My friend, John Altieri

As you may or may not know, John Altieri passed away today from, what I believe to be, complications with pneumonia. Definitive information has been sparse, but what I can tell you is that he went peacefully, without pain, with his family near.

For those of you who did not know him, John was nothing but a golden boy. A free spirit, with a constant smile. A health-o-holic, who woke up at 7am to get a Yoga class in. He was a professional through and through. He was kind. He was mischievous. Whenever I was on as Mika, he would jump and attack me with a smile on his face just before we pushed out the yellow couch. He watched "24" with me. He was an LA guy, like me. He was a hiking buddy. He lived life to the fullest, and sought to seek out every last morsel of fun.

He was a true friend, a peaceful man, and lived life with joy and vigor.

Love to you, your friends, and your family.

Question time?

Hey, I thought this might be a cool idea: post any questions you might have about the show, The Four Seasons, me, etc, and I'll try to answer a few to the best of my ability!

Leave your questions in the comments. I will reply in the comments thread.

UPDATE: Please leave your name or something. It makes replying easier.

Arch Town

Well, Minneapolis came and went, even if I left a little early. I took my first week vacation on tour, and went home to see friends, family, did a little work as a vocal coach for TLC’s The Singing Office (coming this summer), and enjoyed the much needed warmth of Southern California.

I can safely say, that despite the cold in Minneapolis, a thoroughly enjoyed it! The downtown area is vibrant with commerce, people, energy, and... jeez, I sound like a promoter for the city. I missed some of the more suburban areas, but I did drive through a few times. The areas outside of downtown feel a bit like Melrose Ave in Los Angeles, where you can really walk and be somewhere. If you’re walking most places in LA, you’re not really anywhere, but in a chasm between one place and another.

There are a few moments that stick out in my mind:

Nathan, Matt, and I went to “Fogo De Chao”, a Brazilian BBQ restaurant, which is like a reverse gourmet buffet. Instead of you going to the food, the food comes to you. We had a great time, and a great meal. And I think the phrase “hit a wall” comes to mind in the amount that we ate. I feel a bit guilty.

A group of us sang The National Anthem at the Twins Home Opener against (my pseudo-team) The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Yeah, don’t get me started on the name... it’s a hot button issue in Southern Cali. We sounded great, the arrangement was great, and afterward, enjoyed a mild, lukewarm baseball game (not a lot of drama, not the best pitching, etc, etc). But we had a suite, and that, my friends, makes all the difference.

I got to hang out with the casts of Drowsy Chaperone and High School Musical, and learn how their experience is different from ours. And of course, we talked about business and the like. So whatever. I made some new friends.

The Mall of America is big, but a mall none-the-less. I did it. End of story. Sadly, I did not get to ride a roller coaster. The one I wanted to ride was broken.

Rock Like A Man was phenomenal! We sold over 200 tickets pre-sale, and had a full house the night of the show. Everyone was so fantastic, and it was a great release for us, as musicians and performers. It was just a night of us doing what we love, and sharing ourselves with the audience. I sang “Spirit of Radio” by Rush. When I first presented it to the band, and I’ll be honest, they sounded a bit intimidated. But at the performance, they were flawless! I, however, was not. In the beginning of the number, I was trying to feel the music and do my “rock” moves. However, I got a little to crazy, and the microphone came out of the stand! Trying to recover, I grabbed the mic cable, and tried to flip it up, Roger Daltrey style. That failed as well, as the mic came out from the cable! Thankfully, I was able to recover quickly, and regained my composure before the vocals started. I yelled the song a bit that night, but for me, RLAM wasn’t about sounding perfect. It was about having fun. And man, did we have fun. Overall, we raised over $11,000!

Aaaaaand, I got to play Frankie again! I love playing the role, and I had so much fun. My confidence was up, my voice felt good, and found myself feeling grounded in the role. I can’t tell you how much of a pleasure it is to work with the guys up there, and share the story with the audience.

So, I am actually writing this from my airplane seat, on my way to St. Louis. Who knows what Missouri will hold for us. My dad says it’s a great place, but I hope that holds true without having a car! All I can say is this: the forecast for tomorrow is sunny and 75 degrees. Hooray!

