When, when, when, when...

Three months since the last time I wrote. Sorry, It's been a little crazy since I started Tommy. As in, sleep, school, theatre, drinking, sleep. Wash, rinse, repeat.
Woohoo.
This will not be another redhead post, I have more to come, but for the moment, it's just an update.
I HATE revolving door dressers. It sucks breaking in someone new DURING the middle of a run. I love Tommy, I think the cast is great. Insane, but fun. But seriously, I will be so glad to not be doing this show anymore. It stopped being fun with this lastest dresser switcheroo, and the minor everyday dramas are wearing thin. Not that I don't want to make everyone's lives easier for them, in whatever way I can, but it is annoying to be exhausted all the time.
Thank goodness for three days off. And my call time on Thursday isn't that early. Maybe everyone will be refreshed. Maybe I'll be refreshed.

Maybe, baby.

Okay, promise fun post next time, and it won't be in three months.

Time Goes By

A lots happened in the past week.

I opened and closed Gypsy last weekend. It turned out much better than I had expected, and I didn't realize it until Opening Night. It was really fun, I didn't end up doing much onstage, but I was FABULOUS. Especially as the showgirl. Unfortunately, very few pictures actually exist, so no one gets to see me in my fabulousness. Let's just say it was part Mae West, part Drag Queen, and all fierce. I got loads of compliments from strangers, which was a wonder for my ego. I wish more of my theatre friends had come to see it, but it wasn't in the cards for most of them. Ah well, hopefully it won't take me another three years to get into a show.

I saw Camelot on Tuesday with Michael York and one of my most favorite "redheads" ever, Rachel York. It was nice, I'm not necessarily a big fan of the show. But Ms. York rocked Guenevere, fun and playful and mature and beautiful. Love her. James Barbour as Launcelot had a yummy, yummy voice. I love a good baritone sound, it makes me melt. Ahhh... Michael York was very endearing as King Arthur, a bit befuddled, and he had surprisingly good chemistry with Rachel York (no relation, a qualification that is posted in every single review ever). I think that this show is nostalgic for a certain generation, but there's a reason that it's not as popular as My Fair Lady. The music is cute and catchy, and there are some very good songs, but then there are some really poor cheesy songs. The repetition of "Guenevere" is exactly what people making fun of musical theatre do. It's supposed to be haunting, but it just didn't work. Well, I enjoyed it for the three main performers, and in this show, that's the most important thing.

I got a call on Thursday saying that one of the Jersey dressers was sick, and the wardrobe head who usually plays crew understudy had food posioning. So they called me in. Luckily the track is super easy, especially compared to Evita. I thought it would just be for the evening, or even just until the other dresser got better, but it became very clear that there was a lot more going on. Why is wardrobe so much of an issue all the time? It seems like wardrobe people are sooo much drama. I mean there is something about us working so closely with actors, sometimes fairly intimately, given the requirements of the job, but seriously. It's still a job, and I feel that most forget that at some point. Anyway, either way, I'm officially working on Tommy, so I'm just enjoying myself.

Birthday Evite has gone out, which I'm very excited for. It's going to be a blast. Turning 21 has it's definite perks. Also, first week of Spring Quarter went very well. Yippee.

What's the Matter, Baby, Is That a Blush?

Alright, so with Finals and all, and the very real threat of failing one of my classes, I've had to back off on unnecessary writing for a while. But now I'm back, with the promised, Reasons to Love Redheads.

REASON #2: Redheads are the best at being bad.

Seriously people, what makes a bad girl or an evil bitch more delicious than red hair? Even your redheaded heroines have a blast being slightly naughty.

Case in point: Bad Girls with A Heart of Gold

Satine from Mouline Rouge, who also deserves an entry into BEST wardrobe. Seriously, even with the tragic heroine angle, she's got naughty girl down to an artform.

Vivian from Pretty Woman. Sure, she's a good girl at heart, but she's a naughty girl on the exterior, and she works it like a pro. And would anybody care about her if that Carol Channing blonde wig were real? I don't think so. It's the sexy huge red hair that makes her awesome.


