Constantine Maroulis

Today, I watched sections of the Wedding Singer. Those sections included the scenes with Constantine Maroulis who is making his Broadway debut as Sammy, the best man.

He's doing a great job in the part - not to say it's a great part but he's doing a great job.

He's unbelievable good looking in person.

Celebrity (?) Spottings

Saturday night, there were two lower level celebrities at the Jersey Boys.

1. Gary Dell 'Abatte from the Howard Stern show. I saw him milling around the lobby talking to some guy. I always liked him. Before Howard Stern sold the remainder of his soul to the devil by moving his show to satellite, I used to listen to the Howard Stern show every morning. I'd listened to it from my first semester of college in 1985 up until about 2004 or so. And the one person I liked consistently was Gary, Howard's put upon, overworked producer. Every skit, sketch or routine where Howard and the other members of the show picked on Gary used to upset me. I especially disliked when Howard would chew Gary out for the stupidest things. I guess that's what his appeal was to me. I've had so many bosses with unbalanced temperments, and they always made me feel bad. But Gary seemed to handle it pretty well. It's like he understood that Howard was a big blowhard with a complicated personality and took Howard's berates with a grain of salt. He is very handsome in person.

2. Carolyn Kepsher from the Apprentice. I didn't actually see her. And I don't really have anything to say about her. While I am interested in the show The Apprentice, except for intense hatred for Donald Trump, I haven't developed any strong feelings for the people on the show.

Tonight at Martin Short: Fame Becomes Me, I saw Clinton Kelly from What Not To Wear. The cool thing about this show, one of the many cool things anyway, is when Martin Short pulls someone from the audience for one of the bits. When someone famous is in the audience, then someone famous goes up. This is what happened tonight. Clinton was pulled out of the audience. He's so handsome in person. I looooovvvvveeeeee him and I love that show. And he did a good job on stage, although you could see he was kind of embarrassed.

Flavor of Love 2 - Season Finale

In the end Flavor chose Deelishus. New York threw a fit because he slept with her the night before the award ceremony and didn't pick her a second time.

I'm so pissed that we didn't get to see any of Belize. All we saw of Placencia was the hotel and the small piece of ocean occupied by Flav's catamaran (which he described as a boat with a trampoline.) I'm so sick of Tiffany Patterson and still pissed at the producers for bringing her back. I'm also sick to death of Flava Flav and his constant need to scream his name 50 times an episode. I hate this notion that any of the contestants may or may not be "keeping it real". I hate the contrived situations and the staged dramas. I hate be reminded of the competition between women and I am tired of watching women behave so badly toward each other, especially over this man. It's not that he's a bad guy, it's just that he's not a great guy.

You can read a full account of the finale at any of the following.

Reality News Online
Washington Post
Fans of Reality TV
The Trades

Sad Max

Mel Gibson said sorry for making angry anti-semitic remarks while under the influence of alcohol. Never mind that alcohol brings down your inhibitions or that it punches holes in our sensibility filters. Never mind that the alcohol didn't MAKE HIM say anything that wasn't on his mind already. He may have apologized for saying the remarks but he didn't apologize for being an anti-semite. He also says that his anger for the Jews was brought on by criticism of his bloodfed fantasy about the final days of Jesus Christ - The Passion of the Christ- which clearly puts the resposibility of Jesus's crucifixion in the hands of Jewish leaders instead of blaming the Romans, their culture of bloodlust and their hatred of all things not Roman.

That is quite the potent brew he's been suckling. The moral of this story is not to be a public drunken anti-semitic film producing mess.

It's interesting how his apology coincides with the soon to be released Apolyptica. What's also interesting is that his most public apology was given during an interview with Diane Sawyer on Good Morning America. In a cynical article for the LA TIMES, Tim Rutten wrote that because Good Morning America is run on ABC, a DISNEY affiliate, it was only logical that their show be one of firsts to run of one of many apologies to come. He suggests that because DISNEY is responsible for Apocalypto, a film by Mel Gibson, it is also responsible for helping to cleanse and sanctify Mel Gibson's image in order to insure that the backlash of his blatantly anti-semitic remarks don't effect movie returns.

CyberCafe

I'm sitting again in the CyberCafe. It's Saturday afternoon. I'm in between showings of Jersey Boys. I thought I might watch the matinee but I was distracted by other things. I'm reading a graphic novel (?) called Hey Buddy by Peter Bagge and that's what I did for most of ACT I. Then after intermission, a conversation held my attention for the entirity of ACT II.

