"Here Lies The Nance of Assembled Newsies"

Having just visited New York for five glorious days I thought it best to blog about my trip. It was my very first time flying Jet Blue and I have to say I was very impressed. It was my first time having a personal TV and plenty of leg room. I could not believe the yummy options of complimentary snacks! If you have never had the popcorn chips called "Popcorners" then stop reading and go get yourself some now! They are pretty great and they are gluten-free! Thankfully, I also had the pleasure of having a lovely woman sitting next to me that made the travel highly enjoyable. I landed in New York and met up with my sister, and while Popcorners were a fantastic snack, I was craving my first New York meal. We decided to meet my friend Mason at S'Mac which has some very yummy Mac and Cheese (I got the gluten-free one just to try it and couldn't tell the difference.) 

We had some time to kill before meeting Nathaniel Claridad (a swing currently in the production of "Here Lies Love" at the Public,) my friend Caroline, and our friend Tania for dinner before seeing Nathaniel perform, so we got caught up over some yummy happy hour sangria. Once it was show time we filed into the space and were instantly inside a pulsing nightclub of Filipino history! It was a really awesome experience and of course I was bursting with pride to see a dear friend of mine living the dream, that was a very good feeling. Also it was great to see Jose Llana again. He had performed in a production of Dustin Lance Black's "8," (the play about Prop 8) in Chapel Hill last year. "Here Lies Love" was very interactive and forced the audience to be constantly aware of their environment which as a performer you can only hope will be the result of your performance. Well done to Alex Timbers, the director, I had never seen one of his shows but had heard of his fine work. It was great to finally experience the hype. "Here Lies Love" will run until July 28 at the Public Theater, so I recommend if you're in New York you go see it!! 

The next day my sister and I had a lovely day at the theatre. We went to see Nathan Lane in "The Nance." It was a very touching story and an appropriately timed reflection on the past considering the current progress in gay rights. Nathan Lane was riveting. What an honor it was to see him perform. 

Later that evening, after a nice bite, and a very random but lovely surprise run-in with my friend Margaret Burrus, who just happened to be working in the city over the summer, we got tickets to see Richard Greenberg's "The Assembled Parties." It was beautiful. Richard Greenberg is currently one of my favorite playwrights. I worked on his "Three Days of Rain" with Ground UP Productions and fell in love with his writing. (Check out Ground UP's current show "Rubber Ducks and Sunsets" on their site!) The set was also amazing. It was our second rotating set of the day after "The Nance." The set was an apartment and each new rotation invited into different rooms. Judith Light was very funny as "Faye" and Jessica Hecht as "Julie" just blew me away! I did not realize until intermission that Hecht was the girlfriend to "Ross'" ex-wife on "Friends!" She is an amazing actress and I would never have known if I didn't see this show. There is something so different about seeing an actress that you remember from TV on stage. It is more meaningful and you really get a better sense of their "essence." To say the least, I was very happy to have seen "The Assembled Parties." 

Later in my trip I went to my very first Broadway audition! The call was for dancers for Disney's "Newsies." It was a very surreal experience to finally be in a room with all these other artists in New York City. I had a lot of fun and met some great people and of course (because this world is so tiny) ran into some friends. Later that night, because I was so hyped up on "Newsies," Nathaniel and I won the lottery to see the show (thanks to my amazing sister who won the tickets for us at the very last minute.) My former classmate from Elon University Adam Kaplan was playing "Morris Delancey" and is the 1st understudy to the role of "Jack Kelly." Adam blended in very nicely with the other Newsies boys but that is because he had the elegance and form of a trained dancer! I wish I could have seen him as "Jack!" The show was good fun, just as advertized!  

After seeing four shows, attending a New York audition, and eating the good eats it was time for me to return to Charlotte for rehearsal of "Recent Tragic Events!" Yesterday was an incredible day because I finally signed the contract for the show, which means I am officially bound to perform for you September 12-October 12! I will continue to update the site on new information, so come on back and visit the site soon! 

As of this weekend the Broadway / Off Broadway shows I have seen are:
Rent-2007
The Ling King-2007
Wicked-2008
Chicago-2008
Mary Poppins-2009
West Side Story-2009
Young Frankenstein-2010
Love, Loss, and What I Wore-2011
Avenue Q-2011
Hair-2011
Ghost-2012
Here Lies Love-2013
The Nance-2013
The Assembled Parties-2013
Newsies-2013

Until next time,
Jack