Tracy Lord from Philadelphia Story is both kinds of bad. She's cold, heartless, and unforgiving, for a good part of the story. As she warms up, she ends up in a very compromising situation, at least for the time. A bitch and a bad girl waiting to break free, yet who doesn't want to be Tracy Lord? I know I do.

The Truth Hurts. And we're not afraid to cause pain.

Addison Montgomery. Season two was spent painting my new favorite redhead as villainess supreme. She was called "Satan" "Ruler of All Evil" "Queen of Passive Aggressiva", and basically made life for McDreamy and Meredith-Miss Perfect- Grey miserable. All while wearing designer clothes and looking fabulous. And we loved her for it. I did, anyway, and if you read the forums, you'll find plenty of others who loved her for it as well.

Laura Bennett. Two words- "Bad Mommy".

The Witch from Into the Woods. Especially when portrayed by Miss Bernadette Peters. "I'm not good, I'm not nice, I'm just right." Yes you are honey, yes you are.

Just Plain Evil Can Be Oh So Good

Gilda. Redheaded Rita Hayworth plays the Bad Girl to end all Bad Girls. Seriously.

Mrs. Laura Chevely in An Ideal Husband. This character is positively delicious when played by Julianne Moore, no?

Dr. Kimberly Shaw from Melrose Place. Not that Bree Van de Kamp hasn't a mean streak, but Dr. Shaw is all sorts of crazy evil. Sure, it's not a sexy sort of bad girl, but just goes to show that you don't want to mess with redheads. We can be ruthless.

Tell Me That You Love, Oh You Do I Gotta Run Now

Alright, so I promise, the next reason to love redheads is coming, at some point. First off, I snuck into Shadowlands at Village Saturday night, it was a lovely, well-designed show, but it could've benefited from a speed-through. It's running way too long.

Also in breaking news, Kate Walsh, my new favorite redhead, is apparently getting her own spinoff from Grey's Anatomy. It say so in the Wall Street Journal. Personally, I'm not sure how I feel about it. On the one hand, the idea of a spinoff is nauseating, and part of the beauty of the show is the ensemble, which would feel wrong with Addison, and I wonder how Addison would be without the great ensemble on GA. Part of her appeal is that she's the one with the great one liners, and can be kind of a bitch sometimes. It'd be hard to stay true to that character when she becomes the star of her own show. On the other hand, it is hard to pay sufficient attention to a large ensemble, and Addison on Grey's will never be a more significant character than she is. And I love Kate Walsh. On the one hand, I really hope it doesn't suceed, but on the other hand, I'll be super happy if it's actually good. Either way I think it's way too soon for a spinoff. We'll see.

Beautiful Girls

Given that it's Valentine's Day and I have nothing interesting to write about, I found something to do to keep myself occupied, and it involves a lot of pictures. I know, YAY. So, over the next couple days/weeks, however long I feel like, I will list the reasons why, as the wonderful Lucille Ball once said "once in his life, every man is entitled to fall madly in love with a gorgeous redhead." Using of course, examples of my favorite redheads from television and film. These are in no particular order.

Reason #1: Redheads have the best wardrobes.

Don't believe me? This is where the pictures come in.

First piece of evidence, going back to the classics. Myrna Loy in The Thin Man. Who doesn't love a woman who wears fun while her husband is in his pjs shooting things?
It takes a brave woman to pull off stripes. Also, looks a lot like one of the dresses in Jeffrey Sebelia's final collection in Project Runway.

And speaking of Project Runway, who doesn't love this woman's wardrobe?

And she makes her own clothes. And her wardrobe is really her own, which is probably not the case with most of these examples.

Notorious for not being particularly well-dressed in her real life, this redhead had fantastic wardrobe in most of her movies (Well, except Christopher Strong), but did she ever make a man's suit look good.

While all the interns make do with Scrubs and Juicy Couture, Addison Montgomery rocks the designer labels under her doctor coat. Not ony is the shirt fabulous, but she's also gorg in glasses, looking like the sexiest librarian ever. At some point during the current season, TPTB at Grey's decided that Kate Walsh looks hot in glasses, and as a glasses-wearing redhead, I rejoice. In the SeenOn section of the Grey's Anatomy store, there's a lot of Diane Von Furstenberg, some Prada and Yves Saint Laurent. Okay, there are also Uggs and Crocs, but I'm going to ignore those. Kate Walsh is one of my new favorite redheaded actresses, so be warned, I'll bring her up a lot.

