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:

Quickie: Santa Klau

Not a lot to report right now. Except I went on for a second time as Frankie this past week, which was phenomenal, and went great. It's now colder than ever here in Seattle, and my winter jacket is getting plenty of mileage.

Had my family in town this past week, so it's been just me and them. Not a lot of events to report, except this:

Our stage management hosted a door decorating contest for the holidays. I had not decided to do a door decoration until the last day, which was TODAY. Lori, our stage manager, convinced me to take charge, so I did. I went into the dressing room, and said "Well, I better get started. Anyone have any paper?"

Courter Simmons replied "No, but you can rip out these easy Sudoku puzzles". So I did. My first idea was just to put them on the door, so people can come by and do them.

And then I got a crazy idea:



The story was this: I had a huge grid in front of me. So I thought, hey, I could color in a few of the blocks, and make a pixelated picture. I asked everyone in our dressing room, and everyone agreed: the picture should be Nate. I got to work, found a picture, ran it through a threshold process (which turns the picture to just 2 colors), and copied what was on my screen to the large Sudoku grid I created. Big thanks to Erik and Chris for working with me on the piece. We won 3rd place (behind Lori's jellybean JB outline - 2nd, and John and Eric's Las Vegas themed door - 1st place).

Arts and crafts. Hooray.

Meanwhile, it was John Altieri's last show tonight. John, we love you, and we will miss you. Good luck to you in the future.

Happy Holidays!

Here's some Holiday Treats from yours truly:

It's Just Too Good To Be True

Well, #406 came and went. Last night was a culmination of a lot of different feelings, emotions, but ultimately went incredibly well.

I am sorry about this post: It's hard for me to describe my emotions in words. It was such an incredible night.

I got to the theater early to run some light cues, and do some slapping around with Deven. As soon as he started slapping me around (Being a little brother, and him getting a new lead singer), I knew it was on. After that, it was up to the dressing room.

But not any dressing room. This night, I got THE dressing room.

A quick shower, a shave, some hair gel, and a few costume pieces later, I was Frankie.

Looking in the mirror was surreal. Who was this person? I had never had this on before. For real. Tonight, I was playing for keeps.

As I stepped out of The Dressing Room, I entered into the Men's dressing room, where the Male Ensemble were getting ready, and was greeted with cheers, hugs, pictures, etc. Everyone was very proud of me, and for those of you guys who are reading this, your encouragement and support has meant the world to me. Thank you.

After that, it was back to the room to have some water, a little tea, some saline spray, and off to the races.

I remember the moment, before walking out on the bridge. My heart skipped a beat. It was like skydiving. As soon as I walked out from behind the black and into the light, I had jumped out of the plane. No turning back now!

And then, warmth. I was met with such love and power on stage. Everyone sharing looks, smiling, and being there for me.

I won't go through the gauntlet of the show, but I'll mention these points:

• Acting on stage with Deven, Erich, Steve, Joe, John, and the rest is a dream. They all play, listen, respond so well. It's incredible to be up there communicating with them.
• I think your first time is always like slow motion. Sometimes, it felt like "The Matrix".
• The Big 3 was incredible. Just amazing, and a lot of fun. The looks we shared on stage were priceless.
• "Dawn" is one of my favorite songs in the show to perform, and the part where we were facing downstage was really cool.
• "Beggin" IS my favorite song of the show, and doing the splits, the turns, and the vocals... just great.
• The sitdown scene worked very well. It's a different experience when you have lights, and sound, and audience. In rehearsals, you try to act well. But when all the extra parts enter into the equation, they seem to go away, and the only people in that room are at that table, arguing about the future of the group. Incredible.
• Winter was a blast to do. The show is written so well, and to get to speak like that, to the audience, is really cool.
• What can I say? "Can't Take My Eyes Off Of You" went off without a hitch! I was singing great, and gave it my all. As I turned upstage in "Workin'..." I had the biggest smile. The guys in the band behind saw it. I gave them a wink, and kept on singing. My voice wasn't tired yet!
• "Who Loves You" was great, especially at the end, where we all look at each other. It was as if they were congratulating me before it was over. I was so happy.

So, all in all, it was a great night. So much work for so much return. I am so glad I got to do it, and you know what, I liked it so much, I think I'll do it again! On the 26th of December at 2pm.

Anyway, this post was so disjointed, so whatever. All I know is that I was Frankie Valli last night, and it was a moment I'll never forget.

Meanwhile, Miles, Erik Bates and I had a push-up competition. The pressure was too much for Bates: