Everyone has a story

As I watched the Democratic Convention last week, I was happy to get a glimpse of Barack Obama's life story. Like many people, I didn't know much about him, though that didn't deter me from being absolutely blown away by some of his speeches early on in his campaign. In fact, I had originally been a Hillary supporter, but after I saw Obama speak, I knew this was the person who could truly be an amazing Commander and Chief. Every time someone threw some garbage his way, he handled it with great poise and calm, and I believe that's what this country needs in a leader.

Watching his story and watching history take place, made me think about my own stories and the people who brought me into this world (like my Dad and grandparents pictured left). My Mom had done some genealogy research when I was a teen, and she made a huge family tree, tracing our roots back to the Goddard and Daniel families of the 1600s! The Goddards were mostly from England and the Daniel family was actually the Scottish Daniell. Both families came to America and men from both sides ended up marrying Cherokee women. The families settled in the middle of the country, but moved west in the 40s.

The current play I'm working on makes me think so much of my family, because it takes place in the 40s, which my grandparents and great-aunts and uncles always had such great stories about. I have a feeling they'd enjoy Johnny On A Spot, which has some delicious history itself in that it opened on Broadway right before America became involved in World War Two, so it didn't get a chance to play long. In fact, this production is the first Off Broadway production to happen since then!

It was written by Charles MacArthur who wrote a ton of plays including Twentieth Century and The Front Page which became a film of its own title and was later remade as His Girl Friday with Rosalind Russell and Cary Grant. Johnny On A Spot crackles with that same fast-paced wit and has a huge cast of characters! There are 3 women and 13 men! Isn't that wild? Usually it's the other way around, and I appreciate that Mr. MacArthur lets the ladies take the limelight.

I play Barbara Webster, a feisty little southern belle who I'm sure modeled herself after Scarlett O'Hara! She is an absolute whirlwind of a character who comes onstage and simply stirs up trouble. And I have to laugh, because as a kid, I used to watch Gone With the Wind whenever it came on TV, and I just loved it! I think my parents had even taken me to an actual theatrical showing of the film where it played with an intermission. And what little girl didn't want to be either Judy Garland in The Wizard of Oz or Vivien Leigh in Gone With the Wind? Well, I have to simply marvel because I've gotten to play both these character types this year when I sang as Judy Garland in Hell's Belles and now as Miss Barbara Webster in Johnny On a Spot.

So Johnny opens this week for previews! Wowza! And it's my first lengthy run Off Broadway (5 weeks), so it's really a time for celebration! Yahoo!

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!

Seeing Stars

This has been a wild couple of months! Not only am I now engaged and sporting a big rock on my little finger which feels like a mini galaxy of stars on my left hand, but the past 2 shows I've done have brought some amazing Broadway stars across my path.

In May, I performed in the staged reading of A Tree Grows in Brooklyn with Emily Skinner, and my friend Kristine Zbornik brought Faith Prince with her to see the show! They sat right in the front row and the cast was agog! Faith Prince.... watching us??? She'd recently been nominated for the Tony Award for A Catered Affair, and there she was... in our audience! It was surreal.

Then last night, Donna Murphy came to see Kaboom! Our leading man, Ray Wills, worked with Ms. Murphy on Broadway in Wonderful Town, and I've been a fan of her work on stage and screen for years!

I'm astounded that these incredible Broadway stars, all of whom I've admired for years, have come to see shows I'm performing in this year! It makes me realize how truly communal and supportive the theatre world really is. I've seen their work and now they're seeing mine. It is beyond cool!

A Tale of Two Theatres

It has been a wild couple of weeks! I've been rehearsing Johnny On A Spot at The Theatre at St. Clements during the day and performing Kaboom at the Cherry Lane Theatre at night. It has been so cool to shuttle between these two historic Off Broadway theatres, to be working with exceptional casts and crews on 2 zany comedies!

We had a photoshoot at St. Clements last weekend, which was also the opening weekend for Kaboom! So I went from being a 1940s glamor gal for Johnny to a modern psychadelic bicycle messenger for Kaboom at night.

We were blessed with a full house for Kaboom on opening night, and received great response. Truly, we were just happy to get through a full run with lights and sound, because our opening night was our 2nd run with these elements! You see, that's the thing with the Fringe and with other festivals like NYMF. You don't get to rehearse in the theatre you're actually performing in. You get ONE rehearsal with tech (lights and sound) and that's it!

For The Tragic and Horrible Life of the Singing Nun, we didn't even get a full tech rehearsal because our tech was scheduled opening night! Those folks who've worked in musical theatre know how insane incorporating lights, scene changes, and sound can be, and to do it in a few hours is truly impossible. So I was seriously impressed that we were able to get through Kaboom with relatively few tech issues.

Also, something I've come to realize with festivals is that it allows authors the chance to see how an audience responds to their work. And that means that more often than not, the writer will make script changes, which means new or cut lines for the actors and cue changes for the tech crew, and the director will often find and give new directions. So a festival show will change from one performance to the next. And you know what? I LOVE IT! It is a wild and wooly ride, but if we let go and really go with this ride, it can be a blast! I've learned so much from it! And you know, I suspect that there are many shows in many venues, film and TV included, that make changes the spur of the moment in order to create a better production. It's all a work in progress. And there are beautiful discoveries to be made along the way.

Gearing up for Opening Night: Kaboom!

It has been a whirlwind of a week! On Wednesday, I had tech rehearsals at the Cherry Lane Theatre for Kaboom and I have to say it was one of the smoothest techs I've been through! Considering we had to do a load-in of set, costumes and props in 15 minutes and be ready for performance in 10 minutes, that is amazing! And then running the show with lights and sound in only 3 hours (it's a 2 hour show and most tech rehearsals for a show of this calibre are usually 8 hours at least), it was quite a feat!

Major kudos to our Kaboom crew including our stage manager, Devan Hibbard, Amanda Gwin (Asst. SM), Jon Mark Ponder (asst. director), Travis McHale (scenic designer), Jen Schriever (lighting designer), David Premack (sound designer), Ren LaDassor (costume designer), Oliver Horsey (production asst.), and of course our associate director/choreographer Penny Ayn Maas, casting director Jamibeth Margolis, director BT McNicholl, and our lovely writer/producer Michael Small.

And of course the cast has been a dream to work with! Ray Wills, who helms Kaboom as the con man behind all the explosive action, was one of Nathan Lane's alternates in The Producers on Broadway and was touted for his strong voice and absolute funniness. He also went on for Jason Alexander in the LA production of the show. Fred Rose, our "straight man," played the cello as the character David in the Broadway production of Company. Kristen Cerelli and I had taken a workshop with Jersey Boys musical director Ron Melrose, and besides being an awesome singer-songwriter, she is a lovely funny lady. John DiDomenico is hysterical as Kaljo Bouree, "Mick Jagger of the Kazoo." He is also an incredible mimic and had me in stitches last night with his Austin Powers/Dr. Evil impressions. Tyler Hollinger and Jim Barry round out the cast and they are both brilliantly funny.

We open this Saturday at 6:45 PM on Cherry Lane's Mainstage. There may still be a few tickets left, so if you're in the mood for a zany comedy, come on by!

Living the Dream

I've been hearing this phrase a lot lately. All of my friends have been saying it, "Laura, you're living the dream." And it's so cool to realize that... Yes! I am!

I started rehearsals yesterday for Johnny On A Spot at the Theatre at St. Clement's. Director Dan Wackerman introduced the cast and crew before the table-read and gave us a bit of background on this lovely Off Broadway theatre. Turns out its the 2nd oldest off Broadway theatre! Cherry Lane, where I'll be performing this Saturday in Kaboom is the first, dating back to the 1920s.

St. Clements was the home for The American Place Theatre in the 60s (Tennessee Williams and Myrna Loy were two of the original Board members) and now its home for the Peccadillo Theatre Company.

Our table-read went really well. It's a big cast! But I guess a lot of the productions in the 40s had large casts, so its cool to be in the thick of it all. Plus I'm surrounded by men! It's me and 2 other actresses surrounded by a lot of fellas. :)

Then after the Johnny rehearsal, I boogied home for some dinner and then dashed off for Kaboom rehearsal. We got to play on our set, which was in a warehouse in Jersey.

Since Kaboom is part of the Fringe Festival we're only in the Cherry Lane for 5 actual performances. But we have GREAT time-slots, so that's incredibly cool.

In the meantime, our set is in holding until tech rehearsals, which are tomorrow actually! Woo!

Stay tuned!

Small World, Isn't It?

The more I work in this biz the more I'm amazed how everyone knows each other. I did a recording for the new musical Vienna on Wednesday with Chip Fabrizi of PPI Recording. I mentioned the new show I'm doing, Kaboom! and Chip said he had worked with my director BT McNicholl on the recording of the Off Broadway show The It Girl, which BT directed and co-authored with Kaboom's writer Michael Small.

My Vienna and Hell's Belles composer, Steve Liebman, worked with my Kaboom leading man, Ray Wills.

And I discovered that the Cherry Lane Theatre, where we'll be performing Kaboom next Saturday has been the venue for so many artists! From writers like F. Scott Fitzgerald, Comden & Green, Gertrude Stein, David Mamet, and Sam Shepherd to illustrious actors and directors like Barbra Streisand, Gene Hackman, John Malkovich, Gary Sinise.... and now me! :)

This almost feels like the 6 Degrees of Kevin Bacon game! :)

OMG! Kevin Bacon worked at the Cherry Lane Theatre!

That is too funny!

I feel like I've got a rocket on my back. I'm on my way!

High as a Kite!

2 gigs in 2 weeks! Actually 3 gigs! I can hardly keep track! LOL

I remember when I first moved to the city and I would be thrilled to book a big gig once a year. Then it became once every few months, then once a month... Now, it's like every week! :) I dig it!

Got the offer yesterday to play Barbara Webster in the 1940s comedy Johnny On A Spot at The Theatre at St. Clements. I am thrilled! She's a wickedly wonderful character - think Scarlet O'Hara's naughty little sister. Very fun!

And I'm deep into rehearsals for Kaboom! We're running Act One tonight off book, so I've checked into Memorizing Land.

This weekend I have to work on music for the recording of the new musical, Vienna. I'm in the studio for that next week, reprising my role as Mrs. Sigmund Freud, as well as singing some other pieces for the show.

Lots to do! Zoom!

Kaboom!

I'm in full swing with rehearsals for Kaboom! having a blast with the cast and crew, led by our marvelous director BT McNicholl. BT is also working on Billy Elliott during the day, and still he comes to our rehearsals full of energy and clear direction. Absolutely inspiring!

Made a fun discovery in that our awesome associate director, Penny Ayn Maas, went to school with one of my best friends, Carl Einbeck. Never ceases to amaze me how "small" this showbiz world can be. Astounding!

Penny and Kaboom's writer, Michael Small, helmed the photoshoot we had on Friday, which was a lot of fun. So here's a small taste of this crazy comedy about 7 people trying to get what they want in San Francisco via sex, drugs, and a little rock n roll.

I play Kandy Broadsky, a bike messenger, who is supposed to make a delivery to the Lithuanian "Mick Jagger of the Kazoo," played by John DiDomenico.

The comedy centers around a con man played by Ray Wills (center) who inadvertently brings everyone together in an Alan Ayckbournesque bed-hopping mistaken identity farce.

The top-notch cast is shown above: (L-R) Fred Rose, Kristen Cerelli, John DiDomenico, Ray Wills, me, and Jim Barry. Tyler Hollinger completes our troupe.

Theatremania has more info at http://www.theatermania.com/content/show.cfm/show/145934

Rock on!

Got the gig!!!

OMG I am bouncing off the walls! :)

I booked the new comedy playing next month at the New York International Fringe Festival: Kaboom!!!!

Written by Michael Small and directed by BT McNicholl, Kaboom! merges "hipster satire with old-school farce" and sounds like wicked fun! The cast of characters is absolutely zany. I play Kandy Broadsky, a bike messenger who wants to be Madonna's back-up dancer, and has the duty of delivering a magical kazoo.

Can't wait to dive in!

Clarity, Cut, Color, and Character

It has been a wild couple of weeks. I feel like I'm still on Cloud 9. I was called in for 2 cool comedies, just got back from vacation, and best of all my sweetheart proposed!!!

I had just come home from seeing A Catered Affair (my friend Kristine Zbornik is performing in the show) and Rob had returned from a business trip. I was feeling so dreamy, thinking of the show and how unique it was, appreciating the heroine and her desire to keep her wedding simple... overwhelmed by the parents who carried such pain with them (kudos to Tom Wopat and Faith Prince who absolutely had me in tears) as they tried to give their only daughter something special... thinking of my parents and their weddings, friends and family who have come together for so many occasions... And there was my guy, asking if I wanted to take a walk on a hot July evening to the MET.

It's one of our favorite places with the Opera all lit up and the circular fountain, but it was my sad duty to tell him that the MET was under construction, so he said, "Well, let me unpack then." I went into our bedroom to help him and before I knew it, he bounced beside me on the bed with a box in his hand, asking, "Will you marry me?"

YES!!!!!

What an incredible feeling! And then getting to share the good news, the buoyancy of it all. Wonderful!

Then we went on vacation to a lake house in the Poconos, which ironically was only an hour away from the store he had bought the ring. He wanted me to pick out my diamond so we went diamond shopping. Can you imagine? It was just... wow!

Now since I'm a novice at this whole jewelry game (my grandmother would have remedied that if she were still alive - she always had gorgeous gems on her fingers), we had a lovely "diamond guide" named Mary Celeste who guided us through the "4 c's" of color, cut, clarity and carat. It was such an educational process but in the end I picked the one that sparkled the most, which turned out to be "grade: excellent" across the board. :)

The ring is being resized and diamond is being placed, otherwise I'd have a picture to share with you. Soon! :)

When we got back to the lake house, I received a callback for the comedy, Kaboom! Luckily we were only a few hours away from Manhattan so I could get back to the city with ease. My guy was all for it: "Go get em!" he said. So I came back to Manhattan for this callback and immersed myself in this wildly comic world.

Kaboom is a BIG comedy and it was a blast to do my scene. The director, BT McNicholl, was AWESOME and helped me fine-tune some moments, making them laser sharp. It ironically reminded me of the whole diamond-delving experience. The character was colorful to say the least (she made me think of bubblegum), the comedy zinged (cut), the director gave me great clarity, and the carat (weight)... well, that's me, baby!

Next up: getting ready for the 1940s comedy Johnny on a Spot and figuring out the when's and where's of my own simple wedding affair.

For Mama

With Patti Lupone winning the Tony for the ultimate stage mother, Mama Rose in Gypsy, I had to salute my Mom, Kathy, who celebrated a birthday yesterday. My Mom is not a stage mother, though she always encourages me to Live Out Loud. That was one of the most important messages she told me as a kid, "Live each day!"

Now before you start thinking I was reared by Auntie Mame, let me tell you, my Mom's a smalltown southern CA girl who lived in Austria when she was a child. Her Dad was a pilot and was stationed there. Her mom, my grandmother, said he was a spy and all us grandkids got a kick out that, thinking our grandfather, who passed away when I wasn't quite 2 years old, was like James Bond.

My Mom always speaks very fondly of her time in Austria and I'd love to go there with her some day. For now, she's in Hemet, CA, and I'm here in the Big Apple.

She came to visit me 2 years ago to see me in The Tragic and Horrible Life of the Singing Nun, and I'm hoping she'll be out here again soon. The city fascinates her, though she prefers the hubbub of the small desert town she calls home. I miss her like crazy and spent most of yesterday on the phone with her, celebrating her birthday with phone calls throughout the day. At her office, her coworkers brought in cake and ice cream, and my little brother Sean took her out for pizza and a movie. She even got some long-stemmed red roses from an admirer and had an absolutely joyous day.

Happy Birthday, Mom! I love you!

Vienna Part 2 or "How to put a show together in 10 hours or less!"

Staged readings are such an interesting phenomenon. I've done a few of them this year and they've ranged from big staged affairs to small intimate gatherings, and they've all been great learning experiences. It's almost like watching a rehearsal, because all of the actors still have their scripts in hand and the movement about the stage is very simple. In some cases, its even done with the actors seated at a table like a board meeting. But it all comes down to simply telling the story, or singing it in musical cases, so that the audience/directors/producers can get an idea of how the piece might work.

