Buy Me Some Peanuts and Cracker Jacks (March 30)

hello everyone. blogging tonight after a very long day...long week really. just thought i would catch everyone up on some things.

last Sunday night, Rick Elice, Marshall Brickman (the show's book writers) and Bob and Judy Gaudio (no introduction necessary) threw a great party for the cast and crew of Jersey Boys to celebrate not only the cast album reaching gold status (that's over 500,000 records sold), but to celebrate the milestone of the show reaching its 1,000th performance!

personally, i was honored to be included considering between the tour and now my 3+ months in the Broadway company, i have probably only done about 500 or so, but what an amazing achievement for a show to hit a number like that. and though the room we all mingled in was way too small for all of us to move comfortably (they say "RSVP" for a reason you damned fools), it was nice to be crowded with such great people who i have grown so fond of in the last few months. congratulations to the entire cast, musicians, crew, and production and creative staff who deserve to celebrate 10,000 more shows!

moving on...

i played Tommy a few times in the last two weeks. on one hand, it was so weird playing the role again after not doing it for over 4 months with an entirely different cast than on the road...on the other hand, it was like slipping on a familiar pair of shoes and going to work again. and it felt great. sure, there were a few little line slips and some staging issues (on the road, we crossed more stage right than here on Broadway...seriously), but man did it feel great getting that lift back in my hair, putting those cards in my pocket and jumping on that roller coaster. everyone in the cast was super supportive and i felt like i had everything in control and i'm just saying...anytime Christian wants to take vacation or a personal day is fine by me.

i do want to thank some of you JB Superfans for coming out for the support...you know who you are and i appreciate you staying after the show to say hello...it really meant a lot. and for one of my email buddies who came by (she knows who she is), don't think you are coming back in April without some of that delicious Hamantashen!!!!

as far as future Seasons dates...i really have no idea. i think Bobby and Sebastian have one or two personal days in either April or May but i'm not sure about it as well as whether or not i would go on or one of the other covers...but i will of course post it as soon as anything becomes official.

and kind of on the subject of seeing the show. if you or anyone you know (friends, family, clients, colleagues, etc) might be interested in seeing the show this Tuesday (April 1 @ 7pm), i have up to 4 tickets available in mezzanine row P for $75/ticket. if anyone wants them, email me at eric@ericgutman.com with your contact info and we can set it up.

so let's briefly chat about my experience with Derek Jeter...

this evening, Sebastian, Michael Longoria, Dominic Nolfi (for Christian) and I (for Bobby) were invited to go to the Sheraton Hotel and sing a brief medley for the Yankees Homecoming dinner. "great", we originally thought, "we'll go in there, bang out a few songs for the Yankees biggest donors and call it an evening."

not so much.

we find out that not only are we singing for some of the Yankees biggest supporters, but for the entire Yankees organization. from the front office staff to George Steinbrenner to the entire Yankees lineup: Mariano Rivera, Jorge Posada, Hideki Matsui, Johnny Damon, Alex Rodriguez, Derek Jeter and just about every other MVP in major league baseball.

so we get to sound check today and when we see our "stage" (stage being really a 10' x 3' riser) it is in front of this grand dais and we find out through the stage managers of the event that the players are all going to be sitting there...right behind us...about an arm's distance away.

we got to the event and were lead to our table...had a lovely sit down dinner...then was escorted to our green room to relax for a moment or two and go over our choreography. after a short time, we are escorted back down to the main ball room and are placed behind a curtain to get ready for our entrance (at this point, Steinbrenner is at the table directly across from where we are sitting with about four secuiry details flanked around him).

now...for those of you familiar with the show: remember the part in "Walk Like a Man" where the three Seasons look to Frankie and then quickly turn around and walk upstage for a few beats befoer turning back to the mics and stomping downstage...? well the only difference between doing that exact part in performance and doing it tonight was that when i turned around, Alex Rodriguez is staring at me and if i wanted to, i could have literally taken the steak off his plate...that's how freaking close i was to A-Rod...and Shelley Duncan is just looking at me as if to say "are you dudes really singing musical theatre right now. there's no singing in baseball".

in any event...it was quite a surreal evening.

and with that, i just want to wish my Detroit Tigers a killer opening day game tomorrow at Comerica Park against the Kansas City Royals.

well folks, guess that's it for now. have my day off tomorrow and hoping for some good weather so Toby can get outside and enjoy the day.

blog soon.

Random Thoughts (March 19)

just a really quick blog tonight...and there's gonna' be lots of rambling.

i went on as Nick last week for four shows. all in all, i was very happy and FOCUSED. sarah finally got to see me on tuesday night and it was great having her there for support. both shows wednesday went without a hitch and although i was exhausted after a two-show day, it was great to start getting comfortable in the role. maybe too comfortable...? thursday sucked. full on sucked. i apologize if you were in the audience because i dont know if i was doing "Nick Massi" or Nick's slower brother, "Scotty Massi". i wasn't connecting to the lines, my staging was a little off and i didn't get one laugh on the "Ringo" line...not one...not even a chuckle...good lord.

suffice to say, i'm looking forward to redemption the next time i'm able to go on.

but for those of you who want to see me as Tommy, just a reminder that tomorrow (Thurs, March 20) is the big debut! Followed by Friday night and next Tuesday and both shows Wednesday (March 25-26). if you are in the city and can snag a standing room or actual seat, i would love to have some support out there. if not, send good thoughts my way...

i bought tickets to see Kids in the Hall in a few weeks. i love the Kids in the Hall - i have since high school. i saw them about six years ago on their last comedy tour but was so hopped up on cold medicine that i literally almost fell asleep/passed out before they even started. i'm really looking forward to seeing them without any sickness from my 3rd row center seats this time. sarah is not really a fan so i think Peter Gregus is going to be my date...good times.

