ONE MORE POST

Okay this will be my last post before school starts so I'll probably go back to my post-when-I-can routine. Today I had a music rehearsal for tomorrow's convocation and it was a real pleasure listening to everyone sing. Everyone was very nice and I didn't feel like the new kid in school. I also saw my pals Courtney & Elana there - they are auditioning for the school production of "Much Ado About Nothing" - so break a leg girls!

Allrighty, that's it from me and I amost forgot - I wanted to say thank you to those of you who have sent me e-mails regarding the blog changes - I'm glad y'all like it.

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M.

POST-EMMY POST

The Emmys last night were "okay" I guess. I thought the sketch in the beginning was pretty funny until my friend Heather pointed out to me that there was an airplane crash in Kentucky that day and then of course I felt like such an asshole. The "South Park" bit was hilarious though.

There were a lot of surprise winners and most of the predictions of the tv critics failed to win. Kudos to the great Jeremy Piven for getting a well deserved Emmy for his hilarious role on Entourage. The show just wouldn't work without him.

Congrats also to Megan Mullally and Mariska Hargitay for their wins.

Today was a lovely day and I spent time with my lovely & talented friend Sean Patrick O'Connor (he is leaving for Boston Conservatory on Wednesday and I will miss him!! You be a good boy over there Mister Man - or at least try!!)


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M.

School officially starts in 2 days!!!!!

THEATRE RESPONSE: M BUTTERFLY

As an actor, sometimes you see theatre that inspires you beyond words- this is one of those times:

Last night I had the honor of being a part of the opening night audience of TheatreWorks' revival of M BUTTERFLY by David Henry Hwang. I have been very excited about seeing this production and had high expectations before going into the theatre (something I rarely do.) Needless to say my expectations were surpassed beyond words and I can honestly say this is one of the best theatre experiences I have ever had. I mean EVER.

M Butterfly, which premiered on Broadway in 1988, is a deconstruction of Puccini's opera "Madame Butterfly." It is based on the true story of a French diplomat who has a love affair with a glamorous female Chinese opera star, who turned out to be a spy. And a man.

Everything in this production was glorious - the chosen Puccini songs, a stunning scenic design by Kate Edmunds that used every inch of the very large stage, glorious costumes by the genius Fumiko Bilefeldt, brilliant lighting by Steve Mannshardt and original choreography from the Broadway production by Jamie H.J. Guan. It also had a great supporting cast that included my friends Austin Ku (who is also Francis Jue's understudy) and Kevin Blackton.

In the role of Rene Gallimard, actor Mark Capri was mesmerizing. He is the narrator of the piece and you go through every bit of his journey with him. In the role of Song Liling, Francis Jue gave a performance that I will never forget. So passionate & honest. It really was one of the best performances I have ever seen. Watching him play this role (which is so demanding) with that kind of excellence - makes me want to be a better actor. He was very inspiring. I'll never forget the wonderful times I shared with Francis while we were rehearsing & performing Into The Woods. He is a class act and someone whom I admire an awful lot.

Mark Capri & Francis were in TheatreWorks' 1992 production of M Butterfly (which I have not seen) and I can only guess that they have fully grown into their roles. Their stage chemistry is electric.

Robert Kelley's direction is at his finest. I can always spot those little "Kelley" touches when I see his shows (I have been a fan of his for many years) and I especially loved with what he does at the end of the first act and the end of the show - the lights came down and I wasn't in tears (as I usually am) - I think I was in shock. The actors began to bow and I was so overcome with emotions that I was shaking. But that didn't stop me and the rest of the audience to cheer the great cast during curtain call. The opening night audience shared my enthusiam with one of the loudest curtain calls I have ever witnessed.

The opening night party was a lot of fun and filled with incredible talent. It was so wonderful to see so many actors in the audience: Tielle Baker, Gary Martinez, Jack Davis, Jackie McSwanson, Mary Melnick & Bill Olson. There were of course a lot of critics present including the wonderful Keith Kreitman and always delighful Richard Connema.

