LA MANCHA WEEK 9

Well we are at the halfway mark - 25 performances down and 25 to go. This week the wonderful costume designer Michelle Wynne was in the audience (she costumed both shows I did at SJ Stage - she is terrific) the same night that my proud Dad was. I was overwhelmed to see my Dad emotional when I came out to greet him. Dad is a man who rarely cries and when he hugged me I could tell that he was fighting back tears - of course it didn't help that all my fellow actors were coming up to him saying "I love your son!" It was a wonderful night thanks to my Dad and my beloved cast members.

The past two days have been heaven - my trip to Tahoe was divine - I ate, rested, gambled and took a chance to breathe for a second. This was really something that I needed and I hope after the show closes I have the chance to get away for a couple of days. I am not looking forward to the start of the fall semester at school but I am trying to find a time in late September to go away for a couple of days.

Anyhoo - that's all for now kids sorry that I don't have more exciting news to report. I hope everyone is doing well and remember that we only have 5 weeks left of performances.

Hugs

Martin

A LOVELY DAY

Today was a lovely day - I got good news, I had a great show tonight and was given a wonderful compliment by the amazing Cathleen Riddley - who could ask for anything more? Days like today don't come by very often so I savored every moment. =+)

After the show my girls Nicole & Jenna forced my hand to have a drink at the local bar and it was fun. I got to hang a little bit with Kate Del Castillo (who cracks me up!) who'll be filling in for Cathleen in a couple of weeks as Aldonza.

Okay - tomorrow is a 2 show day and my Poppa is coming to see the evening show which means I must rest - then Sunday...off to TAHOE!!!

=+)

Martin

CAST CHANGE

Saturday evening was the last performance that my friend Stephan Smith Collins did as Pedro in our production of Man of La Mancha. Stephan has left the show for personal reasons and his understudy John Patrick Moore took over the role last night. I want to say to Stephan that we will miss you and care for you deeply.

John Patrick did a great job last night - considering he's had minimal rehearsal time. Welcome to the cast! In a couple of weeks our Aldonza - the amazing Cathleen Riddley will be out of town for a week and her understudy will be going on for her at that time. Her understudy is Kate Del Castillo.

In other news, I officially declined my first professional offer today - nothing to celebrate of course. It's a show that I really wanted to do but I realized that it was too big of a commitment to handle along with my fall school schedule. Ah showbusiness!

Can't wait for my trip to Tahoe! Will write more next week,

Hugs to all

Martin

HAIRSPRAY

I LOVED this movie. It stayed very true to the original production and I can't remember the last time I laughed so hard. I was hesitant about John Travolta's performance at first because in interviews he said that he insisted on playing Edna like a woman rather than as a man playing a woman - I mean the role has been forever immortalized by the great Divine and of course my idol Harvey Fierstein. Travolta's performance works though (although his thick Baltimore accent makes it hard to understand some of the dialogue) and I found his Edna quite charming.

The rest of the cast is terrific - Christopher Walken as Wilbur is terrific, Elijah Kelley as Seaweed will have a long film career after this one, Michelle Pfeiffer having a blast I'm sure playing Velma von Tussle, the great Allison Janney who steals every scene she's in ("Devil child!"), gorgeous Zac Efron who is an inspired choice as Link and Amanda Bynes is dead on as Penny.

The two performances I had a little trouble with were Queen Latifah (whom I normally ADORE) - I felt like she didn't have that extra oomph to play Motormouth Maybel - maybe that's just because in the show the role is played by a very soulful almost gospel-like singer but Latifah does what she can. Nikki Blonsky has a great voice although I could tell this is her first movie but she did win me over at the end of the movie and her dancing rocks!

Go see Hairspray and have a good old time!

LA MANCHA WEEK 8

The last few days have been a nice change of pace for me - I have actually been busy outside of teaching & the show. Last Sunday I went to see my dear friends Jon & Barb Rosen's production of HAiR. My friend Crystal Reitmeir was in the show so it was great to be able to see it. It's amazing how relevant a show like HAiR can still be even after all these years. The themes of war are ever so present today. HAiR has one of the best scores ever so it was a treat to spend my Sunday afternoon listening to these great songs. Kudos to Brennan Whitaker who did a wonderful job with the role of Claude. I know that Jon & Barb have put their souls into this production and I wish them a wonderful run. For more info check out http://www.stagelightproductions.org/ HAiR is currently playing at Theatre on San Pedro Square (a lovely venue - I had never been to it before) and then will transfer to the Historic Hoover Theatre in San Jose. The Metro wrote a nice review for them - here is the link.

