2007 YEAR IN REVIEW/TOP LISTS

Rather than do a month by month - "Oh look what I did" which is sort of boring I am going to do the highlights version.

THEATRE I DID

I did five shows this year which took up most of the year (insanity) and four of them were amazing experiences. So we'll concentrate on those.

THE WHITE HOUSE MURDER CASE (San Jose Stage Company) - my first professional play and an amazing cast of actors. I was so honored to be a part of this and to have moments with dynamite actors like Kevin Blackton, Gary Martinez, Bill Ontiveros, Randy King, Kevin Kennedy and my dressing room superstar Diahanna Davidson. The play also had a profound impact on me - especially since I became a U.S. Citizen during rehearsals. I am so grateful to our director Ray Garrett for giving me this opportunity. Being back at San Jose Stage was a wonderful experience and I hope to be back there again soon.

MAN OF LA MANCHA (SF Playhouse) - It was the longest audition process of my life and a difficult rehearsal process & a long, long run with lots of drama backstage but I would do it all over again in a heartbeat. I couldn't think of a better show or group to make my San Francisco debut with. I loved the part I played and singing "To Each His Dulcinea" for 10 weeks was a wonderful experience. Cathleen Riddley, our amazing Aldonza broke my heart every night and every night I took the journey with Don Quixote - I am forever a better actor for having done this show. Our director Jon Tracy is a young genius.

FOLLIES (Notre Dame de Namur University) - Finally I got the chance to do something really awesome at school. I complain a lot about my school but I had no complaints when it came to this experience - performing with Wesla Whitfield, Meg Mackay, Erie Mills, and the rest of the amazing professional cast and to open the show with "Beautiful Girls" and to be singing that crazy-ass note at the end of it - theatre magic. I loved every minute of it.

THE SECRET GARDEN (Coastal Repertory Theatre) - I made my musical theatre debut with this group when I was just out of high school and to be back to play my first leading role with the amazing actors that were cast (especially my beautiful Patti Appel who brings out the best in me) was a truly amazing experience. My Dad even said to me that of all the shows I have done this was his favorite. I also proved to myself that I can cross over to the lead role and I don't just have to look at supporting roles when I do a show. I had my doubts about the show and didn't feel like it would come together but it did and beautifully so.


THEATRE I SAW & LOVED

I wish I could tell you the best & worst (hee hee) so I'll just mention the best...

GIBRALTAR (San Jose Stage Company) - dark & incredibly human piece brilliantly written by Octavio Solis and beautifully executed by this first rate ensemble cast.

WHO'S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF? (Best of Broadway) - I went to see Kathleen Turner but left talking about Bill Irwin - he was amazing. The play left me shaking as I left the theatre.

AVENUE Q (Best of Broadway) - Funny, obscene and ultimately touching. I loved this production. It made me cry & laugh - who could ask for anything more?

SWEENEY TODD (American Conservatory Theatre) - I loved this so much I saw it twice. Brilliant theatre - theatre at its best - what theatre should be.

WICKED (Pantages Theatre, Los Angeles) - Eden Espinosa as Elphaba - enough said.

MOVIES I SAW & LOVED

JUNO - the best movie by far. Funny and touching with incredible performances by Ellen Page (the best young actress of this generation) and Jennifer Garner who was heartbreaking in this. Kudos also to the rest of the brilliant ensemble cast. Oh and I'm in love with Michael Cera.

HAIRSPRAY - a wonderful movie and close to the stage show. John Travolta won me over with his warm & hilarious portrayal of Edna Turnblad. The best movie musical this year - sorry folks I didn't care THAT much for Sweeney the movie.

THE BRAVE ONE - Jodie Foster kicks ass in this movie. It was exhilarating and incredibly human.

ENCHANTED - It had some flaws but Amy Adams' performance was one of the best this year. I was completely enchanted by this movie. Kudos to Alan Menken & Stephen Schwartz for the terrific songs. Oh and I'm in love with James Marsden.

PAN'S LABYRINTH - The most beautiful fairy tale movie of the year. Visually stunning with amazing performances.

TV I SAW & LOVED:

TOP CHEF - Love it! Food & drama - who could ask for more?

ENTOURAGE - Long live Jeremy Piven.

UGLY BETTY - I couldn't believe that it could get better in its second season - it did.