In most cases, rehearsal time before a staged reading can be very limited, which was the case with the piece I performed in last night: a new musical called Vienna. This was quite an undertaking because Vienna is a huge ensemble piece a la Ragtime or even Into the Woods. But we all met when we could and the director patiently rehearsed around everyone's scheduling conflicts. After a total of 10 hours in 2 days, the show was performed last night at the New Yiddish Rep Theater in the East Village.

There is something so artsy and timeless about the East Village. You can go from grafitti-land to tree-lined streets to skyscraperville... It was one of the first places I ran around when I first moved to New York, and I daresay its that way for any artist! Just check out some of the buildings:So there I was last night in a synagogue in the East Village, singing about turn of the Century Vienna, surrounded by characters like Prince Rudolf, Hugo Wolf, Johann Strauss II, Anton Bruckner, Arthur Schnitzler, the great actress Sarah Berhardt, and "my husband" Sigmund Freud (played by the delightful Richard Binder), all embodied by tremendously talented actors. There was something almost transporting about it, and I think this musical has great potential. It's a work-in-progress, as are most pieces of art, and it was really cool to be a part of something that is still being shaped.

Eddie Izzard

In the midst of rehearsing a new musical and pouring over scripts for auditions this week, I had the immense pleasure of seeing Eddie Izzard perform at Radio City Music Hall last night. It was a treat that my sweetheart and I had planned with some friends a few months ago and I was so glad not to miss it.

Eddie was INCREDIBLE! For those of you who don't know this very funny British comedian, he is what Mel Brooks would call "a stand-up philosopher." I can't recall how I discovered him but if I could plant a flag on him and shout, "I've discovered Eddie Izzard," I would! I have a feeling many of his fans feel the same way. :)

This was my first time seeing Eddie perform live. I'd seen some of his taped performances like "Dress to Kill" and "Glorious," and was immediately charmed by this witty, brilliantly funny and intelligent transvestite comic. Yes, I said transvestite. And what a role model for transvestites! Seriously! Funny, sexy, smart and successful? Why, YES!

For this show, "Stripped," Eddie wasn't in a glittering gown and platform heels, but he was still marvelously stylin' in jeans and a black tailcoat with hot pink lining. Love it! And I almost feel like "Stripped" was him sans the trans-attire, very bare and just casually cool. The audience would've loved him no matter what he was wearing.

My crew and I were in the front mezzanine which was pretty far back, but we had a great view, and my friend Michael and I reminisced about the Tonys which had just been in the Hall 2 weeks ago. We felt we could still feel that Tony vibe.

Deanna Dunagan wasn't kidding when she said how huge Radio City Music Hall is! But you know, Eddie Izzard filled that space completely! His presence reached out to the back balcony and everyone felt included. That was such a great thing to see because it's an essential you need as a performer. That's why people go to live performances and that's why we actors love doing theatre. Its that visceral connection between the audience and the entertainer that is so magical.

If you want to try to catch Eddie, his Stripped tour is still kicking around the country. Don't miss this brilliant comic!

Vienna

I seem to be doing a lot of readings this year, and I absolutely love it! Getting to take part in a new work or a new vision for an old piece like last month's reading for A Tree Grows in Brooklyn is very exciting stuff!

Next Monday I'll be playing Martha Freud, Sigmund Freud's wife in the new musical, Vienna. The writers behind this are my Hell's Belles creaters, Bryan D. Leys and composer Steve Liebman. Bryan had come to see me in A Tree Grows in Brooklyn and mentioned Vienna to me after the show.

It sounds fascinating! A turn of the century piece that showcases various personalities of the time, it has great depth and charm and even has a startling sense of comparison to today's world. Very interesting stuff!

Since I'm a research nut, I've already been combing the web, reading about Freud and Martha. He called her "Marty" and she called him "Sigi." Their engagement lasted 4 years while he worked to establish himself, and there are gorgeous love letters from that time period. It reminds me greatly of my own sweetheart and myself, so I definitely can relate to that great passion.

But something that boggles me is that some researchers report that Martha didn't seem to care about psychoanalysis, which was Sigmund Freud's life work. Instead she was a great reader of literature and "made it her duty to facilitate Freud's professional work with a supportive daily routine." Running a proper household seemed to be her goal, which was the Victorian way of thinking. But there must have been some sense of rebellion in her because she defied her parents and married in a civil union as opposed to having a true Jewish wedding. She seems intensely supportive of Freud and while it is said she did not believe in psychoanalysis, she believed in him. She also outlived him and maintained her hardy independence til she died at the age of 90 in 1951.

Vienna takes place in 1888 in the midst of the Freud's marriage and the changing political climate of the world. So it'll be up to me to fill in the blanks.

Gotta love acting! :)

The Essence of Family

This has been a funky week because my father-in-law, lovingly dubbed "Big Bob," went into the hospital on Father's Day. It turned out he has staph infection from a recent hip surgery, and it just sucks to know he is in distress, but he seems to be plugging along and the doctors believe he's going to be ok.

This life stuff happens every day and we must move through it. It shapes us, just like the people in our lives shape us. And I want to pay tribute to this mighty giant of a man whom I've known almost half my life. He's always been a big supporter of the arts and comes to the city every time I'm doing a show. It's not easy for him because he can't handle stairs or walking for too long, but he loves coming to the city to see all the different folks running about. Whether its going to Central Park to watch a local baseball game or catching a show on Broadway, he definitely gets a kick out of this town. He even drove Rob (his son, my sweetheart) and me by the big Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center this year, because it was the easiest way for him to see it.

Someone once said they admired my tenacity in show business, and I feel like I owe a lot of that to my family and friends like Big Bob who inspire me with their own tenacious spirits

Tony, Tony, Tony

Last night I had the rare treat of watching the Tony Awards with my honeypie. He's not always up to the task because he's a former performer who has really high standards of what he finds entertaining, but last night he gave it a go, and we enjoyed pretty much everything.

