Narcissism 101

I MISS SJB

Last year I went to see my friend Stephanie J. Block's Christmas Show at Birdland and it was, of course, brilliant. Here is Steph doing Barbra's version of Jingle Bells to perfection. Enjoy!

 

OKRRRRR?

This video is genius and I just realized Shocantelle is actually Broadway diva Laura Bell Bundy.

"Hello, this is Shocantelle. Whatchoo got to yell?"

SIMPLICITY

I heard this song on my way home from work tonight and it's one of my favorites, so I had to share it. It was written by Peter Allen (and was one of the best, if not gayest, moments in The Boy From Oz) and the lyrics are amazing and so simple...

LETTERS TO GOD

Dear God,

Please don't let me wind up alone in a badly furnished apartment wearing velvet nightgowns with a Della Reese wig and singing to my plants.

(Please note: this video is GENIUS and I can't stop laughing... Lecresia is FEELING it!)

THE LUCKIEST BOY IN THE WORLD

"Is she pretty...? Prettier than me??"

I am soooo excited to see Miss Yvonne tomorrow night who, upon meeting her years ago while working at Ed Debevic's in Bev. Hills, asked if she could hug me. Seeing as how I was (and am) a HUGE Pee Wee fanatic, it was major. This is my favorite clip from the show that started it all The Pee-Wee Herman Show which was filmed for HBO in the early 80s.

And, yes, I will be seeing Pee-Wee at The Nokia Theater. VERY excited.

IT'LL PROBABLY BE THE HOUSEBOY

2 things I love-love-love: Kristen Wiig and Suzanne Somers. Just what the doctor ordered on a Friday night home alone...

REPEATEDLY

Did you hear what I said? I just want to dance.

I just wanna fuckin' dance.

And, yes, I'm feeling sssssuper gay today.

MY BABY'S ALL GROWED UP

Pee-Wee Herman was on Jay Leno last night and while it's good to see him again, he just isn't that little boy he once was. Don't get me wrong - he's still there, just in need of a little fine tuning.

This does NOT mean I'm not still dying to see him in November... He said that they moved theaters due to popularity, so methinks there's still tickets available.

THE BLIND-GUESS TONY AWARDS

Those who were on the committee for the Tony Awards nominations obviously do not go to the theater enough. Did any of them see Title of Show or Desire Under the Elms or The Seagull? And what about 9 to 5? Rock of Ages and Shrek were nominated for best musical??? And was Next to Normal's set really that spectacular?

This is all very confusing...

LIGHTS OUT, KIDS

Broadway is gonna be one empty place this coming January.

Young Frankenstein, Hairspray, Boeing-Boeing, 13, and Grease (which I'm surprised lasted this long...), are all closing on Jan. 4; Spamalot  and Gypsy which will play their final performances on Jan. 11; and Spring Awakening will close on Jan. 18.

2 limited run shows, White Christmas and Liza's At The Palace, will also both close on January 4th.

That's 10 more vacant theaters which add to the three currently vacant theaters and only four shows to fill them so far this spring: 9 to 5, Blithe Spirit, Hair, and West Side Story.

So far, there are only 4 original musicals (9 to 5, 13, Shrek, and title of show) to possibly nominate for Best Musical and 3 revivals (West Side Story, Guys and Dolls and Hair) for Best Revival of a Musical at the Tony Awards this year. That's kinda sad...

DAYS LEFT IN OFFICE: 36 (Winter/Summer Games)

5 TO 9

Saw 9 to 5 last night.

LOVED it!

Stephanie J. Block served up the 11 o'clock number in true SJB form - with raw emotion and power. Can't say enough good things about her. It's really good to see her do comedy again.

Allison Janey rocked (she was very funny and sang a hells-of-a-lot better than I expected) and Megan Hilty WAS Dolly Parton - so impressed.

Very much looking forward to seeing the Broadway production.

DAYS LEFT IN OFFICE: 100 (Hot Celebrity Break-Ups)

FILM/THEATER REVIEWS

ALL MY SONS

I saw John Lithgow on Broadway in M.Butterfly back in 1988. The play also starred B.D. Wong and was one of the most amazing things I had ever seen - from the writing, to the direction and, most importantly, the genius acting of both actors told the story beautifully. John Lithgow amazed me and was nominated for a Tony Award as Best Actor in a Play (as was B.D. Wong - who won).

