Sunday, Sunday, Sunday
So after I was awakened by Kenny G and made an LJ post yesterday, I went back to bed and slept till Noon. Was still tired. Got up, ate, showered, etc... then headed out to Jersey City for the Camino Real auditions for Art House. It's SO much easier to get to Grove Street from the new place- I can just take the A to Chambers, and catch the WTC PATH, which goes directly there (annoying to get to The 'Boke from there on weekends, but I can take the A to the W4 stop and catch the PATH a few blocks away on 9th st, if I'll be 'Bokin' it. (Also, another similarity between Hoboken and Bed Stuy, they both have catchy rhyming phrases: Hoboken- No Jokin', Bed Stuy- Do or Die)).
Got to Victory Hall and, although I'd prepared a monologue*, I ended up just reading sides, since Christine and Jack know me. It was just the two of them and a cute fuzzy guy, who read with me. Pretty much nailed it, but then I could play The Baron in my sleep. They also read me for The Administrator (who dissects Kilroy's dead body), and pointed out that I play the ukulele, so possibly they were thinking of me for The Dreamer, too (basically what I did in Messiah, wander around underscoring.
Fuzzy said, after reading the scenes with me, "Gosh, Tennessee Williams is a great writer, isn't he? 3 lines in, you already know exactly who The Baron is."
Christine said, "Duncan, you've been compared to Tennessee Williams, haven't you?"
I said, "Yeah, I get Tennessee and Thornton Wilder a lot".
Fuzzy said, "Well, maybe when you shave..."
Christine interrupted, "...No, as a playwright, as a playwright".
"...your beard... Oh. Well that's good," said Fuzzy.
From there, headed out to Sami and Silas' baby shower. A nice time. Ate lots of potato chips and cookies. Lauren (who'd organized the shower) had re-wrapped chocolate bars with cutesy motherhood things. There were games. alexlady won a free drink for catching the most people saying the dreaded B-word (Baby) during the party.
ceebeegee told us about seeing the DeBaun "Christmas Carol".
There was a very hot redheaded guy there- I kept seeing him from across the room and drooling. Then I overheard him say something and realized he was actually Irish and had a brogue. Hamana hamana hamana. His name was Steve. Met his lovely wife, as well. Talked to him for a little bit. He shook my hand when I was leaving, and held it for a little too long. Don't know what that was about. Still: Hamana.
Renée was there (who I ran into on the subway recently). neoscribe told her that he'd read that entry in my LJ, and she was excited because she has an LJ, too- crazgirl. She says she doesn't post often, but loves to read.
Apparently she and Jonathan have broken up, alas, and she's moving out. For the nonce, she's still in Bed-Stuy (we live pretty close), so we exchanged phone numbers.
Carrie was there, and said that if we do end up doing Thyme of the Season in March, she won't be able to be in it- it's the busy month for her job, and she just wanted to let me know. I said March was still tentative, and we'd be in touch.
I was debating whether or not to go home before George's musical theatre thing. I had a couple of hours to kill, so I decided to head home. But when I got to W4, I realized that I was right near Marie's Crisis, which would most surely be open. So I went there and killed some time.
Darren was on piano, and John and Martha were there, so it was fun. I sang a lot, including a solo on "I Dreamed a Dream", since both Martha and another guy there knew the backup vocals from their high school production. That was pretty neat. Other guy tried to sing "Do You Hear the People Sing?" in French, which was impressive for the first few lines, till he forgot the rest of the words.
Did the encore of "I Cain't Say No", did lots of Little Shop. A lot of times, the other folks at the bar were content to just let me belt shit out.
Martha and I were doing improvised sign language for a lot of the songs, especially when a guy brought in his friend "A singer!" to the bar, and insisted he sing. Then there was a squeaky-voiced Asian girl who did "Get There", and forgot the words. Oy.
Big Bear Bartender was surprised to see me on a Sunday. It's scary when the bartenders know you- it's even scarier when they have your drink ready by the time you get to the bar.
Still, had a very nice time.