For those of you who are envious that I get to work this show and see it as many times as I want to, I'm sorry that I can't give you a vicarious thrill. I'm simply not that interested in this show. It happens from time to time. For most of next week, I'm back at Fame Becomes Me starring Martin Short, which I still highly recommend. Wednesday, I'm going to two different shows.

First, I'm working the matinee of Tarzan: The Muscial. I'll probably need a book for that one. Then later in the day, I'll be at The Wedding Singer - now featuring Constantine Maroulis, most famous for losing American Idol. Publicly, I still recommend that you don't see The Wedding Singer. Secretly, I have found myself enjoying certain scenes and only recommend seeing it if you don't have to pay full price. Also, I can't wait to see Constantine. He's really cute.

August Wilson Theater

I'm working at the August Wilson (formerly the Virginia) theater this week. Jersey Boys is playing here. You may have heard of it. It's the show based on the lives of Frankie Valli and the (yawn) Four Seasons.

I couldn't tell you how it is because I haven't watched it yet. I probably won't.

Hell Is Other People. . .

. . .on the subway.

This crowd shot looks like it could have been taken during rush hour. But no. It was taken on Tuesday night around 10:45. When a train is crowded like this you are always anticipating the moment when you arrive at the next station so the crowd can thin out. It never happens, especially when you live in Astoria.

This is what the N train was like from 49th Street all the way into Queens.

I LOVE SIGNS!

Flavor of Love 2 - Episodes 9 and 10

I'm a little disappointed with both of these episodes.

Episode 9 - Family Flavors
Just like the first season of Flavor of Love (lord help us of there's a third), Flava Flav met the parents of the final contestants. This was interesting and not interesting at the same time. It's always cool to see the parents of people you've known for a while - to look for resemblances or explanations. And in the cases of the women who remain vying for Flav's affection, I was amply rewarded.

Deelishus looks just like her mother. Her parents were the first to arrive and they were nice enough. Plainly speaking, I think Deelishus is a nice person raised by nice people and my expectations were met. Flav took the group to some kind of dinner theater that offers magic shows. All I have to say about this date is they were all overdressed.

Krazy looks just like her mother. Her mother and grandmother were the second to arrive. And already you can see why the woman is complicated. Both of these women seemed a little off and they seemed to drink a lot while Flav was on his date with Deelishus and her family. They were also oddly proud of Krazy's mediocre voice and crowed a little too much about her "talent".

New York resembles her father and behaves like her mother. New York's parents were the last to arrive. Last season, when we her parents joined the show, I was convinced that New York had hired actors to play her parents in an attempt to get even more attention than she was getting. I just couldn't believe that the woman that claimed to be her mother could really be behaving so outrageously. But after taking a closer look at her parents, I'm convinced no two other people could have sired such a phenomena from their loins.

It's pretty obvious that New York's family was left alone with Krazy's family in order to create drama. The arguments that were shown seemed forced and contrived. Krazy's family was making too much noise. New York and her mother were trying to sleep (in their street clothes no less). New York's father was hanging out Krazy's family and having fun. These three elements added up to fireworks. In the end, Flav chose Deelishus and New York. The next stop for the three of them on the 15-minutes-of-fame train is Belize. He sent Krazy packing because he didn't believe that she was there for the right reasons. And his children thought she was a big fat phony. They thought New York was a phony too but I guess Krazy was phonier.

Oh yeah. I almost forgot. Flav's children made an appearance on the show. A couple of his children are adults with children of their own. They also looked to be about the same age as Krazy and Deelishus. (New York is at least 10 years older.) Before everyone's parents came to check out the man that would soon be defiling their precious daughters, Flav invited his children to come to his house and check out the women who they may one day call STEP-MOM.

--------------------------------------

Episode 10 - Oh No She Didn't
A clip show. What can I say?

All I wanted was to see what happened after the CLOCK ceremony. At the end of episode 9, we saw Deelishus and New York doing a happy dance because they were happy about being the final two. We also saw New York's mother going back into the house yelling for her daughter to go home wth her. But no. What we get instead, is VHI's attempt to milk the cow that is Flavor of Love, no matter how sour the milk.

The hour was chock full of footage we'd never seen. I guess some of it was entertaining. I don't know. I was pretty disappointed. I really wanted to see the confrontation between New York and her alleged mother. And all the shaninagans that the final show has to offer.

Small Plane Crashes into Upper East Side Highrise - Not Terrorism

I've been following a sad news story today.

