April 28, 2008

We've completed our first week of rehearsals! I'm having a great time, and I've already learned so much from being the dance captain for John. It's been a really productive week too. We've learned all of "Belle," "Be Our Guest," both Wolf numbers, and most of "Gaston." We'll have all of our leads here tomorrow, so it will be excited to see all of them again! I'm having a great time! And I just found out that I'm the understudy for LeFou. I've always wanted to understudy that role, so I'm super excited about that! I'm having a great time!

I want to thank Chrispy and Lynn for their donations to my AIDS Walk page. My total has now reached $700. I still need to get $300 to reach my goal! If you're able, please click here to donate to a good cause!

April 23, 2008

I'm here in San Jose now. We've had 2 days of rehearsals so far. There's so much music in the show that we've spend both rehearsal days working on music and learning harmonies. The other 3 times that I've done this show, I've been on the bottom line singing bass/baritone. But this time around, he has me singing the Tenor I part, so I have to learn all new harmonies! It's hard to override that muscle memory. But it's a good challenge... especially since I've never sung the Tenor part in any show. But besides that, I'm having a lot of fun. And everyone seems really nice! We have a really great cast! I think we're going to have a lot of fun!!! Tomorrow we start learning choreography, which I'm excited about... especially since I'm the dance captain. I've never really been dance captain before, but I'm glad my first time is with a show that I kinda know inside and out. I'm so happy to be doing this show again, and working with these people again. I'm having a great time!

I just finished watching American Idol results show. AMERICA! What the heck is going on? I wish you'd start treating this show like a talent competition instead of a popularity contest. I was just saying today that I thought the final 2 would be David Cook and Carley. And now she's going home! So sad! :o(

There are so many people that I need to thank for making donations to my AIDS Walk page... A HUGE thank you to Justin, Aunt Marcy, Chippers, Jeanne, Jen, Karilyn, Phil, and Melanie. I'm over halfway to reaching my goal, but still have quite a ways to go. If you can give anything, please click here and help out in anyway you can!

April 19, 2008

It's hard to believe that it's been one year since I lost my mom. Today has definitely been an emotional day, but has also been a opportunity to honor my mom's memory and remember all the good times.

This morning, I took the opportunity to listen to the CD of my mom's memorial. I've had it for a year now, but this is the first time that I listened to the whole thing. It, of course, made me cry but also provided a lot of comfort, hearing all the kind words from Mom's many friends and family. Everything made me feel so close to Mom... the eulogy, the hymns, the scriptures, the prayers. All of it caught on tape, a blessing that provided a lot of comfort today.

After that, I showed Roy a video of my parents dancing in my dance concert in 1993. They did a parents number as a surprise for the company dancers. I'm so happy I have that video! It was so much fun, and my mom of course was the best dancer...if I do say so myself! :o)

Then we went to Vynl for brunch, walked along the Hudson River, saw the movie "Young at Heart" (my new favorite movie... go see it!), and came home to make some greenbean casserole. I got through today because of my great friends and family. My roommates were so great to me... spending time with me, giving me cards and flowers. I e-mailed with so many of my family friends who were such a huge part of mom's life. And I talked with Dad, Shannon, and Cameron to make sure that they were all doing okay today. I feel so blessed to have such a strong support system!!!

Today, I shed a lot of tears and reminisced about a lot of great times. One of the many things that came to mind was something that Dad mentioned while we were in the ICU room. He said that Mom did not wish to be kept alive by a machine because doing so would be like keeping an angel from being born in heaven. And today I realized that this day is not merely the anniversary of when she left this earth, but April 19 also marks the birthday of Mom's angel. I take comfort in that way of thinking. I know that Mom is up there looking over us! I love you Mom!

April 13, 2008

It has been absolutely beautiful in New York City over the past few days! And I've been out enjoying the Spring temps... On Thursday, I met up with some friends who were visiting from Georgia. We walked through Central Park and I helped them find the "Imagine" mosaic (eventually). Then my roomies and I went to an amazing program hosted by the Lincoln Center Library. It was "An Evening with Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty." The spoke for about 90 minutes about the process of writting some of their amazing shows. RAGTIME is one of my favorite shows, and they spent a lot of time talking about those songs and the writing process. Marin Mazzie and Brian Stokes Mitchell were even there to sing a couple songs!!!! Marin Mazzie sang "Journey On / Back to Before" and Brian Stokes Mitchell sang "Wheels of Dream." It was so cool! And after that, we also got a taste of a new show that their writing. Marin Mazzie sang a song about a willow tree. I can't wait to hear their upcoming works. It was such a great evening!

On Friday, I went down to Philadelphia for an audition for STATE FAIR at Walnut Street Theatre. We did a couple combinations and then sang. And then they asked me to come back later to tap. It was fun to tap again... it feels like so long since I've done a show with tapping in it, so it'd be great to get this show! After the audition, I met up with Shannon and Nicole for lunch. It was wonderful to see her, if only for an hour or so (and the crab cake wasn't too shabby either!) When I got back to NYC, I went out to celebrate Colby's birthday. We went to dinner and then met up with a lot of his friends at a bar. Happy Birthday Colby Q!

My AIDS Walk fundraising is off to a slow start, but I'm optimistic that we can make it to the $1000 goal! So if you'd like to give, please visit my page.

April 9, 2008

I just saw an article on the Playbill website about my upcoming BEAUTY AND THE BEAST! I was excited to see a couple familiar names from past productions that I've done. Read the entire Playbill article.

I took a great dance class yesterday! Andy Blankenbuehler is teaching a few classes at Broadway Dance Center over the next couple weeks. There were a million people there (60 to be exact) but it was worth it. He taught a great theatre combination... so much fun! I had never taken his class before, but I always love his combos in auditions. I'm hoping to go again before I head out to California!

I want to say a huge thank you to Doug, who gave me my first donation on my AIDS Walk page. Thank you so much for yourgenerosity! :o)

April 2, 2008

I just signed up for AIDS Walk NYC! This is my 3rd year, and I'm trying to raise more money than ever before! For each of the first 2 years, I've raised over $1000, and I'm trying to do even more this year! I'm planning to donate as soon as I get a little money in the ole bank account, but until then, will you please visit my page and donate to a great cause!

Last night I got to see I LOVE YOU, YOU'RE PERFECT, NOW CHANGE Off-Broadway. I had heard the CD years ago but have never seen the stage production in person. Thanks for the free tickets, Equity!

This afternoon, Roy, Billy, and I went to my favorite mac n cheese restaurant. I had the 4-cheese which is sooooo good! If you haven't tried it, GO NOW! Visit their website to find out more info...

And finally, I would like to ask America one question... Why the heck is Kristy Lee Cook still on American Idol? C'mon America, c'mon