Left there and got to George's wing-ding (after getting lost, then realizing that, for some reason, the 10th Ave bar is NOT on 9th Avenue- silly) right on time. George was excited to see me. I met The Baker from DeBaun's upcoming Into the Woods, as well as the musical director (who plays piano for George). Also saw Darren (the lead in Journey, and who I also saw in The Wild Party), and Roxy (who went to college with mollyx and defygravity_99). Glad Roxy came up to see me, because I wouldn't have recognized her.
The place is kind of a weird atmosphere- it's more of a bar than a cabaret thing. George sang a bunch of songs, then there was a break (?), then other people got up to sing. I asked if it would be too cheesy if I did "Lost in the Wilderness", and George said, "No, I'd love that".
So I got up there after George and some Chick did "I'd Give it All for You" and she did "Stranger to the Rain". (a nice little Children of Eden tie-in there).
I knew I was in trouble when the piano player said he'd never heard the song before and didn't know anything from the show. Apparently it was too difficult for him to sight-read, since he said, "Let's just start from the riff here", so I didn't get any of that cool distinctive out-of-key riff that makes the song. It was weird, and I wasn't used to singing with a mike, and no one was listening anyway, so it was strange. It was 11 by that time, and so I made my adieux and left. Got home around Midnight and went right to bed.
* When I'm 65, I won't be falling down dead drunk in the street, dying of a heart attack: I'm going to have a party. And just to show I can still do it, I'm going to be dressed to kill, flirting with all the boys in my white balanciaga ballgown. I shall arrive late, and leave early, but unlike Cinderella, I won't be leaving anything behind.
I shall be walking down the street, with my arms full of flowers- so full of flowers that I shall hardly be able to carry them all. ...but I will.
Getting my taxi- because you can travel on the tube looking like this, believe you me I've done it, but it's not a sight for the faint-hearted, let me tell you.
And the cabdriver will be astonished, stunned. He'll say to me, "Where on earth did you get all those flowers?"
and I'll say to him, "It's funny you should ask me that, for I was just about to ask you to drive me all the way to Willsden Jewish Cemetary at 4 in the morning so I can lay them on the grave of a man I never met but whom I respect". ...but then he'd think I was totally insane.
So I could say to him, "Darlin', they're for you", but I do think it's a little tacky to try to pick up the cabdriver at 4 in the morning.
So I could say, "These are my flowers. It's my birthday. I'm 65. These are my flowers, my shoes, my hair, my face, my makeup. Now why don't you stop the cab, get in beside me, and..."
- From a Vision of Love Revealed in Sleep, by Neil Bartlett
Got to Victory Hall and, although I'd prepared a monologue*, I ended up just reading sides, since Christine and Jack know me. It was just the two of them and a cute fuzzy guy, who read with me. Pretty much nailed it, but then I could play The Baron in my sleep. They also read me for The Administrator (who dissects Kilroy's dead body), and pointed out that I play the ukulele, so possibly they were thinking of me for The Dreamer, too (basically what I did in Messiah, wander around underscoring.
Fuzzy said, after reading the scenes with me, "Gosh, Tennessee Williams is a great writer, isn't he? 3 lines in, you already know exactly who The Baron is."
Christine said, "Duncan, you've been compared to Tennessee Williams, haven't you?"
I said, "Yeah, I get Tennessee and Thornton Wilder a lot".
Fuzzy said, "Well, maybe when you shave..."
Christine interrupted, "...No, as a playwright, as a playwright".
"...your beard... Oh. Well that's good," said Fuzzy.
From there, headed out to Sami and Silas' baby shower. A nice time. Ate lots of potato chips and cookies. Lauren (who'd organized the shower) had re-wrapped chocolate bars with cutesy motherhood things. There were games. alexlady won a free drink for catching the most people saying the dreaded B-word (Baby) during the party.
ceebeegee told us about seeing the DeBaun "Christmas Carol".
There was a very hot redheaded guy there- I kept seeing him from across the room and drooling. Then I overheard him say something and realized he was actually Irish and had a brogue. Hamana hamana hamana. His name was Steve. Met his lovely wife, as well. Talked to him for a little bit. He shook my hand when I was leaving, and held it for a little too long. Don't know what that was about. Still: Hamana.
