INSPIRED AT 2 AM

So I complain & I bitch about school a lot but there is a really cool project that is coming up soon that I am really looking forward to. More on this next week =+)

I have to get over my summer sleeping habits (or show habits actually) which is going to bed at 4 AM and waking up around noon then heading to the theatre at 4:45 PM. Can't do that anymore.

As odd as this might sound - I feel inspired. I will miss doing Man of La Mancha but after 10 weeks...it's time. Which is why this next project has me all giddy inside. I promise to write more about this next week until then...that's all she wrote.

Sorry - random post at 2:10 AM!!

=+)

Martin

LA MANCHA WEEK 13

Well this certainly was an interesting week. Friday night's show was very difficult for me because I was constantly worried about Louis. By the time the show ended I had a huge headache. Yesterday I realized that it's not my responsibility to worry about another actor so at the matinee, I said my little prayer and hoped for the best and it was okay. I did have a lovely dinner with my beloved Nicole & Cathleen at my new favorite place in the city Cesario's. I was beyond exhausted by the end evening show.

It has been a very long summer and although I will miss it, I am ready for the show to close. School starts this week and I don't even want to think about going to school and the show at night - but it's just one week. My friend Austin Ku came to see the matinee yesterday - thank you Austin. Austin will be moving to Boston to attend BoCo and I wish him the very best. We will miss you. Alright, I have to get ready for work at Max's soon.

Only 5 performances left kids!

Cheers

Martin

THE SHOW WILL GO ON!

Last night we had a rehearsal to fix some things for Louis who has 27 stitches on his heel and cane in one hand and will still go on with the show.. He is being so sweet & such a trouper. As far as I know we will continue with the performances tomorrow night and the show will close as scheduled on Sept. 1st. It should be an interesting show though! I admire Louis' strength & devotion to the theatre. We are all rooting for you Louis!

Cheers

Martin

THURSDAY NIGHT SHOW CANCELLED

I just received an e-mail from our stage manager and she tells us that Louis is fine - he has stiches in his heel and we will be using tonight to do a mobility rehearsal. The show tonight is once again cancelled but I hope that the show will continue on Friday.

Cheers

Martin

LIVE THEATRE, FOLKS!

So last night I got in my car to go to the show, arrived at the theatre at 5:30 PM, sat in my car until 6 PM and went upstairs to the theatre, got dressed, did vocal warm-up for cast, heard places and went on to do the top of the show. As I started singing the first note of the show, I noticed that that moment went longer than usual and the actor in me thought it was a technical malfunction - the board went out or something of that nature. I heard some sort of commotion backstage when Bill came out to address the audience. It turns out that Louis Parnell, our Sancho was in an accident backstage and would not be going on so we had to cancel the show.

We all went backstage to find out what happened and all I could see was Louis' foot bleeding...badly. We all went to the green room and it turns out that Bill accidentally closed the backstage door to the elevator and it hit Louis' heel. He was rushed to the hospital and we all wish him a speedy recovery.

As a consolation to the patrons who came to see the show we all decided that it would be a good idea to sing some of the music for those who cared to stay. Most of the audience did including our director Jon Tracy who was back from New York and ready to see our show - I must admit it was a bit funny when he came backstage and said "yeah...I just came to see how the show was doing." Perfect night to come see the show. =+)

We all sang our little hearts out and performed a few numbers - I sang the church trio and my solo (indulge me when I say that it was on fire - I felt bad for the public so I gave it my 150% and took some kick-add liberties with it - even our musical director said "why don't y'all sound like that every night?!!"

We all wound up staying for a party with the remainder of the public and it was a lovely time - despite the fact that we didn't actually do the show.

The beauty of live theatre folks - and I was there. =+)

We love you Louis - get well soon!

Cheers

Martin

EMMA

Last night I attended the final dress rehearsal for TheatreWorks' 50th World Premiere: Emma. It is a charming chamber musical written by Paul Gordon and directed by Robert Kelley. This is one of the best new musicals I have ever seen TheatreWorks present (my all time favorite of course is Harold & Maude - but I am biased =+).