I'll admit this is a strange one. However, this isn't the image I wanted, but the one I love doesn't exist on the web. Stupid internet. However, there's no doubt Bernadette's costumes were fabulously elaborate. I'll admit, there's something a little Queen Leprachaun in this dress. For those who haven't seen this adaptation of Cinderella (and who are you anyway?) you should, if just for this wonderful redhead. Her blue dress as she sings "Falling in Love With Love" is stunning, and just goes to prove that she has the best wardrobe.

Alright, that's enough for now, but I know I've left out quite a few. Bree from Desperate Housewives, for instance, is impeccably dressed all the time. However, I'm a little tired of searching for pictures. That all for today, and next time, I'll prove that redhead's are the wittiest creatures.

The Most Beautiful Sound I Ever Heard

There is some nasty-ass bug going around that made me really want to die for several days, right when I was monitoring West Side Story auditions. Which are going very well. I think that they finally know what they want and are ready to finalize the cast. Which is a good thing, since this whole process has been going since AUGUST. However, barring the LA auditions, I'm pretty sure I called the casting way back in September. Well, to some degree, since a number of eligible actors were eliminated due to Jersey. C'est la vie. I should be a casting director, because I kick ass at predicting casts. Ha. Kidding. I'm not bad though.

Worst part: The most disappointing thing about catching the bug is that I was all ready to look super cute at the auditions, because most people are used to me being a schlubby crew person. And this illness was so bad that I refused to make any effort since all I wanted to do was sleep the day away. So I looked like a schlub.

Best part: I now get West Side Story. I've never really loved this show. I'll admit it. I love Anita, and Riff, but the whole Romeo and Juliet storyline doesn't do it for me. I'm singing a different tune. After spending two very long days with Boy Wonder at the piano and the choreographer who knows every littlest character inside and out, I appreciate the beautiful score and the genius choreography. I get it now. I am actually excited to see this show. See I can learn to like a show. It doesn't happen often, I generally know what I like, but I can admit when I'm wrong.

Major props to everyone at the dance call, but extra spicy ones to Miss Pam who was the hottest thing ever. She's gotten so much stronger as a singer and an actress, and I think that she'll actually be a force to be reckoned with when this is all said and done. Now can somebody in this town do Chicago, please?

Went to see A New Brain. Not the best show ever, but a good score, and a fantastic cast, even though a few of the character were definitely miscast. I didn't agree with a few of the choices made, notably, Ann Evans throwing Gordon all the focus during most of "Mother's Gonna Make Things Fine" and Rhoda's not-so-subtle lusting after Gordon throughout. Even the latter would've been fine, except that "Lee of Cuddyhunk" suddenly wasn't about Gordon and Roger, it was about Gordon and Rhoda? What? But those are actually minor quibbles with an otherwise really well done production. I've said it before and I'll say it again. Mr. Ivie is a force to be reckoned with.

Further proof of my casting genius. I had the first rehearsal of Gypsy today. Yippee! I totally called Louise and Tessie and Uncle Jocko. I got Rose wrong. That was unfortunate, actually, but you can't win them all.

Finally, season announcements are nearing, and rumors are running wild, and secrets are flying through the community. Village's is set more firmly in stone at this point than the 5th's, but that's fine because Village's is always more interesting to me than the 5th. Because the 5th can cast out-of-town at a higher rate than Village, it makes it difficult to predict casting beyond an ensemble. Village's is fascinating because they rarely cast out of town if they can help it, so they're easier to speculate on and predict. And with the season I've heard, I've already got my predictions down. We'll see, boys.

I Had A Dream

So Gypsy callbacks. I thought they went really well. I nailed pretty much everything except "Little Lamb" because I haven't been working on my soprano at all. I was definitely the youngest one called back for a stripper by far, and an odd duck sort of Louise. I danced the shit out of the dance numbers. I felt really good, like I thought I could be one of the Hollywood Blondes if I wasn't one of the others. I knew that there were better people for the individual roles though, and I'm at an odd age for this production. I'm too young to be a stripper, but too adult for most of Louise's stuff. Still...