Renée was there (who I ran into on the subway recently). neoscribe told her that he'd read that entry in my LJ, and she was excited because she has an LJ, too- crazgirl. She says she doesn't post often, but loves to read.
Apparently she and Jonathan have broken up, alas, and she's moving out. For the nonce, she's still in Bed-Stuy (we live pretty close), so we exchanged phone numbers.
Carrie was there, and said that if we do end up doing Thyme of the Season in March, she won't be able to be in it- it's the busy month for her job, and she just wanted to let me know. I said March was still tentative, and we'd be in touch.
I was debating whether or not to go home before George's musical theatre thing. I had a couple of hours to kill, so I decided to head home. But when I got to W4, I realized that I was right near Marie's Crisis, which would most surely be open. So I went there and killed some time.
Darren was on piano, and John and Martha were there, so it was fun. I sang a lot, including a solo on "I Dreamed a Dream", since both Martha and another guy there knew the backup vocals from their high school production. That was pretty neat. Other guy tried to sing "Do You Hear the People Sing?" in French, which was impressive for the first few lines, till he forgot the rest of the words.
Did the encore of "I Cain't Say No", did lots of Little Shop. A lot of times, the other folks at the bar were content to just let me belt shit out.
Martha and I were doing improvised sign language for a lot of the songs, especially when a guy brought in his friend "A singer!" to the bar, and insisted he sing. Then there was a squeaky-voiced Asian girl who did "Get There", and forgot the words. Oy.
Big Bear Bartender was surprised to see me on a Sunday. It's scary when the bartenders know you- it's even scarier when they have your drink ready by the time you get to the bar.
Still, had a very nice time.
Left there and got to George's wing-ding (after getting lost, then realizing that, for some reason, the 10th Ave bar is NOT on 9th Avenue- silly) right on time. George was excited to see me. I met The Baker from DeBaun's upcoming Into the Woods, as well as the musical director (who plays piano for George). Also saw Darren (the lead in Journey, and who I also saw in The Wild Party), and Roxy (who went to college with mollyx and defygravity_99). Glad Roxy came up to see me, because I wouldn't have recognized her.
The place is kind of a weird atmosphere- it's more of a bar than a cabaret thing. George sang a bunch of songs, then there was a break (?), then other people got up to sing. I asked if it would be too cheesy if I did "Lost in the Wilderness", and George said, "No, I'd love that".
So I got up there after George and some Chick did "I'd Give it All for You" and she did "Stranger to the Rain". (a nice little Children of Eden tie-in there).
I knew I was in trouble when the piano player said he'd never heard the song before and didn't know anything from the show. Apparently it was too difficult for him to sight-read, since he said, "Let's just start from the riff here", so I didn't get any of that cool distinctive out-of-key riff that makes the song. It was weird, and I wasn't used to singing with a mike, and no one was listening anyway, so it was strange. It was 11 by that time, and so I made my adieux and left. Got home around Midnight and went right to bed.
* When I'm 65, I won't be falling down dead drunk in the street, dying of a heart attack: I'm going to have a party. And just to show I can still do it, I'm going to be dressed to kill, flirting with all the boys in my white balanciaga ballgown. I shall arrive late, and leave early, but unlike Cinderella, I won't be leaving anything behind.
I shall be walking down the street, with my arms full of flowers- so full of flowers that I shall hardly be able to carry them all. ...but I will.
Getting my taxi- because you can travel on the tube looking like this, believe you me I've done it, but it's not a sight for the faint-hearted, let me tell you.
And the cabdriver will be astonished, stunned. He'll say to me, "Where on earth did you get all those flowers?"
and I'll say to him, "It's funny you should ask me that, for I was just about to ask you to drive me all the way to Willsden Jewish Cemetary at 4 in the morning so I can lay them on the grave of a man I never met but whom I respect". ...but then he'd think I was totally insane.
So I could say to him, "Darlin', they're for you", but I do think it's a little tacky to try to pick up the cabdriver at 4 in the morning.
So I could say, "These are my flowers. It's my birthday. I'm 65. These are my flowers, my shoes, my hair, my face, my makeup. Now why don't you stop the cab, get in beside me, and..."
- From a Vision of Love Revealed in Sleep, by Neil Bartlett