I Love Cupcakes (June 22)

so the last 2 weeks, Sarah and I have been obsessed with finding new and delicious places to eat. It started with this Cuban restuarant in Encino called "Versailles". They have, by far, the best rotisserie chicken i have ever had simply because they marinate it (drown it, really) in this ridiculous lemon-garlic sauce and then serve it with rice and black beans. truly one of the best lunches i have ever had...i have a feeling they are going to become very familiar with us.

also...what is it with LA and your frozen yogurt? it's everywhere. i have to admit, at first i was skeptic. why the hell would i eat frozen yogurt...a "desert" with little or no fat when i could get a hearty scoop at Baskin Robbins or Foster's Freeze down the street? the answer is "Cantaloop" at Hollywood and La Brea. they only feature 3 flavors per day but the last few times we went, we split a mango/blueberry swirl with fresh mangos and strawberries on top. and the best part is even though i know it's fat free, it still tastes so good. we are planning yet another trip tomorrow between shows.

our food finds don't always consist of healthy choices. last week, we went to Skooby's on Hollywood Blvd for some of the best fries, lemonade and hot dogs in the city. they are said to rival the world famous "Pink's" (we'll see soon enough) but we had a great time there. a little pricey for a few dogs, fries and lemonade but pretty damn good. sarah had a chili cheese dog and when making their chili, they use 3 bottles on Guinness beer in every batch. and lucky for me, she has a small stomach so i got to finish it (and everyone in the cast subsequently got to enjoy it on stage later that night).

but hands down, my favorite place we have stopped at so far was in Santa Monica just this past Tuesday. the place is called "Yummy Cupcakes" and i am still dreaming about it. i got the brown sugar cupcake which essentially is a cupcake similar to a coffee cake (but better) with a huge smear of buttercream icing on top. it literally was the best cupcake i have ever had and i am almost happy we aren't living near Santa Monica or else i would be there every day. Sarah was equally as happy with her Red Velvet cupcake.

now look, i don't want our families to think we are not eating healthy. we have been making some delicious and healthy dinners at home as well as having sensible lunches...but every once in awhile you just need a cupcake, a frozen yogurt or an In and Out burger!

moving on...

LA continues to be a lot of fun. i had lunch with a good friend, Fred Buchalter, on Tuesday. Frede and I did "Hello Muddah, Hello Faddah" together in Detroit right before i left for the tour and it was great to see him. also with him at lunch was my very first theatre teacher, Jim Gilchrist (Calabasas High School, retired) who Fred had as a teacher almost 40 years ago when he taught in Michigan. "Mr. G" looked great and i can't tell you how great it was to spend some time with the man who truly inspired me to continue my craft beyond high school. every once in a great while, you have a teacher who's passion for something bleeds to you, and Mr. G was certainly that for me. He, Fred and Fred's sister also were able to come to the show last night and what a treat it was getting to perform for them. Guess i've come a long way since Charlie Cowell in Music Man freshmen year.

the show is doing great. everyone in the ensemble just resigned our 6-month riders so it looks like the whole crew is sticking together until December. seems crazy to me that it has already been 7 months and we have another 6 guaranteed. that will take us through Sac, Tempe, Costa Mesa, San Diego and into Seattle. and it turns out that tonight, June 22, is our 200th performance! un-freaking-believable.

July is going to be a whirlwind. first off, i guess the show is sold even better in July than in June (didn't think that was possible), and come July 15, we have to say goodbye to my dear friend Michael Ingersoll and hello to Steve Gouveia as they switch casts in the Nick Massi role. the week that follows will be intense with Steve's put-in on wednesday and then understudy rehearsal that Thursday and Friday while most of the creative staff is here to see all of us in all our understudy roles.

Best thing about that week though...

I am playing Bob Gaudio on July 17. Bergen is taking a personal day back in NYC so it is official. I am so excited to have a chance to play Bob here in LA and the best part is not only is Mom and Jeff driving in from Los Osos to see the show, but Dad and Karen are flying in all the way from Michigan to see me go on as a Season! July 17 could not come any sooner!!!!!!

anyway - that's it for now. Sarah and I have to finish getting ready to go to this great Sushi place she found in Studio City.

best to everyone!

Huge Pet Peeve (June 9)

okay...this is going to be a short one because i have to get ready for our two shows today. i just wanted to say something to get it off my chest.

after doing a show for over 2 hours, and especially with a show like this where these character's lives are put on display and their souls are torn apart right in front of your very eyes...please don't stand up and leave as we are taking our bows.

last night, as our Four Seasons are taking a bow, three woman in the FRONT ROW get up and slowly make their way out to the aisles to leave. They even stopped halfway through to say something to each other.

listen ladies...you are sitting in the front row. everyone of us (and the audience) can see what you are doing. it's rude. just sit down for the last 3 fucking minutes and let us finish our bows and the "Oh What a Night" playoff.

maybe i would understand if these ladies were senior citizens (they weren't) and they needed some additional time to make their way to the exits. or maybe it would be cool if i saw them leaving from the last row of the orchestra where they aren't really interrupting anyone else's view.

but front row center...? really...? did you really need to beat the traffic that bad?

and perhaps i was just upset about it. or maybe it was that all of us in the cast are so overtired from this looooooooong week. but as they were making their way out, i literally screamed at them, "where are you going? we're not done yet. why don't you sit back down". they didn't hear me, but i have to apologize to Courter and Melissa who did...as well as Michael Ingersoll, who told me it was near impossible holding a straight face when he heard it.

so new rule: unless you are ill, need extra time to safely get out of your seat and get to the exits, or are in the last row and on an aisle, stay in your damn seat until the show is done.

thank you.

