change gave him some flowers instead, which he stuffed into his “purse” and continued to sing Donna.
The beginning introductions were definitely milked for the highly responsive audiences, who were also prone to shouting back things like, “We love you too” to Woof. “Ain’t Got No” is the first big audience interaction number, and everyone was definitely into it. Well, except a pair of people over near me, who wouldn’t clap along. Gavin literally took the guy’s hands and clapped them together to get him to join in. There was a glitch in this song (I think) with Sasha’s mic not being on right at the start of her solo, but she’s Sasha Fierce and worked it. I could barely tell she was unmiced from the last row at first.
I don’t plan to do a song-by-song review, because quite honestly I got to a point where I forgot they were singing songs in the score. I was just engrossed in the experience of what was going on on that stage, or rather, in that theatre. I started the evening having decided to watch people who weren’t the focus of the scene during each part, to catch all the wonderful little characterizations and bits they added, but now that I’m looking back, I can’t remember what they were or where they went because I was so sucked in. I was definitely drinking the Kool-Aid tonight, you guys.
So, “I Got Life” is my favorite song, and I always get so excited with anticipation during that dialogue between Claude and his parents leading up to it. Then when he finally breaks into song with that first line, I’m always the girl who whoops right in the pause after “mother.” And it appears plenty of other people love it too, because I was not the only one whooping tonight (which made me happy because I always feel a little awkward when it’s just me). The moment when the Tribe and Claude are jumping up and down singing “Life, life life life” is so exuberant, you can’t help but feel happy about your own life. And Gavin KILLS on the “A-men.” I can’t wait for the album now, just so I can hear him wail on that without the cheers of the audience drowning it out a bit.
For you Theo fans, he was extra hilarious tonight – he did something different as the principal than I’ve heard, but I can’t remember exactly what the nonsense words he used were. Something to do with a Weinershnitzl. And as Hubert, I kept watching him do all these little hilarious things I’d yet to notice, like his goofy clapping along while the haggle of hippa sang “Hair.” And speaking of Hubert, I must mention the wonderful Andrew Kober as Margaret Meade, because he works it out. That’s all I can say because it pretty much goes without saying. This is another moment I was crying, but this time from laughter.
Now, the best thing about sitting in the back of the theatre is Hare Krishna. I had made a decision to watch Gavin during this scene because I wanted to take note of what had been described as superb acting as he struggles with his decision. So, I was surprised when I couldn’t find him in the mix of people dancing around. Then I look to my right and see him walking down from the top of the mezzanine. I can’t adequately describe how moving his performance was throughout that entire song. He truly was trying to convince himself that beads, love, freedom, and happiness were enough and that he would join his friends and burn his draft card. So that made “Where Do I Go” even more heartbreaking.
I always cry from the moment he sings “where”, but tonight I set a new record for myself, with tears streaming down my face from the moment the music changed leading into the song. That song/scene was simply stirring – tonight was the first night I felt the impetus for why the Tribe strips off their clothes. And of course, I was still crying at intermission.
To be quite honest, the second act feels like a blur. That’s when I really started forgetting that I was watching HAIR, and felt more like I was there at the Be-In, experiencing things with the Tribe. I’m still amazed at how they made that connection even with an audience member in the very last row.
I will specifically mention a couple of songs though:
First, Walking In Space, because it’s my 2nd favorite song in the show, and a review wouldn’t be complete without it. So really, this is just a shoutout to the song because I love it. Also, Three-Five-Zero-Zero, because I once again lost it during this song. The image of them standing across the front of the stage, pleading in their characters’ different ways for their message to be heard, was something so heartwrenching. And then it leads into “What a Piece of Work Is Man,” and there was no turning back for me as far as crying went. That’s the moment when Claude becomes cynical about the life that he’s got, and that might be the most heartwrenching moment of all. Yep, tearing up just thinking about it again.
From that moment out it was tears and fantastic singing. Gavin’s Flesh Failures never fails to impress, and the quartet of ladies singing the beginning of Let the Sunshine In is so fierce. Everyone was crying to some degree as their voices faded out, whether it be shaking in silent sobs (guilty) or soft sniffles.
I think the people next to me thought I was extremely rude for squeezing to the end of the row during curtain calls, but I didn’t care. I had to be on that stage dancing at the end of this fantastic opening night. Right as I came up onto the stage, Nicole gave me a big hug and we danced together for a little while, then I danced with Jay for a bit. But mostly I just held my hands up in the air and closed my eyes and basked in the amazing moment. There was so much joy on that stage, with people lingering far after the music ended. I was quite reluctant to leave and head home, but I did with joy because I knew that something as beautiful as HAIR was on Broadway and that I will be able to come back and experience that again.
Thought it probably won’t ever be quite the same as it felt for opening night.
