New Links

So I have added a few new links to the o' bloggety...And for some odd reason, it repeats some of the entries twice..can't quite figure it out, but...oh well...you have 2 chances to visit those links, I guess. ?
The new inductees to the links include:DC Theatre Reviews- a great new site that offers their own reviews of productions, as well as a list of links to all other major reviews for the same production...not just that, but also, you can write your own review of a show, post info on upcoming events and the side link bar is excellent! Everything you need at your fingertips...check it out!

The second inductee is....Filmdom. Filmdom is a fantastic review site of movies done by a handsome and intelligent critic...my beloved roomate, Ryan Dean. (Who, FYI, is currently understudying Dan Cooney in Nevermore!) Now, I personally would like to see Ryan review movies more to my tastes... like Godmonster of Indian Flats, I Eat Your Skin, or maybe The Wicker Man...but, you can't have it all. He did review Land of the Dead when it came out, and I LOVED his review.
Anyhow, I frequently admire his opinion on the films that he reviews. He is very dead-on...
and he is my awesome roomate who puts up with us being loud and crazy at 2AM, when he has to get up at ass-crack to go to work. I honestly don't know how he puts up with us...:)

And the third inductee is...Hunter James' Not That Boy blog. He is the boyfriend of the afore-linked and often mentioned Damon Demarco. They are a gay couple. They are both porn stars. They both run funny and entertaining blogs. And they are both gorgeous ,of course. I linked Damon's blog first, and meant to link Hunter's after I started reading it...but my computer has long been ill, and only in the past week has it been running like it did when we first got it. So there you go...
Enjoy these new links, and the mysterious double links to the others...?...
Slow and easy day off here. Matty's sleeping on the couch, and I'm watching a DVD of the old TV series One Step Beyond. (a new purchase) Yes, I know what a huge geek I am.
2 more weeks of the Damn Yankees, then 3 months of un-intentional vacation. (At least that's what I am calling the long stretch between Damn Yankees closing, and Assasins to begin rehearsals.)
G'night.
SGS

Superbowl XL

So...The Stillers are going to da' Superbowl...!!!
Flo Lacey, Harry Winter, J. Fred Shiffman, Cindy Marchionda, Brad Oscar and I couldn't be more pleased....
:)

My Favorite Gay Movie...Beautiful Thing

Ste: Do you think I'm queer?
Jamie Gangel: It don't matter what I think.

So LOGO played this film tonight, and it reminded me how much I adore it.
This film features some gorgeous performances, a brilliant Mama's and Papa's soundtrack, and a great script.

This film is very reminiscent of my own coming out experience, so it touches me very deeply. Finally a gay movie that is happy, earnest and joyous.

All performances in the film are terrific, however, 2 women are standouts...Linda Henry as Sandra, and Tameka Empson as Leah. The two are arch enemies in the film, and are splendid in their character development.
Empson's Mama Cass obsessed slapper of a Leah is South London ghetto fabulous, and will make you laugh throughout, even when you want to hit her. ( As Henry's Sandra does).

Sandra: It's not natural, is it?
Jamie: What ain't?
Sandra: A girl her age being into Mama Cass.
Leah: She's got a really beautiful voice.
Sandra: And what's wrong with Madonna?
Leah: She's a slut.
Sandra: Hypocrite.

Henry's Sandra is a web of vulnerability, wrapped in barbed wire...her character is a woman who knows how to adapt to the situation. She is so strong, and such a fighter...every gay being who watches this film will wish that she was their mother...espeacially in the final scene...
watch her and Tameka Empson's Leah join forces in the final scene, as neighbors watch scornfully as her son dances with his beau...watch her stare them down, as if to say..."Get wanked, Big Bollocks.."
The use of the songs, Make Your Own Kind of Music, and Dream a Little Dream of Me, is so touching, and brings tears to the lids.
Innocence and first love has never before been so wonderfully portrayed...

Jamie: Scared to be called queer.
Ste: Are you?
Jamie: Maybe... maybe not.
Ste: And are ya?
Jamie: Queer...
Ste: Gay.
Jamie: Very happy. I'm happy when I'm with you...

If you have not seen this film, please do...it will give you hope and joy...something we all could use these days.

Crafty Bastards...