DEXTER - Michael C. Hall is the coolest serial killer ever - the season finale was to die for. =+)

DAMAGES - The best drama on TV. Glenn Close, Ted Danson & Zelko Ivanek gave the best performances of the year.

SPECIAL MENTION: GREY'S ANATOMY - People have deserted this show but I am still a loyal viewer. It fares much better than Private Practice which I only watch because of Audra McDonald.

SPECIAL GUILTY PLEASURE: I LOVE NEW YORK 2. It's hilarious and I do have love for New York.

So that was 2007. I became a U.S. Citizen, had the worst tooth procedure ever, was a part of some great theatre, used my Theatre Arts degree to teach during the summer, made some great new friendships and in the process found out what the true meaning of friendship is, had a kick ass end of the year mini-vacation and I cannot wait to see what 2008 has to bring.

Happy New Year everyone!

=+)

Martin

THE BEST END OF THE YEAR MINI-VACATION

Even though I am still tired - I just had the best 4 days ever. Bright and early on Thursday morning my sis & I drove to L.A. and arrived there by noon (the drive was 5 1/2 hours - not bad) and for lunch went to Roscoe's Chicken & Waffles - don't ask me why I just always wanted to go there. It was interesting to say the least and yes - the combination of the chicken & waffles works! Later that evening we went to Citiwalk in Universal City which has so many cool shops and restaurants. We went to see the movie "Juno" (the best movie I have seen this year) and then went to have dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe (which was nice but the food was just okay and overpriced.)

On Friday we woke up early to go to Universal Studios which was loads of fun. Mary had never gone there and I went once when I was a kid so it as great to experience it again. The attractions were way fun. By the time 5 PM kicked in we were tired so we left in time to get ready to go see Wicked.

Eden Espinosa is a Goddess and I worship at her throne. Before I purchased our tickets I found out how long her contract with the show would be (I did not want to see another Elphaba and of course you runt he risk of her not going on hat night - one never knows) and since her contract ended on Dec. 30th I figured that she would likely be performing. It has been a year since I last saw her play the role and she was even more magnificent than I remember. She hit notes that I have never heard before - in "No Good Deed" she went for these extraordinary high notes not in the score and the moment she started singing "The Wizard & I" I started to cry. I don't know what it is about her - her voice, her amazing acting, her energy - she is an inspiration. Megan Hilty (whom I saw in TheatreWork's Vanities - and didn't care much for) was a GREAT Glinda and a good partner for Eden. The production was amazing and it was great to see the show from the mezzanine since we got to see the depth of the staging. The moment those two came out to bow - the audience rose as one to clap for them - it was a highlight of this year for me.

We returned on Saturday morning and on Saturday evening my friend Tyler & I went to see Wesla Whitfield perform at the Plush Room. The Plush Rom is closing its doors soon so I could no miss seeing Wesla perform there (even though I was almost dying from exhaustion). Tyler took me to a wonderful little restaurant on Sutter St. called Cantine. It was lovely and the food divine. Wesla was amazing and her set was just delicious. She performed a number of songs from her new CD which of course I bought. I love her so much - what an inspiration she is to me.

AND as if that wasn't enough I had the best time at work yesterday when four friends from The Secret Garden came to surprise me. My friends Rebecca & Bill Newlin and Denise & Bill Delaney came to have dinner and to see me perform. It was the perfect end to the perfect mini-vacation I could ever hope for.

Okay kids I guess that pretty much wraps up this year. I am going to post a new "Year in Review" post and that will be 2007 - best wishes to all of you in this coming year. I know that 2008 will have a lot of "milestones" for me so I am hoping to get through them in one piece =+)

Cheers

Martin

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas eve!! I slaved away today making Christmas dinner - filet mignon, green bean casserole, au gratin potatoes, mushroom turnovers - all came out divine. =+) I wish everyone a wonderful day tomorrow. I am so excited to be heading to Southern California for a couple of fun-filled days. My Sis & I are doing our first brother/sister road trip and I am way excited. To finish off I will be seeing Wesla Whitfield at the Plush Room this weekend.

I will write a full report when I come back.

Cheers!!

=+)

Martin

SWEENEY TODD: THE FILM

Well, I went in there with high expectations (already a no-no) and high hopes (also a no-no) and left there saying "Nice, nice. Not thrilling....but nice." I should have read Sondheim's warning to all Sweeney aficionados before I went to see it. It is a very different animal than the stage show and a million miles away from the revival. He warns people to go in "with an open mind and not expecting to see the stage show."

As many of you know Sweeney is probably my favorite musical (tied with Cabaret) which I got to perform in and I have the revival stuck in my head (as I just saw it twice), I was at the once-in-a-lifetime concert version at Davies Symphony Hall with George Hearn, Patti LuPone, Neil Patrick Harris, Davis Gaines, Lisa Vroman & Victoria Clark (what a cast!!) and of course I have seen the Angela Lansbury taping on DVD.

For starters - kudos to Burton for picking the piece and adding elements of his "Burton" style to the picture but I felt that it was a "Vegas" chopped version of the piece - does that make any sense? You know how they are cutting down shows in Vegas to make them short & concise for the audiences there? That's what this Sweeney felt like to me. A large number of songs from Sondheim's epic score have been cut altogether and that just made me sad. By the end I was so uninterested that I was falling asleep. What kept me awake was the magnificent orchestrations by Jonathan Tunick and the huge amounts of blood on screen (so much that it made me a wee bit uncomfortable at times.)

Johnny Depp makes a wonderful Sweeney with a decent singing voice with a bit of a rough edge to it. Helena Bonham-Carter is a terrific actress but not a strong singer and her Mrs. Lovett felt flat to me. Her most poignant scene was the "Not While I'm Around" scene - broke my heart as you can tell that she is human after all. I loved the fact that Tobias was played by a younger boy (I always felt he was more of an Oliver type - and it makes for a more heartbreaking performance) and that the two lovers - Anthony and Johanna were played by teenagers. After all she is supposed to be 16 and every version I have seen has had a Johanna from their twenties on. I really liked that contrast and it made the movie that much more believable for me.

It was really hard not to compare or notice the changes and stuff so I might have to take a second look to be more objective. Alan Rickman is a sexy Judge Turpin (WHY was his song cut!!!?!?!!) and Sascha Baron Cohen is perfection as Pirelli. (Does he really hit that high note at the end of Pirelli's song?) Timothy Spall made a deliciously evil Beadle but I would have loved to have heard more of his songs.

Anyway - do check this movie out - but don't make the same mistake I did. Go and see it and pretend like you've never heard of Sweeney Todd before.

LOOKING BACK ON THE SECRET GARDEN

You know it's funny how things work out. I never thought that I would be doing this show during this time but I am sure glad I did it. Everyone was so nice and a joy to work with and I will forever remember this experience - not just because it was my first lead but for all the wonderful people that worked so hard to make this show work. Even though the show was a community theatre effort - the result was something a professional theatre could put together. I am very proud of not just my work but all those involved. I am very grateful to my director Jim Ward for casting me in this amazing role, my beloved Patti Appel whom I will work with ANYTIME and my pals Kris & Laurie for taking the journey to Half Moon Bay with me. Thank you to everyone who made the trip to Half Moon Bay to see the show. Closing weekend my friends Crystal, Maryann, Natalie & Joyce were there, my friend Kathi Duggan and her family were there, my mentor Debra Lambert & my Children of Eden director Greg Fritsch were there, and on Sunday my family was there - I was a happy guy.

Here are some backstage pics:

Archie & Lily: With my beloved Patti Appel (our third show together as a couple!)

Archie & Colin: With Connor Pope who played my son - a sweet & funny guy.

With my friends Kris & Laurie - I was so thrilled to be in a show with them OUTSIDE of school!

I love this picture!

The Men's Dressing Room (Laurie sort of took over =+)

A TEARFUL FAREWELL

It was a very emotional Sunday for me for a number of reasons. I will write more about the amazing performance and the wonderful people who made the trip to Half Moon Bay to see me perform my first lead role- it will not be soon forgotten!!!

I am going to take a couple of days to just reload and then I will write more about closing weekend and I'll probably do my usual year in review/best list.

Cheers

Martin

FINI!!!!

YES!!! I'm actually done with school for the year!!! At this time next year I will fucking done!!!! That means only two more semesters kids!! I am so excited. This last semester was HARD!! I don't know if I'll pass everything with flying colors but hope that I passed everything.

