Peter and the Starcatcher: Barnes & Noble Live Event

Barnes and Noble does all sorts of really interesting events, and the ones in New York are by far the best! That’s why last Thursday, I had an AMAZING opportunity.

Peter and the Starcatcher (5-Time Tony Award Winner) had recently released its annotated script (which is simply stunning, by the way. I think there should be one for Newsies), and B&N was hosting an event for it. They invited Ridley Pearson (author of Peter and the Starcatchers with Dave Barry, and The Kingdom Keepers) to host the event, and they brought in Director Rick Elice, and the three of the lead stars from the show: Christian Borle, Celia Keenan-Bolger, and Adam Chanler-Berat.

The format was pretty simple. Before the even started, twitter followers for @StarcatcherBway were invited to tweet in their questions. Ridley Pearson used those as a jumping block for questions to ask the cast, and he really only needed to ask three or so questions, because they were really good at telling the story of how the script came from a book, through La Jolla, to NY Theatre Workshop, to Broadway.

It was amazing seeing how connected they all are, and how they constantly give credit to each other for the show getting to where it is today. You can really see the camaraderie that defines their show come out in their interactions off stage.

After the question session, they all set up at a table and prepared to sign several copies of the script. They were all wonderful and were excited to hear what their fans had to say. They responded accordingly, and just had huge smiles on their faces the entire time. They are such a funny, warm, and welcoming group of people! It was amazing!

I was really excited to meet Ridley Pearson because he wrote the Kingdom Keepers, which is this awesome book series that my youngest sister and I just absolutely adore! It’s like mystery and adventure and excitement meet Disney.

Christian Borle is phenomenal, I’m surprised I was able to say thank you without stumbling over my words. I was so overwhelmed about being in the presence of such an amazing and impressive actor. I watch him on SMASH too, and I literally am stunned at how fabulous he is.

Celia Keenan-Bolger, big sister to Andrew Keenan-Bolger, is absolutely stunning. Girl has style, class, and an amazing voice. She can act the pants off of anyone. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: She could wear a paper bag and still look gorgeous. I definitely stumbled through my words to her, but man, she is so down to earth, and so kind to everyone.

Adam Chanler-Berat was adorable. Literally, I cannot explain him any other way. He’s funny, charming, and sweet. I was so impressed by how humble he is too! Everyone was trying to say that bringing him into the PATSC world brought the magic that was missing, and he was all bashful and shy about it, trying to credit them with the magic too. He is a winner in my eyes!

Meeting Rick Elice was almost too much for me to handle. By the time I got to him, I was already overwhelmed by all of the greatness and gratitude, and I feel like I made a fool of myself in front of him, stammering over words and sentences like none other.

Anyway, I also have some pictures from the event to share with you guys. Click on the images to make them larger!

Adam Chanler-Berat

Adam Chanler-Berat

Celia Keenan-Bolger

Celia Keenan-Bolger

Celia Keenan-Bolger

Christian Borle

Christian Borle

Christian Borle and Celia Keenan-Bolger

Rick Elice

Rick Elice and Adam Chanler-Berat

Ridley Pearson, Rick Elice, and Adam Chanler-Berat

'Newsies' granted an open run on Broadway

Reblogged from PopWatch:

Look at them! They're the kings of New York!

Disney's latest Broadway musical Newsies, which was scheduled to close on August 19, has scored an open-ended run, the company announced today. The current cast is scheduled to stay with the production.

After a wildly successful three-week-only run at New Jersey's Paper Mill Playhouse in September 2011, Disney brought the stage adaptation of the…

Read more… 358 more words

We beat 'em!!! "'@Newsies' Granted an Open Run on Broadway"!!!

To Stage Door or Not to Stage Door – BroadwaySpotted

I think this is a great article to read. You really get some insight into actor’s lives and to why they do come to the stage door.

Personally, I love it when they do. I try to go to the stage door after every show. Sometimes, I get tons of signatures. Sometimes, like my first time at How to Succeed, I only get two or three (but I DID get Beau Bridges and Taylor Frey so I was an EXTREMELY happy camper).

