Fridge Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Landlord

So the fridge wars continue. After a fun post work jaunt to the New Jersey MVC, I bid adeiu to my Tejas plates. Then the landlord called. My fridge has been out of commission for way too long. My life has been crazy. Plus southern women don't like having to ask. Or get tough. Don't get me wrong, I really do like my landlord. He's a sweet I and doesn't say anything if we whoopsie and send our checks a little late. But I want a working fridge! Luckily I have collateral. The new lease against the fridge. If he comes to look at one, he gets the other. It is not going in the mail. Hopefully that's good incentive for him to get over here at last! On a happier note, peaches are in season and sooooo good. Go enjoy one. Or two. Or three. Like me!

Old People Feet

Sometimes as a dancer or an actor, one puts heavy demands on your body. I'm used to stiffness, soreness, and odd swelling. But promo work puts a whole new level of swelling on my feet. Work currently has only one pair of size 7 character heels that have seen better days. After two days of long shifts in the rain and beating sunshine, my feet have also seen better days. I've been wrapping my feet to try and reduce the swelling. Last night I slept with my feet elevated. I am loathe to ice bathe them like dance marathoners in days of old. It just sounds like more pain until you get the numb. Today I broke down and used the Fosse method: Bengay. It's a warm up and pain relief in one. Plus you smell fabulous. Like mentholated old person. Bengay and some pinot noir. I unwind like a champion!

I Keep Breaking Things

It's always when you don't have a lot of time that things start to jenk up. The fridge saga still continues. My phone died, so I have been out of communicate with the landlord. New phone in hand, I called him ready to be as much of a steel magnolia as I can (I'm too southern for hardassery amongst the Yankees who are so good at it) only to leave a voicemail. High points for today-I scored a super cute teal pair of polo boat shoes for hardly anything while waiting for my phone's death sentence. Like this but all teal. No yellow on my feet!

It's been a roughish week. I'm still working pretty long hours this weekend and I feel myself being rundown. It's not just lack of sleep, it's lack of play. I need a good zoo trip. I have a day off in a week, and then soon after, I have a whole week of family fun at my aunt and uncle's lake house. (Plus a dentist appt which is better forgotten) There is a light at the end of tunnel. And a cut new pair of shoes to wear on that boat!And if you could, say a few hail Marys for my electronics. They all seem to be dying!

Shows and Silver Shoes!

Took the kids to see Ghost today. There is a very good reasoning it is closing soon. It's lousey. Most of the problems with it are the creative team's, not the casts. There will be some talented kids back in the audition game soon. Like Spiderman, the problem with bringing in pop songwriters, and mtvers is they don't know how to bring the music and dance out of the plot. They just feel it is time for a song and it ought to include a dance. Which creates a bad stereotype of musical theatre. In this case, it was also made worse by a sreenplay writer pretty much putting movie dialogue on stage. Which doesn't work. What works on film with closeups and the ability to capture the eyes, doesn't work on a big stage. Even with lots of projectors and shiny lights. But enough about Ghost. Onto the important things!

Capezio has cut down on their output of theatrical shoes with Laduca picking up some much of their business. I scored a blackpair and silver pair on eBay. At least one pair needs to become tap so I can throw out my jenky heel less Manhattans. Do they both become taps?Or do I leave one pair as regular heels? My current heel count is 1. black granny boots 2. tan capezios 3. squishy black laducas 4. a pair of the good old bloch splitflexs in black with a strap in need of repair. What to do. What to do!

DIY Spa Evening Corkey Style!

I worked a long weekend.There were some new weird pressures at work, I worked a long split shift, and Sunday was be an a-hole in Times Square day. Another first day of new kids at camp, and I was dragging. I did a little tap therapy during my break. My keeping the eight is really rusty. Put that down on my list of things to work. Anyways, I decided I needed some home spa fun. In college, I tried one of June Havoc's dance marathon remedies. While I have yet to try the ice bathnumbing, I have done the olive oil. It stops the Okie dries without peeling all of my calluses off. Thru the danger of stumble upon, I have seen a variety of bizzare DIY beauty treatments that involve honey. Apparantly it's a natural anti inflammatory. I mixed honey and love oil together, zapped it, and slatheted all over my tired, slightly sunburnt body. Washed it off after about half an hour. I feel better. The Italian kitchen scent washes off quickly. I don't know if it actually did anything. It was me time with a cup of licorice tea, some almond coconut chocolate cookies (Peperidge's Farms ate good but I will have to make my own when the fridge is fully fixed), and MASH reruns. I feel better all ready. And it was def within my budget!

A Busy Maiden Typical of France!