It seemed like an extra special Tony year because 3 performers I've worked with recently have all made their Broadway debuts in Tony nominated (and award-winning) shows. Janet Dacal (left pic) who performed in last night's piece from In the Heights took VP Boyle's Musical Theatre Forum with me. Kristine Zbornik, who played my Mother Superior in The Tragic and Horrible Life of the Singing Nun, is sharing the laughs and the love in A Catered Affair. And Alicia Sable, who rocked out with me (pictured right) in Hell's Belles this winter, is playing one of the Hollywood Blondes in Gypsy. I am so thrilled for all of these talented ladies! Congratulations!

Also, I felt a special connection to In The Heights because I had seen the composer/performer/writer (and now Tony Award Winner) Lin-Manuel Miranda perform a song from the show at NYMF Awards Gala 2 years ago. I was at the gala to receive a NYMF Award for The Singing Nun, and in the midst of the ceremony (just like the Tonys) there were performances from other shows in-the-works. Lin-Maunel Miranda's performance brought the house down! I don't think I'd ever seen anything so innovation and ground-breaking in musical theatre. It was so cool!

I still look back on that Gala with a sense of awe. I mean, there I was right next to Chris Fitzgerald (now playing Igor in Young Frankenstein) and Christian Campbell, getting recognized for my work too! Being surrounded by so many incredible artists, writers, directors, producers. It was thrilling!

And I am greatly encouraged by last night's Tonys, seeing people recognized for years of hard work. Even Patti Lupone winning her 2nd Tony 28 years after winning for Evita! That's still hard work and dedication and putting yourself out there, growing as an artist.

I especially loved Deanna Dunagan, who won for the pill-popping matriarch in the play August Oasage County. When she won the Tony last night, she brought such grace to the stage with her honesty and gratitude, saying, "After 34 years in regional theatre, I never even... dreamed we'd be here... Ever since I was a little girl, all I wanted to do was to get people together and put on plays and now I get to do it on Broadway. Thank you so much."

There was so much joy last night and I am so happy for all of the artists who received accolades last night. Bravo!

Battlecry!!!

I know, I already posted today, but I had to share this link with my fellow artists:

http://more.showfax.com/columns/avoice/index.html

It's Bonnie Gillespie's Actors Access article, and if you're an actor and you haven't signed up on this free website, get on it! Bonnie's weekly column and Mark Sike's Casting Corner are just some of the bonuses on this website. But I digress...

Bonnie's article this week about "Power" made me absolutely want to roar with pride! "Be A Lion" indeed!

It just made me all the more aware of something I discovered this week about being proud of my work and my own uniqueness and not allowing myself to get head-tripped by what I think "they" want. It's about sharing our gifts as artists, doing work that satisfies us (and that includes auditions, kids!), standing up for ourselves, taking the time we need to do what we have to do for ourselves. Not getting hung up on the desperation of trying to get a gig. Getting OUT of that feeling altogether and taking joy in my work, knowing I'm doing my best daily, and that I am enough! :)

Have an awesome weekend!

In a New York Minute

I love New York! Even in the summer when the city can smell like an old shoe on trash day, there still is something so remarkable about this Big Apple I call home. I've been here since I was out of high school and I still find myself charmed by this tantalizing town.

Yesterday I saw this little girl in a sparkly white gown walking with her mom. My guess was that she was going to an elementary graduation or wedding or who knows what? But she looked like a princess, and I thought, "How cool! There is magic every where!" It's all perspective.

Because I'm usually always in motion, going from auditions to my supplemental job to meetings with friends and classes and the like, the place I get to really enjoy my reading is on the subway. I've been reading Noel Coward's Private Lives which is full of sophisticated humor and old-fashioned things like "tub chairs." And I get such a kick out of reading about these wildly wicked but "classy" people running around Europe while I'm traveling on the dark tunnels of Manhattan. It's just.... ironic. But I love it!

And how awesome is the subway? Watch any tourist get on the train and they're liable to fall down. But people reach for each other to keep each other from falling. And that is very cool.

I've been taking some risks in my auditions this week, just trying new material and singing music that delights me, and I've noticed a definite positive vibe because of it. It's nice to get those encouraging nods and wow-words. Making good strides.

The Times They Are A-Changin'

Such an interesting time! I just don't even know where to begin....

Thinking about world issues, changes happening in America, in art, in my family and friends and in myself. It seems like such a time of transformation, and I love it!

I was thinking today as I walked out of the subway, How cool is it that I'm in NY, cultivating my dreams? Having opportunites to audition for incredible new pieces, being in this great Big bountiful Apple where works of art are absolutely everywhere! Being able to do prime research at great facilities like Lincoln Center's New York Public Library for the Performing Arts. Being part of the Actors Equity Association and the Screen Actors Guild, knowing my unions are looking out for my rights as a performer. Knowing there are incredible teachers all over this city. Getting the chance to see all this great theatre on Broadway! And getting to perform new pieces in lovely little theatres in the city, working my way towards performing on Broadway.

I saw Cry-Baby on Wednesday night with my sweetheart and some of his co-workers from Godiva were there, and we all had a great time! The musical is based on John Waters' film with Johnny Depp, and I had heard such mixed things about that show, but I am happy to report it's a LOT of fun. Any show that has a song titled, "Can I Kiss You (With Tongue)?" is gonna be funny. I laughed and laughed and really enjoyed myself. And it's been a while since I've been that tickled by a Broadway show, so I was greatly encouraged.

