quickly... (Dec.1)

i can't sleep...again. i have been away from Sarah and Toby the dog for two weeks now and i don't think i have gone to sleep before 2am since i got back to NYC...not from partying or going out, but truly from sheer boredom and missing my wife.

i am laying here in an 85% empty apartment and i hate this bed and these shitty pillows and i am so exhausted that i can't fall asleep.

i want to quickly make something clear to everyone who posted on the JB boards or who have sent me emails; there is no new "project" or show that i am running to after my last show on Dec.7. i am running home, back to Michigan, to have our baby amongst family and our closest friends - a support team of dozens upon dozens that will help shower her with love and a great sense of family.

performing on a Broadway stage has been the highlight of my life - it is what i dreamed of as a child and what i worked so hard for when i went to college for music theatre. mere "thanks" would not be enough to Des, Sergio, Ron, Richard, the Dodgers, Tara Rubin...and the list goes on and on...for giving me the chance first with the national tour and then to be asked to go to the "big show" and i am forever grateful to this show for the opportunities it has presented to me as well as affording me the chance to provide and take care of my family.

but again, it goes back to that word: family. all of you that read this, all of you that come by the stage door sometimes dozens upon dozens of times - as strange as that may sometimes seem - know the true meaning of that word. we talk about it in the show and it rings true night after night. and as i leave the stage door, you will see me, without fail, holding a cell phone to my ear to immediately talk to Sarah...my family...

and that's why i am leaving. yes, this is a shit time to leave one of the only Broadway shows that has legs and is not folding up in the next 3 months and yes, the Michigan econmony is in the toilet...

but i get to go home. home to my amazing wife who has traveled with me for two years with constant support and home to Toby the Dog who finally gets to feel grass under his paws again. and right around January 19, my daughter will be born into a community of unbelievable and loving grandparents and a network of friends and family that she will never believe!

now i'm just rambling.

well maybe this blog is due for some rambling a little now and then in this next week. chances are, come Dec.7, i will shut it down for good anyway.

in any event, thank you for the emails and thank you for the comments. thank you for braving the cold and rain just to say hello and now, goodbye, at the stage door.

saying goodbye...

i played Gaudio this past Saturday night and Sunday matinee - Sebastian wasn't feeling great. it was weird in the diner scene with Jarrod this afternoon thinking this will probably be the last time i get to play the part. i love the role of Bob. i love the character arc he takes. i love singing "Cry For Me" with three other amazing actors and hearing that blend. and i love that in my head, by parting my hair to the right, i think it makes me look younger.

i would literally give Dom Nolfi $200 cash to take a show off this week so i can play Tommy one last time. other than playong Roy Cohn in Angels in America, Tommy DeVito is the best role i have ever played on stage. the power and sheer terror of having to hold the show in the palm of your hand for the first 30 minutes and then the slow defeat he has to face in the sitdown scene is just...well i'm just so proud that i got to perform it a handful of times.

okay - 2:23am - i need to try and sleep.

A 31st Year... (Nov.23)

let's start real quick with a shout out to me. i turn 31 today. this year is going to be absolutely amazing.

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now then...

two months since the last post. two freaking months. who do i think i am?

let's catch everyone one on the last two months:

Michael Longoria left.
Please welcome Jarrod Spector as our new Frankie Valli.
Christian Hoff left to do "Pal Joey".
Dominic Nolfi took Christian's place.
Jake Speck from the Chicago cast took Dominic's place.
Travis Cloer left to be the 2-show Frankie in Vegas.
Please welcome Russell Fischer as our new Joey.
Dominic Scaglione, Jr. from the Vegas cast became our 2-show Frankie.
Bobby Spencer left to do "Next to Normal".
Please welcome Matt Bogart as Nick Massi.
John Leone left.
Please welcome John Hickman from the Chicago cast as our new swing.
Eric Schneider left to be Danny in the national tour of "Grease".
Please welcome Taylor Sternberg from the national tour as our new swing.

that is an ass-load of new faces and changes. in any event, if you wanted an excuse to see the show again - come now and see the new dynamics rocking all over the August Wilson stage.