Jon called me around 3 p.m. to inform me that a small plane crashed into the 20th story of an apartment building on 72nd Street in New York City.

Exactly, one month after the anniversary of 9/11, my thought was that this was a terrorist attack. But in the follow-up phone call Jon told me that the FBI did not think it was terrorism. I still wasn't completely convinced until I got to where I am now.

CNN is on the large screen television in the internet cafe I frequent between shows.

The plane was piloted by NY Yankee pitcher Cory Lidle. His passport was found on the ground below the crash site.

There is no official word yet on how this happened although CNN reported Cory Lidle put out a distress call. Two people died.

It's a tragedy.

Much To Do About Nothing

I didn't have a heavy work schedule this week so I spent some time doing nothing. Things have picked up this weekend. I'm working on the new Nathan Lane show, Butley. It's a comedy but not the usual kind Nathan Lane fans have grown accustomed to. I don't understand why people were walking out. I think it's funny but it's not The Producers and it's not The Odd Couple. There certainly were plenty of applause at last night's sold out preview. I would advise though, that you do some research if you are planning on seeing this show. Not every show is a good match with everyone watching.

I spent some time riding bikes with Jon. Earlier in the week we did a shorter ride because I have this Achilles Tendonitis nonsense going on. No doubt the condition is a result of my perpetually tight calves and hamstrings. One of the reasons I started riding a bike was so I wouldn't aggravate my shin splints, which ache when speed walking. So, imagine my surprise when I found out that tight calves not only cause shin splints, but they also mess up your ankles and heels. The key to managing the condition, so you don't blow out your tendons, is to change up your workout, rest and to make sure the muscles are properly stretched.

Yesterday, after a couple days of rest, we attempted a longer ride. Although the ride was flat for the most part, there was an incredible wind blowing off the east river. Riding against strong winds is a good challenge but a challenge none the less. We rode down Vernon Blvd because Jon wanted to show me the area by the enormous Pepsi Cola Sign in Long Island City. Jon took this dramatic photo of the large sign which can be seen from the FDR Drive across the river.

There's a huge apartment complex being developed where the Pepsi Cola bottling plant used to stand. The sign is being preserved and has been moved to this spot so it can still be seen. Thank goodness it's been rescued from obscurity. The sign is 70 years old and a part of New York history.

And here are the Long Island signs which can be seen next to it from the distance. Behind the signs you can see the construction of the buildings which are part of the new complex.


From the four piers that jut out from this developing area we were afforded us some great views of the Manhattan skyline.

Here's a picture of Jon on Pier 1 with both the UN and Empire State Buliding in the background.


And here is a feeble attempt at a panorama of the East Side of NYC.

A Chorus Line - (spoilers)

I was waiting until the play officially opened before writing a review. The revival of A Chorus Line opens tomorrow night, October 5, 2006, at the Schoenfeld (formerly the Plymouth) Theater on 45th Street in New York City. During the one week of previews I worked, the show was sold out, standing room only, every night.

I'll describe the experience of seeing the show.

When the audience walks into the theater, instead of seeing a big velvet curtain, all they see is a black empty stage with a white piece of tape forming line down front. That line plays an important part throughout the show, right up to the blackout at the end. Once everybody is settled, the lights dim a little, an announcement welcomes people to the show and reminds everyone in the audience to turn off their cell phones. Then the lights go completely dark and the audience falls completely silent.

After three seconds of silence, you hear a piano play a bouncy introduction - bah bump bah bump bah bump bah.

The orchestra follows with a hint of what's to come musically and the lights come up to reveal about 30 dancers practicing a routine in the huge mirror upstage - backs to the audience. They are following steps being taught by ZACH - the choreographer responsible for finding 8 people for his show. After a few minutes , ZACH wants to see them dance so everyone turns around, ZACH counts out 5, 6, 7, 8 and the orchestra explodes when everyone simlutaneously bursts out into their routine.

The audience roared with applause at this point of every performance I saw.

If you don't know the show, A Chorus Line is based on what happens at a dance audition. And by the time Zach makes his first cut, you've already learned enough about the process to understand how painful it is to be selected to leave so early in the audition process.

Zach chooses 9 women and 8 men. They line up on the white tape and bring their 8 x 10's up in front of their faces. By this time Zach has moved to the back of the theater and is speaking to them over a microphone. He tells them that this audition process is going to be a little different. He expects them to talk about themselves. Those stories are the heart of the show. Each of the people in the line tell their stories through song and dance and by the end of the show, you end up emotionally invested in each one of them.