It was a magical night in the theatre and I urge everyone to go see this show before it sells out completely. It runs until September 23.

As we were leaving the theatre my baby sis says to me "this is the first show you have taken me that really made me teary-eyed. Thank you for taking me to see it" And believe me folks that says an awful lot.

Do not miss M Butterfly at TheatreWorks.

*This is a picture of Francis Jue & Mark Capri from the 1992 production of M Butterfly at TheatreWorks. I love this picture - while I was working at TheatreWorks I used to walk by this picture, which hangs in the rehearsal hall, all the time.

OH IT'S LADY EMMY TIME AGAIN!

Don't even get me started on this year's Emmys as the flames of my fagotry will consume me with rage. Pretty picture huh? I was LIVID that there were so many of my favorites missing from the nominations ESPECIALLY:

*James Gandolfini & Edie Falco from The Sopranos (they kicked ass with the whole Tony on his death bed stuff)

*Mary Louise-Parker from Weeds

*Kevin Nealon from Weeds

*Ellen Pompeo from Grey's Anatomy (yes, she deserved to be nominated!)

*T.R. Knight from Grey's Anatomy (George!)


*Marcia Cross from Desperate Housewives (how the fuck did Alfre Woodard get nominated!!!? All she did was keep her crazy son in the basement...IN THE BASEMENT! In the basement - well give her an Emmy! Poor Bree Van deKamp - she had a shitty season and really earned a nomination this year - shame on the Academy!)


*Weeds for Best Comedy

*Desperate Housewives for Best Comedy (It lost some of its spunk but I still dig it)

I could go on and on....IN THE BASEMENT!!!!!! Who tallies this shit anyway?


To calm my nerves the Academy has given the wonderful Leslie Jordan a much deserved Emmy Award for his role as Beverly Lester from Will & Grace (Karen: "Shouldn't you be in your treehouse making cookies?") Well done!

I know it's pathetic to waste time over this but I LOVE T.V. - I do. So on Sunday I will be cheering on some personal favorites and I'm not even going to "predict" anything. These are my favorites:

*Grey's Anatomy for Best Drama Series (By far the best of the list)

*Arrested Development or Curb Your Enthusiasm for Best Comedy Series

*Lisa Kudrow for Actress in a Comedy Series (not really but she's the best in that list)

*Larry David for Actor in a Comedy Series (I stand by my choice - Larry says everything we all want to say but are afraid to say it!)

*Sandra Oh or Chandra Wilson for Supporting Actress in a Drama Series (I'm leaning more towards Wilson since Oh won last year - and there is always room to share)

*Oliver Platt for Supporting Actor in a Drama Series


*Frances Conroy for Actress in a Drama Series (she did some INCREDIBLE acting in that final season)

*Christopher Meloni for Actor in a Drama Series (he's done such great work it's time he gets his)


*Jeremy Piven for Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series (Oh he BETTER win - LLOYD!!!!!!!!)

*Elizabeth Perkins for Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series (Anyone who can say "Oh that little cunt - I should have had an abortion" and not do a double take is my kind of actress)

*Helen Mirren for Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie

Who will win? WHO CARES?! Okay maybe I do... but just a little bit. The Emmys are on Sunday evening - be there or be square.

BACK TO CAÑADA

Great news! I was just hired by my old school & employer to be an Instructional Aide to the Theatre Arts Department - basically I will be an Assistant Director - way cool! I knew that I would be working in the spring with Linda but I will now be working in the fall with Kathleen Woods who is the new Adjunct Faculty Drama Teacher along with my friend Barbara Cannon who also teaches in the Theatre Arts Department. Yay!!!!

BLOG RE-DECORATION

Seeing how I have no life at the moment I decided to play around with the blog and added some cool theatre pictures to it - now those of you who read this (you know who you are) let me know if you like it. I hope you do because when I saw the finished layout I had a big ol' smile on my face. Yay!