Spring Snow

Alright, where I left off:

So we're here in Minneapolis, and for the first few days, it snowed.. for 3 days in a row. And for a guy like me, born and raised in 77 degree, constantly sunny Los Angeles, that's cold. I think it was 30 degrees. I know you live in a place where it's -20 all the time, but I have never experienced that... so call me chicken, it's cold.

But I've found time to explore downtown Minneapolis, and it's really great. Great night life, great bars, restaurants, etc. all within walking distance. Yoga classes at the YMCA, a bar right next to the theater. It's really great. But once again, the problem is the cold. I would be out taking photos or exploring, but it's just so darn cold for me! Thankfully Minneapolis has a skyway that connects different buildings, so you're inside as you cross streets. Oh well, hopefully it'll warm up a bit before I get out of here.

So, to look forward to here in Minneapolis: Singing the National Anthem at the Twins Game opening (12 cast members), and the Rock Like A Man concert, maybe hanging out with the casts of Drowsy Chaperone and High School Musical. Who knows. Minneapolis will be fun. But I'll be leaving early, as I will be taking my first vacation... hooray!

I'll be heading home to LA to do a little work on a project for TV. Not sure how much I can talk about it, but I will be a consultant for the show. I don't think you'll see me on camera (who knows, maybe you will... you guys have found my parents, and you'll probably find me as well), but it'll be a fun experience. I'll expose more as things get going, but based on legal stuff, I don't know how much I can discuss. I'll let you guys know.

So, Minneapolis is totally cool. And I don't mean temperature.

And big congrats to Buck Hujabre, who replaced Nate Klau out here on tour. He's a great addition, a great energy, and he started his run here in Minneapolis.

Alright, I gotta go sell tickets to RLAM. Later.

Exit From The South

So, Tampa came and went. And you all were right, there are plenty of things to do in Tampa. The problem is, you really have to drive long distances to get anywhere you want to go! I guess I'm spoiled by places like Seattle, NYC, and the like, where everything you might need is pretty close to the metropolitan center.

But, Tampa wasn't uneventful. A few people came to visit us:

First of which, Frankie came by to say hello. He was in town doing a gig, and Erik Bates was one of his backup singers not too long ago. So Frankie came to see Erik do Tommy, as well as the rest of us do our thing. He's always very gracious, and it was a treat to see him.

We also got to meet Charlie Calello, who was one of the "New Seasons", and is featured in Jersey Boys.

And then Tampa was holding the "Miss Tampa" competition, and I got to meet Miss Tampa and Miss Florida! They were very cool, and were excited to see me... which is weird, because I feel so normal, and they feel so normal. It was a clash of us thinking each other was the coolest, when in reality, we all lead normal, everyday lives, except we let a lot of people watch us.

So that was Tampa. We went to Clearwater one day, and the next day had a beer at a local bar. That was pretty much it for Tampa. It rained a bit, was cold, warm, etc. But our "Faux-Summer" is over, and now we're in Minneapolis, which is colder than Tampa... much colder.

Speaking of Minneapolis, here's the finished product of what I hinted at before:



Yes, we're doing a BC/EFA benefit concert in Minneapolis at The Shout House. We will be performing on April 7th at 7:30pm. Tickets are $20 and available at the door.

I'm tired, and I'll continue this post tomorrow.

What is THIS?

Hrm... this looks interesting... :)

I wonder what this is about? (I know exactly what it's about :-D)

Let the speculation begin!

Flatlands

So I was able to spend some time at home before heading out to Tampa. Going home is always about business. I had a few business meetings, visited with some friends (all great actors themselves), and had a nice time off. I almost never have enough time to do everything.

"Business meetings?" you say? I may have a few things to announce in the near future... stay tuned.

But Tampa, Florida: home of The Tampa Bay Lightning (Hockey team), beaches, and... for all intensive purposes, not much else thus far. Tamps is very flat, and very spread out. If you want to get anywhere, you really have to drive. Yes, you have to drive much further than in LA. I drove almost 40 minutes to get to a camera store that didn't even have the lens I wanted... yeah right, boo hoo.

If the ocean was warmer, I would spend more time at the beach, but the ocean is not warm this time of year. So far, all I have found have been bars, restaurants, and shopping.

Matt Bailey and I are living together in a fantastic condo a few miles from the theater, and have been frequenting Channelside, a little restaurant/bar area, with a bowling bar called Splitsville. We've been known to hang around there for a drink. Last week, we actually were able to get the whole cast out for a few games!