20 years later I was fortunate enough to see him on again on stage in the brilliant revival of Arthur Miller's All My Sons. His performance not only amazed me, but moved me to tears, as the guilt-ridden, denial plagued Joe Keller. In fact, almost all the performances in this show are stunning - Dianne Wiest plays her denial and anger to the hilt as Joe's wife Kate, Christian Carmago breathes anger and fleeting forgiveness into former neighbor George, and Patrick Wilson give a passioned and multi-layered performance as Joe and Kate's surviving son Chris. Even the multi-media that plays throughout the play by way of slides and film becomes it's own character - the use of the always present window is extremely ominous.

The only weak link of this incredible production is, unfortunately, Katie Holmes as George's sister Ann. While I think Katie Holmes is a good film actress, she has a lot of work to do with learning the art of stagecraft. Throughout the show she pushes her lines (mostly by screaming them out), tenses her body, and generally tries way too hard to emote. I didn't know what she was feeling about anything she spoke about and cringed when she "cries" in a scene with Dianne Wiest. That all being said, I was really disappointed because I was rooting for her (as a person) - I truly wanted Katie to show that she can do something other than films and posing with her daughter and husband.

NICK AND NORAH'S INFINITE PLAYLIST

I LOVE this movie. LOve, love, love , love, love. Michael Cera and Kat Dennings as Nick and Norah totally rock (and I kinda want them to be a couple off-screen),  Ari Graynor is the perfect drunk girl complete with the vomiting and the empty promises, and Nick's best friends happen to be 2 gay guys whom I totally want to know (Aaron Yoo and dreamy Rafi Gavron).

The soundtrack is perfect (bought it on iTunes immediately after), the locations are perfect, even the fake band "Where Is Fluffy" is something I googled today hoping it might possibly be based on an actual band.

Go see this movie. I know I'm seeing it again.

SPERMALOT

Boy...that Clay Aiken will do anything to sell tickets for his return to Spamalot.

Sheesh.

(btw: insert shocked face here)

DAYS LEFT IN OFFICE: 118

SUPPORT

Last night at Therapy, Miss Katherine McPhee came by to watch the sassy, brassy song stylings of Natalie Joy Johnson.

I am happy to report that she was sweet and gracious and not "Over It" (buh-doom-chee).

DAYS LEFT IN OFFICE: 321

AMBER ALERT

"Yo check me out, my name is Amber and here's how I do: I got non-stop hotness, hard core learning disabilities, constant horniness, and I'm rocking one leg."

Just cuz...

DAYS LEFT IN OFFICE: 459

SOPHIE TUCKER JOKES

And now for one of my favorite Sophie Tucker jokes:

"I will never forget it, you know...My boyfriend Ernie said to me,'Soph -- if you could learn to cook we could fire the chef.' I said,'Ernie -- if you could learn to fuck we could fire the chauffeur."

DAYS LEFT IN OFFICE: 467

WALK THIS WAY

Here are a whole bunch of pics from the pre-Broadway production of Young Frankenstein.  How genius is this gonna be?  It stars Roger Bart as Dr. Frederick Frankenstein ("it's pronounced Frahnk-en-steen"), Megan Mullallay as Elizabeth ("...seven or eight quick ones and your off with the boys to boast and brag..."), Andrea Martin as Frau Blucher ("HE VAS...MY BOYFRIEND!"), Sutton Foster as Inga ("...he vould have an enormous schwanzstucker"), Christopher Fitzgerald as Igor ("walk this way"), and Schuler Hensley as The Monster ("Ootin ohnna Reeez").

I have tickets for the first of December and am now counting down days.  To say that I'm excited is an understatement. (photos from Broadway.com)

EURYDICE

I love, love, LOVE greek mythology and the story of Orpheus and Eurydice is one of my favorites. Yesterday, I took two of my friends to see Eurydice at Second Stage, which was written by the brilliant Sarah Ruhl, and was very happy I did.  The play was told simply and with great depth, the actors were all on their game, and the set and the lighting were beautiful if not creepy. I really loved the relationship of father/daughter that Ms. Ruhl has chosen to tell -- it was incredibly moving, especially the final image of the two.  I defnitely walked out of the theater with the feeling that I had just seen a play by an incredibly gifted playwrite (who's next plays I will run to get tickets for).

If you get a chance, go see it before it closes on Aug. 26th.

SAVE FLOTILLA

My lady friend, Flotilla Debarge, will be doing a show this coming week to help raise money for her upcoming trial.  If you don't know what happened to her, come and hear her side of what I promise is a very interesting story... Please, please, PLEASE come and support a lady-in-need.  Here are the details:

Flotilla Debarge: Live From Cell Block H

Thursday June 14th - Saturday June 16th

9:30pm @ Helen's (169 8th Ave btw. 18th/19th)

$15

I'll be there on the opening night.

