PROMISES, PROMISES Cast Album Signing

This was a really fun event at Barnes & Noble! Check out the video at 1:32 in, you'll see me.

Friday Five- Volume 5

This week's Friday Five is:
Five Cool Things I've Done in the Last Two Weeks

1. Meeting Pat Benatar- 80s rock superstar Pat Benatar signed copies of her autobiography, Between a Heart and a Rock Place, at the Fifth Ave. Barnes & Noble. No photos were allowed, darn it, but it was so cool to meet her. She is very down-to-earth, and her book is fantastic. I love her music, and have lots of her songs on my Ipod. And she used to eat at our favorite neighborhood diner, Green Kitchen!

2. Meeting the cast of Broadway's Lend Me a Tenor- The cast did a Q&A at Barnes & Noble Lincoln Triangle, and I learned that while watching a farce is very funny, talking about it, not necessarily so. The show is very funny, and it was pretty cool to meet Tony Shaloub (TV's Monk, my mother-in-law's favorite), his wife actress Brooke Adams, Justin Bartha (who is terrific in this show), Jay Klaitz and the incomparable Jan Maxwell, who was nominated for a Tony for her role. If you get the chance to see this show before it closes on August 15th, do so. You will laugh your self silly.

3. Meeting author Carolyn Parkhurst- Parkhurst wrote the devastatingly sad Dogs of Babel, which still haunts me, as well as Lost and Found, which I listened to (narrated by the brilliant Blair Brown) on my Ipod when I used to walk my dog Malcolm.  Her new book is The Nobodies Album, which is another incredible, unique novel. She is not one of those authors who writes a book a year, but the wait for her novels is so worth it. I was disappointed that there weren't more people at the reading, she is one of the best authors working today.

4. Meeting the cast of Broadway's Million Dollar Quartet-  The cast of this show performed three songs from the cast recording at Barnes & Noble Lincoln Triangle. The show is about Carl Perkins, Johnny Cash, Elvis Presley and Jerry Lee Lewis singing together at Sun Studios in Memphis. They rocked out the place, singing "Blue Suede Shoes" gospel song "Down by the Riverside" and "Great Balls of Fire".  The performers look so young, and Tony winner Levi Kreis, (Jerry Lee Lewis) looks so much like Harry Connick Jr. they could be brothers. And Lance Guest (Johnny Cash) when not in costume, reminded me of Brad Garrett from Everybody Loves Raymond. 

5. Meeting the cast of Broadway's Promises, Promises- Sean Hayes is the funniest man on the planet. Everything that comes out of his mouth is hilarious, and he moderated a Q&A with the cast that was wonderful. Kristin Chenoweth is lovely and so sweet, she spoke so kindly to all of the fans who showed up (and there were over 300 of them- the crowd rivaled the one who came for Liza Minnelli's CD signing last year). Waiting in line over 2 1/2 hours was worth it see this fun-filled event.

Happening This Week in NYC- Vol. 3

This week is filled with lots of music, and I hope to get to most of them.

Tuesday, June, 22 Pop star Cyndi Lauper signs her new CD, Memphis Blues at J&R Music on Park Row at 12:30pm.

Tuesday, June 22 The cast of the Broadway show Million Dollar Quartet sing and sign copies of the cast recording at Lincoln Triangle's Barnes & Noble at 4pm.

Wednesday, June 23 Author Colson Whitehead discusses his latest book, Sag Harbor: A Novel at Bryant Park's Word for Word Series at 12:30pm.

Thursday, June 24 The cast of Broadway's Promises, Promises, including Sean Hayes, Kristin Chenoweth and Tony winner Katie Finneran sing and sign copies ofthe cast recording at Lincoln Triangle's Barnes & Noble at 5pm.

Friday, June 25 Singer Alicia Keys tapes her CBS Early Show concert at the 59th St. location near the Apple Store at 11am.

Friday, June 25 The cast and creators of Broadway's Next Fall speak at Lincoln Triangle's Barnes & Noble at 5pm.

Friday's Five- Vol. 3

Broadway's Tony awards were handed out this past Sunday, so this week's Friday's Five is:

Five Favorite Broadway Performances- Comedic Category

1. Bill lrwin in Bye Bye Birdie This revival, starring John Stamos, was a bit uneven in my opinion, but two things stood out: the energy of the young performers and Bill Irwin in his role as Harry McAfee, the put-upon father of the teen girl chosen to get a kiss from pop star Conrad Birdie. Every time Irwin opened his mouth, comic gold came out, and his physical schtick was priceless. No one moves like Irwin.