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M.

DANCING IN SEPTEMBER

August was kind of a blah month - so I can't wait for September to start when school will be underway, my birthday pops up, my best friend's birthday also happens and I will be seeing a lot of theatre including my friend Elvy Yost in Cal Shakes' The Merchant of Venice, my pal Darrin Glesser in Bus Barn's Tick, Tick..Boom!, my gorgeous gals Tracy Chiappone & Erica Abrahamson in Hillbarn's Grand Hotel (choreographed by my beloved Joe Duffy), BBBAY's Miss Saigon which stars my wonderful friend Paul Araquistain as the Engineer and also features my buddies Cyril Jamal Cooper & Danny Harper and finally I will be seeing my girl Heather Clemens in her professional opera debut!! About fucking time too!! She is in the chorus of Opera San Jose's Romeo & Juliette. It will be a most exciting & busy month - yay!!

Yesterday I met with my dear friend Patti Appel and we dished about school, theatre & then some - it is always wonderful to see her. I am very excited about seeing M. Butterfly this weekend - I am not usually this excited about seeing shows but I have high expectations for this one. I've never seen the play before but I loved reading it.

I am also a little disappointed that school commitments prohibit me from auditioning for professional shows in the spring - there are some really great shows coming up but I have to be patient and wait until summer - oh the pro's & con's of going back to school. Besides I am very excited about working with Debra Lambert -she has become a dear friend & mentor to me. Speaking of mentors - one of my classes in the fall is Musical Theatre Workshop which is taught by Debra and Billy Liberatore whom I love and Dottie Lester whom I also love - yay!! It should be a fun class. Okay I guess that's enough babbling from me.

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M.

HAPPY MONDAY

AHHHH!! The last week of vacation before school starts. I just wanted to note that I will not be at Max's this Saturday night (the 26th) as I will be at the opening night of M. Butterfly at TheatreWorks - I am very excited about this one!!

Have a great week y'all!

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M.

THEATRE RESPONSE: JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR

Today I attended the final performance of City Lights' Jesus Christ Superstar. I had some reservations about seeing it because JCS is a show that holds a special place in my heart (the production I was in at Broadway By The Bay probably kicked-started my theatre career) so I try not to see shows that have that special meaning and not to mention that the last time I went to see a performance of JCS at another theatre I left at intermission in disgust.

Happily, this was not the case with this production. Director Lisa Mallette has assembled a fine cast & exceptional leads and made great use of the small space. It was wonderful to see a lot of friends with whom I have worked with in the past in the show and of course they were all wonderful: Tomas Theriot, Ray Renati, Danny Harper, George S. Gemette, Raegena Raymond, Robyn Winslow and Shannon Stowe who also did a great job as choreographer.

All three of the leads were very worthy of their roles. My dear Jeanne Batacan-Harper (we've done three shows together) was a stunning Mary Magdalane and her rendition of "I Don't Know How To Love Him" brought tears to my eyes (the staging of the end of that song was simply beautiful.) The talented & gorgeous Adam Campbell was a terrific Judas - I have always known what a talented young man he is and it was wonderful to see him shine in this role. Adam & I used to work at Max's together and some of my favorite memories there are singing "Lily's Eyes" with him.

Kit Wilder holds a very special place in my heart. I played Herod opposite his Jesus six years ago and he also directed me in Anything Goes (It was almost like taking a master class in vaudeville comedy - my performance worked because of his patience & direction.) Going in to see the show I really didn't know if he would still have the chops to play this role - he completely blew me away with this honest & fresh interpretation of the role. Not only did he nail the music but his rendition of "Gethsemane" gave me the chills. The arc of emotions, the passion of his performance - a real tour-de-force performance. Bay Area Theatre critics are you listening? Give this man an award already!!

Speaking of chills, the 39 lashes scene was almost too real & violent to watch and it was truly chilling (the lady who sat next to me covered her face.) They pulled all the stops out with this show and that is why the production was as Lisa said before the show began at "101% capacity" It is great to see theatres taking risks - doing this monster piece in a small theatre with a huge cast was definitely a risk and the risk was well worth taking. I really loved the staging of the end of the show - after Jesus is crucified. It was visually stunning - the entire cast in candles holding vigil and in the back was Jesus who blows out the last candle. Just beautiful.

This was my first time seeing a show at City Lights and it certainly won't be my last. Their production of one of my favorite shows was well worth seeing and I was impressed (and trust me I don't ever just say that.) Bravo.

PICTURES!!!

My best friend Heather Clemens, me & her boyfriend Richard Faulhauber after a preview performance of URINETOWN

More of the URINETOWN gang backstage: Katie Blodgett, Cyril Cooper, Katie Davis, me, Diana Torres Koss & Kevin Blackton

The gorgeous & talented Scot Bruce (Elvis himself!) and I at the IDOLS OF THE KING Opening Night party.

Backstage at URINETOWN: Philippe Costa (our drummer), me, Tielle Baker & Austin Ku

My friends from Coastal Repertory Theatre after a performance of URINETOWN: Roxanne Ashe, Michael Lederman, me, Ken Crowell & Patti Appel

Two of my favorite people in the world: Barbara Cannon (Artistic Director of Bus Barn Stage Company) and Mark Hanson (one of the best Musical Directors in the Bay Area) after URINETOWN's Opening Night.

One of the greatest pleasures of working on URINETOWN was working with the great Kevin Blackton - here we are after a few drinks at our Opening Night party.

My friends from my drama class at Canada after a performance of URINETOWN: Roger, Bianca, Megan, me, Kyla & Cristal

My gorgeous Hilary Little & I at a preview performance for URINETOWN

Look at me - I'm a gorgeous gal sandwich!! My gorgeous pals Lisa & Jackie with me at the IDOLS OF THE KING Opening Night party

NDNU ORIENTATION

Yesterday I had a lovely day mostly at NDNU where I attended orientation. I met some lovely people and saw my friend Elana Ron there. Elana was a Mover & Shaker when we did Harold & Maude at TheatreWorks so it was lovely to see her at school and to know that she will be a fellow student. The closer school gets the more excited I am. It was so wonderful to go to the business office and hear that my bill has been taken care of without me spending a penny - I am over the moon. I am taking it easy the next few days - a sort of mini-vacation. Yay!

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M.

CASTING SCOOP: DESSA ROSE

I just found out that my beloved friend C. Kelly Wright will be starring in TheatreWorks' upcoming production of Dessa Rose - I am too excited for words!! This is a cute picture I took of Ms. Diva herself backstage at the Lucie Stern when we did Into The Woods.

A NEW (QUIETER) WEEK

Wow - this past week was a busy one. I saw a lot of great theatre and a lot of wonderful friends perform. I am glad my schedule is a little quieter for the next couple of weeks as I finish my summer vacation (school starts on the 30th). This upcoming week I will be seeing Jesus Christ Superstar at City Lights (the production is completely sold out for its remaining run - thank you to Kit Wilder who got me a ticket). I have several friends in the production including Kit who is playing Jesus, Jeanne Batacan-Harper who is playing Mary Magdalane & Adam Campbell who plays Judas and my friend Shannon Stowe is the choreographer - I am looking forward to seeing the show which I have heard is great. Don't have much else to report - so have a great week y'all.

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M.