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Still doing recording for "International Hareport" and we are into (I think) the 16th episode. Still have no idea when or where it will broadcast but i promise i will announce it as soon as i hear anything. i've really been enjoying getting in that studio a few times a month and really digging into Fred the Rabbit. i also have been doing a few other voices on the show - my favorite being an 8-year old beaver with a lisp named Doodle.

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I have another pet-peeve; people taking pictures during the performance. i mean, don't get me wrong, if someone sneaks in a shot at curtain call, i could care less - but when they take their digital camera out throughout the ENTIRE show and you see that annoying orange light in lieu of a flash...guess what...we can still see the orange light and it's distracting. and i'm sorry if you are not happy with your pics and you decide to get a clearer picture but actually turning on the flash...but we don't like that either. so stop taking pictures, stop leaving as we are taking our bows and stop putting your playbills and bags on the lip of the stage.

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Sarah is now into her 31st week of pregnancy and she looks gorgeous. we found out we are having a girl and as every week draws closer, i get more and more excited to meet her. you'll usually find me at night as we are going to sleep talking to her belly and telling her about my day. we're pretty sure that she is going to be a gymnast or a swimmer because all she does is roll around and kick Sarah all day. and yes, feeling your baby kick is about the coolest thing in the world.

i also put her crib together by myself last week:



i also installed a new light fixture in the baby's room and yes, i know that doesn't sound like a big deal, but i have never installed a light fixture by myself before and it was pretty cool. true, it took over an hour and i ended up with fiberglass all over my hands and face, but it was totally worth it. next project is installing a dimmer for the light switch. then we need to paint her room and finish getting everything she needs before she arrives in the world.

the other fun thing about the pregnancy is that Sarah gets updates once a week about her pregnancy from babycenter.com and one of my favorite things is going to the girl's dressing room every tuesday and giving them the update on how big the baby is getting. babycenter does a fantastic thing for us to visualize better what is growing with updates by comparing the baby's size to produce. this week she is roughly the size of 4 naval oranges (roughly 16 inches long and 3/3 lbs). my baby has also been a head of cauliflower, butternut squash and chinese cabbage.

Can't believe in two months I am going to have a baby!!!!!!!

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been having a really great time with the cast lately. i mean, it's actually pretty rare for all of us to hang out but there's been everyone seems to be getting along fantastic and maybe it's just the holiday season or something, but it's just a fun time to be in New York with friends. Bridget Berger and i had a great time between shows today and ordered Afghan food from this INCREDIBLE place on 52nd and 9th called Ariana Afghan Kebab Restaurant. Their lamb and chicken kabob dishes are soooooo good and i wanted to put their spinach samusa in my pocket for later. only crappy thing was we hung out in order to watch the MSU vs Penn State game...and MSU got spanked all up and down that field.

i also had a late dinner with Jarrod's mom and dad Friday night, Chuck and Beth Spector. we went to The Palm after the show and i just want to thank them again for a wonderful dinner and spending a little time with their favorite son...me. honestly though, it was great hanging with them and how great that they are now able to drive in from Philly and see Jarrod on Broadway performing in this dream role.

and the filet was freaking good!

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so we are starting to collect for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. it's been nice to see that audience members are so receptive to digging into their pockets even in these hard times. i did the curtain speech a few days ago and got a few good laughs (to the expense of the "Carols for A Cure" CD) and someone signed me up for the rest of the week and honestly, now i am not only feeling pressure to get people to donate, but more importantly to make them all laugh a few times. i am pulling all of my "A" material out but i am getting exhausted. i swear, the curtain speech is wearing me out more than the show. that's probably not the best thing to admit.

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so much more to talk about but this should do it for now. i will leave you with one other cast thing i forgot to mention above:

Please welcome back to the Broadway cast Matthew Scott.
My final show in Jersey Boys is December 7.