As you regular readers are aware, I was more than excited to be attending the Opening Night performance of HAIR on Broadway tonight. The experience was incredible, and I attempted to put it down into coherent thoughts about the show. I realize most of the people reading this probably haven't seen it, so I want to warn you that there are spoilers in this review, but nothing that would spoil your experience seeing the show if you get the chance after reading it. It's also insanely long, so I don't blame you for not reading it if you're not all that interested. I mostly posted it for myself. So here goes:
---------------------------------
Nothing interesting/exciting happened at the red carpet or leading up to the show’s start, so I’ll skip right to the moment when the house lights dim and the audience roared. You could feel the loVe in the Hirsch for sure. I was sitting way back at the tippy top, and had a beautiful panoramic view of the stage, which I think was perfect for opening night, just to take in the whole show and the entire experience.
I knew I’d be a sobbing mess by the end of tonight, but I did not expect to tears to start streaming down my face during Aquarius. You know that line in Chicago about the audience loving Roxy and she loves the audience and they love her for loving them and they all just love each other? Picture that, only as a “transcendental meditation on the ocean of reality,” as Berger would say.
In his scene, there were a lot of extra pauses and playful asides to the audience. Instead of just BananaBerger and KarmaBerger and UnzipperBerger, we also had BigFuckinNightBerger. And he commented on how dressed up everyone was. The man he asked for spare change gave him some flowers instead, which he stuffed into his “purse” and continued to sing Donna.
The beginning introductions were definitely milked for the highly responsive audiences, who were also prone to shouting back things like, “We love you too” to Woof. “Ain’t Got No” is the first big audience interaction number, and everyone was definitely into it. Well, except a pair of people over near me, who wouldn’t clap along. Gavin literally took the guy’s hands and clapped them together to get him to join in. There was a glitch in this song (I think) with Sasha’s mic not being on right at the start of her solo, but she’s Sasha Fierce and worked it. I could barely tell she was unmiced from the last row at first.
I don’t plan to do a song-by-song review, because quite honestly I got to a point where I forgot they were singing songs in the score. I was just engrossed in the experience of what was going on on that stage, or rather, in that theatre. I started the evening having decided to watch people who weren’t the focus of the scene during each part, to catch all the wonderful little characterizations and bits they added, but now that I’m looking back, I can’t remember what they were or where they went because I was so sucked in. I was definitely drinking the Kool-Aid tonight, you guys.
So, “I Got Life” is my favorite song, and I always get so excited with anticipation during that dialogue between Claude and his parents leading up to it. Then when he finally breaks into song with that first line, I’m always the girl who whoops right in the pause after “mother.” And it appears plenty of other people love it too, because I was not the only one whooping tonight (which made me happy because I always feel a little awkward when it’s just me). The moment when the Tribe and Claude are jumping up and down singing “Life, life life life” is so exuberant, you can’t help but feel happy about your own life. And Gavin KILLS on the “A-men.” I can’t wait for the album now, just so I can hear him wail on that without the cheers of the audience drowning it out a bit.
For you Theo fans, he was extra hilarious tonight – he did something different as the principal than I’ve heard, but I can’t remember exactly what the nonsense words he used were. Something to do with a Weinershnitzl. And as Hubert, I kept watching him do all these little hilarious things I’d yet to notice, like his goofy clapping along while the haggle of hippa sang “Hair.” And speaking of Hubert, I must mention the wonderful Andrew Kober as Margaret Meade, because he works it out. That’s all I can say because it pretty much goes without saying. This is another moment I was crying, but this time from laughter.
Now, the best thing about sitting in the back of the theatre is Hare Krishna. I had made a decision to watch Gavin during this scene because I wanted to take note of what had been described as superb acting as he struggles with his decision. So, I was surprised when I couldn’t find him in the mix of people dancing around. Then I look to my right and see him walking down from the top of the mezzanine. I can’t adequately describe how moving his performance was throughout that entire song. He truly was trying to convince himself that beads, love, freedom, and happiness were enough and that he would join his friends and burn his draft card. So that made “Where Do I Go” even more heartbreaking.
I always cry from the moment he sings “where”, but tonight I set a new record for myself, with tears streaming down my face from the moment the music changed leading into the song. That song/scene was simply stirring – tonight was the first night I felt the impetus for why the Tribe strips off their clothes. And of course, I was still crying at intermission.
To be quite honest, the second act feels like a blur. That’s when I really started forgetting that I was watching HAIR, and felt more like I was there at the Be-In, experiencing things with the Tribe. I’m still amazed at how they made that connection even with an audience member in the very last row.