I got two phone calls today. In the first, she was really nice, and she said really amazing things about my audition, but she can't find a place for me. They went with quirkier (older) strippers and a dark haired tall Louise. And must have decided to use Baby Hollywood Blondes. She felt bad that it was my favorite show, and so was trying to figure out ways that I could be involved in it. None of them sounded really appealing, so I'm getting ready to change all my plans. I can put in a bid to be a dresser for Jersey instead of Tommy and then audition for stuff in the summer. After all, now that I've had a really good set of auditions, I think I could do more.

Then I get the second phone call. After being teary and trying to change plans, Director says she forgot about a role. There's one ensemble female role that plays a bunch of really small bit parts, most with no lines, but would I like to do it. Hells yes! I may get to be dance captain, if they need one. At this point, I don't care, it'll be nice to be onstage in front of a real audience in a real musical after five years. It's nothing I'm going to make everyone come see, but then we'll see what happens next year. Maybe next year there'll be something I'm right for, or there'll be other productions I can do.

Alright, now I just got to breathe.

You Gotta Get A Gimmick

Had the best audition to date yesterday for Gypsy at the Kirkland Performance Center. I drove Bestest Best Friend, so we chilled. When we got there, it was a bunch of kids from Kidstage there, so I got to chat with them about the Kidstage shows and Village and 5th, which is my element. There's nothing like talking theatre folk to calm me down, since it makes me realize that I'm in my element.

When it was my turn to audition, I came in a wave, since I know the director. I went over the music with the pianist, and I was very clear about what I needed. Then I did something you're not supposed to do, and told them how excited I was about Gypsy. I wouldn't have done so, except that the director and I had discussed the show four years ago when we saw it in New York with Bernadette Peters. Anyway, actual audition went well, could've done better, but definitely the best I've done at an audition so far. I left my glasses on the piano accidently, so I had to go back on stage. When I went back they stopped me and asked me to do my Carol Channing impression. Woo for Special Skills! So I felt really confident about everything.

Bestest Best Friend did not feel confident, but I thought she sounded really good. We saw Mrs. Krupke afterword, so that was cool.

Anyway, I got called back for one of the strippers and Louise! Haha! I expected the Strippers, but Louise was a surprise. I rock. Bestest Best Friend was called back for a Hollywood Blondes. I knew she would.

Take Me To The World

Ah... I'm a slacker.
Really, it's not like I'm doing a lot, but I'm just so tired all the time. I'm taking so many dance classes right now, that my whole body is exhausted. I love it, and I feel great, except that I'm sleepy... very sleepy. *Snooooooore*

Anyway, had a callback on Friday for the Directing Series. Some girls are directing The Baltimore Waltz by Paula Vogel. I couldn't make it to the auditions, but they said they would see me at the callbacks. It was fun. I didn't get cast (SURPRISE!), but I didn't do too badly. I played around and didn't really care. I didn't really want to do it anyway, since I'm really hoping to get into Gypsy at the Kirkland Performance Center. I fucking love that show.

Saturday night I went to see the Rocky Horror Show put on by a bunch of undergrads. It was a little crazy. I know if I were in it, I'd be scared of that audience, since it was a lot of the cast from two years ago, and more about making the actors break than having a good interaction between audience and cast. There was a lot that was really great about it. Props to Christina Bruce as Riff Raff, although she was so great that Ilana Berry's Magenta was really blah. Nick Fasch was FABULOUS as Frank-n-furter, his glee over the wedding bit was irresistable, and he managed to snap back at the unruly audience. Dana Christianson as Janet had a lovely voice. Whitney Fliss and Kate Mosburger, two very hot Phantoms, and Katrina Hamilton as the neckless (and dickless) Narrator. The rest were all okay, but nothing really spectacular.

Tomorrow is the Gypsy audition. Wish me luck!

The Sun Comes Up

I see a lot of musicals. I listen to a lot of musicals. I love musicals, but most of the time I never get really into the story and the lives of the characters. I did with 25th Annual Putnum County Spelling Bee. It was nearly flawless, except for the sound, which is always a problem at the Paramount.