I don't want to completely spoil the show for those who haven't seen it. I will say that the ending is really exciting and chokes me up each time I watch it. I'm getting teary eyed thinking about how to describe how I felt watching it. I'm guessing most people know what happens at the end but like I said, I don't want to ruin what could be a spectacular payoff to a show well watched.

But I did want to share the experience of seeing the opening of this show because it is so well done - like the good opening to that classic novel. Act I of any show is always my favorite part with the first 10 minutes being the most exciting. If its' a good show, you should understand the set up in the first 15 minutes.

This revival of A Chorus Line is wonderful. Of course I have no point of comparison. I heard some people say that ZACH wasn't seen until much later in the original production - that he was a disembodied voice giving instructions to nervous dancers hungry for work like the VOICE OF GOD. From what I hear, that's the greatest difference between this and the original production.

All the performers are great. And it's really nice to see good performers doing good material for a change. This show and the people in it make me want to be a part of Broadway. A Chorus Line makes me want to be a little girl seeing her first Broadway show and being inspired to study dance. It makes me want to do something spectacular that moves people to tears.

Spend the money. See the show. Don't delay.

Tuesday Night Trivia

Last night, my friend took me to dinner for a belated birthday celebration. We went to Funayama, a restaurant that has some meaning for us because it was one of our hangouts when our friendship was taking root.

Funayama is a fairly decent Japanese restaurant. For those of you who have been frequenting the restaurant, the waitress that wears braces doesn't wear braces anymore and her teeth look great.

After dinner, we traipsed on down to Tuesday Night Trivia at The Baggot Inn. I hadn't been in quite some time. My new schedule prevents me from participating as often as I used to. It was nice walking into that familiar setting and seeing my old friends.

(Think opening theme from Cheers.)

We joined the team Saved By The Balls (seen above). The team name picked fun of Dustin Diamond's recent sex tape troubles. As you may recall, Dustin Diamond played Screech in the 90's teen dramedy Saved by The Bell.

Anyway, my friend and I joined the party pretty late so we couldn't offer too much help for the first three rounds. But as a group we nailed the final rounds with a score of 20.5 out of a possible 21. We won by a margin of 9 points.

Hell Gate Bridge

I love this bridge. Every time we ride under it, I'm inspired to take its picture.

It's the most beautiful bridge in the city.

Big Foot Loves You

Flavor of Love 2 - Episode 8

With Bootz remaining adamant regarding her stance on remaining celibate with Flava Flav until their marriage night, she signed her own walking papers. She was not given a clock at the end of the day. In her exit interview she was a very good sport. She knew that she was eliminated because she didn't want to participate in a one night stand. Nor did she want to give the impression that she is easy or that work wasn't required to get into her pants. With that said, let's start the recap.
***********************
Dinosaur Tongue Has Cooties
Big Rick opened this episode. Our first glimpse at the day was a shot of Big Rick polishing Flav's T-Rex lawn ornament with special emphasis on the dinosaur's tongue. Perhaps this was foreshadowing of the day's events and indeed it seemed that the day involved a lot of tongue polishing but not before the contestant's received the day's Flavagram. In true Big Rick fashion, he dropped the message on the table and got the blank out of dodge.

Throughout the show, the women have been taking turns reading the Flavagrams aloud. Today was New York's turn. She read that Flav thought the remaining women were "prime cut" and that he was going to be "slicking things up". Flav would spend that day and evening on private dates with Krazy and Deelishus and then New York and Bootz the day after. New York was so distraught over the news that she wasn't in the first group, that she stormed out of the room in tears leaving the other women behind to laugh at and make fun of her. This involved Bootz giggling while Deelishus dramatically recreated New York's dramatic reading of the gram. Upon reading the message aloud, Deelishus discovered that New York read "slicking" instead of "slicing" and laughed at her illiteracy. She attributed her degree in English for her superior ability to differentiate between the two words. It was a colorful moment.

By The Sea, By The Sea
So, we skip ahead to Krazy and Deelishus as they are walking onto a pier. They were ready for their date which was to be on a small yacht. Flav greeted them and then introduced them to the captain of the boat who would be taking them out that day. (I was very thankful to see that there was a grown up supervising if not the sexual activities, the sailing activities at least . That meant that the producers had seen VH1's Driven and were familiar with Flav's history of breaking and crashing expensive things.) The date involved almost everything but sailing. It involved Flav watching the women's rumps while they were hoisting sails. It involved Deelishus making out with Flav after finding the expensive diamond earring that fell out of his ear from the exertion of sitting around and watching the jiggle show. It involved Krazy muscling in on Deelishus's tongue swabbing session by sucking Flav's tongue out of Deelishus's mouth and inserting it into her own Krazy mouth. It involved Deelishus downstairs getting sea sick.

