This goes out to all those John Hall’s UCLA Musical Theater Workshop peeps!
I had a fantastic time last night. Fantastic. First, went to Don’t Tell Mama’s to sing backup with Amy Rutberg for Tom Lenk’s “Last Minute Show” and Michael Hicks at the piano. It was a UCLA reunion and a wonderful, silly time to be had. Tom sang Britney Spears, did standup, and performed comedy sketches with Amy & I. I even got to combine my geek and opera identities by singing the soprano theme to Star Trek and salute the fellow Trekkies in the audience with a Vulcan “Live Long and Prosper” gesture (after hitting the high note, of course). Friends from the “Rock of Ages” production staff – including Kristin Hanggi (who I can now call “Tony Nominated Director”!) – were there to howl at Tom’s honest accounts of his “Buffy The Vampire” celebrity. And my friends Sergio Lobito and Jordan Yanco came by as well!!!
After that, I headed over to Wednesday Night at the Iguana, where I was able to close the evening’s open mic by singing three of my favorite songs. Richard Skipper and Dana Lorge were incredibly funny, witty, and gracious hosts, and even after a few false starts on my third song, Barry Levitt on piano and Saadi Zain on bass kept it all playing smoothly. My UCLA pianist/composer friend Brian Allan Hobbs and his friend Arianna came by to watch me sing. Then Maria T. Eberline, a good UCLA buddy, met us after her evening show. She had jsut returned to New York to perform in “Wicked” for the remainder of the month (covering Elphaba). She’s got an adorable 10 month old and a handsome talented husband, and yet she doesn’t look a day older. We reminisced about our UCLA shows until a wee hour, and then headed home.
All in all, a great night of singing and friends.