2. Valerie Harper in Looped Harper portrayed the original Hollywood bad girl, Tallulah Bankhead, in this three person comedy. She nailed Bankhead's unique voice and style, yet seemed to make the role her own. Harper deservedly earned a Tony nomination for her role, though unfortunately, the show did not last long on Broadway and people don't have the chance to see how brilliant she was.

3. Jan Maxwell in Lend Me a Tenor Maxwell has but a few scenes in this revival of a farce, but boy does she make the most of them, earning a Tony nomination. She plays the tenor's Italian wife, and her screaming scenes with Anthony LaPaglia, her husband, the tenor, are screamingly hilarious. Her physical comedy excels as well, particularly when she uses a pillow, or rather, it overcomes her. The author should have written her into more scenes.

4. Justin Bartha in Lend Me a Tenor Bartha makes his Broadway debut in this show as Max, the jittery assistant who assumes the identity of Tito, the Italian tenor. Bartha more than holds his own among the talented cast (Maxwell, Tony Shaloub, and Anthony LaPaglia among others), and actually shines. His best scene is the one where LaPaglia teaches him warmup exercises. Bartha just goes for it, and it pays off huge.

5. Katie Finneran in Promises, Promises Finneran won the Tony for best featured actress in a musical for her role. She only has two scenes, but from the moment she opens her mouth in the opening of Act II as blowsy, brazen Margie, she owns the audience. She and Sean Hayes act and dance the hell out of that scene, and I wish they had shown that one on the Tonys. It may have been the funniest scene on Broadway this year.

Feel free to share your favorite comedic performances on Broadway in the comments section.

Sean Hayes is perfection in PROMISES, PROMISES

Sean Hayes (Jack from TV's Will & Grace) shines in his Broadway debut of the musical revival Promises, Promises. As the curtain rises, he is seated onstage at his desk, eating his lunch, a lonely office worker circa 1962.

Chuck Baxter is a single guy, looking to impress his boss and work his way up the ladder at Consolidated Life. He has no friends, and a crush on Fran, the cute little blonde who doesn't know his name and works in the cafeteria, played by the incomparable Kristin Chenoweth.

But Chuck's biggest asset is that he lives in an apartment on the Upper West Side, a place where the married horndogs at Consolidated Life want to take their girlfriends for an hour or two before going home to the wife. Reluctantly, Chuck gets dragged into this arrangement, promised a big promotion by the upper management types who use his apartment.

When the big boss, well played by Tony Goldwyn, gets wind of this, he tells Chuck to dump the other guys and just let him bring his girlfriend there in exchange for a promotion. Chuck agrees, but is heartbroken when he discovers the boss's girl is his beloved-from-afar Fran.

Hayes' comic timing is perfection, and he excels at the physical comedy. The scene where he tries to sit in a modern chair in the boss's office is genius, and his comic asides to the audience make everyone feel an important part of the show.

The second act opens with the highlight of the show- a Christmas Eve bar scene between a drunken, heartsick Chuck and Marge McDougall, a blowsy widow, brilliantly played by Broadway vet Katie Finneran. Finneran and Hayes' drunken, flirtatious repartee leads to a hilarious dance scene, and Hayes could barely contain his laughter during the scene. It reminded me of Tim Conway cracking up his costars on The Carol Burnett Show, and the audience ate it up.

Another Broadway vet, Dick Latessa, turns in a fine performance as Chuck's neighbor, a doctor. Latessa, Finneran, and Hayes all have razor-sharp comedic timing in their scene in Chuck's apartment.

Chenoweth has a less comedic role, but the chance to hear her sing such Burt Bacharach/Hal David classic songs as "I Say a Little Prayer", "A House Is Not a Home" and "I'll Never Fall in Love Again" gave me chills. Her lovely voice is so pure, I had goosebumps.

Surprisingly, Hayes has a sweet singing voice too, and he shines in the quieter songs, especially the duets with Chenoweth. The choreography by Rob Ashford, and the dancers add a vibrant note to this production.

Promises, Promises is a charming, funny, retro musical that surprisingly has some relevance in today's society, with it's storyline about men who cheat on their wives (Tiger, Jesse, and the rest). Hayes' charismatic performance ensures that he will not just be known as Jack McFarlyne for the rest of his long career.

If you are headed to NYC and want to see a fun, charming musical, don't miss Promises, Promises.