Another busy week. Took my dad to see Porgy Tues night. Once again, I cried, laughed, and had a grand old time. Much grander than I had with kids the next day at Nice Work. Which was not so nice. It was an odd cobbling of old Gershwin tunes arranged around a cast of names with minimal thought or care. Broderick is not a Gershwin leading man, and I am very tired of his Ferris Buehler game. Especially when you can see the receding hairline from way up! Plus, he doesn't dance. Kathleen Marshall worked around him, but Erin Dilly (who was in during Kellie O'Hara's working vacay)showed him up.She's fierce and it is good to see her working! Overall, I had been expecting a show as thought out and beautifully cast as herh Anything Goes was last year. Or even as brilliant as Ken Ludwig's new Gershwin musicals with Randy Skinner and Kathleen Marsall. Lots of awesome dance numbers! Instead it was a quick cobble together of names and Gershwin tunes. Which sells well to a largely geriatric audience. I'm sure my rain fidgety kids didn't help my criticalness. Nor did the child with some severe stanky foot smell. Erin Dilly years ago at the Alley Theatre. She werks!

The kids showcase went up yesterday. After a long day of runs, they did a good job. I came home to tax forms, contracts, and my Can Can script. Which perked me back up. First number of the show is the can can girls defending themseleves in court. "We are maidens typical of France." Which is awesome. I stayed up way too late working on it. So I'm hitting the hay early tonite. I have to sleep some before I go promo all day. Two short shifts with a break in between. Ruby slippers in the morning. Red tights in the evening. And money to pay the bills!

Muppet News Flash

As has been my trend, I have been absurdly busy. Saw Peter and the Starcatcher with the kids. It was phenomenal. And there was tons of word play. Malaprops? I'm totally there. There were a couple of them where the awkward only a few people got it chuckles ensued. Add pirates, tranny mermaids, and a greasepaint stache and I am so there!

Saw End of the Rainbow for promo work. Was less impressed. It will be a great regional theatre show for tiny houses with geriatric audiences, but it is not a Broadway quality play. Always, Judy Garland. Except for she wasn't as much fun as Patsy Cline. The writing was also uneven. The playwright and director couldn't decide what to make Mickey Dean out to be. And with it being a show about Judy, he ended up being a bizarre mix of things and the catalyst for most of the action. Not quite right. The performances were good. And the costumes included a double breasted, bell bottomed blue velvet pant suit for Mickey. The blue hair and the gays weeped openly at the end of the show. They were more entertaining than the show at times. It should be an interesting promo to work. Judy is a tough sell if you are under 60.

In non theatrical news, my fridge has died. I have called my landlord and left a message. Trying to get up the balls to clean out the really jenky smelling spoiled things. Of course this occurred after I went grocery shopping Thursday, so it's going to cost me. I've put on Cat Ballou, thrown a handkerchief over my hair, and I'm thinking about the cleaning fun. The more I delay, the worse it will get. So I better hop to it! (And my landlord needs to call me back quick!) I just have to remind myself, it can always get crazier!

Clybourne Time!

Clybourne Park was fabulous! I have a shift promo-ing it this weekend. It was amazing. Sharp, witty, horribly relevant, and I laughed and laughed and thought. Which is damn good theatre. And the redheaded guy looked like a friend from college. And even moved like him. Margaritas with coworkers afterwards. Good night indeed! (Irony the underneath my last blog post the ad was for Clybourne. Because it was fated to rock my world!)

Life Is Better With Penguins

So working 7 days a week makes me a bad blogger. I had mixed feelings this week about the stage version of Mary Poppins, celebrated July 4th by being lazy and chilling with the ever fabulous Stahcey, crammed lots of choreo into little heads, got sick, and spent the weekend schlumping about Times Square in Chicago drag. Today I did all of the Manson Trio from Pippin while entertaining myself and handing out promos. Wrong show but who knows. I pull out lines and dances from Sweet Charity on a regular basis. Why not Pippin? My problems with Mary Poppins include 1. No tap dancing penguins 2. No fox hunt 3. They rewrote my role so it was no longer one I would play Sister sufferagettes unite! 4. No I love to laugh which means no flying bankers. Laughter didn't cure everything! 4. Most of the new songs were OK but not as tuneful as the ones they cut out 5. Naked statues coming to life seemed vaguely pervy. Probably because the giant fig leaf over the crotch was very eyecatching 6. The umbrella handle didn't talk 7. There was never a cohesive dance break. Like the script and constantly moving set, the choreo seemed to have ADD. Lay off the pixie dust and give me toe touches over chimneys! Do over the log over your broom. The Newsies down the street will teach you how. 8. Mary didn't wear the white dress with the red corsalet. Which I have lusted after for years. 9. They cut the politically incorrect talking segments of supercal. Come on. Its funny to have a fat lady and a tiny man as a couple. Especially when she hits him over the head with a tambourine!Forgive for my laxness with penguins, Bert, and Mary in my favourite outfit!