Where does the time go?

I could never have believed that I would be this on the go and busy this summer. To be honest I don't know where the time has gone. Since I last blogged, my friend Michael came to visit for the weekend from Washington D.C. and I can't remember the last time I walked that much! We got student rush tickets for American Idiot and had front row center seats. I am a little spoiled now and I don't think that I could ever sit anywhere else! We also got to see Hair one more time before it closed and Promises, Promises. During our walking tour of the city, we really got to see a lot of areas I had never been in around the city. Greenwich Village and the river area where there is a great walkway, Chinatown and Central Park. Sunday night was the most fun, starting off with seeing Jonathan Groff at Joe's Pub and finishing the evening with Broadway Bares: Stripopoly. After the concert, we got to meet Jonathan Groff and that made my night. Then we grab a cab uptown to see Broadway Bares, a huge fundraising event for Broadway Cares/ Equity Fights Aids. Cameron Adams, who is originally from Myrtle Beach, was dancing along with 200 dancers from Broadway and celebs like Vanessa Williams, Kristin Chenoweth, Diana DeGarmo and Lucy Lui.

Michael left Monday morning, which came way too earlier and I headed off for another week at work. Ashley, who I went to school with at USC, was visiting her sister and so we got tickets to go see Best of Fest, a fundraiser that showcased past and upcoming works from the New York Musical Theatre Festival. I knew a couple of the people performing, but I was very impressed by the talent and excited to see some of the shows to come!

Tuesday I went to see Best Musical winner Memphis. I went into it having high expectations because it did win the Tony, and it did not disappoint. The entire cast was so talented, but Montego Glover and Chad Kimball were phenomenal. I'm still not sure how they keep their accents the whole show. Definitely a show to see.

Wednesday I went to the Carlyle Cafe, which was an intimate dinning room and small bar, to see Sutton Foster. I got a bar seat, which was great because it was high and you could see really well. Most of the concert was the same as what I had seen in Charlotte, but she did add some songs from Anyone Can Whistle and for her song drawn out of her Ho cup, Jonathan Groff (who came to see the show!) choose Don't Rain on My Parade. My favorite is when she sings Sposin' (not sure on the spelling), which was a song taken out of Thoroughly Modern Millie and another song taken out of Shrek.

Thursday was the 4th Street Bar Association (4SBA) event for work. Beginning at 6:15 we had a pre-show cocktail hour in the lobby of the St. James Theatre, followed by the performance of American Idiot and then Sardi's for the post-show party with the cast (or so we hoped). Luckily, a good number of the cast came and hung out for a while, which was a relief! The whole event went really well and everyone seemed to have a great time.

Friday it was off to North Carolina for mom's family reunion. It was really nice to go to the mountains and get away for a few days. Maw Maw picked me up at the airport and I drove us to our mountain house. It was really weird to drive because I hadn't been behind the wheel in over a month! Other than seeing my family, I was most excited about the food! For dinner we had roast and mashed potatoes and peas...so yummy...and then pancakes for breakfast. Lunch was at Juke Box Junction and dinner was my all-time favorite, Grandmothers creme corn and green beans. I don't know quite how to explain them, but the creme corn it like dessert. I literally had a plate with half beans/ half corn! Sunday morning brought sausage gravy and biscuits with peach jelly! Spectacular! Sadly the weekend had to come to an end, but we didn't have a car because once again the mercedes was broken (between the two that my parents drive, one is always not working). My grandfather ended up having to drive us to the airport and my parents had to rent a car to get home.

Sunday evening consisted of cleaning my room and laundry, my most unfavorite thing in the world to do! Another busy week ahead!

Playing Catch Up

I am kinda behind in the blog so this is going to be an overview of last weekend's exciting adventures.

Cole flew in on Thursday afternoon in time to see American Idiot. We had second row tickets and it was even more amazing than the first time (mostly because I knew more of the song lyrics). Sadly John Gallagher, Jr. did not come out and sign and according to the door man he never does.

