THEATRICALLY: Year in Review

I am so blessed to have been involved in 5 amazing productions this past year. I am so thankful and greatful to have been given these amazing opportunities. It truly has been a fantastic year for me.
1st up was Into the Woods at Signature Theatre.

I had a blast as the bratty little Jack. The cast was wonderful, and it was such a great time romping through the woods with all of them. It was a special treat to have Angela Lansbury as the voice of the Giant. I loved when the giant would walk and the theatre shook, and leaves would fall. Amazing.






Next was Meet John Doe at Ford's Theatre. I had such a fantastic time with this show and it was great to work at Ford's Theatre. The cast was made up of some of my best friends, so that made it even more pleasurable. And it was nice to play a bad guy for once...actually I think it is the only time I have ever played one. I loved it!













In Summer came two different performances of my newest cabaret, Use What You Got. I had a great time, and Jenny Cartney lent such a wonderful skill and know how by helping me put it together and performing it with me. The audiences were enthusiastic and responsive, and sang along loud and proud. I really feel like I relaxed into it the second time (at the Signature Open House in August). This cabaret made me fall in love with cabaret as an art form again, and I have been working on putting together two other cabarets since this one has passed. Cheers and thanks to all who came and supported me.
















Funny Girl was done as a concert this past Fall, with Jacqui Piro Donovan as Fanny Brice. She was incomparable. It was great to hear the score to Funny Girl, which I never heard as I tended to avoid Barbara Streisand like the plague before working on the show. I fell in love with the show, and will always hold in my memory the image of Jacqui belting out the last notes of the reprise of "Don't Rain on my Parade" while red lights blasted the theatre and red mylar glitter rained down on her. Breathtaking.
















And finally, the ticker. tick,tick...BOOM! contained the biggest role that I have ever played. I am so glad to have had the amazing team that we had around us. I had an amazing time with the cast and crew of the show. The show was an incredibly important experience for me to have, and it taught me so much. More than anything, it taught me to listen. To many things.








Whew! What an amazing year! It is hard to believe as I write and look back on all of it. Thanks to all of the theatres, their staff, my beloved cast mates, and to fate, chance, luck, and yes, God, for all of these wonderful journeys. I can't wait to start more journeys in 2008.
Happy New Year to all!
Luv,
SGS

Hello,Gorgeous...

Well. It happened. Jacqui Piro Donovan made me a fan of Funny Girl. I know it might shock some who know my sexual orientation, but I am NOT a Streisand fan. NOT a fan of this show. Till tonight. Jacqui made me love the songs that I thought prior to tonight were the elevator music you would hear on the way down to Hell. Sorry, is that harsh? It's probably a Streisand thing. Hearing her sing "People" makes me sick. Not that she's not good, it's just that...I dunno...she knows that she is, and you can hear that when she sings...it's all about a voice. Oh well. What do I know, BUG is one of my favorite movies.
Jacqui enabled the songs with such life, heart, and soul. She stepped into a Streisand role and made me forget about Babs. (thank God). It made me want to see a full production of this show to see her do it fully. She was remarkable.
The cast of tonight's concert was terrific, and we all had a great time doing the show.
It was really sad, though...Matty caught an extremely violent stomach bug and was sick all day, and night. He did the show anyway, (like Fanny would), and after the show, we ran right out to get him home. He is currently on the couch as I play the part of Nurse Ratchet. My poor baby! :(
But the show went well, we raised a lot of money for the Signature Outreach and Education projects, and that is what we were there to do, so it was a huge success. The house was packed, and VERY responsive.
Standout moment of the evening: Jacqui singing the final "Don't Rain on my Parade", hitting that last note as the twenty something member pit blared and red glitter confetti rained down on her. Stunning and breath taking.
Keep Matty in your thoughts, and I will talk to you tomorrow.
PS...
I have to share this with you...a video passed to me by my friend, Yvonne...Utterly amazing...yet...weird. Enjoy.
Goodnight,
Luv, SGS

That girl is so funny...

As announced at Signature Theatre's website, I am going to be a part of the cast of Funny Girl in concert. The event is one night only, on November 5th. It stars my former big sis, Jaqui Piro Donovan. This show is a special fundraiser for Signature's outreach programs, so the ticketed price is for a very worthy cause, as Signature's school programs help energize, invigorate and involve youth in theatre.
Come out and see us. You can click HERE for more details. I'll post more details as soon as I know more.
Talk to you all tomorrow evening.
luv,
SGS