Nate Klau left the "Sherry" tour...so very sad for the tour but i am thrilled he is back in the city. Nate-O is the best...an amazing friend and a neurotic mess and i can't wait to hang out with him again. some other dude took his place on the tour but i'm not there anymore so i don't really know who it is. i think his name is Huck or Buck or something.

what's going on with this weather...? why is it 50 degrees yesterday and then cold and rainy today? and why is it supposed to be beautiful the rest of the week? why can't it just be spring already so i can put my sweatshirts and heavy coat away? and why haven't i bought a second umbrella so i'm not stuck getting soaked every time i walk out of my house?

next Monday is going to be a great day. it's the day i go to Duane Reade or Rite Aid and all the Easter Peeps are 50% off. i love Peeps. i love them even more at 50% off. i love taking the plastic off the top of them and waiting a day or two to eat them so they harden up a little. freaking peeps and your marshmallowey goodness - you will be the death of me.

to end, i want to share a fantastic commercial sarah saw on the TV and then found online just so we can laugh some more. it's a great commercial - especially if you are a dog owner/lover like we are. enjoy.

until next time...

"Fight on, Fight on for Western..." (March 8)

well everyone...true to my word, i am blogging again. lots to catch you up on so let's get started. in true Eric form, it will probably be a lot of rambling.

let's start with a little story about Western Michigan University...

i went to WMU for college and got my music theatre performance degree there. i truly LOVED my four years there and was extremely lucky and blessed to have gotten the opportunity to perform in main stage shows throughout my career there as well as work with amazing professors and fellow students.

well this past Monday, the senior music theatre majors were in town doing their annual showcase for agents and casting directors, and i was invited by the music theatre director to come on down, see the show and talk to some of them after the show.

i have to say, i had a great time. i mean, let's face it, there were a few numbers i could have done without...but all in all, absolutely fantastic. the craziest part about it though was realizing that 1) this graduating class is 9 years after mine and therefore i feel old and 2) apparently, when you have graduated from their college and are now performing in a hit Broadway show, they really have a lot of questions.

honestly, it was great for the ego though and i hope i was able to answer some questions they had...and if for some weird reason any of them are reading this, it truly was a pleasure meeting and talking with you and i hope nothing but the best for your careers. please call on me (or any of the other alumni) if we can help you out when you get here.

and for all you others - here's some ridiculous pics of me in shows back in college:


in "Berlin to Broadway"


in "Arsenic and Old Lace" (that is my real hair)


in "Return to the Forbidden Planet"

moving on...

oh - can i just say for a second how much i miss my wife...? sarah got a "real person" job about three weeks ago and now our schedules are completely opposite. she is up every day by 7am and out the door by 8:40 and by the time she gets home at around 6:30, i am slowly starting to get ready to leave for the show. and when i get home around 10:40, she is getting ready for bed. and i would say that we have the weekends together, but with my two shows on saturday, the only real day we look forward to is Sunday because we get the morning and early afternoon together and then try to do something fun for Sunday night. in any event...i miss her...a lot. i can't wait for our vacation when we will have a week of just us being together in paradise.

...and have i even mentioned our vacation?

i will be out of the show April 29 - May 5 as Sarah and i head to the South Coast of Jamaica to the Sandals Whitehouse European Village & Spa. this much-deserved vacation will coincide with our one-year anniversary as well as be our official "honeymoon" since we were not able to take a honeymoon right after our wedding last year as the tour was getting ready to move to Los Angeles. in any event, we are super excited and, let's face it, really need to start working on our base tan so we don't get fried out there. i hate fake-baking but i think it's going to be a necessity.

i guess to finish up this short post, thought i would share that today at understudy rehearsal, i put on some nice pants and a button down shirt and jumped back into the role of Tommy DeVito. man, i'll tell you, after not doing it for over three months, it honestly took a good 30 minutes to get it back into my body, but overall it felt great. i have such a love for the role and am just so pleased i get to cover it again and other than now having three harmonies mashing my brain in all different directions, what a thrill to be working this hard again. in any event, it was a good rehearsal and looking forward to doing it again next week to really nail it down and get out all the kinks before i go on...

oh wait, did i mention i am going on as Tommy DeVito!?!?

mark it in your calendars people - March is a busy month now:

March 11-13 (4 shows) as Nick Massi
March 20-21 (2 shows) and March 25-26 (3 shows) as Tommy DeVito.

so that's it for now. i think there is a lot more to talk about but honestly, i am exhausted and need a little sleep before a two-show day tomorrow.

blog again soon...