ay carumba!

dearie me... it's been almost a month since i last posted-- where has time gone?

i'll tell ya-

so i decided to do a crazy thing- i signed on for Swing! a big band revue which followed Mousetrap on the Drayton Season at St. Jacob's Contry playhouse... so for the final week of Mousetrap performances i was often doing two shows a day and rehearsing for five hours- EXHAUSTING!!!!

Swing is going to be a phenomenal show... it originated at the Charlottetown Fesitval in '83 (when i was one) and we have four of the original cast members in the show (Michael Killinger, and the Mantini Sisters- Barbara, Sandran, and Ann) plus John Devorski, Patrick Stiles, Ashley Fenster, and Jessica Horn. It's directed by original cast member and Drayton AD Alex Mustakas, and choreographed by Vera Stephenson

Now the really cool thing about the shows, aside from the 12 piece bif band onstage, is that it is conducted by Howard Cable-- who you may ask? well he was the conductor at the royal york for many years and has cunducted some people by the names of Liza Minelli, Chita Rivera, Joel Grey, Danny Kaye, and ELLA FIRTZGERALD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YEEEGAWDS I TELL YOU!!

the second coolest thing about the show is that in the second act i get to do an entire medley of songs as CARMEN MIRANDA- fruit hat and all folks... we open this friday and run until April 6th so come on down and see it cos it's quite the spectacle- lots of tap dancing (which i don't do) and jivin' (which i do do) and whole lot of other great stuff.

NOW...
yesterday it snowed a crap load out in waterloo... the drive home from the theatre was not the greatest but the roads where manageable.... BUT when i got the Barna's street my car got a little stuck... it took a brigade of 4 people plus Lynne Barna at the wheel to get my car to the Barna household and then we had to shovel a tonne to get it in their driveway.... THE SNOW WAS UP TO MY KNEES!!!! RIDONKULOUS!!!

thank god for the boots i stole from bunnicula.

now here's a little plug for something special-

on tuesday march 18th at 8pm i will be a part of Acting Upstage's Dark Night Cabaret Series

I will be opening for the divine Susan Gilmour and the evening will be hosted the super-fantastic Sharron Matthews... i will be singing a set of songs by composer/lyricists (and not a single one is a Sondheim cos you've all heard those before!) so come on down.

tickets are $20 and can be purchased by phonig 416 368 3110

for more info on the dark night cabaret series (there are 3 other stellar nights as well) and for info on their current production of A MAn of No Importance check out www.actingupstage.com

that's all for now and i promise to post more regularly... if any of you care :P

xoxo
a.

opened!

well mouestrap opened last night....

audiences friggin loves this play... they eat it up!!! the whispers of people trying to figure out who's the murderer is such a delight.

there are a whole lot of laughs in the show but when things switch to serious you can hear a pin drop (and occasionally an patron's oxygen tank, or a chronic cougher) but it is so much fun to get take people on such a roller coatser of suspicion (that was a gay analogy- or metaphor? but i'm keeping it in)

anyway the cast is so superb and we have a tonne of fun backstage (we sing showtunes sometimes, and brian mckay tell incredible stories... i imitiate some of shawn wright's best bits)

so i know i've said it before but i will say it again COME SEE MOUSETRAP IF YOU CAN!!!

in other news.... i am going to see gypsy at sheridan tonight after my matinee
I AM TRES EXCITED!!!!

that's all for now.
xoxo
a.

legally "strawberry" blonde

OKAY!





so mousetrap opens this week


and as someone (mr.g. whynot) pointed out... i didn't mention those involved in the last post





so:





The Mousetrap by Agath Christie- St. Jacob's Playhouse Feb 14-March 2





Mollie Ralston (the ingenue)- Susie Burnett


Giles Ralston (the ingenue's husband)- Adrian Griffin


Christoper Wren (an eccentric)- yours truly


Mrs. Boyle (the mean one)- Maria Heidler


Major Metcalf (the nice one)- Robert Latimer


Miss Casewell (the butch one)- Karen Sweet


Mr. Paravicini (the italian)- Brian McKay


Sgt. Trotter (the one who speaks in large paragraphs)- David Snelgrove





Directed by Rona Waddington


Stage Managed by Paul Pembleton


ASM: Jackie McCormick


Set: Jeff Johnston Collins


Costumes: Rachel Berchtold





so there....





now my character- Chris Wren... is a young lad who is quite fond of esthetics, archtiecture, and cooking... (anyone sensing he's hiding something?)... so i get these fabulous costumes (there's a sweatr vest- cos i'm a magnet for them) and i get an ascot.... and our wonderful costume designer thought it would be swellegant if i dyed my hair STRAWBERRY BLONDE.... so i got booked into the spa and here is the final result:

in other news.... it snowed up a storm this past week in waterloo.... so far my car has been in need of a push 3 times!!!! RIDICULOUS!!!!

and: i am too old to be in spring awakening- at 23 i think it's time to start looking into retirement homes :P i spent six hours at the open call today and suddenly felt the need for botox... SO many young young young peeps.

sigh... anyway seriously COME SEE MOUSETRAP it's gonna be gooooooood!!

xo

a.

la la la

ERYN MURMAN- BROADWAY STAR!!
FOR MEEEEEE!
SPRING AWAKENING BOYS MATT DOYLE AND JONATHAN GROFF

okay ooops..... so i've been so busy and meaning to post.



NYC ended beautifully i saw Spring Awakening and was blown away- I KNEW SOMEONE ON A BROADWAY STAGE HOW COOL IS THAT???



seriously.



god love ya eryn murman for getting me on that stage.

and i talked to jonathan groff who is uber nice.

and matte doyle and the two blakes... they were all SO friendly.



and then on the friday i got up early and did breakie with my dad and then we walked around for a few hours and i shopped and then we got a cab and a plane and i was home by 9PM and exhausted!

on saturday i went to buddies with michael yerxa, anthony suppa, andrew joshnston- three FABULOUS HOMOSEXUALS, and their DIVINE DAMES- daphne moens and heidi brander... look what insipired andrew to do:





isn't it precious!



okay then sunday i packed all my stuff up again and hauled out to the KW



yes... i have been residing in waterloo all week!



and i am staying at HOTEL BARNA.

my kick ass super awesome friend Terry Barna and his super awesome kick ass wife Lynne offered to let me stay on the sofa bed while i'm out doing the mousetrap... and i have a ball with them and their super awesome kick ass kids Christian and Rachel



lynne makes fantastic dinners... a mushroom risotto that is to DIE for!!



last night terry and christian and i went to laser quest- i placed 15th!!!



so i'm all obsessed now with two things:



http://www.thebatterysdown.com/ (thanks david ball for showing me this!)



and andrew keenan bolger's video blog-

http://www.andrewkeenanbolger.com/

FUNNY FUNNY SHIT!! - he's in spelling bee right now which i'm dying to see but can't cos of rehearsals.



speaking of which- mousetrap is rocking... amazing cast and great director... and we were onstage on set the first day! WHOOOOOOT



we had blocked the entire show by lunch on our third day- gotta love canadian theatre's rehearsal process (and lack there of) but really it's going to be a good show... i even get to have some nice acting moments... not just shmacty stuff!



so come!

feb 14th-march3 at the st. jacob's playhouse.

http://www.draytonentertainment.com/



love ya!

a.

DU'd

Kerry Butler!

let me tell you about the amazing broadway entity known as Xanadu...

i have seen the movie... it is a stinker

i saw the musical and it is sizzlin' hot... in SO many ways.

first off all if you want to see the show and get the most out of the experience for the least amount of greenage (yes... i hate that all american bills look the same) get an onstage seat for $41.50... you will not regret it!!!

so the show stars kerry butler, cheyenne jackson, mary testa, jackie hoffman, and tony roberts.



so i get my seat onsatge i'm sitting front row in the middle of stage left beside sandra the columbian who moved to florida and then to new york a year ago. we're both super pumped to see it.... and then suddenly cheyenne comes onstage walks down the ramp beside us and crouches in front of us and starts colouring on a piece of paper with pastels...



OKAY

cheyenne- is like 8hundred feet tall... built like a god... stunningly beautiful and he's just crouched 3 feet in front of me in wearing tight cut off jean short... I'M ALREADY IN HEAVEN!

so the show gets under way and the cast is just so sizzling hot, funny, and sparkly... and then when kerry butler (who can sing, land a punchline, and skate in a way that only a person who is totally going to win a tony can) sings MAGIV kenita miller- one of the muses sisters- comes and sits beside me to sing her alto line, and when the song is done and i'm cheering like crazy she turns to me and says-"she's pretty good huh?" and i say- "damn straight!" and she laughs and gets up to continue with the show. for the rest of the show whenever kenita turns to face the back of the stage she blows kisses at me... i have a crush!



then a little later in the show mary testa who i adore sits beside me and starts eating popcorn and then turns and OFFERS ME SOME!!! more heaven!



then when i think it couldn't get any better... during the song where eveyone's fixing up the club kerry butler skates over to where i'm sitting pulls out a sponge and starts cleaning the railing in front of me and makes the funniest faces and shimmies at me.

that's when i turned to a puddle on the floor and decided i had to be the biggest gaytard ever and go to the stage door.



i don't usually go to the stage door cos i feel all amateurish... but i looooved the show so much... so i went and got a pic with kerry and told her i was form toronto and she was all "i love toronto that's wher ei first played belle" , she's tres sweet.



really folks... there were so many disco balls i couldn't keep count- Xanadu is the stuff ny drean are made of :)



and then i met up with eryn murman.

we walked around central park with some starbucks and i asked her all my questions about what it's like to perform on broadway (yes i'm such a loser and she is such a doll!) and then suddenly i realize i have to meet my dad so i can go to dinner with him.



off we go to the kosher deli- KOSHER DELIGHT at 37th and broadway... if anyone wants a kosher experience this is the place to go.

i got a corned beef sandwich combo.

it was yummy to the max.

then pops and i went on down to the music box and saw The Farnsworth Invention.

i'll tell you something.

August and Farnsworth are the first two plays i've seen in NYC and holy cow! the calibre of performance is just astounding.

farnsworth is written by aaron sorkin, directed by des mcanuff, and stars hank azaria- who was terrific- but the real star for me was Jimmi Simpson who played Philo Farnsworth the guy who invented the televison.

seriously... i don't know why this guy isn't a major MAJOR star. i'm secretly hoping des brings him to stratford in the future

the direction was fantastic... it was a very different type of play than August: Osage County... perfect for my dad, mostly narrative, very factual and historical. he adored it.



after the show i went to the virgin store and bough the OBC recording of Xanadu. and then me and my dad went to the Ben & Jerry's and got some ice cream and then went to bed.



today:

34th street shopping... go go Macy's

MOMA

and

ERYN MURMAN in SPRING AWAKENING!!!



whoot whoot holler holler!

I LOVED THIS!

Dear Clay Aiken... Zac Efron wants his hair back.



This seems so wrong!

les photo tableaux!

Central Park!

My favourite painting!

Lodi Carr!

Christine Pedi!

Chinese Pop Stars!

MALAN!!

Jim Caruso!

CELESTE HOLM!!!

the slip!

soooo much to tell

okay...

so.

i forgot a few things form monday night- laura nason told me to go to jim caruso's so a shout out and lots of love to her!!

the 5 finalist on the chinese version of american idol (called "my show") were there and sang... totally neat!
AND this woman named jan.. her slip fell off in the washroom and her firend who's the photographer at jim caruso's cast party got hold of it and tossed it to malan to toss onstage and when jim picked it up he stared at the slip asked who's it was (jan didn't claim it..yet) and put it down on top of the piano for all to see and to watch over the performances... so after i performed jim gave me the slip to say "rock on" and then jan came to claim it and we took a pic of us and the slip together.

okay... so yesterday

i got up, went to this place i adore called COSI for brunch and then headed over to MOMA i was all excited to have a day full of modern art... now i looked at the address for MOMA when i left but kinda forgot it by the time i was done brunch... but i knew it was on 53rd and i was pretty sure it was west... so set off... well after a 20 minute walk down 53rd west i saw no MOMA and i was walking beside this chain fence of a basketball court and i looked through the fence and on the side of a building on the otherside of the court was a big graffiti mural that said HELL'S KITCHEN. so i hightailed it out of there and asked some friendly new yorkers where the hell MOMA was and it turns out it's on 53rd EAST! so i got there only to discover it was closed on tuesdays :( BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!! (though i suppose it's thoroughly modern to be closed on tuesdays)

so then i decided why not go to the MET?
so i walked all the way through central park (took some lovely photos) to the met and spent 3 hours walking around. took almost 150 photo's of the art.
i love art.
especially anything post 1900
or just shortly before.

when i was in grade 10 my class went on a trip to new york and we went to the met but only for half an hour so we motored through and i discovered that they had one of seurat's practice panels for "a sunday afternoon on the isle of la grand jatte" (my favourite painting of all time) and i stared at it for 5 minutes and wept.

well yesterday i went back to the met, found the panel, stared at it for 15 minutes... wept... then took some great pics of it.

it was quite fulfilling.

oh and i love greek sculptures too... they fascinate me.
yes... greek marble statues, pointilism, and modern art.. that's where it's at for me.

so after i got down and dirty at the met i decided to walk back through central park to get to my hotel for a nap before seeing August: Osage County... this three and a halkf hour long play that began at 7:30

well i left the met at 4:15.
the met is at 85th street
at 4:30 i came out of central park at 72nd street and conetemplated walking down 5th avenue to get back to the hotel (at43rd stree)
i decided to go back in the park to get back.
somehow i got turned around all ass backwards
at 5:15 i got out of the park and was at 91st STREET!
WTF???
so i got a cab and got back.

I GOT LOST TWICE IN ONE DAY!!
IN NEW YORK!!
THE EASIEST CITY TO FIND YOUR WAY AROUND!!
I AM SUCH A TOURIST.


okay... if you're still reading.. bless you.

lots has happened. \
and i'm keeping this blog to enterain the few friends who will actually read and for posterity to show my grandchildren.

SOOO

i went to the hotel.
napped.
grabbed a slice of pizza
and head off to see August: Osage County
HOLY SHIT IT'S THE BEST THING I'VE EVER SEEN!
i have never laughed and cried so much, so close together, and unanimously with so many other people...
if you are going to new york in the next month or so see it before it's limited engagement ends.
it's a steppenwolf production so the entire cast is from chicago... and they ALL deserve tonies!!
this play will probably win the pulitzer.
it was a master class in acting, playwriting, directing, and everything theatrical.
simply stunning.

why aren't you booking you're flight and ticket to see it yet?
seriously- SEE THIS PLAY!!!

on a side note... i stuck up conversation with the gent sitting beside me, an older man who was also and actor here was part of our conversation:

"he: i'm bob (offers his hand)
me: ari (shaking his hand)
he: what? my name is bob ari
me: that's random"

not a word of a lie folks!

today's agenda:

i just got back from a fun meetin with the talent house's new york agent (who's name is also ari... hehehe)
i'm sitting ONSTAGE for the 2pm mat of XANADU (sooo pumped!!)
then i'm hanging out with the lovely miss eryn- i'm in spring awakening don't you wish you could hate me but you can't cos i'm sooo damn nice- murman.
meeting my dad for dinner at a kosher deli (ra ra new york for that)
and then we're seeing the farnsworth invention.

have a lovely day!
xo

DEBUT'D!!!

SOOOOO

i went to the 24 hour musical fundraiser... no raul esparza :( but a lot of other incredibly talented performers and some really neat, brief, material. guess who was there and walked by me.. ROSIE PEREZ!!!.... and jesse tyler ferguson walked by me and touched my knee and said excuse me (i have been touched by someone who was on ugly betty... WHOOT!!)
it seriously was sooo neat to get to stand at the bar and watch this material have its first life right before your eyes.

it ended at 9.
on my way out there was a big pack of gift bags, i didn't get one cos i was standing room only... but mama rose took over my soul and as i headed for the door i scooped one up, kept walking, opened the door and never looked back- i didn't look in it until i hailed my cab- i got a nice dayplanner, a nellie mckay c.d. and a chi-chi new york magazine.

so i got back to my hotel room... my dad was watching Dreamgirls on our room's giant flatscreen ( WEsting Times Square ladies and gents!) dropped of the gift bag and headed to Jim Caruso's Cast Party - the coolest open mic night ever!!! Jim is currently touring with Liza Minelli- that makes me feel in awe and insanely jealous all at once.

so i sang around midnight and what did this jewish boy from thornhill sing to a bunch of new yorkers who have seen and heard it all before...a canadian showtune... CHUTZPAH A GO GO!!

it went smashing... and who was there (and they all performed too! i was in awe of them all seriously!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

Christine Pedi- kick ass diva from forbidden broadway who does the "And I"m Telling You" video on youtube where she impersonates a whole bunch of famous broads and it kills me everytime...she sang a trip to the library

Lodi Carr- a phenomenal jazz singer... i got her c.d. and can't wait to listen to it :)

Christine Lavin- the funniest folk singer i've ever heard... she gave me two of her c.d.'s and i will DEFINTELY be singing some of her material soooon.

who else was there??

Malan from project runway season three- he has a gorrrgeous voice and a laugh "like a disney villain" (said i)

and although they didn't perform celeste holm (yes that's right the ORIGNAL ado annie!) and michele lee were in the audience.

it was such a tonne of fun... if you're ever in new york GO TO JIM CARUSO'S CAST PARTY- you will have a ball (chita rivera was there last week!)
pics to come.
today MOMA!!

viva new york:)

NYC'd

Oh my god.

Welcome to my blog.. more on me later... though if you are here you probably already know me.

So i got to
NYC yesterday- landed @ 5:56 and at 6:56 i was paying for a ticket for the 7:00 Legally Blonde performance- holy cow what fun.

tonight standing room ticket to the 24 hour musical fundraiser at joe's pub... who will be there? kerry butler, cheyenn, nellie mckay, raul esparza, victoria clarke, and MORE!!!

I'm soooo pumped.

what elses am i seeing:

august: osage county
xanadu
the farnsworth invention
and spring awakening.


got all my tickets today.

k time to go shopping... i'll update often.

xoxoxo