Friday I had to work until 2 and then we grabbed lunch at Smac, a restaurant that makes mac and cheese any way you can think of. Of course, I got All-American, which was three cheeses and it was great. The rest of the afternoon we spend shopping and exploring the East Village and Soho (making a pit stop at Baked By Melissa - yum) and then headed to see The Addams Family. The critics didn't like the show at all, so I wasn't sure what to expect, but we really enjoyed the show. The sets were creative and transformed into the many different rooms of the house. Most fascinating was their use of the curtain. Most shows just pull it up when the show starts, although many shows don't even have that now, but for this show it has two pieces that pulled to the side and then three scallops that would rise and fall to create different looks. Unlike many shows, where you see the sets move, The Addams Family would have a character singing or talking in front of the curtain and move the sets then. Of course hand stopped by and Uncle Fester flew to the moon - which was very entertaining. Overall I really enjoyed the show and its story. The music was catchy and I have enjoyed listening to it since I saw the show too. I forgot to mention that the cast featured Nathan Lane and Bebe Neuwirth. I do feel that the show was overlooked for Tony nominations, especially sets and best musical. I think it was way more exciting than Million Dollar Quartet is going to be (I'm seeing that is a few weeks, so I'll keep you posted).

Saturday we wandered around before seeing the West Side Story matinee. I was not looking forward to this show because I had seen a horrible version at Town Theatre in Columbia. So a little unenthused, we saw the show and I really enjoyed it. The cast was so talented and authentic. The mix of Spanish and English was a little annoying because it seemed to randomly switch throughout scenes and I thought it should have been one or the other, but overall a good production. That evening we went to see Hair again. We got student rush tickets for $25 and had the amazing seats in the box to the left side of the stage. It was exciting because the cast frequently comes out in the audience and they were right there. Like last time we got to dance on stage at the end for the eParty. The stage door for this show is particularly fun because the cast is so nice.

Sunday was jam packed. It started with trapeze school at 10:30 until 12:30 followed by a quick lunch and then to see Restoration at NYTW where I work. After the show we hoped on the subway and ran back to my place to shower and change for the Tonys! Doors opened at 6 and you had to be seated by 7. It was raining so it was a little gross commuting, but it was exciting non-the-less. From 7-8 you get to see the "early in the evening awards were presented to..." awards actually presented and then the live show starts at 8. There is so much energy there and the sound is so much better than what gets broadcast on TV. I was particularly happy that Fences did well because it was a great show. Probably my favorite win was Katie Finnegan from Promises, Promises. She is only in two scenes, but if you ask anyone what they remember from that show, it is her parts. American Idiot was a great performance, but seeing Matthew Morrison and Lea Michele was my favorite. When Lea Michele sang "Don't Rain on my Parade" it was mesmerizing.

It was a great weekend, but as Monday came Cole had to head back to Columbia and I had to go to work. I was so tired on Monday, but we had a benefit event that evening so I had to help with the set up beginning at noon and finally got to eat dinner around midnight, but which point I was exhausted!

Fences

Before I moved to NYC I got an e-amil with a discount to get a ticket to Fences staring Denzel Washington. I've always liked his work so I got a ticket. Thank goodness I did! It is a limited run show and the night I went the house was sold out of seats and standing room only tickets. It also features Viola Davis and the two of them on stage is electrifying. The play by August Wilson is performed on a single set, the Maxson's front porch.

Described for their website:

Both a monumental drama and an intimate family portrait,FENCES tells the story of Troy Maxson, a man torn between the glory of his past and the uncertainty of his future. Emboldened by pride and embittered by sacrifice, Troy is determined to make life better for future

generations, even as he struggles to embrace the dreams of his own son.

Although their have been other shows that I love, there has never been a show that I found myself so caught in their story and emotionally touched. As the show came to an end, I just sat their and cried for the loss but also the life the others still had to live. Very rightfully deserved, both Washington and Davis won Tonys for their performance and the show won Best Revival of a Play. It was truly a phenomenal piece. I feel so lucky and spoiled to be getting to see so many shows. Normally when we would visit for a weekend, we would see all musicals, maybe a play, but being here for the summer is allowing me to expand to see shows that under normal circumstances I probably never would have seen.