Monday was all about HARRY POTTER!!! I must admit that for the first hour or so I was not so impressed - the film is not cut very well and scenes seemed very "choppy" - I didn't know why we were all of a sudden moving on to a different scene. The cool thing about the movie was getting to see it in the IMAX screen in 3-D. The last 20 minutes of the film are visually stunning. As my friend Joe Duffy would say "it was delicious." Daniel Radcliffe is fantastic and I am thrilled that he has signed on for the remaining 2 movies. Overall I did enjoy the film and especially the fighting sequence. Other highlights: Imelda Staunton as Dolores - simply delicious and of course the amazing Alan Rickman as Snape - I wish he had more screen time (as well as Emma Thompson!!)

I also saw a DVD of a film called BREACH with the incredible Chris Cooper, Ryan Philippe and the incomparable Laura Linney - I highly recommend it.

On Tuesday evening I saw the final dress rehearsal of THEOPHILUS NORTH at TheatreWorks. This cast was amazing. I went to see my friends Kristin Stokes & Jack Davis but was thrilled that the ensemble cast was out of this world. In most shows I see there are usually some performances that I don't particularly care for but this was perfect casting (kudos to Leslie for casting & directing this show.) I will mention the rest of the brilliant cast: Julia Brothers, Zehra Berkman, Craig Marker, Patrick Sieler and Mark Anderson Phillips in the title role. I highly recommend this show. It was also a trip to see my pal Suzanne Grodner there (she was my wife in Into The Woods) - she is in town for TW's next show Emma. I can't wait to see it.

Wednesday of course I was back at the show and Thursday was the final day of my teaching at Hillbarn's summer theatre camp. It has been a wonderful experience (who knew I could teach?!) and working alongside Matt Mattei was a real treat. Thank you Matt, Joe & Veronika for everything.

Friday evening was a tough one for me - there was some drama behind the scenes of the show but I am glad that's all over now. We finished Saturday evening's show with such energy & passion that I can't wait to come back next week. There is also some other important news to share but since nothing has been officially announced I will wait to post that info here. This week a few of my friends were in the audience and I must thank them by name: my Max's friends Peter, Tyler & Debra (who I have not seen in ages!) and my fellow performer pals Diahanna Davidson and Khlar Thorsen. Thank you for coming to see the show.

Okay that's one long entry. I am off to see Hairspray!

Oh I should also mention this too: Y'all remember that comment that someone posted about my casting in Urinetown? (scroll down to find post) Well the person who wrote the comment contacted me via e-mail and apologized for writing the comment. I have accepted his apology and for the record there are no hard feelings. This is a small theatre community here in the Bay Area and there is no reason why we all can't support each other and get along. This gives me hope for the future.

p.s. Only 29 more chances to see Man of La Mancha

Hugs

Martin

MAN OF LA MANCHA REVIEWS

CRITICS REVIEWS

"Martin Rojas-Dietrich is outstanding as The Padre. He has a golden voice when singing "To Each His Dulcinea" and "The Psalm" at the end of the musical. I wish we could have heard more of his shinning voice in the production."

-Richard Connema, Talkin' Broadway

read the full review here.

"Martin Rojas-Dietrich (The Padre) draws you further into the drama as he sings “The Psalm”. Truly inspired and remarkable."

-Buzzin' Lee Hartgrave, BeyondChron

read the full review here.

"Martin Rojas-Dietrich as The Padre has a wonderfully rich, deep voice."

-Albert Goodwyn, San Francisco Bay Times

read the full review here.

"The best singers are Cathleen Riddley (Aldonza/Dulcinea) with “It’s All The Same”, “What Does he Want With Me”, “Aldonza”, “The Impossible Dream”, Stephan Smith Collins (Pedro) with backup by Daniel Krueger(Muleteer #1) with “Little Bird” and powerful, poetic voiced Martin Rojas-Dietrich (“To Each His Dulcinea” and “The Psalm”)."

-Kedar K. Adour, TheatreWorld Internet Magazine

read the full review here.

BLOG REVIEWS

"...musically, the show is stolen by the lyrical tenor of The Padre (Martin Rojas-Dietrich) whose perfect notes are a counterpoint to the earthiness of most of the other singers..."

-The Great Plotnik

read the full review here.

AUDIENCE REVIEWS

"...there were many other vibrant, memorable characterizations, including Louis Parness as a non-sappy but endearingly warm Sancho, Martin Rojas-Dietrich's exquisitely developed and technically perfect execution of The Padre's poignant songs..."

-Carol Tyler (taken from Goldstar Events)

read the full review here.

LA MANCHA WEEK 7

I can't believe it's been 7 weeks since I started rehearsals for La Mancha - we are now finished with our third week of performances and still have 7 more weeks to go - wow. The shows this week were great and on Friday night my Mom & my Sis came to see the show - they loved it and also in the audience was my pal Mike Padilla & his friend Terrence. It was wonderful to see them. Mike you crack me up! Who else besides you (& Joe Duffy) get my Mommie Dearest references?!

Okay - doing the show twice in one day - painful. Not so much for the physical aspects of the show but the emotional. It's a very emotional journey that I live through for 1 hour and 45 minutes but I gotta tell you - I am loving every minute of it. I love that this show continues to challenge me in ways I really can't describe with words. Our audiences have been wonderful and spoiling us with rousing standing ovations.