Los Angeles Opening Night (June 3)

let's get right to it.

Eddie Murphy. Nicole Kidman. Geena Davis. Jason Alexander. Joe Pesci. Julie Haggerty. Melina Kanakaredes. Debbie Reynolds. Joe Pesci. Frankie Avalon. Kirk Douglas.

...those were just the celebrities that were confirmed and/or seen at opening night.

the show was insane. i'm sorry...INSANE! from the very first notes of the opening song, the crowd went wild. every joke...every nuance...every line was taken in and the energy that was sent back to us was incredible.

the show has its little screw ups of course. i mean, nerves were HIGH with not only celebrities, but also all the creative staff and all the Producers of the show...and of course Frankie Valli, Tommy DeVito and Bob Crewe looking on.

but all in all, without a doubt, the most amazing night that i think we have all had as a company.

best parts:
* the explosion of applause after the guys finished the "big three" medley of Sherry, Big Girls... and Walk Like A Man.
* (personally) the laugh i got with Hank's "Hey" as well as Mika's entrance into Crewe's apartment.
* John Altieri's laugh on "play the fucking song already" all the way through "Mercury's in Taurus".

...and without a doubt, seeing the adoration of the audience, all 2100 of them, when Chris finished Can't Take My Eyes Off of You and seeing (the real) Bob Crewe lead the entire audience into a standing ovation. the pride that Miles and I felt upstage as Joe and Charlie and how happy i was that Chris' parents could be there for that was a great moment.

i really don't know what else to say...i am just gushing with excitement and pride and happiness and i still can't believe that i am with this production. the cast is incredible. the crew is outstanding. and management takes care of us like you would not believe.

and for you all to feel like you were there...please picture the final bows.

now picture them as the real Frankie Valli, Tommy DeVito, Bob Crewe and Joe Pesci taking the bows along with us. seeing people's reaction in the audience was incredible and it's still amazing to me that this story is literally their lives. their pain and success and rise and fall is performed, pretty true to life i might add, 8 shows a week for 2100 people and i only hope that after a show like we had tonight, then are proud of what we are doing on behalf of getting their story across.

the party afterward was very nice. it was at this outdoor convent (or something like that) with a DJ and tons of passed food and some great sandwiches and deserts. i am also happy to report that unlike the San Francisco opening, they actually allowed us to have the cake and it was GOOD.

a great part of the party was when Julie Haggerty (from the movie, "Airplane!") runs up to me to tell me that she loved the show and to thank us for the wonderful night and that she absolutely loved every second of it. it took everything of my self-restraint for me to not ask her to ask me if "Surely, you must be exhausted" (to which i would have happily responded, "of course i'm exhausted...and don't call me Shirley).

here's a few random pictures from the evening:



(in order): Sarah, Julie Haggerty and I. Sandy DeNise and I. Sarah and I do a self-portrait. Chris Jones and I.

in summary...the whole night was awesome. our phenomenal creative team leaves us tomorrow to continue the casting process for the Vegas company. from there, Toronto and London as well. it was really nice having them with us last week, and though the entire cast is freaking exhausted from the extra rehearsals, to know that they are leaving us with a clean and sharp show is a good feeling. safe travels Des, Sergio, Kelly, Ron, Richard, Danny, Mary, and everyone else who had such a huge hand in making this opening as fantastic as it was. the show tonight was a testament to all your hard work and your relentless dedication to the story we tell every night.

moving backward for a second, i do want to mention a few more things from this past week:

last Monday (Memorial Day) the orchestrator of the show, Steve Orich, and his lovely wife Judy had the entire cast and crew to their gorgeous home in Sherman Oaks for a BBQ. i want to take a second on the blog to thank them for the delicious food and beverage and to say it was a pleasure enjoying your home on a great day off. my favorite part was the caterer's creativity when they took your "standard" fruit display and made a mock-up of the final Dawn pose at the end of Act One.



as far as the rest of the week - like i mentioned before, some extra rehearsals and we are back doing understudy rehearsals (i played Bob at last week's run). because we only had a 7-show week this week with the opening night, we make up for it next week with a 9-show week (extra Thursday matinee) as well as a full understudy rehearsal on Friday...i imagine this coming week is going to be exhausting.

so that's it folks...i am beat. it is not even midnight and already i am fighting to keep my eyes open and both Sarah and Toby are dead asleep next to me.

thanks to everyone who emailed and left comments wishing us a good opening night and i will blog more as it comes to me.