The Arts In South Carolina

As you can probably tell, the arts are a HUGE part of my life and this past week our idiot of a governor vetoed two budgets that were the bulk of the budget for the SC Arts Commission. Not only would eliminating this money cripple the agency, making it so they would no longer be able to give grant money to artists, but it would mean eliminating arts in education and any other program as well as staff at the Arts Commission.

I spent the last school year interning at the Arts Commission and the do amazing work. It is the first time I have worked somewhere where everyone is soooo passionate about what they do. They don't just work at an arts agency, the perform, the are artists themselves. A lot of times people do not see the work that they do, but they make a huge difference, both in the lives of residence and economically by supporting arts that bring money into our state.

Today the House overrode the governors' vetoes and now they are waiting to go the senate. PLEASE click here and contact your senator! They are listening.

Here is an article from The Daily Gamecock I was quoted in.

Sondheim on Sondheim

This year is Stephen Sondheim's 80th birthday. He is the genus behind shows like West Side Story, Assassins, Sunday in the Park with George, Anyone Can Whistle, Gypsy, Into the Woods, Company, and some not so good shows, like A Little Night Music (see post to come). To celebrate his birthday, Roundabout Theatre Company decided to create a show the featured pieces from many of Sondheim's works as well as video clips of him telling about his life, entitle Sondheim on Sondheim.

There description of the show:

It's a completely different kind of Sondheim evening: an intimate portrait of the famed composer in his own words...and music. An ensemble cast, led by Tony Award winner Barbara Cook, Vanessa Williams and Tom Wopat, will perform brand-new arrangements of over two dozen Sondheim tunes, ranging from the beloved to the obscure.

The show truly was an intimate look into the life of Sondheim. The video interviews of him introduced songs, explained changes to shows which included performances of songs that were dropped from the final versions and depth into his life that brought about a greater understanding and appreciation of his work. Probably the most interesting thing he said was that of all his shows, Assassins is the one show he sees and has nothing he wants to change about it.

His parents divorced and his mother did not like him or spend a lot of time with him, so he spent most of his time with what became his second family, the Hammersteins. It was there that he learned piano and to compose music. He joked that he became a composer because he wanted to do what Oscar Hammerstein did; jokingly he added that had he been an engineer, he himself would probably be one of those today instead.

What made all this come to life was the brilliant stage. It consisted of flat screen video boards that came together to make walls where video and graphics were show on. One set up had a huge wall but the set turned and their was a flight of stairs and then what looked like screens sprinkled about. It was unlike any set I had ever seen and the integration of the video along with the song choices and order was great.

Stunt Girl

Sorry, but my posts are going to be out of order. I missed a couple days, but saw this show tonight and had to go ahead and post.

I am loving soaking up all the city has to offer and tonight I went to my first reading of what I thought was going to be a play but ended up being a phenomenal musical. It is part of Manhattan Theatre Club's 7@7 Series that shows 7 new works in 7 weeks at...can you guess??? at 7. It was free to go to any of the readings, all you had to do was e-mail in. This was the first one that was taking place since I had moved to the city and I really didn't know what to expect. In fact I got the address wrong and was almost late!

The theater it was in was part of City Center and it was maybe 300 seats. It was packed. I sort of felt like an outsider because everyone knew everyone. The group was a mix of theater professionals, actors and actresses, wannabe actors and actresses, some old people and me. David Yorkey is the director and I knew him from his work on Next to Normal. The female lead was Mara Davi who played Nellie Bly, who looked really familiar and when I looked her up realized I had seen her in White Christmas and A Chorus Line. She was amazing and a perfect match for Louis Hobson who played Arthur Brisbane. I also recognized him from Next to Normal and with a quick Internet search confirmed it.

Here are some summaries:

Nellie Bly was a groundbreaking investigative journalist, an intrepid world traveler, and a captain of industry - all in a time before women had the right to vote. She's brought to tuneful life in a rollicking new musical about her hopes and heartbreak and fascinating times

The Village previously described Stunt Girl this way: "Before tabloid television, before the paparazzi, back when the news business was new...she was the original sensation. Nellie Bly was a groundbreaking investigative journalist, an intrepid world traveler, and a captain of industry — all in a time before America gave women the right to vote. Bridging the years from the turn of the twentieth century to the First World War, this remarkable woman comes to tuneful life in the rollicking new musical Stunt Girl, a fast and funny account of her life and loves, her hopes and heartbreak, and her fascinating times."

