that girl allison

Last week I was invited to see a preview of the new musical by Amanda Green and Trey Anastasio (and the brilliant Doug Wright with the book), Hands on a Hardbody. The story is based on the true events that took place in a small down-on-their-luck town in Texas and the ten Texans who try to win a brand new pick-up truck. Whoever takes their hand off the truck last wins all.

The music is, as expected, very country, but also lovely to listen to. The staging, by Sergio Trejullio, around the beautiful center piece (a true-to-lifesized truck) flowed with ease.

The best part, in my opinion, was the cast. Filled with seasoned actors, like Allison Case, Jay Armstrong Johnson, Hunter Foster, and Davis Larsen, it was a true treat to watch them all perform onstage together. 

Neil Pepe also did an excellent job directing this new musical and made sure everything flowed seamlessly as the car turned. Though part of me wonders what it would be like to see this piece in the Circle in the Square Theatre, or any space that’s in the round. 

In any case, Hands on a Hardbody is a new musical that is full of life and hope, much like their main characters. 

Thank you to Serino Coyne for inviting me to see the show!

So, here are a few fun facts about Matilda the Musical:

• There are eighteen (18!) kids in the show.
• They never had an invited dress, so one Matilda wouldn’t get the praise above the rest.
• The role of Matilda is the largest role ever written for such a young (and small) person (she carries about 90% of the show).
• There were no stops at the first preview tonight.
• The performance lasted two hours and forty minutes (and this is including the fact that they started a bit late too).
• The score (which I heard for the first time tonight) is still in my head. (This never happens.)

I’ll post my more formal-ish review after opening night. But for now: just go buy your tickets. You’ll thank me after it opens and tickets are no longer available, like what happened to The Producers (except this is way better - The Producers, IMO, was garbage).

every new beginning comes from some other beginnings end.

I spend a lot of time worrying about stupid shit. I’m definitely going to die of a fatal disease even though I know I’m 100% healthy. My teeth are going to fall out of my gums at any second even though I haven’t had a cavity in over three years. And I’m definitely, definitely, definitely going to never find a job I’m good at and I’m going to eventually go broke.

I started sending out letters and applying for real full-time jobs again in early/mid-November, and when I hadn’t even gotten so much as an interview after one week, I got all Hannah-esque from Girls, “I am unfit for any and all paying jobs!”

Well, thankfully, that’s not true.

I had five or six interviews in the last 2-3 weeks and ended up being offered three great jobs last week. I took the one that I thought would be a challenge, was 100% concerning numbers, and was at what many people said was an AWESOME company to work for. Another job wouldn’t have been challenging at all and choosing it definitely would’ve been playing it safe (and boring), and while the third job was at another awesome company working with a powerhouse ass-kicking woman, the pay was just too low.

The above picture is from last Wednesday after I’d negotiated a salary and accepted one of those three job offers. I went to my old haunt on West 57th Street to visit some old coworkers. I told them I’d accepted a job offer and we found whatever tequila was currently being housed in their freezer and toasted. So, in exactly one week I will start a new job that will put my strengths (numbers, spreadsheets, and organization) to work, and I’m excited (and also scared). Wish me luck.

The Performers had their final performance last night - the first of this seasons new plays to bite the dust. It began previews on October 23rd and had just opened on November 14th. Ouch.

My friend Kate had an extra ticket to the closing performance, and because it was a 90 minute show with a 7pm curtain, I said of course. I’d heard that it was funny - for the entire 90 minutes.

And it was. The entire time it was funny… at times, hysterically funny. It was about a few porn stars and a journalist and his fiancee. Would it have been better staged at a smaller space such as New World Stages? Yes, for sure. The Performers was not going to find an audience that would pay $125/ticket, even with stars.

The Performers was comprised of Broadway-famous names like Cheyenne Jackson, Daniel Breaker, and Ari Graynor, and universally-famous names like Alicia Silverstone and Henry Winkler. And one lesser known actress, Jenni Barber.

Everyone onstage did a great job. They each made me laugh loudly. Ari Graynor probably worked the hardest though as her character was the most out-there. 

The Performers was hilarious and had a good message (learn to appreciate what you have, more or less), but it wasn’t meant for the great white way. 

File under: Things I don’t do anymore.

So, this concert was supposed to happen tonight. I bought my ticket a week ago and was stoked. The dude whom I was dating months back (who introduced me to Martin Solveig) went to see him in concert in March and Solveig went on around 11:30pm, so that’s what I expected. Especially since the doors opened at 10 at the club Pacha.

I got there a little before 10, waited on the line outside (there was only 1 person ahead of me) and was let in shortly thereafter. I have no idea how concerts at clubs work, so I made my way down three levels to the coat check and asked the woman if she knew what time Solveig was going on. “Oh yeah… he’s going on at… 2:30!” she said, while checking the list.

2:30… AM? Haha. No, really, haha. Really? Who goes on at 2:30 in the morning? And WHY would you open your doors at 10pm when your opener doesn’t go on until 12:30am? When the dude I was dating saw him in concert in March, he went on around 11-11:30pm and was finished by 12:30am, which is totally reasonable. Is this usually how clubs operate? Give the B&T crowd enough time to pre-game at Penn Station and Port Authority before stumbling their way to the far west sides of Manhattan? 

I contemplated just eating my $39 for five extra hours of sleep. And my sanity. 

Then I asked to speak to the manager. I was as sweet and pleasant as I possibly could be (which, if you know me, is very hard when I’m aggravated) when I explained the situation and how none of this information was available online, etc. He said since I bought my ticket online, I’d have to go through the ticketing company and since I was already scanned in, he wasn’t sure I could get my money back. His compromise was that he gives me two comps to use at anytime. I told him, as sweetly as possible, that there would probably never be a second visit as I don’t usually stay up for concerts that start 2:30am. 

He called another manager over. I told this one the situation. He heard me out and excused himself for a moment. I chatted with the bouncer next to me who said that Solveig was good live, as he’d seen him in concert before and that he always went on that late. Well, that’s nice, I thought, but not true. 

When the manager came over, he had $30 cash in hand which I gladly accepted. I thanked him, and the other men I’d been chatting with, and made my exit.

I’m sorry, but I have things to do tomorrow and staying at a club until 2:30am to watch an EDM artist (even my favorite one)… is just not going to happen. I adore your stuff, Mr. Solveig, but please notify me when you’ll be having a concert that starts before 2:30am. Staying up past that hour is just not something I do anymore.