I don’t mind not getting signatures of big name people. The ones that I really try to get belong to the ensemble for most shows, because I know that without them, the show would not be as amazing as it is. I try really hard to know what their names are (I’m usually flipping to the back of my playbill while I’m waiting for someone to come out so that I can recognize them right away), and I might call out, “Hey, so-and-so, can I get your autograph?”

If they come up to sign, I thank them for doing a great job. Even if a show wasn’t my favorite, you can tell how hard all of the actors work in the show, and they always do a great job. If there was a particular thing that I liked, I try to tell the actor. Giving them more positive reinforcement might just make their day a little brighter, and that’s what matters. They just gave so much to me over the last 2+ hours, a little appreciation is the least I could do.

If they don’t come sign, I shrug it off. They probably need to do some real-people thing like catch the subway or bus, or get home. Or maybe they feel sick, or don’t think they did well. I don’t know, but I’m not going to blame them. They are real people too. I wouldn’t want people to treat me that way, so I won’t treat them that way.

I think Stage Door-ing is an important part of the live theater experience, but getting signatures and pictures is not always vital. Just getting to see the people (even those in the orchestra below the stage) walk out is an exciting thing. For me, these people have exciting lives compared to what I do day in and day out. I perceive it as amazing and glamorous, so I like to catch a glimpse of them out of costume. But I never want them to feel like I’m hounding them. Sometimes, I come on a little too strong at the Stage Door (see: EVERY time at Newsies – my apologies to the cast, I’m so sorry. I will try to be better, but I can’t help it. I really appreciate all of you so much, and I get excited when I see you. I’ll try to tone it down a little next time), and I have to remind myself to back off a little. Really, this only happens at Newsies.

The actors in these shows really are all amazing, and we need to reach out and show them a little respect. They are people just like us. Just with really awesome jobs where they get to pretend to be someone else for 2+ hours a night.

So my final opinion is Stage-Dooring is a do, but you have to be respectful of the actors.

See what BroadwaySpotted had to say: To Stage Door or Not to Stage Door – BroadwaySpotted : BroadwaySpotted.

Anything Goes and ASK ME!

ANYTHING GOES

Last night I finally saw ANYTHING GOES. It was a great show! Chris laughed waaaay more often than I expected, and waaaay louder than I expected. I was a little uncomfortable with that because he literally COULD NOT STOP laughing. I mean, it was funny, and very good, but I didn’t think it was THAT funny. I also wasn’t a huge fan  of the dance sequences with only two people in them, but that’s because I have high standards for that type of scene. I mean, I grew up on Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers (and Fred Astaire with other women), and man, it is hard to beat Fred Astaire at dancing. I don’t think anyone ever has, actually.

ANYTHING GOES had just enough humor, and just enough drama. The music was really good, most of it has a fun beat, and those that don’t come just in time for relaxing. I wasn’t a huge fan of the parts where they suddenly acted like they knew there was an audience, because I felt like it was just thrown in there, but they were executed well, and added another layer of humor.

I loved the tap sequence at the end of the ACT I. It was beautiful and phenomenal, and exciting! Definitely ended the act on a high note! ACT 2 felt super short, but the story got tied together nicely.

The principle cast did a phenomenal job with the show, and Stephanie J Block was a perfect replacement for Sutton Foster. I think it was awesome that most of the cast came out and started signing playbills right away and thanking everyone for coming to a show…that doesn’t happen at every show, but they really show how grateful they are for the fans.

How to Succeed and Newsies both have really amazing casts. Everyone comes out eager to sign and chat (with the exception of the rules governing Nick Jonas’s coming to the stage door), and the cast of Anything Goes made me feel the same sense of excitement at the stage door.

ASK ME!

New feature added today!

ASK ME!

That’s right! ANY QUESTION!

Something serious, something funny.

About me, or for advice, I’m up for it all.

Once a week, I’ll take time to answer any questions you ask!

Click here to ask, or follow the link ASK ME! at the top of any page!