I am known to craft a little bit, as you know. I wanted to preserve this memory for us...I gave a dozen roses to Matty for opening of Nevermore, and I used flower paint to paint the flowers black and silver....
Also...PS...Toby Orenstein from Toby's Dinner Theatre of Columbia said that she saw A Light in the Piazza last week, and that she thought this was better...she said that this was the best thing she ever saw in DC.
Great compliments from a great director.

Images of the Week

So I'm driving down Quincy St. in Arlington, and I see this. No, I'm not slamming anyone's religion, but I just find this a little bit funny. Notice the cute pants and shall that Buddha is wearing.
I keep expecting him to move....frankly it creeps me out a little bit.

Out of Time...

(Photo by Carol Pratt-Left to Right, Lauren Williams, Dan Cooney, Amy McWilliams, and Jaqui Piro)
Yes, I know you are tired of my Nevermore obsession, but I do have to report to you that rumor has it there are only 5 performances of Nevermore that are not sold out completely.
If you want to see this amazing journey into the mind of madness, you really should reserve a ticket now.

Nevermore...Opening Night

Below:Matt, Flo Lacey and Tim Stella

May I boast some more...glowing reviews from The Washington Post ,The Washington Times
, Potomac Stages , TheatreMania, Metro Weekly, The Baltimore Sun!!
Well, last night was opening night of Nevermore. Wow. What an amazing night for us. I feel like we have dreamt of it for years...so strange for it to finally be here.The show was amazing, of course...I felt the audiences rapture around me....especially in the grips of "The Raven"...one of the more heart-stopping songs...you could feel gasps and sobs around you throughout the evening...so amazing....the show was great, and the audience didn't want to leave afterwards...they all were such a lingering audience...so interesting. They wanted to stay and talk about the piece...they were truly captured by it. Sean"the tool" MacLaughlin came down on his day off from The Woman in White to see the show. It was good to see him.I was SO proud of my Mister. His score sounded so gorgeous....I can't believe this is all happening from time to time.Here are some pictures from the party. Left to Right: me, Matt and Eleasha, Eleasha and Sean, Dan Cooney and Matt.

Sorry to boast...

Photos by Carol Pratt, featuring Jaqui Piro and Flo Lacey

...and sorry this has kind of become Nevermore.com, but...what else would you expect? I am so proud of my hubby.
A smart and insightful review of Nevermore on DCTheatrereviews.com
More pictures are featured....here are some of them...

"The music...oh the music...so beautiful."

A fantastic article on Nevermore by Charles Shubow that appears on Broadwayworld.com. The gentleman says it is NOT a review, then goes on to rave about the show...my favorite quote...
"This is a show with a big future, and Composer Matt Conner will be heard of many times in the future."

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ELEASHA!!!

So, here are some shots of the Ebony and Ivory Part 2 Cabaret...
I recived these from my mom yesterday.
I post these in honor of my baby girl's birthday!!
Happy biirthday, Eleasha!

Stillers...

Wow...what a game....So a bunch of the cast of Damn Yankees are Steelers fans...you have no idea how funny it was with us running back and forth to check the score between scenes...
After the absolutely heart stopping game was over, and it was certain we won, Brad Oscar said that if the Steelers won the game, he would root for them the whole way....and they did. :)
It always helps to have the Devil on your side...:)

RIP

(Photo as it appears on Towleroad, one of my links there in the corner)
Oh Shelly...Final lap around the Posiedon..

First Pitch

Well, Maureen Bunyon, from ABC-7 will be throwing in the first pitch tonight....how funny is that? They will be filming it and putting it on the news.
My Mom and Dad will also be there tonight.
We are starting to shoot the Damn Yankees 2006 Calendar today...
:)
Aren't you intrigued?

Photo ops...

