A Little Help (July 31)
okay blog readers...need some help.
Sarah is designing a kick-ass new website for me (check out the launch page right now at www.ericgutman.com) and we decided it would be great if in my media page, i can include "fan" pictures.
so...for any of you who might have pictures of us at the stage door or at Jersey Boys events, please email them to me at ericgutman@gmail.com so we can add them to the page. please make sure to include your name with them so i can give you proper credit!
i PROMISE to do a long blog later in the week to catch everybody up. lots of things to discuss and vent about regarding Sacramento.
more to come...
Long Week/Great Week (July 21)
i honestly don't remember the last time i have been so tired.
i have been at the theatre every day this week starting at about 1:30pm for rehearsals ranging from 2 1/2 - 4 hours each day with note sessions added onto that. on top of that, we had understudy rehearsal on both Thursday (as Tommy) and Friday (as Bob) with extensive notes with Tripp, West and Daisy - and to top it off, the adrenaline was at its top peak going on as Bob this Tuesday and Friday.
let's first talk about going on as Bob: it was awesome. no...it was AWESOME. i don't know where the "switch" happened as i have only gone on twice before in this role, but i felt so comfortable with the character. Tuesday was a little more nerve-wracking than Tuesday simply because i hadn't done the part in front of an audience for almost three months and i also had 25 people in the audience - but it was still such a thrill performing at the Ahmanson in that enormous space in such an amazing role. it was great having Dad, Karen, Mom and Jeff there as well as a bunch of other family and friends and it was only slightly ridiculous having to give 17 people a tour backstage after the show as well as play babysitter to mom who tried to get "handsy" with the props.
Friday night was seamless. i have never felt more comfortable and more at ease and i felt like i was able to bring a lot of myself to the role. the ensemble as well as the other 3 Seasons were SO supportive and other than a few line flubs (instead of "can we talk about the songs please", it sounded more like "can we talk about the slongs peas"), it was a great show. the audience was real vocal too - which i love - and i had a lot of history out there: my best friend from Junior High, Dusty, was there with his family. the last time he saw me perform was in 8th grade when we did Grease together. also had an old friend from day camp there and she hadn't seen me perform since sophomore year of high school. lastly, one of my oldest friends, Jessica Elbaum, who i have known since i was 8 years old was there as well. i even had some "industry" people in the audience so i guess we'll see what happens there...
...not sure what to do with that. being one of the few actors in this company without an agent or manager, it's all so foreign to me. i kind of just want a meeting in LA so i can say "i can't do lunch today, i have a meeting".
so that's the play by play as Bob. this weekend finishes up with two shows today and tomorrow (that's about the equivalent of doing 12 shows this week with all my rehearsals). It's crazy to me that we are almost into August and we will be leaving LA in about 5 weeks. no one is happy about that because we are having so much fun here...and our schedule in Sacramento looks to be pretty brutal. so i guess we'll just have to make the most of our time here because soon it's not going to be these cushy sit-downs - it's going to be 3-4 weeks in every city literally living our of our suitcases and trunks.
anyway - that's it for now. thanks to all of you who sent emails wishing me luck as Bob or sending me nice messages after seeing me. it was a lot of fun.
until next time...
A Season Is Lost (July 15)
i don't really know how to start this blog tonight. in a way, i am lost for words yet i have so much to say that i feel i might not be able to type fast enough.
today was an intensely sad day.
today Michael Ingersoll played his last performance with our cast as Nick Massi. we all knew this day was coming and i think we all had prepared ourselves for it. yet it hit us like a ton of bricks that after these two performances, there will be someone new in his dressing room, saying his lines, making his way across the stage.
my history with Michael: i vividly remember Michael at the final callback in New York. simply because once the dance calls were done and they asked a few of us to stay and read and sing for the creative staff, we all started getting changed in the men's dressing area at Chelsea Studios and there was this quiet guy very much to himself...meticulously putting his suit on and deep in concentration. that is Michael; always concentrated. always dedicated to his craft.