But Tampa is still new for us. I'm sure I'll have a few more things to say by the end, even after a visit to my friend in Orlando (who is currently in Blue Man Group), or trying out Ybor city.

I don't know. Got any ideas of what to do in Tampa?

I will not swim with manatees.

Presidential Gun Collection

Well folks, Houston came and went. We finally got some great days of sun and heat. FINALLY.

I first of all, want to thank the people of Houston for being so kind to us. You really made us feel like rock stars.

At first I was worried when we got to Houston. Our first audience was very polite. They weren't as vocally responsive as some of our other audiences. It seemed as they wanted to applaud in the right places and for the appropriate amounts of time. But by the end of that night, and for the rest of the run, people returned to what we love: whistling, dancing in the aisles, singing along, etc. You, the audiences, really made Houston feel great. Thank you so much.

And for all you superfans out there, I think you found out about my little Sherry Tour secret before I officially told everyone (sorry... ya'll) what happened.

Yes, we met President George H. W. Bush, and Mrs. Barbara Bush:



President Bush came to our matinee (on Super Bowl Sunday), and visited us backstage during intermission.

And I know what you're saying:

A) I love George H. W. Bush!
B) I hate George H. W. Bush!



Well, everyone has their own opinion, but here's how I felt:

Regardless of your opinion, it is a rare chance to meet a President, and I have to tell you, they were very nice to us, which was important to me. He was patient with us, and took pictures with everyone who wanted to take one. He even invited us to his office!

So, a few days later, we went to his office. We were greeted with smiles and handshakes from his staff. We were given a tour of the office by President Bush himself, and he was very proud of the new Aircraft Carrier named after him.

After a tour of his office, with his many pictures and trinkets from his tenure as President, he took more pictures with us, before taking us into his conference room.

In his conference room, he has two glass cabinets FULL of guns: glocks, sigs, shotguns, etc. He asked if anyone wanted to see the guns, and of course, we did. I assumed we were just going to look at these extremely detailed guns from behind the glass.

And then he opens a cabinet, and starts handing out guns.

Needless to say I was surprised. And then totally stoked.



So we all touched plenty of his Presidential guns, but the visit had to come to an end. So he let us go, with a parting gift: Presidential Seal cufflinks!

And that was our experience with President GHWB.

As for the rest of Houston, I ate a lot of Houston cooking. We spent our time in and out of BBQ restaurants, two of which I remember well: Otto's, and Pappas, both, I believe, to epitomize the BBQ experience of Houston. Also, we would make a weekly trip to Kenny and Ziggy's, a fantastic NY style Deli in Houston.

A big thank you to the people of Houston, thank you for your Southern Hospitality.

So that was Houston... doing shows, eating, holding guns, Hanging out with The Bushes, and before all had been said and done, we start our trek to Tampa!

Hope to see you there!

Everything Is Bigger In Texas

Well, here we are in Houston, Texas. We escaped the cloudy days and rain of Seattle, to the Sunny, Warm....

Wait. No.

As we landed in Houston, we were met with cold weather (around 40 degrees, give or take few degrees), and rain. Cold and rainy. The Sherry Company has been overdue for sunlight. So, the sun decided to come out starting Saturday, and of course, we had to be inside all day for our first day of sun! And Monday did not give us more. There's always tomorrow...



Hrm. Tuesday. Scratch that.

As for the changes that I was talking about before, we have gained many new cast members, and lost a few as well.

Erich Bergen has left us, and has been replaced with Andrew Rannells.

John Altieri has left us, and has been replaced with Jonathan Hadley.

Zach Prince left us for a bit, and has been temporarily replaced by Joe Leo Bwarie. But Zach comes back soon.

We had a new swing join us: Nathan Scherich who is there to replace:

Erik Bates, who replaced Deven May, who left us after Seattle.

Erik has been with me since day one with the Sherry Company. He has been a mentor and a friend to me; words cannot describe how proud I am of him, and I congratulate him on his role. He is simply fantastic, along with all the other folks who joined us!

Deven had a going away our last night in Seattle, and I made the toast. I spoke of how Deven is one of the nicest men I've ever met, with no overbearing ego, full of love and life. I wish Deven luck in the future, and I hope our paths cross again.