After Krazy chased Deelishus away, Deelishus was shown lying on a bed next to Flav's clock, complaining that she was sick to her stomach - from both the impropriety of Krazy's actions and the motion of the ocean. Up on the boat, Krazy had Flav all to herself. Viewers were treated to a seemingly endless shot of her cleansing Flav's tongue with the rough circular motions of her own muscular, mouth organ. If you just shuddered with revulsion, that was the appropriate response.

Later that day Flav took the girls to where they would be staying that evening. Flav had made reservations for him and the girls on the Queen Mary for dinner and nookie. When the girls got to their rooms they found cute little matching dresses with long elegant gloves. Interviews with each of the women while they were getting ready, readied the viewer for the battle to come. Deelishus surmised that Flav was going to spend the night with one of them and she hoped it was her and not Krazy because she just wouldn't be able to go with Flav after he'd been with Krazy. (Flav kept referring to the ship as the QUEEEEEEEEEN Mary as if he'd never heard of it before. I suppose if he'd had, he might lose some "cred" with his "peeps" or something like that. He described the ship as being haunted. That's first time I'd ever heard that. Maybe it was the brochure.)

Once at dinner, it was on. Flav told the women he wanted to find out how they felt about and asked Krazy straight out what she thought they had in common. She said something incomprehensable but seemingly heartfelt. All the while Deelishus rolled her eyes. She summed up Krazy's love confession by saying "blah blah blah blah" to the camera. Deelishus does not think that Krazy is REAL or that anything she tells Flav is TRUE. When Flav asked Krazy if she wanted to be singer, Deelishus felt so justified that Krazy was finally going to be revealed as a phony. But he doesn't really care, does he? She's pretty. What does it matter to him if she wants a singing career? If anything, it bodes well for him that this pretty girl would be willing to sleep with him just to advance her career. I still don't understand why the other women thinks this puts Krazy at a disadvantage. But as Krazy told him about her hopes and dreams of becoming a singer and how expensive it was to cut a demo, Deelishus was smiling like the cat that at the canary because she thought that Krazy was finally showing her true colors.

When Flav asked Deelishus how she felt about him, she tearfully replied that she cared for him more than she expected to and guess what. He chose her for the one night stand instead of Krazy. But in the end it didn't matter. Because in spite Deelishus's best effort, the day had gotten the better of Flav and he fell asleep on her.

Bootz and New York
While the above date was going on, Bootz was treated to her own private showing of all of New York's misgivings, insecurities and self-doubts. She turned to Bootz for comfort because there was no one else there. Bootz was shown listening, in a half-hearted way, to all of New York's claims on Flav's heart and Flav's time.

By the time the next day rolled around, Bootz must have known she was going home, she had to have known. If New York was evident of what Flav wanted in a woman, she had to know that there was no way in hell she stood a chance of staying instead of New York as their three way date would prove later in the day.

Their date was at a winery. At first, I thought the date looked to be an actual romantic date but that notion was quickly dispelled. The date started with a horseback ride to the shady spot in the vineyard where the date would take place. The women should have been forewarned that they were going to be riding horses on their dates. But I have to admit it was pretty funny watching them climb into their saddles clad in miniskirts and f*** me pumps. When New York climbed on her horse, she was absolutely terrified. The woman was shaking. The horse must have sensed her fear because it started running uncontrollably - so much so, their riding coach had to interfere and slow the horse down. I guess I should have found that funny but I didn't really because it wasn't.

Anyway, once they arrived at their destination a grownup, similar in manner and disposition to the captain of the yacht, served them lunch and treated them to a tasting of the vineyard's latest vintages. Bootz was feeling admittedly out of place, because her only drinking experience had been with Hennesy and Vodka. New York just rambled on and on about how special it was to be at a vineyard and how back home, she never really had much opportunity for experiences like this. (I just kept wondering how anybody could get so excited about California wines.) After their meal, the grownup showed them their next vintage. It was in a big vat full of grapes waiting to be stomped. The girls took off their hooker clothes to reveal bikinis underneath and Flav changed into his bathing suits. If you guessed that they would be using their bodies to create the next vintage of wine then you guessed correctly. What followed was an experience not even Bacchus could never have foreseen. It was drunken, sloppy and pointless.