I strongly encourage all of you martintheatre blog readers to please come see the show - you will be glad you did and I promise not to bug you for the rest of the year about coming to see anything else that I do. =+)

This will be my last week of teaching at Hillbarn and it has been a wonderful experience. I found that I was able to share some of the knowledge that my beloved mentor Linda Hoy has given to me. Still to this day she continues to be my mentor & inspiration for being an actor.

Sunday (technically today since it's 2 AM) I am going to check out my friend Jon Rosen's production of HAIR. I have never seen the stage production so I am looking forward to seeing it. On Monday I will catch the new Harry Potter (yay!) and on Tuesday will see the final dress rehearsal of the new play at TheatreWorks which some friends of mine are in.

You still have 35, (well 33 chances, our next 2 matinees are sold out) to see Man of La Mancha so please go see it. If cost is a consideration check out www.goldstarevents.com and find the listing for Man of La Mancha @ SF Playhouse. They always sell at least a few tickets for every show under $20 but you must buy them in advance.

If you do come see the show send me an e-mail or call me so I'll be sure to rush right after the show to say hello.

I will start posting reviews & links next week.

That's all for now. Have a great week y'all

=+)

Martin

40 MORE TO GO

Our first week back after the chaos of tech week & opening and we had very responsive houses with some standing ovations. It was great to be back in the world of "La Mancha" although our 2 show Saturday was a tough one. The show takes me on a very emotional journey and I can honestly say I have never been this emotionally involved in any production I have done. Once I enter that stage I live every minute of the play - thank God that as soon as we take our final bow I am able to leave it behind me. I could never be one of those actors - the ones that have to "BE" their character 24/7.

I am having a blast with new two new girlfriends Nicole C. Julien & Jenna Johnson - they crack me up and I am so glad that we have become good friends. (And I'm not just saying that Nicole!)

I must thank my friend Kathi Duggan and her family for being the first people to come see me in the show - I am eternally grateful. I can't say this enough - please make Man of La Mancha one of the shows you see this summer - it is a beautiful production.

Not much else to report - am planning a little trip to Tahoe at the end of the month for my Dad's birthday and I am SOOOO looking forward to that.

Tomorrow I continue teaching at Hillbarn which has been fun (lot of work but fun) joining forces with the wonderful Matt Mattei. We will be working together doing a vocal performance/musical theatre workshop sort of thing - should be fun. Good God Joe Duffy cracks me up - he is just a wonderful human being filled with talent & patience (how he does it - I will never know) he is just the greatests boss.

Oh one more thing - Friday was a laid-back day at Hillbarn and we got to see the younger kids in their dress rehearsal for their original show "Kids Play" which was adorable - I was so in awe of these kids (who were so hard to sit still in class) perform on stage. It was a wonderful thing to see.

Okay that's all from me - have a wonderful week y'all and come see MAN OF LA MANCHA!!!! We still have 40 performances left.

A couple of reviews have come out but I will wait till more come out to put them in one post.

Cheers

Martin

La Mancha Trailer

HELLO SAN FRANCISCO, MY NAME IS MARTIN

Yesterday was an evening I will never forget. I finally got to make my San Francisco debut and I couldn't think of a better production or a better role to introduce myself. I was beyond scared that I would not be 100% vocally there (I have been fighting with a cold all through previews) but somehow I did fine - there was this incredible electricity in the air and we gave an amazing performance to a very enthusiastic crowd.

This was the best opening night party EVER!!!!! San Francisco actors know how to party! I was a wee bit wasted by the evening's end ad that was a-okay by me. I have never received more compliments in my life - everyone from the audience members, the critics and even TV star Carl Lumbly said some wonderful words to me. If you know me well - you know that I don't do very well at these situations - I get really embarrassed and all I want to do is hide. An audience member told me that she wanted me to impregnate her - God I love San Francisco!! =+)

Lori Kirstein, me & Jenna Johnson singing "I'm Only Thinking of Him"

I am very proud of this work - of this cast, of my performance and the company I am keeping. I think there must have been a cosmic reason for me really wanting to do this show this summer and I am so grateful I have the opportunity to do it. I am so grateful to our wonderful director Jon Tracy who let me create this amazing character - he is truly a genius of the theatre. We have 9 more weeks of performances so if you haven't already - get your tickets!!!!

I came home feeling like I was floating on clouds and I think I still am. My Dad & my sister took me out to lunch & to a movie to celebrate (they will be coming to see the show in a couple of weeks.)

Okay - that's all to report. I am thrilled to have some nights off fro the show (we don't perform again until Thursday night) but I do have to teach this week - that is going really well. I am thrilled to be a part of the Hillbarn faculty.



Okay I think I have embarrassed myself enough. Have a great week y'all.



Much love



Martin