SPRING AWAKENING

I am a big fan of Spring Awakening, the new musical that opened on Broadway last night to glowing reviews. Not only does it have three of my favorite artists working on it - Michael Mayer (director), Duncan Sheik (music), and Bill T. Jones (choreographer) -- but the young cast is superb. If you get the chance to see it, do yourself that favor.  The show originally opened Off-Broadway at The Atlantic Theater Company (my alma matter) and has moved seamlessly to a bigger B'Way house. Mad love to the ATC for this amazing musical.

A CHORAGUS LINE (GREEK VERSION)

The New York Times review was so-so, but I'm still going to see it.

NEW SLANG

The word "BROADWAY" has gone from being an area in New York City where large theater houses show plays and musicals to something that 1. is used to describe any play/musical in general 2. is used to describe any place where plays/musicals play. Used in a sentence: "Cassie was happy that the Community Theater in Sheboygen, WI had cast her in their latest broadway and she was happy to finally perform on Broadway."

This came to my attention after watching an interview with theater diva Ashlee Simpson regarding her latest stage accomplishment: tackling the role of Roxie Hart in Chicago.  Here's what she had to say:

"It is honestly such an honor to be in Chicago. It’s such a great Broadway and…uh…I just…you know, I’m working with such wonderful people so it’s definitely a honor for me. (How did the opportunity come about?) Actually I just finished a tour – in the States – and I was in Hawaii and I got a phone call…uh…a few offers for some movies and for some Broadways and...Chicago…it just rung a bell for me. It sounded like a challenge and something I could really… I needed to step up and do so… I’m very happy I decided to do it."

So are we, Ashlee.  So are we.

DAYS LEFT IN OFFICE: 844

QUOTE OF THE DAY

"Oh, George (W. Bush).  I don't know what this country would be like without you... But I like to think about it."

- Kiki Duraine to GWB's wax figure at Madam Tussaude's NYC during a press conference for she and Herb's upcoming B'Way debut.

ARRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHH!

After sitting on this secret for months, it has finally been officially announced that my girl Stephanie J. Block will be playing the title role in a new musical coming to Broadway next season.  It's called The Pirate Queen and it's written by the duo who wrote these small, obscure musicals called Les Miserables and Miss Saigon.(Ever heard of them?)

I've heard her sing through 3 of the songs and I was thoroughly impressed -- she's gonna be amazing because she is...well...amazing.

*sniff* My little girl's all grown up.

WRONG NUMBER 2

Remember Carlotta Wellington ? Well she has called Daniel Nardicio again on Nardi Gras Radio this past Saturday night.  My fave  ex-showgirl called in from The Las Vegas Showgirls Retirement Community for Retired Showgirls to tell a story about her favorite Christmas with Chita Rivera and Burl Ives.

Listen to it here.

WHICH WITCH IS WHICH

I just spent the past 2 days with my good friend Stephanie J. Block who is currently starring as Elphaba in the first national tour of Wicked. On Wednesday we drove up to Hartford from NYC and I got to see the show for a second time and was once again floored by the talent that Miss Block has -- she's AMAZING! And when I couldn't get home after the show, it was decided that I would stay the night, chill backstage for 2 shows she had Thursday then drive back to NYC with her that same night. After seeing the show (twice) and then listening to 2 shows on the dressing room monitor, I can now recite the show backwards.  If you live in Washington D.C., Tampa, Ft. Lauderdale, Pittsburgh, or Cincinnati I highly recommend trying to get tickets -- it's well worth it!

And Miss Lady gave me a little narcissistic shout-out while we chilled in her dressing room. Loving her, meaning it.

SHE CRAZY

Miss Wanda Pinkett is feeling down and she's talkin' about it.

I HEART THE WICKED WITCH

                                                                  
Late L.A. Trip Post:

Miss Stephanie J. Block ROCKS, my friends.  Fricauckin' Rocks!!!  She was beyond amazing in Wicked and I can't wait to see her when the show come to Hartford, CT.  Or if she's brought back to NYC.  Watch the new trailer to see my little green friend in action.

EBONY AND IVORY

THE 59th ANNUAL TONY AWARDS:

1. Don't get me wrong: I l-o-v-e Hugh Jackman, but whoever decided to pair him in a duet w/  Aretha Franklin singing "Somewhere" from West Side Story  must be taken into an alley and shot. The queen of soul was nearly mowed down by an all-too-white Mariah Carey-wanna-be note-run... In other words, Hugh tried to out-diva the Diva at the end of the song. Not smart.