Photo credit: David Allen

The cast assembles is first-rate. Lianne Marie Dobbs is a terrific Emma but it is her supporting cast that I found to be even more terrific - Dani Marcus is wonderful as Hariet Smith - it is wonderful to see such a talented pretty girl in a character role - wonderful. My pal Suzanne Grodner steals the show as Miss Bates - always having to repeat things to her mother. It was the highlight of the evening. New York actor Timothy Gulan was a standout as Mr. Knightley and his rendition of the song "Emma" was gorgeous. That was by far my favorite song in the show. My pal Alison Ewing was also terrific as Mrs. Weston.

The chamber 4 piece-orchestra (seated in a balcony on stage) was led by the always brilliant Billy Liberatore - a Bay Area treasure. The costumes by the always astonishing Fumiko Bielefeldt were a delight to see. This is a wonderful show if you're in the mood for a comedy/romance musical - a rare thing to find. I hope it is a huge success for TheatreWorks. Check out Emma - it runs until September 16th.

I had a great evening with my friends Hilary & Tyler and it was great running into my friend Sean who was in the audience.

LA MANCHA WEEK 12

I can't believe that we have only two weeks left of the show. Forty shows down and ten to go.

My pal Kristin Stokes came to see the show Friday night and it was wonderful to see her. Kristin will be performing in a production of SEX at the Aurora Theatre later this year - can't wait to see it. It is a play written by Mae West.

And of course it wouldn't be live theatre without the occasional fuck-up and after singing my solo "To Each His Dulcinea" I finally fucked up my lyrics at yesterday's matinee. I was looking into the eyes of Kate Del Castillo who filled as Aldonza at both of our shows yesterday and I went blank. BUT the good news is that I didn't just stop singing or sing la, la, la. Instead of singing "outfly the bird upon the wing" I sang ".......a man in the highest brink..." It was hilarious. Shit happens and it's live theatre. Who you gonna call? =+)

I more than redeemed myself at last night's show because I knew that it was Kate's last performance filling in for Cathleen (who was in the audience at our evening show) and it was a wonderful show - I was feeling the electricity in the air last night.

Also last night I ran into my girl C. Kelly Wright who is understudying for Blues in The Night at the Post Street Theatre. It was so funny seeing her. She was parked on Sutter Street and I was on my way to Walgreens which is located a few steps from our theatre. Small world!!

On Tuesday night I will be seeing the final dress rehearsal of the world premiere of EMMA at TheatreWorks. I am looking forward to it and my pals Alison Ewing and Suzanne Grodner are in it. It should be fun.

Alright, I must get ready for my gig at Max's tonight. Remember that we only have 10 more performances of Man of La Mancha. It would mean the world to me to see more of my friends come see this amazing work.

Cheers

Martin

LA MANCHA WEEK 11

It has been a great past few days. Last week at the show the divine Kate Del Castillo took over the role of Aldonza from the also divine Cathleen Riddley. People have asked me who is better...what kind of fucked up question is that?! Just kidding - it is a legitimate question and honestly - they are both so different. Each brings their very best to the role and it is a pleasure to work with both of them. Kate will be back this Saturday for two more performances.

On Thursday I visited my old friend Madame Jo at the Octavia Lounge and sang a song with her & her wonderful trio. My pal Tyler Kent & I had the best time at the Octavia Lounge and then we went across the street to Martuni's where he sang a storm (I was tired by then so I just sat and listened) and we had a lovely evening. I ran into my pal Carly Ozard at Martuni's and it was just a terrific time - I forgot how much fun the piano bar scene could be. Madame Jo has asked me to be one of her special guest stars next month and I am over the moon excited. I will be performing 4 songs (2 of them in Spanish.) When Madame Jo left the piano bar scene a few years ago, so did I but now that she has returned I just might have to stop by every now and again.

I have to say thank you to my friends who saw the show last week: Bianca, Megan, Jill and my dear friend Nicki Kerns & her husband Donald who came all the way from Boulder Creek.

I have spent the last two days in beautiful Monterey & Carmel. It was a wonderful little getaway although I could have used an extra night but alas had to be back home for this evening's show. Speaking of which - these are our final weeks!!! Only 15 more performances left kids.

And on a final note, a big huge congratulations to my friend Tielle Baker and her husband Benjamin who will be welcoming a baby in a few months. With such gorgeous parents - that baby is going to be a heartbreaker someday! Congrats you guys.

