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