Ok...my computer is back...
something that I have been meaning to talk about for some time is this issue...
So, I love, of course, when a theatre takes my image and employs it to market their theatre. Why not, right?
I could use the press, and it is well intentioned.
Usually.
I bring you to 2 ads...one a season brochure from Toby's, the Dinner Theatre of Colmbia, and one from Arena Stage.
First of all....the Toby's shot is one from Footloose, that I did about 3 years ago...they photo shopped a Santa hat on my head and fake snowflakes behind me for a Christmas season brochure.
Hmm.
All of this would have been ok to me if even they would have had the prescence of mind to credit my name under the photo.
But no.
So..here I am in the Washington Post almost every weekend in this shot from Damn Yankees...do I mind that my name is not credited?
No.
Why?
Because I am IN the show currently.
Footloose was years ago, and they are putting fake Santa hats on my head... no names`are listed for either myself, or Margo.
They only credit themselves and NOT the artists...It is common sense to credit the artists's names in photographs...to not do so is self serving and gauche.
Now...as I said..I am IN Damn Yankees and they have not done the same for the show that I am in...but since it is still running, I don't care so much....my name has been in their reviews and write-ups all over the papers...
I don't know why this Toby's flier riles me so much, but it does...
Oh well...

No More Running...

OK...here is perhaps the most comprehensive article on Nevermore that has been done so far. First of all, I love how I have officially been "outed" in the Washington Post, second of all, it is a truly mesmerizing article about Matty.
Tell me what you think...

Dreamland...

"For the heart whose woes are legion...
tis a peaceful, soothing region..."

This song....these words...they pour through my head all day long. The song is Dreamland, from my partner, Matt Conner's new musical, Nevermore. It is so gorgeous...just listen.....

Out of Space, Out of Time...

(Photo from Playbill.com, courtesy of Carol Pratt)
Here is a nifty article from Playbill.com on Nevermore.
I saw the first preview last night.
Utterly breath-taking.
That's all I'll say.

On the home front, Matty celebrated his birthday yesterday, and what a way to do it! Quite an overwhelming day for him.
Our computer is still being worked on. I am hoping that it returns today.
Keep your fingers crossed.
SGS

Monday.

(Kevin Burrows, Former Damn Yankees cast member-now off to the Spamalot tour, and his partner, Chritopher Sieber)
Well...here it is, my day off.
I have not been posting with much regularity lately due to my crazy busy schedule, and also due to computer problems. Our laptop is in need of service, so until we get that done, I seriously can be on it for like 2 minutes, then it shuts off.
Sucks.
So here I am at work (for the next hour) pretending to work.
What a busy couple of weeks....
Damn Yankees keeps rolling along, Matty's show starts previews tomorrow (I CAN'T WAIT TO SEE IT!), I did a reading of an amazing new play at Arena, I have been busy with understudy rehearsal for Damn Yankees, and working my day job at the same time.
Kevin Burrows, a fellow ballplayer in Damn did his last show with us last night...Kevin, if you're reading, I still hate you. :)
It truly is sad, because he is one of the funniest motherfuckers I have ever met, and makes me laugh on a nightly basis. He will be missed.
So hopefully, I can get this computer fixed soon and get back to posting a little better than bi-weekly. It sucks, because I truly DO have lots of shit to talk about on here....oh well.
I hate computers.
Talk to yinz later.

Nevermore...

Check out this interview with my hubby, Matt Conner about Nevermore at Signature Theatre.

Say What?

I had to pass this on, it made me laugh too much!
So, in the top of Act 2, all of the ball players do the number, "The Game".
I have no idea why this is, but there have been SO many lyric screw ups this past 2 weeks that I can barely get thru the fucker without biting my tongue trying not to laugh.
Now...I will NOT name the actors who have botched lyrics, because that would not be very fair on my part...
...
But I will say what the lyrics are in fact, and what was said...

..."When you're losing at Craps ..." (actual)
..."When y...%^!@!#$%b Craps!..."(what came out)

..."When a girl gives you the eye, remember...abstain!" (actual)
..."When you....kiss...kiss...kiss...kiss,remember...abstain!" (what came out)

..."Boy her perfume sure did smell sweet, got her up to my hotel suite"
(actual)
..."Got her up to my hotel suite...boy...she was sweet!" (what came out)

..."Though my heart said, 'stay for tea', all I said was 'Pardon Me!' "...
(actual)
..."Though my............all I said was PARDON ME!" (what came out)

*sigh*
You probably don't care, and I'm sure it doesn't tickle you like it does me, but I had to pass it along...
I am so weak when it comes to laughter on stage...and "The Game" is really the hardest thing to get through now...what is worse, is that we are supposed to be angry during the first part of the scene, then determined, then concentrated...all sentiments that don't exactly go well with a stifled smirk... Such a professional.
:)
SGS