once he and i were cast, a common friend in Chicago got us in touch together and he and i talked on the phone for about an hour before NY rehearsals started. it was a fantastic conversation in that here was a guy my age who also just got cast in the biggest thing of his professional life and his enthusiasm was contagious. we talked about our fears about the show and our excitement for the opportunity and we bonded immediately over both being married (well at the time, Sarah and I already had the date set and were on our way), both being from the Midwest and both being avid euchre players.
and obviously the bond - the friendship - has deepened the past seven months as we have played to countless full houses and tens of thousands of people. as "Mika", i have had the opportunity to helping him onstage with changes and making his show run smoothly and it has been a pleasure every time simply because it was obvious that he appreciated it. he is an intensely dedicated actor and i can say that watching him work had made me strive to be a better actor.
it amazed me as well to see how my friend had such an impact on me. as i watching the show this afternoon (more on that later), it was such a great opportunity to see the show from the audience's perspective again. to feel that energy that 2,100 patrons give off during the "big 3" songs and more importantly, to hear the reactions as the show's ups and downs effect each character...
...and though i have done the show over 200 times, i found myself crying again. crying when Frankie gets the phone call in Act Two. crying during the curtain call when Chris turned to Michael and simply pointed indicating their final bow together. and crying when Nick Massi plainly says "i want to go home." art truly imitated life today at the Ahmanson Theatre and i know i speak on behalf of all the cast, crew and musicians when i say get home safely dear friend.
and as he heads to the San Francisco company, in the event any of them read this blog, i want you to know that you are all extremely lucky to be getting probably one of the nicest people and most gifted actors i have ever worked with. and if you don't treat him with the respect and love he deserves...it won't be pretty.
Michael, my friend, thank you for an amazing and inspiring run.
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as the week rolls on, it's a long and very eventful one coming up. send me good thoughts and lots of Vitamin C!
tuesday afternoon - do "Four Seaons" work with Steve (filling in for Erich Bergen while he is away).
tuesday evening - i go on as Bob Gaudio.
wednesday - Steve's put in as our new Nick Massi.
thursday afternooon - understudy rehearsal for some of the creative staff as Tommy.
friday afternoon - understudy rehearsal for some of the creative staff as Bob.
friday evening - i go on again as Bob Gaudio!
saturday - 2 shows
sunday - 2 shows
monday - sleep for 20 hours.
well everyone. that's it for now. time to get some sleep as we have a big day ahead of us tomorrow as Dad and Karen are in town and we are trying to plan a full day with them.
one last thing...pretty exciting...i am now officially understudying Bob Crewe!
good night. safe travels for Michael.
Ramblers, Let's Get Ramblin' (July 2)
10 days since my last post...let's start the rambling...in no particular order.
saw Live Free or Die Hard tonight with Miles Aubrey at the congested and completely annoying Universal City Walk. but the movie was awesome...no it was AWESOME! i went because honestly, i had to go in respect to the Die Hard franchise, but holy crap was this movie action packed. i literally caught myself gasping at some of these action sequences. and can i say it...? Bruce Willis is still a huge bad ass. i mean, there is no way in hell i could ever beat him in a fight. seriously though, for any of you action nuts out there, go and see this movie.
only problem with the movie is you gorge yourself on the popcorn and the large Sprite and then you have a "movie-pee". a movie pee, as if you all don't know, is when everyone gets in line and it's a free for all for any urinal or stall that becomes available. and everyone just stands there for what seems like an eternity because for some reason your body knows that you have to pee the minute the previews start, but you don't want to miss anything, so you hold it with every ounce of strength you can muster until the closing credits and then you run to the bathroom. worst problem about this bathroom experience is that the urinal that opens up is the one for 6-year olds and it's down at my knees...so you have to do this weird squat/lean thing so the pee doesn't splash back and hit you in the legs.