What I loved is that it suprised me. The amount of interaction between the characters and the audience, staging choices, Jesus, the voices, and one amazingly high belt.

The script is definitely the star of this show. The songs are cute, and serve the story really well, but it's everything in between that really is fantastic, which is so rare in a musical. The definitions and sentences were hilarious, and monologues, and character definition, it was fantastic. Even rewrites for the tour are brilliant. Logainne has a great monologue moment about Dreamgirls, the movie. David Edward Hughes on TalkinBroadway.com claims that it was improvised, and although he's seen the show in New York, I'm fairly sure that it is a rewrite for the tour. I'm curious about what was in it's place originally. Lawd. I love that this is truly an ensemble show, everyone has these great moments. Sure Olive's plight is delved into a bit more than the others, but each has their particular issue and problems that they learn to deal with through the spelling bee, and we get to see each have a moment of revelation.

When I saw the show last night, the spellers from the audience were very cute. A younger guy was very into it, having a blast playing with the cast members. When they got down to the last audience speller, and had her spell her word, it was hilarious. She's supposed to get it wrong, as it's a harder word, and they sing their big huge "Goodbye". She got it right however, which threw everyone off. The woman playing Rona and the man playing Doug started laughing and whispering to each other. HILARIOUS. I love it when something unexpected happens, to see how actors deal with it. At this point, they can't go on until she leaves. So they called her up again and had her spell the hardest word they could think of. Doug wouldn't give her a sentence either, which was completely in character but also very funny. This doesn't even convey how great it was to watch actors suddenly have to really think about what to do next. I love theatre.

Finally, I give mad props to Jennifer Simard as Rona, the host of the Spelling Bee, and the Champion from the 3rd Annual Spelling Bee. While everyone was very good, and some of the voices were really surprising to me, she blew me away every time. In group numbers I'd hear this glorious high belt following a line I didn't remember from the recording. I'd look around the stage, and every time it was Jennifer wailing as if her life depended on, and yet making it look effortless. I'm not kidding. Although I think I'd kill to see Lisa Howard do it. Rona is officially my favorite character in the show, because while she has this hard edge to her, every time one of the kids went out she looked like she wanted to give them a hug. She looks like she'd give the best hugs. And of course she gets the "I Love You" song, which will almost always make me cry. William Finn really captures musically the longing and wanting of a little girl for affection, any affection at all.

Oh, and yay for candy!

It's A Hit, It's A Hit

Two merrily posts in a row, wow. It's seems I've been slacking off posting a blog, which isn't going to matter much in the long run, I suppose, since nobody reads this thing anyway.

I saw Bye Bye Birdie again on Sunday night. I swore I wouldn't see it again, that show is way too schticky for me. But there's a new Albert! The original Albert got the National Tour of Annie (Congrats, Jason!) and so they had to replace him. And his replacement was wonderful. I totally believed he was a Momma's Boy.

Also saw The 25th Annual Putnum County Spelling Bee, but I have so much to say about that that I'm saving it for another post. I'll post twice today to make up for the lack later.

Oh, and if anyone wants a few laughs, feel free to read an earlier online journal, when I was in the livejournal phase of things. It starts right before I started at Village Theatre, and ends right before I started working at the 5th Ave, so it's about a year. Oh, how young I was a year and a half ago.

Time Goes By, Everything Else Keeps Changing

Happy New Year!

Oops, missed a voice lesson today, but with things keep moving around because of the holidays and school, it's a wee bit confusing.

Same old resolutions as before, lose weight, get a date, get into a show. They're all actually connected to each other in the sort of, need confidence, gain confidence sort of thing. Also, I guess I need to be more organized, as evidenced by my missing a voice lesson. And I need to stop spending money unnecessarily. And clean my room. Okay, so a lot of resolutions, but I think I can keep some of them, at least for a while.

Today, and the rest of this week, there is an America's Next Top Model mega marathon, which basically is not helping me keep any of my resolutions. But, still, ANTM! I admit it, I love this shit. Woooooo, drama, tears, and fun makeup and costumes. It's like musical theatre, only trashier.