The show tells the story of a Nellie who wants to be a journalist but is told no because she is a woman. She eventually gets a job under Joseph Pulitzer and does stories that uncover the treatment of people in situations like the mental hospital for women and buying babies from the black market and uncovering the truth about the Pullman villages employees lived in. Her biggest piece was racing around the world to take less than 80 days as the book "Around the World in 80 Days" was becoming popular. Although she loves Arthur, who also works at the paper and one day hopes to be editor, she marries a rich man (who she meet working on the Pullman piece). He keep telling her, "why run when you can fly" and he told her that money would let her make the changes she wanted in the world. Nellie really wanted to work for his company and he objected until she threatened to leave. When he was tragically killed, the men in the company tried to get Nellie to sign the company over to them and they would pay her money every year, but when she realized that they had made no provisions in the contract for the treatment of the employees, she decided she would run the company herself.

Being a woman in that position during the pre-WWI era was not easy and the men did not respect Nellie. It ended up that they were not keeping the books correctly balanced the company went bankrupt, forcing Nellie to flee to Europe to try to save some money and appeal her case. It ended up that WWI began while she was in Austria and with Arthur now the publisher of the paper, he reached out to her to cover the war from inside where he couldn't get reporters. Again, her pieces were a hit with readers and eventually Nellie came back to work at the paper, penniless. Even with all the years that had passed, Arthur had never found anyone to replace his feelings for Nellie and with her back working at the paper, it might just be the new start they needed.

For this reading, the cast had rehearsed 29 hours. There is essentially no set in a reading, but just chairs lined up for the cast to sit in when it wasn't there part and music stands to hold the notebooks with the script and music. For the most part they know the show, but they do reference the material sometimes. And with such a short learning period, there were a couple parts that got a little twisted, but I fell in love with the show. The lyrics were filled with imagery. Even thought there were no sets, you could see the scenes and locations they were talking about. And the music, it was infectious. I wish I had it on my ipod right now, I would be listening to it!

It was unlike any show I had ever seen and I hope it comes to a theater, at least off-Broadway, soon.

Back to the Real World

My work week started on Tuesday as my first day at my internship. When I was visiting in April I stopped by and meet Rebekah, who I am working under, and learn a little bit about the place. I think that really helped with making me more comfortable because I knew how to get to work and I had meet some of the people there. Like all first days, this one was a little weird. It is hard just to get thrown into work and projects you don't know a lot about. It's a little frustrating because no one really explains anything. One of my tasks on my first day was to delivery letters to restaurants and vendors that participate in the Good Neighbor Program. It gives season ticket holders and flex pass holders discounts at places near the theater to get food, etc before or after seeing a show. It was a challenge finding my way around at first and I'll admit I walked in a few circles before getting the lay of the land, but it was fun getting to see all the stores and restaurants. I have found so many places I want to go back to.

And what better way to celebrate the first day on a job but to see a show! Tonight I had a ticket to A Little Night Music. It is part of the shows showing this year in celebration of Stephen Sondheim's 80th. I had no clue what the show was about (this is not like me; normally I have the soundtrack memorized, summary read...) but it had Catherine Zeta-Jones and Angela Lansbury, so I was excited to see it. To be honest I really didn't like it. It wasn't very exciting, the music was kind of operatic and the story was lacking. I don't know what to compare it to. The only bright side was that Catherine Zeta-Jones signed at the stage door.

Day 1 - Holiday

I was all excited to start work Monday, but it was a holiday and New York Theatre Workshop was closed, so no go. It was nice though to have the day to get settled. Unfortunately the closest place for stuff to where I live is Kmart and you will be comforted to know that they are just as mess and unorganized here as in the south, but it is three stories! Making a couple of trips, one to get cleaning stuff and the other food (there is not the convenience of putting stuff in you car; you buy it you carry it!).

