NEWSFLASH: Kiss Me Kate Tops 2011 Ovation Award Nominations - including a nomination for me in the Featured Actor in a Musical category! I'm set to take part in an Equity reading of the new musical Ever After (based on the Drew Barrymore film) with a lush score by Zina Goldrich and Marcy Heisler. Kathleen Marshall is now on board as the director/choreographer.
In June I took part in a workshop of a beautiful new musical at Lincoln Center Theater. The Dancer Project (working title) has a score by Flaherty/ Ahrens, book by Peter Parnell and is directed and choreographed by the incomparable Susan Stroman. Every day was a thrill to spend time with top notch actors like the Boyd Gaines, Karen Ziemba and NYC Ballet principal, Tiler Peck.
G'day! Earlier this month I spent a week on a reading of a new musical by Scott Frankel and Michael Korie (Grey Gardens) based on the film Finding Neverland - which is the story of J.M. Barrie finding the inspiration to write Peter Pan.
Baryshnikov shook my hand and said, "Bravo!". Gush. It was a good week: A Gala honoring Susan Stroman (More about that later) and five invited performances of a workshop of Jonathan Bernstein and Suzie Misner's, Give Me Up.
It was a crazed end to the year. The last week of Promises, Promises (the show closed a bona fide hit on January 2) was punctuated with a flight to L.A. to join Kristin for two New Years Eve concerts at Walt Disney Concert Hall (Google an image of this building - it is amazing.) and a turnaround to get back to New York for the final weekend of shows and celebration.
Susan Stroman, for whom I have spent most of my career working, brings me such joy. She is, quite simply, a great person. I have performed in two Broadway shows and two movies for her as well as last year's Kennedy Center Honors.
The last month included a performance of Where Can You Take a Girl at the Broadway on Broadway concert. It was a grey old Sunday in Times Square but the fans still turned out and it was a real rush performing the number at the “Crossroads of the Universe”. This month sees a change in our cast as Katie Finneran departs.
Tonight we celebrate our 100th show of Promises, Promises. It’s been an exciting ride since opening in late April. The box office has been booming.
I’m writing from my dressing room at the Broadway Theatre during our 18th preview. The show is going great. The audiences are reacting like they’re at a rock concert.
Rehearsals for the Broadway revival of Promises, Promises are underway. We began the week with a meet and greet. So cool to go to work and see Neil Simon, there!