I Lost My Girls (Oct.15)

Well folks…I am writing to you from gorgeous San Diego…more on that in another blog.

I need to start this blog by chatting a little bit about how much I have enjoyed Deven May’s vacation. While Deven and his lovely girlfriend are enjoying some sort of tropical locale this past week, I was fortunate to go on as Tommy for 4 shows last week in Tempe.

As always, the first show on was like a freight train. Those first 32 minutes on stage fly by, and again, it was like an out of body experience. But all in all, I was really pleased on how it all turned out and other than a few little line fumbles, all four shows went off without a hitch and I really felt like I had a great grasp on the role and being “in charge” of the group. Another highlight was the fact that Richard Hester (prod. supervisor), Ron Melrose (music director) and West Hyler (asst. director) were all there to see me go on that last Friday (their first times seeing me in that role) and I got some really great feedback from all of them.

And is it weird that I love what Ruth (our head of hair and wigs) does with my hair as Tommy? For those of you who don’t me, I have what some might call, a “JAfro” (Jewish-Afro). When my hair is in dire need of a cut and not even gel can tame the beast, it gets pretty big and out of control. Ruth harnesses this madness and forms this fantastic fro-helmet which gives the character real lift. Suffice to say, I promise next time I go on as Tommy, I will get a pic directly after leaving her hair station.

Love the fro - it adds attitude to my Tommy…and makes me seem a few inches taller.

One of the other great advantages of playing Tommy this week was that Sarah’s dad (and his fiancé, Cheri) flew all the way out to Tempe to see me in the role. I can’t tell you how great it was to see them both and how great it felt seeing them at the stage door and hearing the pride in their faces as they spoke to me about the show.

Since I know they are reading this: Sandy and Cheri – I can’t tell you how much I appreciated you coming out here and showing your support. Sarah and I had a blast spending some time with you and I hope your full visit to Tempe was a memorable one.

However, the best part about Tempe was the mini-vacation Sarah and I went on to Sedona. She of course had no idea I had planned this and she was extremely anxious on Sunday when I threw a suitcase on the bed and told her to start packing specific items of clothing. The next morning, I hustled her in the car and we took the gorgeous 2 hour drive to Sedona’s Rogue Hotel & Spa. The hotel was a lovely little resort settled on the main street just far enough off the downtown strip and the entire day and evening couldn’t have been more perfect.

We got to the hotel and little early for check-in, so we jumped right back into the car and started looking for a spot to hike. After about 20 minutes driving through the amazing red rock mountains, we spotted a good intermediate trail…and even better…two walking sticks just waiting at the base with our names on it.

It was an unbelievable hike followed by an unbelievable view. Here’s the proof:

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But with everything great about Tempe, there were also some things that sucked. Now is the time where I have to say goodbye to some amazing cast members: Lauren Tartaglia, Sandy DeNise and Jackie Seiden.

As you all know, Lauren joined us in Los Angeles when Melissa Strom took her first medical leave. We all knew that it was short lived because she was just a temporary replacement, but that did not stop any of us from becoming close friends with her. She leaves our tour for some other great things, including finally being in the same city as her fiancé, but I hope she knows how much all of us in the Sherry cast enjoyed working with her and hope nothing but great things for her and her future with the JB family.

Sandy DeNise played her last show with us October 7. it was truly bittersweet in the fact that Sandy was really ready to move on from tour (the girl has toured with like four companies over the past six or so years) and yet I will never hear anyone sing “Boyfriend’s Back” like Sandy…ever. As a matter of fact, when Sandy and Chris did Lorraine’s apartment scene when she breaks up with Frankie, it was nothing short of an honor being on stage (even in the background as Joe) watching her perform that night. Please keep in mind that I have always thought Sandy was fierce on stage, but this specific night, in this specific scene, it was another example of art imitating life. As Lorraine left Frankie…as Sandy left us…I will venture a guess that no one in any company - past, present or future – will ever play that scene better than when Sandy performed it that night. The breakup was real. The tears were real. And I will miss her on stage more than she can imagine. I have to end this goodbye to her with a “thank you” on behalf of Miles and I…she’ll know what for. Unforgettable.

I don’t even want to write a goodbye to Jackie Seiden. I don’t want to say goodbye to her because I don’t want to get any sadder than I already am. Jackie Seiden became one of my closest friends on this tour and she was like the sister I never had. Her humor offstage and on will never be forgotten and yet will always be missed. She and I had a lot of ridiculous inside jokes and she always made coming to “work” that much easier. Jackie now moves to LA to start the next phase in her professional life and I couldn’t be more proud of her for taking the initiative and having the balls to do something that thousands of others would be too scared to do. However, I have all the faith in the world that only great things will happen for her and I can’t wait to get the phone call from her in the near future that she has booked something magnificent. Jackie: Sarah and I will miss you like crazy and can’t wait to visit with you in Costa Mesa…you should have us over for Thai food and Pinkberry!

So as these magnificent women move out of our tour, it is time to welcome the new Jersey Girls in our life: Sarah Darling (Francine), Holly Ann Butler (Lorraine) and Jamie Karen (Mary). So far, Sarah and Holly have debuted on stage and Jamie will play her first show this Thursday. Welcome to the family my dears…we are all looking forward to breaking you all in to this insane show and having you enjoy the way this show moves people in every city we play.

So much more to talk about, but honestly, I don’t know what I’m officially allowed to discuss. All you need to know is the Vegas cast will probably be officially announced soon and lots of things will start to make sense. Until then, I leave you all to speculate on the Broadway World boards and see what exciting conclusions everyone comes up to.

To end this post, I want to wish my good friend Chris Jones a big “mazel tov” to his marriage to Jenna Coker. From what we heard, the wedding was beautiful and I only wish we all could have been there to celebrate with them back in NYC. They are a wonderful couple and I see an amazing amount of love and happiness in the future together.

Lastly, an enormous congrats to our brother company in Chicago, the “Zephyr” cast, and especially my dear friends Michael Ingersoll and Jarrod Spector, on an incredible opening night in the windy city! Make sure to go to JerseyBoysInfo.com and JerseyBoysBlog.com for all their killer reviews. Those of us in the Sherry cast wish them an incredibly successful run – they deserve it in every way.

Okay readers – I will post again in the next week or so about San Diego. I would talk more about my place, but it wouldn’t do any justice without pictures. After all, how can I explain my 180 degree bay view from the 28^th of 30^th floors in a penthouse condo without pics?

haha – I love San Diego already!