Hey there
No real new news here but wanted to say hello. I will be in Cleveland June 10-12 for Colossalcon if anyone will be in the area...And here in New York right now, it's Fleet Week...:)
I've been working with the York Theatre again, helping pull together the Oscar Hammerstein Award Gala for Tony Walton. It's been a blast. Kathleen Marshall is directing and some amazing performers will be making appearances. Also...some of you may know this, but there was a movie I was an extra in when I was 11 years old. There also happens to be a musical of that movie that was a big hit in London. I spoke to the writer of that musical about perhaps having a concert of said musical sometime next year....so I'll let you know about that when we've spoken some more.
Outside of that, not a whole lot...just gearing up for the summer.
Hope everyone is great!
Love, Jamie
with love from Jamie at 8:54 AM
So last night...
Such a strange evening for me. I started out by joining my producing partner, Traci Klainer for the reception and theatre-renaming in Times Square. They renamed the Plymouth and the Royale after two of the Shubert Organizations leaders, Bernard Jacobs (the Royale) and Gerald Schoenfeld (The Plymouth). I stood inside this enclosed area on 45th Street and watched as they pulled down the tarps covering the new signs. The Plymouth was the first Broadway theatre I ever set foot in when I saw Passion in July of 1994. And then I recall my next trip the following January when I was wandering Broadway at 3am. Passion had closed and I recall looking into the darkened lobby and just being dumbstruck by everything. I was catatonic for the entire weekend (as my friends will attest)...I was completely overwhelmed by my own life and the fact that I was a speck in this huge beautiful city.
Last night I experienced something so similar but so different. Being at this truly historic event with people who are now my colleagues, was one of the most humbling experiences I've ever had. And at the same time, I jumped back to my 20 year old self peaking into the darkened theatre that now has a different name-the same ghosts, the same memories, but a different sign outside above the marquis.
Then I ventured on to the Manhattan Theatre Club Gala (which Traci was lighting) and got to see some amazing performances and then a brilliant after party all at the Hilton...
And now I sit here this morning just having watched the Tony Award nominations on NY1. I am in so much shock and I'm just honored to have actually worked with some of the nominees...VERY big Congrats to Matty Morrison (who appeared in my Neo Concert at the York) for his nomination for his performance in A Light In The Piazza. His performance is amazing-his transformation in this role was not only just a great turn, but has astounded others in the industry. He's become kind of known for being able to do the hot young boy band type thing, and this is a great departure from that. I'm very proud of him. Also big congrats to Kelli O'Hara for her performance in the same show, opposite Matt (Kelli appeared in this year's Embrace Concert for the Matthew Shepard Foundation). And of course to Celia Keenan-Bolger who's never done one of my benefits but is clearly one of my favorite people in the world. Chris Sieber, Dan Fogler, Victoria Clark, Marc Kudisch (who appeared in the Embrace Concert as well as the Lesser Known Tunes of Andrew Lloyd Webber at Joe's Pub), Sutton Foster, who I was honored to work on the Snoopy Concert with, and the brilliant Sara Ramirez. Dear Lord, these people are all so brilliant.
I'm looking forward to this week. Especially because I get to see that aforementioned great guy again :).
That's about it for now. Very grateful right now to have been given the opportunities I have.
Have a great week!
Love, Jamie
with love from Jamie at 9:14 AM
What a great week!
Starts off by coming off of the brilliant CTI Weekend and the lovely encounter with Merle Reskin. And I spent the majority of the week working with the general partnership for the Off Broadway musical, meeting with some publicists for the show and hashing out a lot of great ideas including the choosing of a space for the show. I'm very excited.
And then...as if the rest of the week wasn't great enough, last night happened. It began with a great senior recital by uber-talented composer Brian Lowdermilk down at NYU and a fun after party at the old stomping ground, Hurleys. So I got to hang out with a lot of peeps I hadn't had the opportunity to see in a long while. And to top it all off, I had a really great end to the night where I had some drinks with a really great guy. I'll leave it at that. he's really great. Hope everyone has a great weekend...off to see my bud Max in Papermill's Baker's Wife tomorrow night.
Love, Jamie
with love from Jamie at 3:21 PM
Hey there
So...I've been participating in CTI for the past three days. CTI is the Commercial Theatre Institute which is a training ground for new producers in commercial theatre. It was amazingly informative and I highly recommend it to anyone in the industry. I knew a few actors that went, as well as directors and other industry folk-just to find out how things work with the shows they are involved with. Very smart.
It was so exciting to be there in the Broadway Theatre with 450 members (the largest registration in CTI history) who will all be among the next generation of Broadway.
Anyway, last night, I finished at around 6 and wandered around the Times Sq area. I tried getting a rush seat for Avenue Q or Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, (both of which I've seen but would love to see again-especially if its $20!). So I lost both lotteries, and went into the theatre bookstore on 44th before I was going to get on the train home for the night...just then...an older woman started a conversation with me and my friend Patrick, who works there. She pointed out the window to the Makestic Theatre across the street and said "That window was my dressing room." And when I asked, she told me she was in the original cast of South Pacific in 1948. AMAZING. She then told us she had a theatre in Chicago (where she lives) named after her (The Merle Reskin Theatre). I was astounded.
So I asked her what show she was seeing and she said "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels" which I have some friends in. So I told her she'd love it and then she told me she had an extra ticket and asked if I would accompany her to the show. So of course I did. The only stipulation was I had to switch seats with her if someone tall sat in front of her. So here I am sitting watching a new musical on Broadway with a woman who performed in one of the major classic musicals of the genre. Anyway, we had a lovely time and will hopefully keep in touch. Every once in a while, when you need it, God gives you another New York Story.
That's all for now. If you have not yet sponsored me for the AIDS Walk, please do so NOW!
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Love, Jamie
with love from Jamie at 11:02 PM