BRIGADOON postpones...

Does this mean that Broadway won't have a revival of Brigadoon for 100 years?

From Playbill.com:
To read the full article please visit http://www.playbill.com/news/article/119942.html.

"The new Broadway-aimed production of Lerner and Loewe's Brigadoon, directed and choreographed by Tony Award winner Rob Ashford and scheduled to play in Boston this fall, prior to a Broadway opening, has been postponed. The reason given is..."

Contributing to democracy...

... and my wallet.

Yes, it's blatant. I'm helping the American system and myself at the same time. Go buy one from my Zazzle.com store. Fun for yourself, a friend, family member, etc. They're cute and go with your football attire. :)

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The pancakes who must not be named...

I spent the weekend in Montgomery, Alabama to speak at the MFA Class of 2008 graduation. It was a good time and I got to see some great friends. I arrived Friday night - late - and almost immediately was swept away to Ihop with Mike, Lynn and Kerrie. Good times were had by all... but I couldn't help but sense that something otherwordly might be in our presence. Not a "wow, Ihop is haunted" kind of feeling, but a sense... a tingling... that danger lurked nearby.

It wasn't until we left that I realized what I was feeling. To the right is my evidence that this bench at Ihop is the "bench who lived." No one else seemed particluarly impressed by this, but I knew. I knew that seven books later, this bench would be a milestone in children's literature.

How many acres is this thing!?

So I went on a true excursion in Central Park yesterday. In all the times I've been to NYC (including living here now) I hadn't ever really explored it. I had of course been to the ball field, and the outer skirts near Columbus Circle... but had never truly plowed my way through thicket and thorn.

I did this time. I only WISH I had a pedometer to know exactly how far I adventured.

If you want to take a virtual tour with me, go check out the pics I uploaded on Myspace. Enjoy... and take a day to go check out this oasis in the middle of the concrete jungle. Kinda amazing!

For Sale...

So, having moved to NYC I am burdened with my 2004 Honda Accord. God Bless Ren for working on selling it for me. But... I don't want to put all the burden on him of course. So, if you're out there in the ether, looking for a fabulous car at a fabulous price CALL ME! :)

The headline above will link you to the Craig's List page or you can click here --> http://neworleans.craigslist.org/car/748670620.html.

Here's the scoop: Air Conditioning, Cruise Control, ABS, Power Steering, AM/FM Stereo with built in XM Satellite Radio (service not provided in the sale), Power Driver's Seat, Power Windows, 6-disc CD changer in dash, Power Door Locks, Dual Front Air Bags, Tilt Wheel, Power Sun Roof. VIN 1HGCM568X4A029180

In excellent condition. Only one previous owner. Barely driven in 4 years. Used to commute to and from work. Never been damaged. Asking $16,200 or best offer.

Give me a shout if you're interested. It is currently in New Orleans in Ren's capable and amazing hands but it can certainly get to you (or vice versa). Enjoy!

The sky is falling...

So a piece of the sky just fell... well, a piece of the ceiling. And I'm so gay that I immediately thought of this classic Golden Girls moment.

And we're back...

So... back to this blog business. I've been in NYC for just almost three weeks now... which is ironically about how long I have not been actively blogging. So updates:

Had a birthday on Sunday... it was great. I spent the day with great friends, had good times, and enjoyed every minute of it. I also got a great care package from Ren today which made me happy and I, of course, showed off to my office mates. Not in the "you didn't get a package so I'm better than you" kinda way... but in the "I'm lucky to have amazing people in my life" kinda way.

Ok, enough sap... we also had our first set of auditions today for UNDERWEAR: A SPACE MUSICAL today. I could only be present for the last hour but I was thrilled to see some great talent come out way. It'll be interesting to see how the creative team makes their decision.

Speaking of auditions, I've been addicted to LEGALLY BLONDE: THE SEARCH FOR THE NEXT ELLE WOODS. It's so juicy and I just can't stop watching. It also makes me want to throw on some pink houndstooth, some highlights (ok, full on blonde) and storm the stage. But... that just isn't reasonable... and they're about to announce who leaves tonight so I gotta scoot! More later!!!

Sorry for the long delay in posting... more details about the new life in NYC are forthcoming. Patience is a virtue... so is internet access. But until I get to that, be sure to check out the new TKTS Booth opening in Brooklyn next week! Enjoy!

Hello, Hunger Pains... Well Helloooo, Hunger Pains

I'm starving... and I blame Carol Channing. I had these grand plans to get some cheap food on the way to the theatre today (my last in Gulf Shores) but en route I decided to blast some of Ms. Channing's 1994 revival of Hello, Dolly!

Somewhere between "Put On Your Sunday Clothes" and "Elegance" my mind forgot I was hungry and I went on auto-pilot to the theatre.

Now I sit here, show in progress ("A Book Report on Peter Rabbbbbbit") and I cannot leave my post to retrieve sustenance. But this got me to thinking... can a theatre nerd survive on showtunes and faded memories? Could I actually support myself by listening to the myriad of recordings that are securely tucked inside their showtune binder in the backseat of my car? Um.... NO!

A little fall of rain

It's raining... a lot. It's been raining at least some almost every day this week. Oh, AND last week. The beach is not beachy. In fact, I haven't been out to the beach once since getting to Gulf Shores for "You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown." I like the beach, but I've been so wiped after the shows that I sleep late in the morning, roll out of bed, and then get the theatre opened for business the next day.

And the rain isn't helping much either. In fact, the rain is making everyone here drive EXTRA slow, EXTRA painfully slow!

Rain, rain, go away.

Come again some other day.

Little Tommy wants to play,

On the beach beside the bay.

A Road Movie... sans the "movie"

So, next week I head out for the long trek to NYC. All told, it's a 16 hour and 10 minute drive (according to the "totally reliable" Google Maps). Ren (thank God for him) is coming with to keep me company, keep me sane, share the burden... lol... THANK YOU REN! It'll be a nutty, wild trip and hopefully the world will not open up and swallow us whole like that time the interstate collapsed and I drove into a sink hole. I'll tell that story soon... no worries. If you know it already, go ahead and laugh. It's ok to laugh NOW.

So, the cats are going to stay with my mom until I secure my own place. For the time being I'll be subletting in Washington Heights... "In the heights I buy my coffee and I go..." It's a great apartment and I'll be surrounded by friends (thank God). And luckily, in case my lips ever blow up again (see my Jessica Rabbit moment to the side) there's a hospital down in the 160s that Adam can rush me to. Perfect! Ciao for now! Wish me luck!

In his triumphant NYC return...

Yep, it's true! I left NYC back in 2002 and took some time to finish my degree, develop a career, etc... and now it's time to go "back home." Six years is a long time but the city is still the same amazing place that I've always loved.

I have an apartment lined up, exciting new job, and tons of support from friends and family... both in the city and from afar... and some of whom are going to come from afar and join me soon.

I cannot wait. This is such an exciting new part of my life and career. It will be equally terrifying, thrilling, fabulous, and frenzied. Throw in a dash of my typically, clutsy disasters and you've got a recipe for a new NBC "must see TV" sitcom!

I'll miss all of my friends that I've made in Bama but fear not... I'm just a phone call/email away. And when you come to the city for a little vaca, you know where to find me!

"I might not know if we are in an adventure. So if we get into an adventure you say.....Pudding!" Well friends.... PUDDING!

Show choir and Bridezillas!

So, I follow several Broadway themed blogs... including Andrew Keenan-Bolger's. He recently posted a clip of the failed (maybe?) MTV series SHOW CHOIR and it made me (for about ten minutes) obsessively look up other YouTube videos of show choirs in all their sequined glory. I found this... and about died. No offense to anyone in it, or anyone who was ever involved in show choir. Trust me, I'm a cheesy, musical theatre obsessed goon and only wish the show had made it to MTV... my DVR would have a new responsibility.



In other news... one of my dearest friends, Angela, is featured in the new (new to me anyway). You can check it out below. Angela's the one to your right of the center bride. Love it!

GREASE to get Speared?

I'm incredibly conflicted. Broadwayworld.com posted this news piece about 3 hours ago and I've been struggling with this ever since.

On the one hand, I loved Britney up through (and including) her STRONGER phase. She was fun, we all enjoyed her. We thought, "Now that is a good 2.5 minutes of pure bubble gum pop." It was almost (repeat... almost) as fun as Debbie Gibson and Tiffany.

On the other hand, she's gone bat ass crazy it seems and her stock has plummeted, risen a tad, plummeted, split shares with Cheetos, inched up, dove, yada yada. Now this.

So... I offer two scenarios:

A) This is an ingenious move by the producers to generate buzz for a show that has received generally negative reviews. In doing so, they generate sales, could possibly offer super-priced premium seats, run the show longer, yada yada. (The risk here is in turning the show into the revolving door of TV celebs like the 90s revival.)

or

B) This is a train wreck waiting to happen and the show will crumble under the weight of craziness, the paparazzi, the... you get the idea.

So, this will either be a major coup for the show... or the biggest disaster on Broadway since Bobbi Boland.

Stay tuned!

A light goes out in Hollywood

Actor, director, producer... genius... Sydney Pollack passed away today. The NY Times offers a respectful and thorough obituary (linked) but I wanted to take a moment to thank the gentlemen who directed so many amazing films ("Tootsie" being one of my favorite of all time). As a director he won an Oscar for his his 1985 film “Out of Africa” as was nominated for "They Shoot Horses, Don't They in 1969 and "Tootsie" in 1982. Yes, I was seven years old when that movie came out but I remember thinking it was funnier, sadder, sweeter than anything I would normally watch on TV.

Ok, maybe I wasn't that precocious (maybe I was), but seeing it on VHS and TV in later years, I knew it was something special.

Underwear: A Space Musical

So, it's official. I'm producing a great show by a really good friend of mine and his writing partner. UNDERWEAR: A SPACE MUSICAL will make its NYC premiere during FringeNYC.

Check out the link above (it is the title of this post) for details.