After the wine stomping the group took a three way shower which almost made me feel dirty. Flav was doing his best to crawl into Bootz's skin from behind while New York ardently pushed her hips into his backside. More tongue was seen than necessary I might add. Apparently, Flav can not kiss a woman with a closed mouth. Someone should tell Flav that every now and then, a closed mouth is kiss is nice.

Walking Shoes
Flav took the girls to a nice hotel and dressed them in pretty outfits and then met with them a few hours later for their three way date. Flav seemed incredibly interested in Bootz because he continually ignored New York while trying to get further into Bootz's pants. New York stomped off in a mad huff because Flav was spending too much time talking to Bootz. He chased after her (which she claimed to be part of her plan) and in the end, he chose New York for his evening tryst. Sound effects were plentiful as New York made sounds of rapture behind the closed door of their hotel suite. In her camera interview, New York went on and on about how wonderful their time was together. She spoke in hyperboles and used words that she made up for the most part. This woman may be a lot of things, but proficient in speaking the English langugage is not one of them.

At the elimination ceremony Bootz was sent home. Flav cited her celibacy as the reason because, as he reminded the TV audience in his one on one with the camera, he was looking for someone he could kick it with right now and had no interest in marriage.

In next week's coming attractions, we learned that Flav's children will be grilling the remaining women. Then Flav will meet with the parents of the women that are left. If I'm not mistaken at least one of Flav's children appeared to be the same age as the contestants.

A Bike Ride

Jon and I went bike riding yesterday and today. Today was a straight ride up to Laguardia and back home. Nothing exciting to report. But yesterday . . .

Yesterday we went to Roosevelt Island with a detour through Socrates Sculpture Park. Socrates Park is a free sculpture garden where artist display large free standing pieces of work. It's located on Vernon Blvd. and Broadway. The park recently celebrated the 20th anniversary of its inception in 1986 by artists who wanted to make something pretty out of an old landfill. It's one of those secret treasures of New York, known mostly to New Yorkers.

Well. Here is a sampling of what Jon and I saw at the park.

Here is my first impression of the park meaning what I saw when I stopped riding by bicycle and looked up.


This is a big pink thing.


These are bottlelites. The explanation provided says that plastic bottles were painted and bundled to resemble satellites.


I'm not sure what this is but each of those pedestals has something on it with remarks about America. Jon spent some time looking at each of the items but I was kind of busy looking for shots. So no disrespect to the artist intended.


Jon caught me posing for a photograph. The sculpture directly behind me is a giant sun dial. On the front of the sculpture is a giant picture of a wrist wearing a watch. The Upper East Side of Manhattan makes up the backdrop.


I was particularly fond of this wrought iron piece. It had three parts and this is my favorite.


Our goal was to ride to and around Roosevelt Island. For the first time I rode my bicycle over the bridge crossing onto the island. Because I am so petrified of traffic I usually walk it over on the pedestrian path. I was quite proud of myself because I was as scared as I thought I would be and did it anyway.


We wanted to revisit the south end of the island but alas, access has been restricted for the fall or so I think. We'll see if it opens up again next week. You can see the UN in the distance, beyond the locked gate.

Name That Skyline

Name That Park

A Chorus Line

Back to work tonight. This week's assignment is the newly revived A Chorus Line at the Schoenfeld Theater. I think is the second week of previews.

The first time I worked at the Schoenfeld, it was called the Plymouth Theater and David Hasselhoff was destroying starring in Jekyll and Hyde as both the Dr. and his evil creation. He was very bad showcased a unique interpretation of the part. All joking aside, Hasselhoff was cast to attract patrons but ended up closing the show much like Richard Chamberlain ended up closing The Sound of Music several years back.

The last time I worked there, Long Day's Journey Into Night was playing - starring Vanessa Redgrave, Brian Dennehy, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Robert Sean Leonard. That was pretty special. With the exception of Brian Dennehy constantly talking upstage, that show rocked it. Philip Seymour Hoffman, in my opinion, is the best actor of my generation. I remember after the one show that I did work, I was so busy that I ended up being the last person in the theater except the actors. Vanessa Redgrave walked behind me with Philip Seymour Hoffman and I could feel her energy without even seeing her. It was pretty exciting and I remember shaking while I was hurrying up to finish.

I'm looking forward to seeing A Chorus Line. I never got to see it the first time it ran. I hope it doesn't suck.