...for those of you just starting to read my blog, i talk about some random shit. so hold on tight.
i need to send a shout out to two San Fran super fans, Jennifer and Sue. they saw the show a bunch of times in San Fran and Jennifer was even nice enough to make homemade bread pudding for Sarah and I once. well they came and saw the show in LA last weekend, and though i missed them at the stage door, they brought me "Yummy Cupcakes"! i guess writing about my likes and dislikes in my blog has worked out because I devoured that brown sugar cinnamon cupcake at intermission and it didn't have a chance against me. So "thank you" again ladies...that was very sweet.
and for those of you who missed it: that's Yummy Cupcakes in Santa Monica and Burbank. My favorite is the brown sugar cinnamon and Sarah's is the red velvet. they have a ton of new cupcakes every day and yes, they do deliver.
can i tell you what the cast has been doing every show? Sudoku. you know...that puzzle thing where you have to put the numbers 1-9 in 9 different blocks and each block as well as the rows and columns can't repeat the same numbers...? well there are about 6 of us in the cast that are completely and utterly obsessed with this. i mean, to the point where some of us have put them in inside pockets of costumes so we can track it to the other sides of the stage so we can play it throughout our down time. there is literally a book that Courter bought for stage right that has over 2,500 puzzles in it as well as 12 mechanical pencils. it's almost ridiculous how much we have all been doing it.
also want to take a second to congratulate my father-in-law, Sandy Topper, on his engagement to his girlfriend, Cheri Berlin. Sandy's birthday was this past Saturday and he proposed to her at the Detroit Tigers game back home. it even made the Detroit News online! In any event, I hope that the weekend was a great birthday weekend for you Sandy and I'm happy I could send you that little surprise gift to you at your brunch!
back to the show: they officially announced Sacramento today! i mean, the loyal JB fans have known for a month or so, but now the public knows. we will be playing the Community Center Theatre from Sept.7-22 and i believe tickets go on sale to the public on July 30. so for you JB-San Fran fans - we really hope to see you all there at some point!
funny thing about Sac. pretty much in every city, Sarah and I have been trying (and will continue to try) to find housing other than company housing. not that the options aren't good - but we like some extra space with Toby the Dog. in any event, our Sac housing options kind of dried out and we opted to go with company housing for the three weeks. and from what i can tell, it's going to be like a frat house because 90% of the cast and crew is also staying where we are and i have a feeling it's finally going to feel like a REAL tour!
what else has been going on...?
the show is doing great. some really nice audiences lately and we have truly settled into our run here in Los Angeles. i am really looking forward to playing Bob on July 17 and super thrilled that all my parents are making the drive/flight to be there. some other people are coming as well and i think all in all, i might have close to 20 people coming that night. Doug Crawford will be playing Nick Massi that night and he has a bunch of people as well (including Debra Gibson!!!!!).
speaking of Doug...and i apologize if he doesn't want me talking about this...but Doug is leaving us when we depart LA. he has some other great things in the works and we are all thrilled for him, but i honestly can't tell you how upset i was when i found out. Doug came in the first day in San Fran after not being in NY rehearsals and ended up learning (in record time) 6 different tracks! he is absolutely an asset to our little family and they are going to be hard pressed finding some to replace him (no one can really replace him). nonetheless, i wish him continued success and happiness with everything he does.
one last thing. the other day, Paul Stanley from KISS came to the show. though i was never a huge KISS fan, Paul is still rock royalty and it was absolutely (as a musician) one of the biggest honors i have ever had meeting him. he was super nice and so complimentary of the show and he even signed Deven's guitar. i so badly wanted to walk up to him in white makeup with the black star across my eye, but i thought that would be in bad taste.
alright. my brain is fried. i am tired and need to get some sleep. have some errands to tend to tomorrow but for the most part, just going to hang out with Toby and maybe throw him in the pool a little bit. after all, it has hit 100 degrees the last 2 days.
night everyone.