A fellow Californian was in the show, Alli Mauzey, and she was an absolute scene-stealer. VERY funny. And I thought.... Yeah! :)

She said in an interview that "Whenever I'm thinking of new things to try, I go, What would John (Waters) do?" And I get such a kick out of that because I've always enjoyed his irreverent sense of humor in his films. I was a fan of the movie "Hairspray" before it was a musical then movie musical. And as an artist myself, seeking to burst out, I love that sense of abandon and non-censorship. Yeah! Let it out!

I'm also reading this really yummy book on The Monologue Audition by Karen Kohlhaas and right off she focuses on what you can and cannot control in an audition and it makes me think so much about life. What can we control and what do we need to let go of? It's awesome to take a look at that stuff! And I love diving into some of my favorite writers, working on new material and old and making marvelous discoveries.

"Come gather 'round people
Wherever you roam
And admit that the waters
Around you have grown
For the times they are a-changin'."
- Bob Dylan

Between the Swells

When a show is done and that high of performing has subsided, it's time to create anew, to get out to auditions and classes, work on your own pieces, reflect on what you have done and what you want to do. It's what my friend Tina calls "being between the swells."

This reminds me of those old sayings of "getting back on the horse" or being "back in the saddle again." I'm from the West so I dig the horse-riding metaphor. Brings out the cowgirl in me.

But I especially love the idea that tackling show business is a lot like surfing. You grab your surfboard and run from the hot sand into the cresting waves, swimming against the current to get out to a real sweet spot. Then you navigate the waters as best you can and look around to see which wave you can catch for an absolutely fantastic ride. Sometimes you miss it. Sometimes you wipe out. But more often than not, you can catch even a smaller wave and have an exhilirating ride, something that tickles, thrills and delights you to no end. I love that!

But sometimes there is this moment "in between" where you simply sit out there, in the midst of the ocean, riding the swells. And I used to buck it, feeling impatient for the next big wave, but I really dig it now, having this time to assess and survey and take stock. It's very cool.

And we all deserve a chance to catch our breath, to be in that fantastic sway of the rhythm of life. Ebb and flow. And then..... before you know it, it's time to go! :)

The Journey

My brother and I often talk about making sure to enjoy the journey of being an artist. He's a drummer and he rocks out with some very cool bands like Hippie Cream and SMUG. I also have a feeling something big is about to happen for him, and it just jazzes me, thrills me to no end.

A bunch of people in my world seem to be making their dreams come true this year, and I just have to salute them. There's Kristine Zbornik who's making her Broadway debut in A Catered Affair. I remember watching her incredible cabaret last year where she cried to the heavens, "When's it gonna happen?" And heck man! She'd already done a Broadway tour and created some awesome musical art! And her cabaret was FIERCE!

I actually met Kristine during The Tragic and Horrible Life of the Singing Nun when she played my Mother Superior. She was one hot mama and her Mother Helen was a mix of Peggy Lee, Ethel Merman and Godzilla (as one reviewer said). At that time she was still aiming for her big break. Well, she sure got it! And I know she's gonna take the world by storm! Rock on, Kristine! Rock on!

Then there's my PA soul sister, Tina Sams, who just released her book, Under the Sun, The First 5 Years of her experience working on and creating the awesome magazine, The Essential Herbal. I've had the pleasure of knowing Tina back when we were both working at the PA Renaisance Faire. I was in the Shakespearean acting troupe (and actually got my Equity eligibilty from it) and Tina was a vendor with her sister, Maryanne, where they nurtured an herb shop filled with handmade soaps, essential oils and other natural delights! The cast and crew would often retreat to The Herb Sisters' shop where it was always warm and welcoming and laughter could be found in great abundance.

With everyone finally going green, I can't think of a better time for Under the Sun to make a splash, guiding folks with all sorts of recipes, remedies, and delicious tales of the PA woods.

Then there's me. As Tina would say, "Look back and see your progress." I think it's her way of saying, "Stop and smell the roses." Well, there have been a lot of roses this past year and a half! Getting paid for my acting, working with incredible people who have inspired me like crazy and who have been generous enough to request me for other projects.

Looking back, it's almost like looking at a map and it all seemed to start with VP Boyle's Musical Theatre Forum. From there I created my one woman show, "Love in 35 Minutes." Right after that, I booked The Singing Nun, won the NYMF Award, rocked out with VP's Pop/Rock Workshop, booked Lucky Stiff at Mason Street Warehouse, sang some songs for the new musical The Kid, reprised The Singing Nun at the Times' Center's Bound for Broadway concert, met the marvelous John Znidarsic who brought me in for Hell's Belles... Irene Stockton who saw Hell's Belles called me in for the new play, SIN, and my lovely Hell's Belles' stage manager, DC Rosenberg, recommended me for A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, which I just performed last week with Emily Skinner and Stephen R. Buntrock!

What happens next?

Stay tuned!

And enjoy the ride! :)

Love is the Reason for it All

We had our first performance of A Tree Grows in Brooklyn yesterday at the Theatre at St. Clements, and the audience was very responsive to the revised script for this beautiful old show.

The music is so gorgeous! You can't help but be swept away on a tide of memories that hearken back to another age.

My father-in-law is going to love this show if it gets to Broadway. It's rife with rich harmonies and barbershop quartets and trios. Even the women get to mix it up a bit! And it's so well-balanced with luscious ballads and rowdy uptempo tunes laced throughout.

One of my friends who saw the show yesterday and is involved in A Catered Affair on Broadway said how much she loved the heartfelt intimacy of Tree's characters and how touching their relationships were.

