Ithaca Forever

Beautiful images from a beautiful weekend in a beautiful place. If you ever just so happen to be traveling though NY, check out this wonderful little city.
http://www.visitithaca.com/

A Small Summary...

...Before I am off on my next adventure. Spain, Portugal, Morocco, France, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Germany, Austria, and to top it off  ITALY!!!  Oh my! Only a few days in each place but I think it's safe to say my European dreams are coming true! 

A lot of sorting and packing and syncing going on in my last week home...remember when the coffee spilled on my computer and then a ladder fell on it? Being the brilliant tech guru that he is, Jason has come up with a solution for me with a refurbished Mac book Air and an enormous hard drive. So hot right? ;)

Speaking of hot...

Highlights of my week were seeing Evita on Broadway with my (let's just say) teenage crush Ricky Martin!

I think he's the best looking Che I've ever seen. No, I don't have a crush on him anymore, I am merely making an observation!!!

The other highlight was seeing my girl Jen sing Hansel in Hansel and Gretel with Bronx Opera. Get ticks here: http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/184327. I wish I could see the final performance because she is going to be just glorious in the role. Best upstage of the night award goes to the 10 year old gingerbread boy in the children's chorus who projectile vomited INTO the pit orchestra. I had no idea how dangerous being an instrumentalist is!!!

Off to Barcelona!!

The Muppet Show!!!

oh my gosh muppet movie, oh my gosh.

Isn't this promo amazing?? See the cupcakes the robot is holding? I want one.

I cried about 20 times and that was only when I wasn't laughing. Sometimes I was doing both and it was very confusing yet satisfying. What a flash back to my childhood! I have vivid memories being in a stroller taking my stuffed Kermit and Ernie (poor Bert, always being upstaged) to the playground. Every Sunday night was The Muppet Show and Fraggle Rock. Jason Segal is of my generation and has written an ingenious script that has given our furry friends (who are clearly real) a huge comeback. It was directed by James Bobin who helped co-create Borat and Flight of the Conchords. This movie should have been called Adriana's Muppet Movie. If you were born between 1965-1985 you HAVE to see this movie. If you weren't, it doesn't matter, you have to go too. Bring a kid along and introduce them to some of the best characters... I mean people... I mean Muppets, in the world. Oh and one of my favorite moments was the song "Am I am man, or am I a Muppet?" I know now exactly why Bret McKenzie won the Oscar-this song is brilliant!

CD Cover

Jason Campbell Photography is on somewhat of a hiatus at the moment but he dusted off his camera to take some very cool pictures of a certain soprano. He did such an amazing job as always so she is having a hard time deciding which one should be her cover/flipside/cd imprint. If anyone who may be possibly reading this has any input she would surely appreciate it! She thanks you in advance for your time!

 This is the idea with text:

Anything Goes-understudies are Delovely

I have put off seeing Anything Goes on the Broadway throughout my entire vacation so I could see it with Mama Mo for the following reasons.  
A. We are pretty much obsessed with Cole Porter.  
B. She has seen me in Anything Goes playing both Reno Sweeney and Hope Harcourt (not to worry it was not in the same production) And...
C. We saw Sutton Foster in her star is born musical moment, Thoroughly Modern Millie before she even won her first Tony award. We were revved UP.

Wellllll...as the little white paper understudy inserts fell out of our playbills we realized that neither she nor Joel Grey were performing that night. It's always a bummer to not see the original cast (we are spoiled) but I was SO happy to see a friend of mine and respected fellow Firesider take on the title role.  The Fireside legend Tari Kelly was FABULOUS and I was in awe of her and the whole cast of this wonderful, true classic musical. (The Fireside was my first equity theater job-great place...I will always have a soft spot in my heart for it.) I saw people returning their tickets before the show started and I could not help but think...is this not what happened to Sutton? plucked from the chorus and into stardom? New Yorkers are spoiled!!!
Main note: Go understudies.  Support them. They are overworked, underpaid and most of the time have to fill very big shoes.
Side note. BRING BACK TAPPING!!! That was a belted side note I apologize, but very necessary.

Follies and Room Service

Uh. My. GERSH. Remember how I saw Miss Bernadette in "A Little Night Music" last spring and fell in love with her even more than I already am? I am officially deeper in love after seeing her in Follies today.

I know it looks like we get paid just to prance about the stage having a good ol time as actors but let me tell you she deserves every comma in her paycheck because that woman has a complete nervous breakdown whilst having to carry a tune on stage 8 times a week. Brilliance though a belted breakdown. She and Sondheim are the reason I do theater, so when I see her do Sondheim I am totally and utterly inspired.

After the show we ate at a shabby chic Asian inspired Thai restaurant called Room Service.

 They don't have a web page I can find but here is the Yelp page.  So good, so affordable and the ambiance was a cross between a Buddhist temple and a trendy lounge with a giant Phantom of the Opera chandelier just chillin in the middle of the space. Apparently Buddha loves the bling. I love a blingy Buddha who giveth me coconut tempura calamari.

Inspired by perseverance and Jenny D! (D stands for Diva)

There are some people in this world that deserve perseverance as their middle name. And diva. So I guess Jen Caruana's new name would be Jen Perseverance Diva Caruana. Is it the fact that she is a good diva that makes her persevere? Or is it her perseverance that makes here a good diva? (I say good diva because it's like being a good witch. You have to put a good in front of it to make SURE everyone knows  you are a fabulous singer with none of the drama. Like a Glinda diva. Got it?) 

Anyways she gets the award in this category because she is still here and still singing. That's all it takes to get the award and you would think it would be an easy award to give out but looking around it's actually not.

 Jenny got a grant to sing a recital upstate and we all had the pleasure of hearing this girl sound absolutely fantastic at her dress rehearsal Friday night. She looked gorgeous AND she did a quick change. Now that's a great concert. Rehearsal. She's a good diva, her rehearsal WAS a concert!

The Good Diva. I feel a web series coming on...

I heart I heart I heart. We are missing someone though...

Definitely missing Beth here...we need another photo shoot ;)

Ithaca Forever

Miles kept repeating "my Momo!!" and rocking her back and forth. It was very funny and this is the only clear picture I have of the moment.

Until we meet again

Jason's last night on the ship coincided with my friend George's last night with the company. Jason and I had drinks in the Avenue Piano bar and exchanged birthday gifts...Givenchy Ange ou Demon Le Secret for me and let's cross our fingers not to loose them Aviator RayBans for my prince. We had a celebratory dinner in the main dinning room and a very sad "see you next time" to the boys. The last night of any cruise is so strangely depressing...I don't know what they do but they really make you sad it's over. Maybe it's the string quartet playing sad ballads in the atrium ala Titanic's end?? I don't know. But want I do know is after four long months I don't think the end of this next cruise is going to be so sad. NYC here I come!!!!!

Jason and Michael my other half in life and my other half on stage

Jason and Georgie

Jason, George, Penny and Michael

The whole cast!

Gorgeous sunset...kinda sad right? I swear they set these things up.

This is pretty cool...the woman in this picture is Ilene Graff and she was in charge of the Emerging Artist Progam onboard for that cruise. She is pretty big in the industry and played Sandy on Broadway in the original cast of Grease. She was so ecstatic to find out that we both went to Ithaca College and took this picture to put in the Quarterly so watch out for it! Such a pleasure to meet her and her husband. Her daughter is starring in Chicago in Broadway this week!

Then out of the hat it's that big first night!

I hope eveyone is getting my lyrics references...if not, you may want to check out my sports entries instead. ;)
Backstage pics of opening night: