BEEHIVE

Last night I didn't have rehearsal so I was able to see San Jose Stage Company's first preview performance of BEEHIVE. It is a great show and I highly recommend it. It's a musical review that features all the great femlae songs from the 60's including songs from Petula Clark, Lulu, The Supremes, Janis Joplin, Nancy Sinatra, Aretha Franklin, Tina Turner, Lesley Gore and more. The six ladies are phenomenal - Lydia Lyons, Adrienne Muller, Cheryl B. Scales, Dawn L. Troupe, Halsey Varady and my pal Tielle Baker. I am not just saying this because Tielle is a friend of mine but out of the six performers she really stood out to me. The other five girls are terrific but Tielle had this incredile energy the very moment she walked on stage - every beat, every step was sharp and precise and her vocals are truly amazing.

I found myself knowing so many of these great songs (White Rabbit, Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow, You Don't Have To Say You Love Me - too many to mention) and they even used my name in the "Name Game" song. It was also great seeing my wonderful friends/second family at the Stage Company and I also ran into my pals Robbie Brewer, Meredith King, Beverly Grant and even my White House Murder Case director Ray Garrett. I can't recommend this show enough - it's all about having a good time out. The show is directed by my Urinetown director Rick Singleton, choreographed by the incredible Dottie Lester-White and Ms. DTK herself (Diana Torres Koss for those of you out of the loop =+) is vocal director. The costumes & wigs are incredile - some of the best I have ever seen.

Go see Beehive - it's a great show.

=+)

Martin

THE QUEST BEGINS

Rehearsals for Man of La Mancha have started and I am thrilled to be making my professional San Francisco debut with this amazing show. Our director Jon Tracy has come up with an incredible re-invention of the show - I won't give too much away but it is Man of La Mancha like you've never seen before. The cast is terrific and FUN, so I think doing this show is also going to be a good time. I found myself getting choked up a few times during our readthrough because the material is so beautifully written. I will write more at the end of the week.

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M.

HIATUS

Hi kids - I am taking a little break from blogging this week so I can enjoy my final week of rest before rehearsals start for Man of La Mancha. I will have lots to chat about then - 'till then - stay cool.

Have a great week y'all!

=+)

Martin

AMERICAN IDOL: I DON'T GET IT

Okay I have never been a fan of this show and I wish someone would explain to me America's fascination with this show. I do admit that I love to watch the audition episodes - are people kidding with that shit or what?

This season I watched the audition episodes and just tuned in to see the final three...what's the big fucking deal? None of them scream IDOL to me. None of them scream powerhouse vocals - maybe the Jordin girl but she's so lifeless - she sings and does not much else but stand around. I can't begin to express how unbelievably BORING it is to see someone sing and do nothing. She sang a solid rendition of Leiber & Stoller's I, Who Have Nothing - but she didn't let me feel it (and it's one of the songs that rips my heart out) Blake Lewis (who is adorable) has a bit better appeal because he at least tries. He has a cute look, his adorable dance moves and that beat boxing thing he does - although his vocals aren't really much. Melinda went home tonight and I thought she had a great voice - but with not much personality. Best of luck to all of them - I am sure they are lovely people but I just don't get it.

Someone please tell me why American Idol is such a big fucking deal? I see better singers in shows all the time. Maybe I just have a little too much time in my hands because I honestly don't really care. Oh and Simon Cowell - you're an asshole.

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M.

MAN OF LA MANCHA

Okay - it's official so I can share the joy - I will be playing The Padre in SF Playhouse's summer production of MAN OF LA MANCHA directed by Jon Tracy and featuring SF Playhouse's Artistic Director Bill English as Don Quixote. When I saw that they were producing this show my heart jumped because I love this show - the music, the story. (They don't write them like this anymore!" It was a long, long audition process. I auditioned for this five weeks ago and part of me thought that I would not get it but it's now official. This show marks a couple of firsts for me - my first show with this company and my first show in the city!!! Rehearsals start May 29th and the show runs from June 27 to September 1. I am over the moon and very grateful to be busy this summer as I will also be teaching at Hillbarn Theatre at the end of June. Okay, what a nice way to start the week - with good news!

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Martin

WHEN IT RAINS IT POURS

I got two job offers today and it looks like I will be able to do both of them. I will write more as I know more. One of them is a production I have wanted to do all year long - stay tuned!!

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M

DIRTY ROTTEN SCOUNDRELS

Last night my delicious friend Hilary Little invited me to go see the national tour production of Dirty Rotten Scoundrels which is presented by AMTSJ. It was a wonderful evening and one that I very much needed.

I love the original movie so I was curious to see the musical. The show was very cute - a bit long in parts but the cast was great. D.B. Bonds was hilarious as Freddy Benson (the role played in the film by Steve Martin) not to mention very cute. He has the toughest role in the show - tons of physical comedy with high belting tenor songs. His first number "Great Big Stuff" is a showstopper. No wonder Norbert Leo Butz won the Tony for this role - it is an awesome role and Bonds is terrific - he also has great charisma and he is guy you root for in the show. Tom Hewitt as Lawrence Jamison (Michael Caine in the film) has a more difficult job to do - play the "straight" man to Bonds' Freddy and he falls a bit flat. I would have loved to have seen John Lithgow play the role as it requires a "star" quality. Hewitt does a great job torturing Freddy as Dr. Schufhausen - a great scene. Laura Marie Duncan as Christine Colgate (Glenne Headley in the film) does a kick-ass job with her part and she has to belt some pretty obscenely high stuff.

The show was pretty much the movie on stage with a couple of added elements (the character of Muriel Eubanks (I liked her name in the film - Fanny Eubanks to which Freddy says "Oh, LADY Fanny of Omaha" better" has been expanded and I loved the fact that the actors continued to remind us that we are in the fantasy world of a musical - they would throw little sides at us to keep us a part of the fun. Kinda corny at times - sometimes hilarious. I do wish that they would have changed a little more to the musical. I knew of the big twist at the end because it's in the film. The musical still works but it works better if you haven't seen the film.

Overall I thought the show was great and I had a wonderful evening out - thank you my beloved Hilary.

Dirty Rotten Scoundrels plays until May 13.

=+)

Martin

AUDRA MCDONALD - AN INSPIRATION

I have been a huge fan of Audra McDonald for years now. I have all her albums and I have seen her perform in concert 3 times. She even called out my name at Davies Symphony Hall once when my best friend Heather shouted "Hi Audra I love you too! My name is Heather & this Martin!" and Audra responded " Hi Heather, hi Martin!" of course when we met her after she said "are you two Heather & Martin?" I was in love right then and there. It's not just her talent - her amazing range and voice but it's her delivery. When Audra sings, you feel it. She is someone who inspires me deeply and continues to do so.

Audra opened last night in 110 in The Shade, only 11 days after her father died in a plane crash. She respected her professional commitment through this horrendous circumstance and I am even more in awe of her. There is a lovely article on Playbill about the opening night. This is a picture of her curtain call last night. When I saw this picture I started to cry because in my heart I know that she did that performance for her father and I bet that he is looking down a her smiling proudly.

Audra - my prayers are with you & your family. Thank you for sharing your gifts with the world. You are truly an inspiration.

Martin

WISHIN' AND HOPIN'

That's all.

Oh and it's HOT!

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M

THE BEGINNING OF THE SUMMER "BLOCKBUSTERS"

So yesterday I went to see the new Spiderman movie - the third in what I am sure is many more movies about the spidery dude and the very first in the summer "blockbuster" series - as I write this S3 has already earned over $148 million dollars in its first 3 days of release.

And what was the film like....ehh. It was....okay. Not great - but okay. Tobey is much too old to be playing Pater Parker - let alone Spiderman. Kirsten looks awful - maybe that's because she's not with Jake Gyllenhall anymore and the screenplay stinks to high heaven. Topher does what he can with a shitty role (his "Venom" look is featured in this pic) and Rosemary Harris is wonderful as Peter's Aunt. I really liked Bryce Dallas Howard, but again her character was very poorly written - I give her and Topher props for doing a great job with shitty material. There were some laughs and some cheesy moments and computer action scenes up the wazoo but when the fifth graders behind you start to say "this movie is hella long man" you know your target audience has left the building. The movie was a bit over 2 hours and it was amazing how restless people can get when it comes to movies. I start to get restless after 2 1/2 hours but never at 2.

In other news:

I returned to Max's on Saturday night and it was a wonderful welcome back that I got - everyone seemed really genuinely happy to see me which was great. You don't appreciate the little things in life until you start to miss them. I am very lucky to have a great boss that allows me time off to pursue my professional career. I will be playin' the piano, singing a few ditties and accompanying some of the singing waiters on Saturday evenings from 6-10 PM.