Cheers

Martin

AVENUE Q!!

One of the best theatre experiences ever! Some say that good things come to those who wait and I have been patiently waiting for this sow to come to SF! The production far exceeded my expectations and I laughed my ass off - actually I had a big dumb ass smile on my face for most of the show. The cast was terrific but Christian Anderson (pic - right) who plays Nicky, Bear & Trekkie Monster was the standout for me - there was just this way he was handling the puppets that seemed better than the other actors, plus he was the eye-candy too =+). Kelli Sawyer has a lovely voice as Kate Monster and her rendition of "There's a Fine Line" was heartbreaking. Yes I found myself crying at puppets singing ballads - how pathetic am I?!!! Kudos to Minglie Chen also as the other Bear puppet - the 2 Bear puppets stole the show. Robert McClure did a fine job with Princeton/Rod although I wished a little more from him vocally.

You know the more of these touring shows I see the more I notice how these actors pace themselves vocally through an 8-show week. I found that while the singers were all great - they picked their moments to shine and moments when they were just marking it - interesting. I always find myself giving 110% vocally when I sing but then again I haven't done 8-shows a week for more than 6 weeks - hell of a business huh? Also I can't wait to play the part of Brian in the show!!!

The first preview crowd was on fire last night and gave them a rousing ovation. I can't recommend this show enough - it is all about having a good time and to top it off - the show also has a lot of heart - go see if while you can.

OTHER NEWS:

While I was at the show my fellow La Mancha cast members were doing a runthrough with our Aldonza this week Ms. Kate Del Castillo - tonight I will be performing with Kate without ever having rehearsed with her - it should be fun and exciting.

Oh more fab theatre news - for my upcoming birthday I just received 2 tickets for Sweeney Todd at ACT - can't wait!!!

Cheers

Martin

LA MANCHA WEEK 10

We had some great shows this past week. My dear friend Hilary Little came to see our Thursday night show and it was wonderful to see her. Our Friday night audience was incredible - those people couldn't wait to stand up to clap for us - a nice feeling. On top of that as some of us were walking through the lobby people started clapping - nice little ego boost there. In these situations all I want to do is crawl into a ball and disappear.

On Friday night's show someone in the audience started to sing along with Cathleen during the finale. Normally this would be okay in a large theatre but not one where you are so close to the actors - the lady was singing so off key that I couldn't figure out what my fucking note was to come (this part is done a capella!) As the beauty of live theatre!

I discovered a wonderful Italian Restaurant on Saturday. Between shows my girl Nicole & I went to Cesario's which is just a few steps away on the other block of Sutter St. The best bolognese pasta I have ever had & they had fried polenta which not many places do. I was so happy with the meal that I didn't feel like doing the evening show! Of course I did but after that great meal all I wanted was a nap! =+)

I did receive some great news this past week that unfortunately I am not able to share at this moment but as soon as I get the green flag I will post about it. (Sorry - that was a total cocktease sort of comment =+)

This past Sunday was my first night at Max's and it was wonderful to be back. Sunday night has a total different vibe than Saturday night so it will be interesting for sure. Mark your calendars now as I will be working on September 9th again as it happens on a Sunday so stop on by at Max's and say hello if you can.

This upcoming week the wonderful Kate Del Castillo steps in for Cathleen in the role of Aldonza as Cathleen will be in Michigan for a Women's Music Festival. I am very excited to see what Kate brings to the role and it will definitely will be a way for us to stay fresh with another cast member joining us.

Tomorrow I see Avenue Q - I am so excited!!! Not much else to report - this is the final month to see Man of La Mancha - only four weeks left!!

Cheers

Martin

$10 TIXS TO MAN OF LA MANCHA (TODAY ONLY)

Hi all - we have some available seats for today's matinee of Man of La Mancha (Sat. August 4th @ 3 PM) that are available for only $10. The show is amazing so if you are in the city or available to come please take advantage of this offer. Call the box office at 415-677-9596 and mention this special price of $10 - it is only available for this performance only. Sorry about the late notice again but these opportunities come rarely.

www.sfplayhouse.org

Cheers
Martin

p.s. If you are interested in seeing the show but can't come to this performance we still have 4 more weeks left of the show - we close Sept. 1and discount tickets are available through www.goldstarevents.com