I went to see the Disney movie ENCHANTED and I loved it - it was funny, cheezy, and made me cry - that scene at the ball -- I fell for it hook, line and sinker. Amy Adams is a Goddess -she is just amazing in this role. Really played to perfection. I loved the animation & the singing in Central Park to to mention the Disney songs by Menken & Schwartz. They are classic Disney cheezballs with a modern twist. I loved them. One of the best films of the year... can't wait 'till next Friday and SWEENEY TODD!!!!!

Just three more performances of The Secret Garden left and then I am officially on vacation. Can't wait!!! This marks the end of five shows this year - I can't do these many shows in one year. My epic ass is TIRED! =+)

School is done!!!!! Me so happy!!!

M.

2 FINALS DOWN - 2 TO GO!!!

My hardest finals are OVER!!!! My sociology presentation went great - I played Rosie O'Donnell in a mock-like 20/20 or 60-Minutes type of show. It was fun. Today I rocked my juries (if I do say so myself) and I think I passed my music history final. That class wound up being the hardest this semester - shit! Tomorrow skills lab which I am a little worried about the rhythm we have to do (I suck at them) and then Thursday is 20th Century Techniques which I hope to pass as well. I don't really care about getting stellar grades - I just want my fucking diploma. =+)

Today my friends Kris & Laurie took me to a fabulous greasy BBQ place I never been to - Armadillo Willy's - great ribs. Yay!!

Tonight I'm off to see the Musical Theatre Workshop. I was in it all of last year so it will be fun to sit back and watch my fellow students perform. =+)

Cheers

Martin

4TH WEEKEND OF "THE SECRET GARDEN"

Exhausted as ever (of course!) I am glad the week is over. We had great shows this weekend. I think Saturday night was our best which ended with a rousing standing ovation. There are only 3 more performances folks - so get your tickets now! I think I actually have friends & family coming next weekend which should be fun.

We had a fabulous cast party on Saturday night - way fun. Okay that's all I have to report at this time. I have finals this week and then...VACATION!!! Can't wait.

Okay - hope to see you all at The Secret Garden.

=+)

Have a great week y'all!

Martin

LITTLE SHOP

I just heard that my pal Christiane Noll is going to be coming back to the Bay Area to play Audrey in AMTSJ's Little Shop of Horrors. I can't wait to see it! I know that she will be an AMAZING Audrey. Welcome back Christiane!! The Bay Area has missed you!

=+)

M.

KARMA

Ahh - I love it!! Sometimes I just LOVE reading reviews of shows I'm not in...

=+)

That's all

M.

THE LEGEND CONTINUES

My baby sis just got cast in her high school spring musical - Footloose. I also went to Woodside High (many years ago) and things are so much different now. When I was a student there barely anyone auditioned for the musical. Now so many people tried out that many didn't make the list. I know that Mary is just doing it for fun but it was great to be able to help her with her audition material. I drove her to the auditions and saw that everyone was just going in to sing unprepared but Mary had her sheet music to "Stranger to the Rain" from Children of Eden in her key (a third down from the original) and even had a monologue ready.

My little girl is growing up. I am so proud!

=+)

M

3RD WEEKEND OF THE SECRET GARDEN

This was a lovely weekend - busy yet wonderful. Friday night started out nicely and it was great to see some friends (finally!) Bob & Carla Webster whoa re wonderful supporters of NDNU came to see myself, Laurie & Kris perform. It was lovely to see them. with the show and a fabulous cast party at my beloved Patti's house in El Granada. On Saturday I had to visit a Jewish Synagogue for a final paper for my Religions of the World class which meant getting up early. The show on Saturday night was great and we received a very enthusiastic standing ovation.

At the matinee yesterday my superstar friend Hilary Little surprised me with a visit. I had no idea she was coming but then I received a text from her that said "sing out Louise!" and I thought that maybe she was there. Finally at intermission a cast member told me that a friend was here and that I would know -and indeed it was her and her friend Tad. I guess I can also announce that Hilary will be part of the cast of Beach Blanket Babylon. Hilary is an amazing talent and a dear friend - it was a great happy surprise to see her. Then I had to haul my butt to Palo Alto to play at Max's and even though I was beyond exhausted I love it.

I had to get up a bit earlier today to finish a sociology paper -oy! It's a countdown to the end of school kids! Only 9 more days of hell.

Have a great week y'all!

=+)

Martin