This show is definitely all about family, and you can't help but think of your own as you take the ride with Katie and Johnny and their daughter Francie.

Who doesn't have a crazy aunt or uncle that makes you laugh? Or a parent you don't understand but would like to? It's all about people trying to "break through the concrete" like a mighty tree that won't stop growing, to reach out and connect, to live and laugh and love and make dreams come true... And it takes place in the early 1900s! Just goes to show how little has changed.

This show is all about love, really, and it really is an incredible pleasure to be involved with it!

A Tree Grows on 46th Street

On Monday I bounced into rehearsals for the next phase of production for A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. The script was revised by Elinor Renfield with further revisions by Susan DiLallo to reflect the story from Betty Smith's original novel, which had been tweaked in the 1951 musical to suit Shirley Booth's comedic talents. Emily Skinner is playing the role of Aunt Cissy for our reading and Stephen R. Buntrock stars as Johnny, and they are incredible performers!

I play Jill, a brothel girl who makes a pass at Johnny though he's married to Cissy's sister, Katie, played by the beautiful Pamela Brumley. What a gorgeous soprano! The sensational Sara Wordsworth plays Meg, a fellow brothel girl, and Diane J. Findlay is our fesity madame, Nellie. Mick Bleyer, Jeff Brooks, Kathy Calahan, Kenneth Cavett, Tom Flagg, Andy Gale, Susan Jeffries, J. Maxwell Miller, Deborah Radloff, Tom Alan Robbins, Ashley Robinson, the lovely Emma Rowley (currently Baby Louise in GYPSY and our "tree," Francie), Steve Sterner, Kevin Vortmann and Darcy Yellin complete the cast.

I can't say enough about the entire cast except how brilliant they are. Everyone is immensely talented.

We had music rehearsals on Monday with music director, Mark Janas, and boy, is this music gorgeous!!! Arthur Schwartz's music immediately transports the listener back to the early 1900s and Dorothy Fields' lyrics are lovely! It is such an incredible pleasure to be singing this material.

Tomorrow our director Dan Wackerman will be guiding us through the show with blocking. We also have rehearsals on Friday and then we perform this staged reading on Monday. Wow!

It is so cool to be performing at the Theatre at St. Clement's again. I had played The Singing Nun there a year and a half ago, and this little theatre is such a welcoming space.

In Good Company

It has been such a glorious Spring! I just absolutely marvel at this time of year.

Coming from the dry desert town of Hemet, CA, where we actually have "tumbleweed season" in the Winter with tumbleweeds almost as big as cars (see the pic I took on my visit last winter for proof), the seasonal changes on the East Coast have always been a source of inspirational delight to me.

So last week I brought out my camera to snap some shots of the gorgeous blooms springing up all over Manhattan.

Last week I also took part in the reading of the new play, Sin, based on Isaac Bashevis Singer's short story, adapted by Mark Altman, and it was one of the most amazing readings I've ever done. Some readings consist of actors with their scripts, sitting at a table, or with scripts in hand, just reading out loud for the audience. This is done for many reasons, one of which is that it gives the playwright a chance to hear the script performed for a live audience and to see how the material is received. Well, this reading for Sin was very well received.

It took place at the 78th Street Lab Theatre, which is such a neat place! You definitely have to be cool with climbing stairs because the mainstage is 2 flights up, but once you get into the theatre, the whole place just exudes creativity. Bare brick walls enclosed us, and with the theme of this play being all about people being torn apart by sin and the hell that follows, it was very fitting.

Surprisingly, the play had a great balance of humor and pathos, and our director Robert Z. Kalfin kept us on our feet for the reading, creating a natural sense of movement for these characters that was very engaging for all of us as well as the audience.

The cast was FANTASTIC, led by the lovely Lee Beltzer, the radiant Marilyn Chris, our delicious devil Ronald Guttman, the hilarious Larry Hankin, my Hell's Belles buddy Deborah Radloff, and me. Casting director Irene Stockton brought us all together, and it was such a privilege to work with these amazing people! Just... WOW!

And next week I'm jumping into rehearsals for the next phase of production of the revised script for A Tree Grows in Brooklyn with the Peccadillo Theatre Company, another incredible company of players, so the wow-factor continues. It is such a blessing to be growing and blooming with such amazing artists. AND I get to run around through the blooms of Manhattan as I make my way to and from the theatre. So cool!

Signs

I love the universal language of signs. From danger red to cautionary yellow to greenlight go! With so much going on in our lives, it's good to pay attention to the signs.

This week one of my favorite column writers, LA casting director Bonnie Gillespie, addressed the importance of being a smart artist with the new business model of self-publishing. I find this especially well timed because one of my dear friends, Tina Sams from The Essential Herbal, is about to self-publish a gorgeous book detailing the first 5 years of her self-published herbal magazine, and it looks awesome!

Adding to this realm, I've been taking classes in html and Dreamweaver so I can take over the maintenance and promotion of my website (created by my guy Rob at whatsyoursigndesign.biz who is focusing his efforts on being the visual planner for Godiva chocolates - yum!), and I absolutely LOVE the creative expression that accompanies this! Digging into the code, troubleshooting, playing with text and images and linking it all together... it's a blast!

Even further, I'm taking a film class via One on One Productions with casting director Ellen Parks, and I must say what everyone says: Whenever you can, take classes! By seeing what others go through in a class environment and experiencing it yourself, you cannot help but grow!

Lastly, twice this week it's come to my attention how important it is to do your research! Whether its for a class or an audition (and especially once I've booked a gig), I've always been a big research nut when it comes to figuring out the "world" within the script. From the playwright's style to the influences of the time period and how the characters relate to each other (and especially digging deep to see what your character wants and how they go about trying to achieve that), it never ceases to amaze me how much more can be discovered! The more tools you have in your toolbox the better!