THEATRE RESPONSE: THOROUGHLY MODERN MILLIE

As I was driving to Fremont to see my friend Courtney in this show I really didn't know what to expect. This past week I saw a professional show & a semi-professional show so how good could a kids production be? Startruck Theatre's production of Thoroughly Modern Millie blew me away and out of the three shows I have seen this week it is my favorite. I couldn't believe how talented these kids are. I've seen children's theatre in the past and have wanted to run away but this is not the case here. I have never seen a show at Startruck before - they perform in the beautiful outdoor theatre at Ohlone College and I was not prepared for what I saw. The sets, the orchestra, the lighting, the COSTUMES - all top notch. The amazing choreography by Michael Jenkinson was carried out so brilliantly by these kids - it was truly amazing to see. I mean it was really hard dancing and these kids could really do it. The production was directed at a beautiful pace by Lori Stokes.

My friend Courtney Stokes in the title role was a revelation - she is a REAL triple threat - a singer, dancer & actress. She does all three of these tasks like a Broadway leading lady. Courtney shines from her very first number "Not For The Life of Me" to the end but she gave a showstopping rendition of "Gimme Gimme." The talented bunch of kids are too many to list here but I will mention some standouts: Kyle Padilla who was adorable as Millie's love interest Jimmy, Natalie Hawkins who had a lovely soprano voice as Miss Dorothy Brown, Evan Boomer who was very funny as Mr. Trevor Graydon and Bryant Soong and Kenta Naoi as Ching Ho & Bun Foo - they were scene stealers. The show itself was lovely - pure fun.

They have one more performance today (Saturday) so if you are free this evening do yourself a favor go support this amazing group in a truly wonderful production that will make your day. I know it made mine.

THEATRE RESPONSE: GUYS & DOLLS

Last night my dear friend Peter & I drove all the way to Aptos to see our beloved Hilary Little in Cabrillo Stage's Guys & Dolls and I must say seeing her perform the role of Adelaide was definitely worth the drive.

I have never seen a show at Cabrillo and they do a great production. I have also never seen Guys & Dolls before and I thought it was a very cute show - the characters are very colorful almost like cartoons. The great David Curley was terrific as Nathan Detroit and even though I have seen Hilary on stage many times I was floored with how brilliant she was as Adelaide. The role is very demanding and Hilary played it right on the money - her "Adelaide's Lament" was outstanding. Hilary & David have terrific chemistry and their duo scenes are probably the strongest in the show. The orchestra was superb (though a bit loud at times but the sound was wonderful), the sets & costumes were top caliber and the ensemble although very young was good.

Guys & Dolls closes this weekend and if you are in the Santa Cruz area why not go see a wonderful production of Guys & Dolls.

THEATRE RESPONSE: SPELLING BEE ADULT NIGHT

On Tuesday night (and thanks to my dear friend James Iglehart) I was able to finally see The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. This was their "adult night" when things are a little different but not much. The set up is basically the same except some of the dialogue is altered for adult & toilet humor - I loved it! I had an amazing time - I thought the production was top notch and every single member of that cast was very talented and very worthy of their roles. I have to mention them all: Aaron J. Albano, Stanley Bahorek (who was amazing!), Jenni Barber (I don't know where those high E's came from - stunning!), Jim Cashman, Jared Gertner, Sara Inbar, Greta Lee & Betsy Wolfe (who stole the show in a lot of ways for me.)

I have done three shows with James and I have always known that he is a Bay Area treasure. The Bay Area will lose that treasure when he goes on the road with the show. James is one of the most wonderful people I know. He has always looked out for me as a performer and as a friend. He deserves all the success in the world and then some. He is truly magnificent in this show. I thought his role was underutilized but James being the amazing performer that he is manages to shine in that spotlight every time he sings & dances.

I plan on seeing the regular version of the show before it closes and if you haven't already seen it - this is a great night out. The show is performed without an intermission and runs about 1:45 which at times got a little long for me but it was a terrific production and one I am looking forward to seeing again before September 3rd.