You can also click on the UNDERWEAR MySpace page to listen to some samples from the show. It's incredibly hysterical and you'll love ever irreverent minute of it. Come, enjoy, believe in your drawers.

The sad truth about online friend boards...and I'm not talking about "Hung Up"

Sitting here tonight I realized a great truth about myself. ALL of my friends have more friends than I do right now... what the &@*^!? Granted, I was never the BMOC and certainly didn't hang with the A crowd in high school. I chose the path less traveled and fluttered in and out of the B, C, D and on occassion A crowds. There were far too many interesting people to just sit back and soak in the company of a few select members. No no. Not for me. I did carry the closest people close to my heart and have kept up with them as best as I can as I've grown older. But now technology has caught up with me and like a preoccupied man walking into one of those fresh fish market's near the wharf... I got slapped in the face with a flounder of reality!

My only consolation is in knowing that most of these friends have "friends" who are not truly friends but are simply "acquaintances" who they have gotten to know over the years.

Perhaps this means I've been too picky and not permitted my "suburb" friends to join me in the "downtown" of my life. That's it... it's open bar at Tommy's and EVERYONE'S WELCOME! God dammit... join me on Myspace!

And the #1 most overplayed song on Myspace is...

...ARGHH... Madonna hasn't been this popular since 1984. What the hell is up with every queen, sorority girl, and certified public accountant posting Hung Up (song or video) on their Myspace page. Ridiculous.

On that note, I despise the music playing on Myspace. When I do check it - and I do often because like the inane addiction to The Sims when it debuted, I have to see who in the world is online all the time now - I get inundated with techno beats or horribly depressing songs that make me want to alert the nearest suicide hotline of these pages.

Operator: Suicide Hotline, how can I help you?
Me: Yes, there is a Myspace user who is playing Cinderella's "Don't Know What You've Got (Till It's Gone)".
Operator: And the username sir?
Me: MorbidlySadAngelofDarknessinaPitofDespair247
Operator: Thank you sir, we're sending a rescue unit to that location immediatly.
Me: Just doing my civic duty.
-click-

So annoying.

Pick a "friend" place and stick to it...or YOU CAN NEVER HAVE TOO MANY PERSONALIZED DESK ACCESSORIES!

So, my latest rant involves the frustration that I have over too many "friend-networking" websites. I had Friendster and everyone was on there. Then everyone started using Myspace so I went over there... I NEED TO BE CONNECTED! But then people switch back and forth and confuse the living b'jesus out of me and now I'm floating in "friend-network" hell. (Little none fact, Myspace and Friendster actuall co-exist on Dante's fourth level of hell... read the book.)

Anyhow, I'm now focusing on Myspace... if Friendster send me a little hello via email now and then I will take it as a lovely gesture and move on.

This attitude has worked for me since I switched from a Hotmail account to one on Gmail about three months ago. Do I love Gmail? No... but I'm courting it. Gmail gives me FAR FEWER "service interruptions" than Hotmail ever did so I'm good for now. Is the interface dreamy? As Kenneth Cole is my witness "No!"

I'm a little convinced that there is one guy at MSN whose job it is to make sure that Hotmail kicks in "service interruptions" periodically just to see if the members will react. It works like this... no reaction, no members are trying to log on... reaction, Hotmail is thrilled that people are aggressively trying to log into their account to see if Lillian Vernon has sent them a new catalog update. YOU CAN NEVER HAVE TOO MANY PERSONALIZED DESK ACCESSORIES!

Anyhow, enough ranting. My friend Mike is touring with Utah Shakes educational tour of Macbeth. The van is amazing and I know he's frustrated and wishes that he wasn't trapped within its confines, but it is a SUPER COOL VAN! Check it out at his blog.

That's it for me tonight. Sorry I wasn't funnier. It'll come back to me... I just need 8 glasses of water, two lemon rinds, and a teaspoon of pepper and I'll have flushed this bitterness RIGHT out of my system. Ciao!

The rootkit of all evil...

Well, it was bound to happen. Sony went and infiltrated our deepest darkest secrets by forcing software onto our computers and then leaving the kitchen door open so that the pesky kids from down the street can get in and mess things all to hell. And what do Americans do best? We SUE!

Technically, the State of Texas is filing a civil lawsuit against the entertainment-megacorp because "several of the company's music compact discs require customers to download Sony's media players if they want to listen to the CDs on a computer." Wierd, hasn't Microsoft been forcing us to do that all along with Media Player?

Anyhow, I do wonder what this means for Celine Dion's Vegas show... after all, she's the Canadian stepchild of Sony entertainment. Everyone out there who weeps over "Love Can Move Mountains" on their PC is now vulnerable to hacker attacks. And trust me... hackers are more than happy to futz with anyone who claims to be a Celine Dion fan. Futher down the line of course is that bad PR this could cause for the Playstation 3 (sched to come out sometime between now and 2015). With the PS3 being capable of connecting online, what else can Sony do to sneak into your home?

Hmm... Scooby Doo, where are you? We've got some work to do now!