On Thursday night I went to see Opera San Jose's Madama Butterfly which was great. It was a bit long in parts but I particularly loved the ending of the piece - and really appreciated Puccini not having her sing after she's stabbed herself - I can't stand operas that have the singers go on and on and on after they've killed themselves - you're dead - get on with it!! =+) You know she's going to kill herself but the power of Puccini's music takes over and the opera ends before you realize that is over - powerful stuff.

My friend Heather who was in the show (and who will be playing a principal role in next season's Magic Flute) and I went to Original Joe's for a late meal - get down there fast as they are closing for a few months to renovate. You can't get food like this anywhere else - go now!! It was a lovely evening of music, death, and good pasta.

Okay, it's the beginning of a new week and I am happy to report that since I have no school, I have nothing to do but lay about like a beached whale - jealous? Okay - it's after midnight and it's frickin' hot in here. Stick the apple in me mouth dearie, I'm done.

=+)

Martin

FREE AT LAST!!!

Okay, the fact that I just got through the last few days in one piece is a fucking miracle. Let's start with a few days ago - shall we:

Okay, on Friday night my dear friends Barb & Jon Rosen came to see the play. They are just wonderful supporters of my work and I love them dearly. Jon is currently directing a production of Hair in San Jose which opens this summer. It was wonderful to see them at the show.

On Saturday I went to an audition and then I had the show at night. The performance was going fine until I went blank. I found myself repeating a line and then not knowing how to get back on track. I know the play inside and out - so I could have covered up and found my way back but I just couldn't. Thank God that Randy stepped in and said his line that brought us back on track. It was the longest five seconds of my life. I felt awful - I felt like an amateur. As soon as I walked off stage Randy said to shake it off - it happens to everybody. I mentioned this to my beloved teacher Linda Hoy and she wrote back, "welcome to the club!" It really does happen to everyone at one time or another. It was a lesson to me in focus - you must at all times be 100% present otherwise things like that can happen. Ahh - live theatre.

I redeemed myself on Sunday's closing performance in which I gave myself to the play completely and it was by far one of my better performances - it was a great show to close on. I already miss everybody. I could only stay at the wonderful cast party that Bruce Kerans threw for us for a little while because I had to run to dress rehearsal for musical theatre workshop at school. Exhaustion started to kick in at 11 PM when we ended the rehearsal and I had to go home and study for my two finals that started the next morning.

This is a pic of my wonderful stage manager Beverly Grant and my First Lady - Diahanna Davidson on closing night of the play.

I woke up at the crack of dawn to finish my Music History paper that was due at 2 PM and then headed off to school, did my finals, went home to take a nap and then off to musical theatre workshop performance. It was a special performance because my entire family was there to see me sing "Soliloquy" from Carousel and I think after months of working on it I did the piece justice. It is probably the hardest piece I have ever worked on - the musical, rhythmic and emotional demands of the piece are huge and I hope I did the piece justice. My family was very proud and my sister gave me the best compliment of the evening - she said "you were fucking awesome!" and coming from her that is high praise indeed. Mary is a much bigger critic than I and usually after a show she'll just smile and give me a hug but I could see how proud she was of my performance.

Yesterday I had voice juries at 11 AM in which I had to sing Soliloquy again and the famous Neapolitan song O Sole Mio - what the fuck was I thinking? My voice was in shatters by then and it's a miracle I was able to perform at last night's final musical theatre workshop performance. Oh did I forget to mention that after I sing Soliloquy I have to run back on stage to do this huge ensemble piece to We Dance from Once On This Island. Yeah - good times.

So school is over, the play is over and I can breathe again. I am still looking for a summer show to do - I am actually waiting to hear from another company regarding casting for a show in the city - so keep your fingers crossed for me. I was actually not invited to callbacks for the show I just auditioned for on Saturday which I must admit hurt my feelings a little bit because this is a company that I have worked with numerous times in the past and done great work for them, so at least they could have given me the chance to read for the part - just as a courtesy. I understand if someone is better for the part but I usually get a chance to read for it! Oh well. Like my pal Gary Martinez says - "Hell of a business!"

Tomorrow night I will be seeing my best friend Heather in Opera San Jose's production of Madama Butterfly - I have seen all aspects of this story - the play M Butterfly and the musical theatre version - Miss Saigon so I am excited to see the operatic take on this story.

Okay - that's enough ranting from me. I wish everyone a wonderful summer and I will keep posting as we go along.

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Cheers!

Martin

p.s. I will be back at Max's starting this Saturday night from 6-10:30 PM.