The day was pretty lazy, but to kick off my summer here I had a show to see. First up was White's Lies. It initially interested me because Christie Carlson Romano was in it (who I saw in Avenue Q), but I also learned that Betty Buckley and Tuc Watkins (from Desperate Houses) were also in it so I got a ticket. I knew it was a play, a comedy to be more specific, but the Web site is very vague about the show. My seat was in the front row, which was exciting. The set was simple, but it worked well for the show. The two settings were Joe White's law office and a bar (which would change themes throughout the show). His desk could be raised and would become the bar while one wall rotated to finish out the bar.

The show starts with Joe and one of his women (and lets just say he has a lot of them). But he doesn't want commitment, just have a little fun. His law partner, Alan, is to come in each morning to help get ride of the girl (they are always in his office). Joe says you never do breakfast because that shows commitment. Things were business as usually until one morning Barbara (Andrea Grano), an ex-girlfriend from college (who White doesn't remember), came in to get Joe to be her divorce lawyer. Her daughter Michelle (Romano) is 25 and takes a liking to Joe. Shortly after there first meeting, Joe's mom (Betty Buckley) tells him she has cancer and her one regret was that she didn't have a grandchild. In an effort to give his mom her dying wish, White concocts a plan where he will use Michelle as his long lost daughter. This is all fine and good until Michelle and Joe fall in love. Knowing the kind of guy he is, Barbara forbids the romance, but there is not stopping them now.

It all falls apart when Joe's mother admits she really isn't dying, but she wanted them to be closer and quit fighting. Michelle and Joe weren't planning of having to admit to their relationship because they figured she would be dead. Then Barbara and Alan get married in an attempt to get a restraining order against Joe to see Michelle (long story), and their shared love for Alf. In order to prove he is the father (which Joe thinks he is not) he demands a paternity test. In the final scene, the test results are in but before we find out, Michelle admits to Joe that she is pregnant, but then the results say he is the father. Things go awry for a moment, but eventually Mrs. White puts an end to it and tells them she had paid the "doctor" (an old friend's child who was in med school) to give the results. So it ended up that Joe was NOT Michelle's dad (thank goodness!) and they could now be together without hiding it. Whew, that was a little long winded and really doesn't do the show justice. I have never been big on plays because they are usually hard to get into, but this show was hilarious and the cast was amazing. Two other notable members who played multiple parts were Jimmy Ray Bennett and Rena Strober.

Cast of White's Lies (from http://www.playbill.com/multimedia/gallery//1270/?pnum=1)

Welcome to the Big Apple

Although I was very excited to be moving, I have always found it hard to leave home. And I guess it isn't home so much as my parents. For those who haven't meet them, they are quite possibly the coolest people ever. Growing up I always did everything with my parents and they support me in everything that I do, so leaving them is hard. But I wasn't going to be all alone in the city; my friends Jordan and Cole were coming up for the weekend (actually I was staying with them until I moved in on Sunday).

And boy was the weekend packed. Jordan and Cole missed their flight out of Charlotte and ended up in Boston and finally New York. The literally ran in the door, changed and we jumped on the subway to go downtown to meet Jordan's cousin's girlfriend at this neat restaurant, The Smith (on 3rd between 10th and 11th). After dinner it was a race to theater and we made it just in the nick of time. We kicked off our show streak with Billy Elliot. It was great to see the show again because I had forgotten how wonderful it was. I am still amazed at how talented the children are in the cast, especially the boys who play Billy. It is unbelievable. And another favorite in the show is Billy's friend Michael. The two of them do this tap number dressed up in Micheal's sisters clothes; it's priceless! We attempted to go to the stage door but after standing for a while we realized we were at the wrong one so we called it a night.

