My blog

Pinball Wizard

Sat, 19 Dec 2009 12:12:39 -0500

This blog post has been long over do. I wrote it awhile back but never got around to posting it.

I feel like a pinball bouncing around the country. In just one week I’ve been in Denver, Phoenix, New York City, and Charleston, SC.

Denver was, in a word, cold, but it forced me to buy some new winter clothes. Tis the season for spending money. Good thing I have a job. I went on for Melchior which was, as always, a blast. But with the good comes the bad. Almost a week earlier I pulled my groin during the show. Embarrassing, I know. Luckily it was during the Sun. matinee. I made it through the show, took the evening show off, and had an entire day off. Enough complaining. Denver was filled with parties. We had three: a company party thrown very generously for us by our producers, a party at Angie’s childhood home, and a Secret Santa party in yours truly’s room. Secret Santa was a huge success. Everyone really stepped up to the plate and got some great gifts for their respective pairings. I am particularly proud of my Secret Santa skills.

I had the good fortune of drawing my beautiful My Junk scene partner Angie’s name out of the proverbial hat. She has a fold-up bike, something I might think about if I’m ever on tour again, that she travels with from city to city. So I decided to get her a book called The Bicycle Diaries, a photo journal with space for written entries, and a camera. Read the book if you ever get a chance, and you’ll see how they all go together. Kate Hampton was my Secret Santa and got me Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain, along with some other nice food-themed stocking stuffers.

The layoff was much needed. I traveled to NY to see my good friend Ramona Mallory in A Little Night Music and Henry Stram in The Heart is a Lonely Hunter. Ramona’s voice is beautiful; Angela Lansbury has still got it; and even though I already knew it, Henry is one of the most talented actors I have ever had the pleasure to work with. Thank you for reminding me why I do what I do.

The trip home from NY was not so pleasant. My flight connected through Philly which at the time completely shut down due to the weather. Normally, an excuse to stay in NY another day would have been fine, but one of my best friends from high school, Caroline, was getting married later that evening, and of course I had to be there. I managed to barely get a flight out over 5 hours later than expected that connected through Charlotte. I missed the wedding but made it to the beautiful reception at Magnolia Gardens. Congrats Princess!

Speaking of Pinball Wizards...Lucas....

Hotel California

Mon, 30 Nov 2009 18:58:18 -0500

Sorry I’ve been away for so long. The rest of California was extremely eventful. I also had to fly into NY for a bit of a dream of that I have a really good feeling about so cross your fingers for me. I love being mysterious! While I was gone, Justin made his debut in a role as Georg. I’m glad I got to see him in the put-in. Maybe I’ll get to do Melchior one day with him as Georg. That would be a treat. Cross your fingers for me on both fronts.

I love both North and South Cali, but they are polar opposites separated by farmland that we had the pleasure of bussing through for nearly 9 hours.

The food and drink scene in Sacramento is stellar! I also had a kitchen which was great because I love to cook. Interestingly I found two different Italian specialty markets. I had movie, baseball, and dinner parties in the room constantly. Randomly the hotel also left free popcorn along with the coffee almost daily. They also did the dishes so I really felt like I was living the life. Speaking of baseball, GO YANKEES!!!! Speaking of coffee, there was a place that served a variety of options and another that had chicory coffee. I had only ever had chicory coffee in New Orleans with beignets so I was surprised to find it in Sacramento. It was just as good as I remembered. I feel like camping every time I drink it. Speaking of movies, it’s review time.

Inglourious Bastards: 5 stars and 2 big thumbs up!

The audiences in Costa Mesa were incredible. We even had a good crowd on Thanksgiving after a magical day at Disneyland where I ate a giant turkey leg. The cast also performed at Upright Cabaret, Gender Bender themed. It’s so great to see everyone outside of Spring Awakening. The entire cast new and old never ceases to blow me away.

Denver is already putting me in the Xmas spirit. It’s snowing!

Halloween idiot

Mon, 2 Nov 2009 16:36:15 -0500

It’s great to be back in California, and San Jose was a very eventful week. It started with a trip to Berkeley to see American Idiot. The show was like one long and very profound music video. I couldn’t help but think, “This is art.” Johnny was astounding. The level of passion, energy, and depth he gives every performance is truly incredible. Gerard and Brian both had that same passion and energy. My eye was always drawn to them, it wasn’t just because I’m friends with them. And finally Tony Vincent as St. Jimmy was frightening and mesmerizing all at the same time. His voice is sick! The use of televisions and projections were awesome. Congratulations Tom, Ira, and Michael on the piece of art that is American Idiot!

I was fortunate to see another old Spring Awakening friend, Skylar. It was great catching up and hanging out with him. He is hilarious. He along with a number of the American Idiot cast came to the show on Thursday.

Halloween was a huge success. We celebrated last night instead of Saturday because we have two days off in a row. I could get used to this. We rented a suite that was perfect for the occasion. It came slightly pre-decorated, but of course we had to do it up right. We got strobe lights, orange and purple lights, pumpkin tea candles, floating candles, assorted pumpkins, and other various assortments. Michael even came after a day of notes.

My costume was also a success. I was a shark complete with other sea-life. Kevin, the hair designer, made a crown out of blue poster board that looked like waves. I left the shark fin intact and wore all blue. I then put ocean stickers all over my shirt. I saved the seals though for the crown. Steffi put some of her red lip gloss that looked a lot like blood on the seals and on the corners of my mouth. I wish I could’ve found silver hairspray for my hair, but I think it still worked.

We’re bussing today which is a relief. Flying with all of your possessions is a struggle especially in a big group like this every week or two. See you in Sacramento!

Don’t Mess with Texas!

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 12:59:41 -0400

If you have any stereotypes about Texas, throw them all out in Austin, except of course, “Everything’s bigger in Texas,” which is obvious when you see the state capitol building which is, so I’m told, bigger than the Capitol Building in D.C. It’s truly a melting pot of Hipsters, BBQ, Tex-Mex, Breakfast, Honky-Tonk, Live Music, Cowboys, and College Students who in particular livened up our audiences.

The hotel had one pool that was both indoor and outdoor. You literally could swim under the wall. The jacuzzi was a pretty nice perk as well. I’m a huge fan of pools and jacuzzis, and I love to swim. I even have a speedo! Shhh.... Don’t tell anyone.

A good friend from college, Jordan, lives in Austin and came to see the show twice. It had been over a year since I had last seen her. Look for her in movies and television soon! Taylor’s family also got a chance to see him in the role and it was great meeting his Dad and seeing his Mom again. I also met Kayla’s family. Her Mom makes purses, and I asked her to make me a ‘murse’. If it ever happens I’ll be sure to post a picture.

I finally got a chance to run Melchior with Krystina as Wendla in an understudy rehearsal. It was a fantastic experience that I hope happens more often. I also got a chance to see Justin do Georg in a put-in. His voice is incredible! I can’t wait for you all to see him in action. He also looks a lot like me as Georg so it was almost like watching my twin. Kayla’s voice as Ilse was stunning, and David is an excellent adult man.

If you’re a foodie like me you’ll appreciate this. Mexican Breakfast is a staple in Austin, and as far as I can tell, the main dish is called Migas. It’s an egg scramble with cheese, tortilla strips, tomatoes, peppers, onions, and avocado, often served with a side of salsa and sour cream. It was delicious! And the best part is, you can get it pretty much anywhere at any time of the day.

I also saw Where the Wild Things Are at the IMAX. It was very trippy. Someone else in the cast hit the nail on the head when they said it was like coming down from something. It was extremely complex and abstract. It felt like more of a cinematic art piece than an actual movie. With that said, I thought it was extremely well made and absolutely beautiful.

Oh, and didn’t I tell you the Yankees would win. World Series time! I hope I get a chance to see some of it.

Next stop: San Jose! Can’t wait to see American Idiot and old friends.

Catch-UP

Mon, 19 Oct 2009 11:43:36 -0400

I’ve joined Twitter, and ever since I made the leap to the iPhone, tweeting has been easy, and fun, to keep up with. It does however hurt my blogging, because I feel like I’ve already said everything I wanted to say. But I’m going to start trying to blog every week on my day off. I make no promises, but I’ll certainly try.

A lot has happened since I last blogged. Spring Awakening had over a six week layoff, and we reunited in Milwaukee. We also just finished our run in Kansas City. Unfortunately, that is way too big a timespan to talk about. So, instead of discussing the past, let’s look to the future.

We have a new cast member, Justin Scott Brown, who sits in my old chair from Broadway. He’s a fantastic person and has a beautiful voice. Next week he’s doing a put-in as Georg, and I can’t wait to watch. Our new Adult Man Standby is also doing the put-in. I had the pleasure of doing Melchior with him in an understudy rehearsal last week. He is absolutely wonderful. I can’t wait for everyone to see both of them in action.

As I’m sure some of you know, I’m a huge Yankees fan. If you follow baseball at all, you probably know that they are having a stellar year. They swept the twins in the first round of the playoffs and are now 2-0 against the Angels, who they beat to clinch the playoff spot in the first place. When I get into Austin, I plan on immediately turning on the TV and having a baseball party. Can’t wait for the World Series!