So keep your head up, your eyes open and enjoy the ride! :)

Birthday blessings

It's my birthday week and I've been inundated with blessings and love from friends and family. My sweetheart has kept me smiling with his unending rendition of "Happy Birthday," which was inspired by my nephew's 2nd birthday party. My nephew is also an Aries and he loved being sung to so much that he kept asking us to light his big "2" candle and sing to him again: "Light! Again!" And I just totally got where he was coming from. Who wouldn't want to be serenaded over and over?

Maybe it's an Aries thing. :)

I've greatly enjoyed all the serenades that have come my way this week, and I'm so grateful to have such wonderful people in my life. As I make my way through each day, it's the friends and loved ones who make the journey that much more enjoyable.

In other news, I booked a role in Mark Altman's adaptation of Isaac Bashevis Singer's short story, The Unseen. The play is called Sin, and we're doing a reading of it next Wednesday 4/23 at 2 PM at the 78th Street Lab. It's an interesting morality tale and should be a nice stretch for my acting muscles. I play a demon "cursed with a sensitve soul."

It's funny - it just hit me that last year around this time, I had auditioned at the same theatre for a role in Arlene Hutton's beautiful Nibroc Trilogy, Gulf View Drive. The playwright herself was at the audition and she was so gracious. The play of course was already cast with actors who had been with the show almost from the beginning, so Ms. Hutton invited me as her guest to see a performance. What an honor and privilege! And such a good piece of theatre! Haunting and humorous at the same time. Quite a feat!

And here I'll be performing at the Lab in a darkly humorous piece next week. What a trip!

Got the gig!

Yesterday was GORGEOUS! I got to run around the theatre district in the luscious sunshine, delighting in the blossoming trees and beautiful blue sky. What a great day to be out and about!

I made it through the final callbacks for the revival of A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, again getting to "tread the boards" of the Theatre at St. Clements where I played the Singing Nun 2 years ago. The audition went beautifully. It was a pleasure to sing and read for the production team, including director Dan Wackerman. We ended my session by reminiscing about Jean Harlow since I seemed to remind them of this glamorous gal. Dan said to check out her film Dinner at Eight. You know I will!

And later that day, I got the offer to join the cast for Tree. I'm so excited to be a part of this! It's a beautiful show with great music.

Very cool stuff.

Callback!!!!

Got a callback for the next phase of production for A Tree Grows in Brooklyn!!!! Reading scenes for the production team today. I'm SO EXCITED!!!

Play on!

So much good stuff happening!

My original short story, Fairy Parade, compiled in the book The Fairy Home Companion, an Essential Herbal publication, has been reprinted for the 3rd year. Woo! I love being able to cultivate my writing with other fabulous writers via this amazing compilation.

I've also in the midst of writing a 2 person show with my Hell's Belles partner in crime, Deborah Radloff, so that's been cooking in my head.

Yesterday I had the great pleasure of singing for director Dan Wackerman and his crew at the Theatre at St. Clement's. I was called in to sing for the next phase of production for the new script of A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, and it was such a delight to be at St. Clement's again. It was like coming home in a way, because I had played the Singing Nun in the same theatre and it was so nice to be in the space again.

I'm also bouncing into classes! Tonight I'm taking a Dreamweaver class because in this day and age of do-it-yourself-ism, I LOVE learning how to expand my horizons via the web. Speaking of which, I finally had a chance to edit my song clips, so you'll find shorter versions of most of my vocal work, specifically the Janis Joplin piece, "Sex Drugs Booze and Rock n Roll." :)

And next week I'm taking a film class with renowned casting director Ellen Parks. I'm really excited to meet her because I LOVE her style of casting and I particularly enjoy the films she has worked on. So.... stay tuned! :)

Spring Showers

I LOVE this time of year! Everything's in bloom and daffodils seem to have popped up in Manhattan overnight! They're everywhere! Near the Laura Pels Theatre on the way to the Actors' Equity building... planted near trees on the sidewalks... and of course, they're flourishing in the parks throughout the city. I'm in heaven! Love these cheery little flowers!

I feel like I'm in bloom too! :) I've been receiving really wonderful responses from people at my auditions. One production team visibly relaxed and opened up to the ride I was inviting them on, and at the end of the song, everyone was quiet but intensely involved...holding onto that last moment of my song. And the director finally broke the silence, saying, "What IS this moment in theatre called?" And I said (after a beat), "...a lovely moment?" And he said, "YES! A truly lovely moment!"

So I feel greatly encouraged.

I also got a call to come audition for the next presentation of A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. I had participated in the reading of the new script in February, where the script was performed by actors while the songs were sung separately by contracted singers. At this next stage of the building-a-show process, they will now need actors who can sing for the producers. And I am so thrilled to be brought in for this next step, to be recognized as an actress and a singer. :)

I've also been reading a bunch of plays and listening to all sorts of musicals, just opening myself to new stuff, and I am in love! Theresa Rebeck and Douglas Carter Beane have absolutely charmed the pants off me with their incredible plays! A few years ago, I'd read Mr. Beane's Country Club and As Bees in Honey Drown, but I just finished The Little Dog Laughed and was absolutely blown away by the characters, comedy, tone, and passionate pathos behind all of it. Likewise with Ms. Rebeck's Mauritius, it was an absolute headtrip of great characters and rich drama. Mmm! A feast for any artist!

So I am certainly enjoying this Spring, even though its raining today. April showers tend to make the city cleaner and fresher, and certainly make the flowers bloom.