Friday we decided to go to a museum and ended up at MoMA (Museum of Modern Art). I had been a year or so ago, but it is a pretty interesting place. The temporary exhibit is a combination of videos, photos and live installations of people in frozen poses, some of which are not clothed. I know that everyone has different opinions of what art is, but this was weird and we didn't really like it. Another part of it was this live staring contest with the artist and another person in the lower lobby. As we went onto other floors, we came across things we liked more, like works by Picasso, Kandinsky and Van Gogh. Before going to see HAIR, we meet Ashley and Andria and Vnyl to celebrate Ashley's birthday. The food at Vynl is great. They have the best fried chicken I have ever had, and that is saying something.

I had always kinda wanted to see HAIR, but just hadn't gotten around to it. To be honest I really didn't know much about the story, thought I did know a few songs (Age of Aquarius, Let the Sun Shine). The original revival cast moved to London in January and the new "tribe" started in New York. Two cast members, Ace Young and Diana DeGarmo, are American Idol alums and Kyle Riabko I had seen in Spring Awakening (both in New York and on tour). Our seats were really far up in the balcony, but right before the show started the ushers let everyone move down because there were 10 or 12 empty rows, which was really nice. The show started and it was non-stop action. The stage was set up so that there were ladders that allowed the cast to easily access the balcony and part of the cast was constantly in the audience. I was blown away by the show and loved it so much. And to top it all off, the audience was invited on stage at the end for a dance party. Wow is all I can say.

After that we tried to get tickets to Sex and the City 2 but it was sold out until the 12:30 a.m. showing. It took some convincing, but I got Jordan and Cole to agree to come back the next morning instead of waiting. To be honest I would have sleep through it I was so tired. So, we aimed to go to the 10 a.m. but ended up at the 11:10 a.m. showing! I have to admit I have never watched the show or seen the first movie, but I still liked the second movie. It was funny and the nachos were good.

For out matinee, we got our Gamecock Gleek shirts on and headed to the Radio City Music Hall to see Glee Live!!!!! For those of you who aren't Glee fans, Gleek is a combination of Glee plus Geek and describes one who watches and loves Glee. We had some mix ups trying to get these tickets, but ended up with first mezzanine and the seats were decent. The show was amazing. The performed 21 songs from the show, some great group numbers and solos, including one of my favorites, Don't Rain on My Parade. Probably the best part was when Jonathan Groff made a surprise guest appearance to sing Hello with Lea Michele. It was beyond amazing! I was a little surprised though over the crowd. They were not as young and exciting as I thought they would be. It really was an odd mix. After the show we grabbed pizza and got changed to see Next To Normal. I was excited about this because Brian d'Arcy James was going back into the show (he did the original workshop), but he was out. His understudy was okay, but he was a little too angry for the role and he looked old. I didn't care for his take on the character and he began to annoy me as the show went on. Although I didn't have a great view because the lady in front of me leaned forward the whole first half and her hair was so big I had about half of the stage blocked. We moved at intermission, but there were a couple times that I almost reached forward and jerked her back in her seat. The rows were so separated and staggered that there was no reason for her to sit forward.

Sunday morning Jordan and Cole helped me bring my stuff over to the New Yorker to get checked into my room. After getting my key card we tossed my stuff in and headed out to get lunch and see Promises, Promises. This show is hilarious and the cast is outstanding. I can tell you that both Sean Hayes and Kate Finnegan will take the Tonys for their role in this show. Because there are such big names in the show, the stage door for it is particularly crazy. Last time we went to stage door was busy, but it was so much worse this time. There must have been 200 people out there, which is huge compared to the normal crowd. Kristin Chenoweth had been sick and so we were just excited that she was back in the show, but figured she wouldn't come out, but Sean Hayes and many others came out which was fun. What is also cool about the show is that I know someone in it. Cameron Adams is from Myrtle Beach and made her Broadway debut in The Music Man, which just happened to be the first show on Broadway I saw. Since then we have gotten to see her in Hairspray and Shrek.

Unfortunately, after the show it was time for Jordan and Cole to leave and I had to head back to my housing for our introduction meeting. I was hoping it would be more useful than it was, but it really didn't help us get to know each other any better. My housing reminds me of my freshman dorm, but I don't share the room. It is a little old, like the bathroom is small and has lovely seafoam green tile, but it's comfortable and it's a great location. I'm missing a couple of things, but I will post room pictures soon.