Feel-Good Friday - December 22, 2023

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Happy Feel-Good Friday y'all! And since this is my last "Feel-Good Friday" of the year (we're closed next Friday), I just want to say that it's made me REALLY happy reflecting on this every week with you. So without further ado, here's my top five that had me smiling this week:

  • I'm STILL smiling from seeing the thousands of patrons wearing Pink as they entered the Concert Hall to see Mean Girls. I mean it wasn't even "Wednesday" but nonetheless Pink was the great galvanizer for our audiences and I loved it!
  • On Tuesday night Hamilton certainly made a splash in the Broadway news! I can't state it more succinctly than Playbill so here you go: "The performance started with Alexander Hamilton standby Marc delaCruz on in the title role. Kyle Scatliffe was in his regular role as Marquis de Lafatette and Thomas Jefferson. By intermission, Scatliffe was forced to go home due to sickness. And who happened to be the only person in the building left who's rehearsed to cover Lafayette and Jefferson? Marc delaCruz. LUCKILY there was one other person at the theater who was rehearsed to play Alexander Hamilton: ensemble member Alexander Ferguson. And that meant for ACT TWO, delCruz became Jefferson and Ferguson became Hamilton, with swing Adam Ali-Perez taking over in Ferguson's ensemble track. LIVE THEATRE!" And the audience cheered them all on and loved this crazy evening on Broadway. As a former understudy and swing myself many times in my career, I give huge props to these uber talented folks that kept the show going on. And the audiences always love experiencing these spontaneous evenings that you couldn't plan for if you tried.
  • MAESTRO, the much-anticipated biopic of legendary composer and conductor, Leonard Bernstein is available to stream on Netflix and stars Bradley Cooper, Carey Mulligan, and Matt Bomer. SPOILER ALERT, I haven't seen it yet, but I cannot wait to, despite some of the controversy buzzing around this film. I guess that's not really a spoiler alert, but nevertheless I'm still putting it on my Feel-Good Friday list because I somehow know I'm going to love it!
  • Shucked made a huge splash in March when it started performances on Broadway and many thought it might be the next big hit that would play to audiences for a long time there. Sadly, it's closing on January 14 because it just couldn't find its audience. But the reason it's on my Feel-Good Friday list is because it was announced that Shucked will have a national tour starting next year in Nashville. Here the thing: Even if a show doesn't last as long as they'd like on Broadway, if it even makes it to Broadway, it can create many more opportunities to tour, play in regional theaters, and if appropriate have school versions of the show. Some shows find their true success in all these other places and having that Broadway credit can open-up all of these opportunities for them. So, here's to Shucked finding much success in years to come!
  • My last Feel-Good Friday reflection is a "deep cut" so please humor me. There's a performance space in the East Village area of NYC called Joe's Pub. It's part of the Public Theater and many of the avant-garde cabaret performers in the city are local celebrities there. Murray Hill is one of them and he is performing his Christmas show there for the 25th year. And Jeff Hiller will be joining him onstage which makes me so happy. If you're not familiar with them then please do yourselves a favor and watch Somebody, Somewhere starring those two artists and Bridget Everett, another iconic NYC cabaret performer. It's streaming on MAX and there are two seasons available (with a third on the way). I ADORE THIS SHOW! It can be racy and definitively has some language in it. So, it doesn't have a G rating or even a PG rating actually. But it's such a beautiful show about loss, loneliness, searching for some kind of purpose and most importantly hope. I like to feel all the feelings when I watch a show and this one delivers on that promise.

Ok I've rambled on enough this Friday. Sending y'all a giant THANK YOU for joining me on Fridays here in 2023! Let's make 2024's Fridays even better... XO

You might have seen me as Enjolras in Les Misérables, Munkustrap in Cats or Prince Charming in Cinderella. I used to perform in many Broadway Tours all across the country. Now I report on them and give you an insider's view into this unique little world. So, let's talk about all things Broadway!

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