Last Dance

Yesterday was the final Fringe show for Kaboom, and it was a blast! So many friends and family filled the audience, and there's always something especially cool about the audience for a final show. It's almost like everyone's there to see what "parting gift" they might get in the way of an inside joke or a magical mistake or some last minute zaniness from the actors on stage.

Well, we had such a moment in Act One when a sound cue was missed. Our tech folks were in a tiny brick "booth" off stage right with no visibility except for a teeny little monitor, so its no wonder! But it happened on my cue of knocking on an invisible door, so I just said, "Knock, knock, knock," and the audience erupted in laughter! So we went right along with it and had a laugh ourselves, enjoying that connection with the crowd and the magic of live theatre.

It all went too fast really. With only a few weeks of rehearsal and 5 performances spread out over 2 weeks, by the final show, we all felt like we were just getting in the groove!

My stage partner, John DiDomenico (pictured with his wife at the cast party), reminded me that if we were on Broadway, it would've been only our 5th performance of the week! And Ray Wills followed this up with the fact that we still would've been in tech rehearsals if we were on Broadway. But it's all good! That's what's so interesting about Fringe festivals. You have a super short amount of time to rehearse and perform, so you just throw yourself into it and do your best.

I had read somewhere that Christopher Plummer comes to his first rehearsal with the script already memorized, and while that's not quite possible with a show that's a work-in-progress, I can see why he does it. That way he can savor absolutely every moment of the ride, of discovering the evolution of the characters and their journey.

Kaboom was a blast! I would do it again in a heartbeat!

When the show was over, we went to Daddy-O's in the Village to celebrate. Got lots of cool pics. Hope you dig em!

The cast and crew give kudos to our writer, Michael Small.

Michael Small and his lovely wife, Cindy (right).

Our director BT McNicholl with John DiDomenico outside Cherry Lane Theatre (on left). And Our associate director and choreographer PennyAyn Maas (on right).

Our awesome crew: JonMarkPonder (asst. dir), David Premack (sound), Amanda Gwin (asst. stage manager), and Devan Hibbard (our sensational stage manager).

The Kaboom guys backstage: Tyler Hollinger, Ray Wills, John DiDomenico (back) Jim Barry and Fred Rose
Kristen Cerelli and I share a hug backstage (above).

Some friends and fellow artists from PA and NJ came to join in the fun!
Thanks, Carolyn, Chris, Jayne and Dwayne! You guys rock!
And many thanks to my super troopers who've come to see just about every show I've ever done in the Big Apple: Robbie (my sweetpea), Carl, Michael and Ataman.

A big thanks to all my friends and family who've been a part of this ride. I love you all!

Hope you all had a blast!