I will post more about this later, but I was blindfolded and kidnapped early this afternoon and taken to a place I had no knowledge of.

I was surprised today by the best, most amazing Logan's Run birthday party I could imagine. I was shot by a Sandman, and there was no sanctuary.

Yet somehow, I feel renewed. Pics and more to come.

Leo 25s, tomorrow is Last Day. Two days to carousel.

From TOMMY last night... As Uncle Ernie a little while before "Tommy's Holiday Camp" 

From last night's TOMMY performance, as Uncle Ernie in "Fiddle About" 

Had to go on as Uncle Ernie tonight in TOMMY, with no rehearsal. Had a ball. Pics to come.

Leo 25s, two days to Last Day. Three days to Carousel.

BYE BYE BIRDIE pics here! First, Albert Peterson has some trouble with the office phone... 

"Put On A Happy Face" - with Jacklyn Arcy as "Sad Girl" 

Debi Guthery as Mae Peterson, Don Winsor as Albert Peterson, Jamie Castiglia as Rose Alvarez 

BYE BYE BIRDIE Company at the end of "Fine Upstanding American Boy" 

Oh yeah, I forgot to shamelessly shill for myself in the post below. Click here.

I haven't spoken enough, at least specifically, about the people I'm currently working with. In a career like this you get the chance to work with a lot of really talented people, and I don't talk about them nearly often enough in this blog. The people you work with can drastically affect your time at any gig - they can make a less-than-perfect situation redeemable, and vice versa. A few of the many skilled people I'm working with right now:

Stephen Agosto - he plays the titular role in TOMMY. I've always been a fan of the music but never been a fan of the show. However, Stephen's work lifts the show above what it really is. He creates, in my opinion, something out of almost nothing, bringing a ... well, I could say something here about an "Amazing Journey" but I'm better that that. He takes you on a ... neat... trip...

Jamie Castiglia, the lovely lady I have the joy of playing across from in BYE BYE BIRDIE. Audiences may vary, things may go wrong, but when I get to end the show by sharing a sweet little number like "Rosie" with Jamie it's almost always redeeming.  It's such a silly little song, but it honestly is so nice to work with Jamie that, for me, it's brought to a better, more genuine level than I thought was possible going in. Shortly before that, Jamie tears it up with a really strong "Spanish Rose" which gets better every show.

Yuri Rodriguez, they're simply lucky to have him. He's a good guy and a great performer. He's a rare find, in my opinion. He's someone who works just as well in an ensemble as he would in a principal role. He's a strong, sure presence with a determined head on his shoulders - he doesn't do enough in either show but in my opinion he's the the center of the male ensemble of both shows. He could probably handle any role in either show, but when you can build an ensemble aroudn someone like him as well.

In the past year I've had the privilege to work with dozens of amazing folks I'd love to have the chance to cross paths with again - Louis Palena and Amy Zanetto, Percy and Marguerite in SCARLET PIMPERNEL... tons of the folks from Bucks County and Poconos... Aaron Lake, Erik from PHANTOM... Too many people to name from the Dutch Apple PHANTOM and JCS... the list goes on. If I didn't mention your name, it's... c'mon, it's late.

I guess I'm feeling kind of reflective due to the time of year. I was writing something tonight that made me realize that I've worked with a lot of people in the past 10+ years, for better or worse... and that it all tends to shade toward the better the farther away you get from it.

Now, I still don't know what I want to do for my birthday. Today was a great, relaxing day spent mostly in watching movies and playing MARIO PARTY 5 with the roomies and other work folk.

One week from today, I'll turn thirty.
 
I haven't decided if I'm going to run or attempt renewal through carousel.
 
Being that the 25th falls on a Sunday, a day when we have two shows, there won't be a lot of time to mark the milestone on that day. Luckily, our "weekend" is Monday and Tuesday and there will bemuch time for festivities then. I think there's a trip to Universal Studios planned for Monday and maybe Tuesday, but I may be wrong. People keep asking me what I want to do, and I don't know. I know that I will be watching "FREE ENTERPRISE" and "LOGAN'S RUN" at some point in the next week.
 
My question is... what do I want to do for my birthday?

Ah, a day off.

The first in some time.

There are pictures from BIRDIE up now, including one spectacularly goofy one of me. I can safely say that photo will not ever replace my headshot.

Plans for the near future, post-BIRDIE/TOMMY rep, were set some time ago but now appear to be in flux. I'll have more on that probably by the next post.

Less than two weeks until the big three-oh. Click this link for big hints. :)

I grow weary of subtlety.

Thank goodness, all the shows are open.

BYE BYE BIRDIE's official opening performance was tonight, after two preview performances during which we (natch) actually encountered fewer difficulties than we did during this evening's show. Still, it went reasonably well, all things considered. Now there will be time to rest and do all the things that don't involve ridiculous amounts of rehearsal. Free time is no longer an abstract concept.

Thanks to a very talented cast, both BYE BYE BIRDIE and TOMMY are really fine productions. Being that Albert in BIRDIE is really quite different than anything I've ever done, I wasn't too sure of myself going in. Now, I'm pretty proud of the work I've put in, and I'm very happy with it. Come see!

By the way, let me know if you can recommend any Gamecube games. The newest vice my entire apartment here has become hooked on is late night Mario Party (4 & 5) - which I first played last summer with my housemates at Bucks County. We got hooked here and I decided I wanted my own Gamecube and found a great deal on one with 11 games on eBay. That's my opening night gift to myself.

16 days to carousel. Renew!

On Wednesday night, BYE BYE BIRDIE opens. Having just opened TOMMY, our rehearsals for BIRDIE have been a little more sparse than I'd like. Still, we have time for several runs of the show between now and our first audience.

After that, everything is open and there will be free time to be had. As of right now, there are 20 days until I'm 30.

Time is running out. Run, runner!

TOMMY is open... my reaction to which is primarily "yay, no more rehearsing TOMMY" as we get ready for tech week 2 in our rep. Now the crunch begins for BIRDIE. Then, eventually, light at the end of the tunnel, a day off.