I will specifically mention a couple of songs though:
First, Walking In Space, because it’s my 2nd favorite song in the show, and a review wouldn’t be complete without it. So really, this is just a shoutout to the song because I love it. Also, Three-Five-Zero-Zero, because I once again lost it during this song. The image of them standing across the front of the stage, pleading in their characters’ different ways for their message to be heard, was something so heartwrenching. And then it leads into “What a Piece of Work Is Man,” and there was no turning back for me as far as crying went. That’s the moment when Claude becomes cynical about the life that he’s got, and that might be the most heartwrenching moment of all. Yep, tearing up just thinking about it again.
From that moment out it was tears and fantastic singing. Gavin’s Flesh Failures never fails to impress, and the quartet of ladies singing the beginning of Let the Sunshine In is so fierce. Everyone was crying to some degree as their voices faded out, whether it be shaking in silent sobs (guilty) or soft sniffles.
I think the people next to me thought I was extremely rude for squeezing to the end of the row during curtain calls, but I didn’t care. I had to be on that stage dancing at the end of this fantastic opening night. Right as I came up onto the stage, Nicole gave me a big hug and we danced together for a little while, then I danced with Jay for a bit. But mostly I just held my hands up in the air and closed my eyes and basked in the amazing moment. There was so much joy on that stage, with people lingering far after the music ended. I was quite reluctant to leave and head home, but I did with joy because I knew that something as beautiful as HAIR was on Broadway and that I will be able to come back and experience that again.
Thought it probably won’t ever be quite the same as it felt for opening night.
Monday, March 30, 2009
A Whole Haggle of Hippi
This past week was hellish, though it was marked by a few bright spots. I don't want to talk about the negative things, so I'll just mention the good stuff.
For one thing, Gossip Girl came back! (Love Blair and Nate together, by the way, so haters to the left.) Then, I finally won the HAIR lotto, which was fantastic. Katie Couric was at the show that night, by the way. Then on Friday, which was the worst day of all, my friends helped make it better with an outing to Blockheads for our favorite drinks - the Bulldog. And that night I saw the first preview of Next to Normal with the fierce Alice Ripley and the hot-hottie Aaron Tveit.
Saturday was shopping with Kennedy and Duncan down in SoHo & Nolita. It was my "hippie themed" day, though lately every day is, to be quite honest. I got a fun bag from Tibet, a bright happy sundress, a funky ring and some patchouli/nag champa scented body wash. Nothing says "let the sun shine in" like that, right?
Speaking of my hippie-ness, I am about to bounce off the walls from excitement because TOMORROW NIGHT I'm going to the OPENING NIGHT performance of HAIR. The capitols in that were necessary, and don't scratch the surface of my excitement. I have the cutest outfit planned, by the way.
This blog post is horribly written, because I'm feeling like a tweeny-bopper from my excitement. Apologies, but at least it's better than nothing. I'll post more tomorrow and a full review of my sure-to-be-amazing experience later.
Peace!
For one thing, Gossip Girl came back! (Love Blair and Nate together, by the way, so haters to the left.) Then, I finally won the HAIR lotto, which was fantastic. Katie Couric was at the show that night, by the way. Then on Friday, which was the worst day of all, my friends helped make it better with an outing to Blockheads for our favorite drinks - the Bulldog. And that night I saw the first preview of Next to Normal with the fierce Alice Ripley and the hot-hottie Aaron Tveit.
Saturday was shopping with Kennedy and Duncan down in SoHo & Nolita. It was my "hippie themed" day, though lately every day is, to be quite honest. I got a fun bag from Tibet, a bright happy sundress, a funky ring and some patchouli/nag champa scented body wash. Nothing says "let the sun shine in" like that, right?
Speaking of my hippie-ness, I am about to bounce off the walls from excitement because TOMORROW NIGHT I'm going to the OPENING NIGHT performance of HAIR. The capitols in that were necessary, and don't scratch the surface of my excitement. I have the cutest outfit planned, by the way.
This blog post is horribly written, because I'm feeling like a tweeny-bopper from my excitement. Apologies, but at least it's better than nothing. I'll post more tomorrow and a full review of my sure-to-be-amazing experience later.
Peace!
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
The best part about my job...
... are my friends at work.
When I'm having an incredibly awful, stressful day/week, they come get me and make me go to an actual sit down lunch and laugh about the ridiculous things we all say when we get together.
And they share sweet potato fries and chocolate milkshakes with me.
And typically every time we eat lunch all together, this comment is made, "This is the weirdest lunch conversation I've ever had."
Love those girls.
When I'm having an incredibly awful, stressful day/week, they come get me and make me go to an actual sit down lunch and laugh about the ridiculous things we all say when we get together.
And they share sweet potato fries and chocolate milkshakes with me.
And typically every time we eat lunch all together, this comment is made, "This is the weirdest lunch conversation I've ever had."
Love those girls.
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