A FINE OPERA DEBUT

This past week was a challenging one - my opera debut in what I think is one of the best roles I have ever played all while having a powerful pain in my left foot thanks to the courtesy of gout. Opening night was Friday night for the NDNU cast and it was a wonderful evening. The audiences were loving the show and I received some incredible compliments after the performance. Saturday night's audience was small but warm & welcoming.

After Saturday evening's performance I hauled myself to the Paragon at Hotel Montgomery in San Jose to help celebrate the first 25 years of San Jose Stage Company. It was a lovely affair and I am so glad I made it. I got to reconnect with old friends like Rick Singleton, Jamie Mann, Mary Smith, Cathy & Randy King and fellow cast members from Urinetown like Keite Davis & Klhar Thorsen and The White House Murder Case like Gary Martinez, and Kevin Kennedy, Kevin Blackton & Diahanna Davidson (who were in both with me). I love San Jose Stage and everyone involved with it. They have given me some incredible opportunities and I hope that I have many more chances to work there. Here's to the next 25 years!

Sunday was a busy day since we had a performance of Orpheus in Napa at the historic Napa Opera House - let me tell you - the theatre is GORGEOUS and it was thrilling to be performing there. We arrived a couple of hours before the show to set spacing and then we were off. A wonderful & responsive audience that included my proud Dad. I think opera is something that I might not dismiss so quickly in the future - experiences like Orpheus are are in performing in general - a great show, with a great cast and a terrific role with an amazing director - that combo comes rare in any performing field.

This is what the view looks like from stage at the Napa Opera House - just divine:

We headed back and had dinner in San Mateo and I caught the end of the Oscars - I am so thrilled that Marion Cotillard won for La Vie en Rose - it was one of the best performances I have ever seen and if you ever need to cry just rent it.

My gout was killing me today so I stayed home from school and even though I rested most of the day it still hurts! I caught A Raisin in the Sun tonight on TV with Sean Combs, Phylicia Rashad and Audra McDonald. Even though I do think the movie would have been serviced better by having an actor play Walter Lee - what Rashad & McDonald do is enough to make the movie brilliant. Sean Combs is serviceable in the role but there are moments when it's just uncomfortable to watch him on screen. I can't imagine what Broadway audiences felt seeing him do the role on stage.

Late last night, I started to watch the PBS broadcast of the revival of Company - and I don't know what is going on with lately and Sondheim projects (aka Sweeney) but...I HATED IT!!!! I fell asleep watching it. I got tired of the actors looking out at the audience and not playing with each other. While I LOVED Doyle's Sweeney Todd staging (loved it so much I saw it twice) Company just didn't work for me and I fell asleep as I heard "Another Hundred People."

Okay I must start my philosophy paper which will take the next few hours.

That's all to report except Children of Eden rehearsals start tomorrow night - shoot me now.

=+)

Have a great week y'all.

M.