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.