ELVY IN THE MERCHANT OF VENICE

This is from my friend Elvy who is in an upcoming production of The Merchant of Venice:

dear potential theatregoers,

this here is my announcement to the world that I am in 'The Merchant
of Venice (as Jessica, Shylock's daughter!) at the California
Shakespeare Theatre, and that you, the world (or rather: MY world),
are invited!

this production is a very modern strange meaningful exciting
interesting cool interpretation of the play, and everyone (else) in
the cast is absolutely wonderful. i'm having a great time! and if you
would also like to have a great time, this is when the show is
playing:

preview performances: August 9-11 at 8 pm
opening night is August 12 at 8pm
and it runs until September 3rd,
every Tuesday Wednesday and Thursday is at 7:30 pm,
Fridays and Saturdays at 8pm,
and Sundays at 4pm
although they do sell hot chocolate, i suggest you bring layers and
maybe a blanket, because it can get quite cold at night, and matinees
can range anywhere from very hot to pretty cold, since it's an
outdoor theatre.
the theatre is in a beautiful foresty hilly place in Orinda (right
next to Berkeley)
at 100 Gateway Boulevard

the calendar of performances is online here:
http://www.calshakes.org/v4/boxoffice/calendar.html#mov

there are some goodies happening before and after some of the shows,
and there are cool "grove talks" which are lectures about the show 45
minutes before every performance. it's a really beautiful outdoor
location with lots of picnic tables and hills, so plenty of people
tend to bring picnics to have before the show.
on Friday August 18th there's this event called the Big Shindig,
which is really fun; there's wine and desserts and music and meeting
people after the show on that night.
also! if you're 30 or under!!! you can get your ticket for $15!!!!
but not on Saturday nights of Sunday matinees.
also, the seating chart drawing that's online is very misleading. the
right and left boxes really aren't that far away, they're honestly
pretty good seats.

p.s.
for 5$ off on up to 4 tickets, when you call the box office mention
that you got an "ecard" about the merchant of venice (or enter
"ecard" as the promotional code when you buy tix online), but this is
only good for performances from August 9-17)

A LITTLE UNDER THE WEATHER

I hate being sick in the summer - it sucks! On Saturday night I started feeling it and yup - officially sick! I stayed home for the past couple of days to get some rest because nothing is going to stop me from seeing my shows this week: tomorrow night my friend Hilary & I will go see our friend James Iglehart in the adult version of Spelling Bee and on Wednesday night my friend Peter and I will go see Hilary & David Curley in Guys & Dolls over in Aptos. Later in the week I will be seeing my friend Courtney in Thoroughly Modern Millie - yay!
Have a good week y'all.

=+)

M.

YA GOTTA SEE THIS ONE: LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE

Okay - this is seriously the best film I have seen all year. Talk about an ENSEMBLE cast. Everyone is top notch: Greg Kinnear, Steve Carell (who proved to me he is not just a comedian but a very gifted actor), Toni Collette, Paul Dano, Alan Arkin (in one of his best roles ever) and little Abigail Breslin who will make you go "Dakota who?" The movie is hilarious and touching and deeply moving. Every actor in it has a wonderful "moment" - and each of them make that moment shine. You're lucky if you have 1 or 2 of those in a film or even on stage but this film is full of beautifully executed moments.

It was a beautiful experience and I highly recommend you get over to the Aquarius theatre or wherever it's playing and see it. There are so many shitty films that are released throughout the summer and it's a shame that such a beautiful film like this doesn't have the luxury of playing at those cineplexes. God Bless the Independent Film!

UPCOMING THEATRE PERFORMANCES

Last night I met with Barbara Cannon & Ray Renati to discuss a new Film Festival that will serve as a fundraiser for Bus Barn Stage Company. Right now we are in the "gathering information" part of it but the event will take place in mid-January. More details to come in the coming months. If you have any ideas or suggestions please e-mail me.

I just realized I will be seeing a lot theatre in the coming weeks: 24th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee's Adult Night, Guys & Dolls @ Cabrillo Stage, Thoroughly Modern Millie @ Starstruck Theatre, Jesus Christ Superstar @ City Lights and M. Butterfly @ TheatreWorks.

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M.