2. Christina Applegate's entrance to presenting best choreography award: genius.  Christina Applegate's performance from Sweet Charity: not so much. And that makes me sad because I love her.

3. Sara Ramirez. That's all I have to say. She's got it and then some...

4. Quotes of the night:
"Oh, I'm glad it's you [who called me], Hugh. For a second I was worried it was Deep Throat... You know, Harvey Fierstein." --Billy Crystal doing a bit on the phone with Hugh Jackman.

Mike Nichols' motto, which he graciously directed to his Best Direction of a Musical competition: "Cheer Up. Life isn't everything."

5. And why didn't I know that Sarah Paulson was dating Cherry Jones? They are a cute lesbian power couple.

CASTING NOTICE

I am putting my first casting notice up in serach of a few good actors to work with for my directing class.  If you or someone you know would like to audition, please let me know via e-mail.

PLAY: The Big Knife by Clifford Odets

DIRECTOR: Aaron James

E-MAIL: [email protected]

SCENE WILL BE PRESENTED/COME TO CLASS:

Mon. June 6th @ 9pm

Sun. July 10th @ 6:30pm

Mon. July 18th @ 6pm

DIRECTOR WILL BE ABLE TO REHEARSE: I  normally work nights so my schedule is open days --

(Mon.) 9am-5pm   (Tues.) 9am-8pm   (Wed.) 11am-10pm   (Thurs.) 9am-8pm   (Fri.) 11am-8pm   (Sat./Sun.) TBD

 

AUDITIONING FOR THE FOLLOWING PARTS:

 

CHARLIE CASS

Early/Mid 30s. A popular movie star in the vein of Cary Grant.  He is self-assured, successful, a bit of a womanizer, knows how to use "an abruptly disarming charm", and understands "the value of candor".  Charlie is a man torn between his relationship with his wife and his career in Hollywood.

 

SMILEY COY

From Mid 20s to Early 40s. The right hand man to the head of a mahor motion picture studio. Competent, calm, smart and cynical, and plays his cards close to his chest.  Coy is the keeper of may secrets/indiscretions and  deals with any problems that may arise with the greatest of subtlety.

 

DIXIE EVANS

Early/Mid 20s. A young actress who has gotten to where she is  by "shrewd if intuitive flashes of genuine insight." Attractive, energetic, appears bright and comptent yet is frequently helpless.  Dixie has secrets that could destroy careers and possibly even studios if used correctly.

 

Auditions will be from 7pm-8pm on Wed. May 25th at the Atlantic Acting School (453 W. 16th St near 10th Ave.).  To schedule an appointment, please contact the director directly via e-mail [email protected].  Electronic headshots/resumes a plus.

 

Thanks.

PLUG

My good friend (and ex) Stephanie Block is doing her first cabaret show with Liza's ex Billy Stritch at Birdland in a week and a half and I thought I'd invite you all to it as she is AMAZING. If you don't already know who she is, she's currently playing Liza Minelli in The Boy From Oz on B'Way and originated the role of Elphaba in Wicked (pre B'Way). A certain uber-handsome, Tony winning co-star she's kissing nightly on stage will be there, along with a certain Tony winner/"good witch", and perhaps the lady with the eyelashes will stop by for some support. Seriously.

Here is the info: (and order tix NOW as they're going fast...)

STEPHANIE BLOCK "All Smiles"
w/ Billy Stritch (piano)
Monday Aug. 2nd, 2004
8:00 pm
Birdland (315 W. 44th St. btw 8th/9th Ave)
Tix: (212) 581-3080

SENATOR...LOVE THE SUIT

Okay, I just can't right now...

There is an actual Silence Of The Lambs musical called : Silence!

The lyrics to Put The Fucking Lotion in the Basket go:

[Buffalo Bill]
It rubs the lotion on its skin
It does this when it's told
It rubs the lotion on its skin
Or else it gets the hose
And when it's done there's one more thing
A simple little task, it's:
Put the fucking lotion in the basket.

I smell a Tony Award...

SMOKIN'

On Saturday night, Paul, Ernie, Aaron and I went to see Anna in the Tropics and loved it. What a beautiful play. It was set in depression era Tampa and tells the story of a Cuban family who own and work in a cigar factory and who's lives are changed by their newest lector who reads to them Anna Karenina. I definitely see why it won the Pulitzer. Not only did it make me wanna read the Tolstoy book, but also made me want a cigar real bad.

Afterwards we headed off to Hell, popped over to Meet where I (unknowingly) became b.f.f. with the owner Milana, and then ended up at The Slide for High Life/Low Life to see Daniel and Corey. As always, had a great time.

Note to self: beware of trannies placing things into your hand...