And tonight, another person who has been with us since the beginning leaves us: Jennifer Evans. Jennifer was our fantastic female swing, and will be missed. She will be replaced by Kara Tremel, from the Chicago Company.

Well, as you can see, The Sherry Company is changing, but we still do the shows we're known to do: giving audiences a great night out at the theater.

As for the Houston audiences, I can't say that I know all to well, as I have not gone on yet here in Houston, but I've been watching on certain nights, and Houston loves us! We couldn't be any more pleased with our reception here in Houston, and look forward to the rest of our run. I'll probably go on next week, and I'll know exactly what it's like!

As for our fabulous Monday off (our last one until we head to Tampa), a few of us went to go see U2 3D at the IMAX. It was really cool. If you like U2 (or worship them, like Nate), or just love rock music, it's a great experience. I'll hand it to them, they're one of the best bands out there, still making relevant music. Rock.

So what will the future bring for The Sherry Company? Who knows... time will tell. But I think Sarah Darling is working on the predictions:

I'm Pale

I know some of you wanted to see the first and second place doors from the "Jersey Holiday Door Contest".

Here they are:

Second Place: Lori Byars, with a poster made with jelly beans and real working lights:

First Place: John Altieri and Erich Bergen with their Vegas door:



Well, it’s been a hectic two weeks. Let me explain.

I believe it’s now common knowledge that at the end of each city run, we do performances for 2 weeks in a row without a day off. So, instead of updating the blog, I’ve been working my ass off!

Let’s go back:

Our New Year’s Eve Party was great, but sad, as it was the last night we would spend with Mr. Erich Bergen, as he makes his way to parts unknown (I don’t know if I can talk about it, but if you’re a true JB fan, you probably already know what he’s doing, so I’ll just leave it at that). Everyone came to the party dressed to impress, and entered with a different energy than the year before. I remember last year’s New Year’s Eve party: a bit awkward. You see, our first New Year’s with the JB Sherry Tour occurred a mere 2-3 months after we started rehearsals, and just began performances in San Francisco. So all the rapport and experiences we share now were but a dream to us back then.



But fast forward to December 31st, 2007: the night was full of friends, smiles, and plenty of 80’s dance music. Somehow, 80’s dance music is our drug. We hear it, and EVERYONE runs to the dance floor. We spent the night dancing, drinking, chatting, and taking pictures. But as the restaurant kicked us out at 2am, 2008, we couldn’t help but think back on our amazing year with Erich: We will miss you.

And during that transition, we had 3 new cast members join us (to replace John Altieri, Erich Bergen, and temporarily Zach): Jonathan Hadley (our new Crewe), Andrew Rannells (our new Gaudio), and Joe Bwarie (The 2-day Frankie for now). These guys are fantastic, and bring something new and different to the role. I’ve been having fun with them, but I’ll tell you one thing: John and Andrew both very mean to Phil! It’s alright though, it makes me laugh (Phil is the recording engineer role that the Joey role plays). But silly things aside, it’s great to have them, and we couldn’t be more pleased.

Meanwhile, back at the Jersey Sauce, I did another 3 Frankies! And each one successively felt better. I can’t begin to tell you how amazing it is to perform as Frankie. It really is a dream role, and I hope I am able to do him justice. Plus, for those of you sending me Frankie emails, your kind words mean the world to me, and thank you for letting me know that I made your night at the theater an enjoyable one.



I also did a grip of Joeys to let Courter go on as Frankie, and being Joey is so much fun. Working with Andrew in the scenes couldn’t have gone better, and John keeps Phil on his toes!

And I don’t have anything weird to report, except one night, right before “Boyfriend’s Back”, one of the strings on my guitar broke! Those of us who play guitar in the show are always noodling around on the guitars before scenes where we use them, and I was noodling a little too hard I guess. So, I yanked the rest of the string off the top of the guitar, and walked on stage just in time! But other than that, JB is a well oiled machine.



Seattle has been good to us. We worked with a phenomenal local crew there, a great hosting theater, and great audiences. This morning, as I boarded my plane home, I felt the sense that I was going to miss Seattle, a lot. There are so many memories in Seattle, which I will never soon forget. But you know what I have missed, more than I will miss Seattle?

That’s right. Sunlight.

It’s been a long 2 weeks, and a bunch of new changes have been abound. And there are more to come. But that’s for another entry.

Oh, and here's Nate with a shaving creme beard: