I just got back to Nashville last night from Chicago. I’ve been there since Sunday where I had the fortunate pleasure of sitting in on rehearsals and the show for “Marc Shaiman…This Is Your Life” at the Gentry of Chicago. It starred Mr. Shaiman, Mr. Wittman, Mr. Vilanch, and the cast of “Hairspray”.
I owe my incredible luck and invite to Mr. Jim Vukovich, the musical director of “Hairspray” and one of the producers of this wonderful benefit which raised money for the Harbor House and Bonaventure House of Chicago…in conjunction they house the homeless people who are afflicted with substance abuse addictions and who also are afflicted with HIV/AIDS and then build upon this foundation to rehabilitate, educate and nurture these people so they can re-enter the world as self sufficient members of society. The other producer of the show was The Gentry’s Eric McCool, the General Manager, also in charge of Public Relations and Promotions/Special Events, along with being the Webmaster. In other words, a very busy man!:-)
I also was able to take in another fun-filled night of “Hairspray” where my socks were blown off once more by the incredible cast headed by our own Mister V and that tiny ball of energy, Carly Jibson.
I’ll be doing one of my silly little articles about my experience. I was alone this time around, so everyone should be scared. I got great pics of rehearsals and the show….both were held in a room even Laura Flynn Boyle would find tight if she were the ONLY one in it….but it made it that much more fun and intimate. I got absolutley no pics of me with anybody….who was I gonna ask…the stars of the show????LOL Anyway, I may create the outfits I wore and take pics so that Penny can tell me how I did on the wardrobe front….
This was not about Bette…so if alot of you are waiting to hear some gossip on her latest travails, you won’t find it here. There will be some mentions, but this is mostly a fun look at “behind the scenes”. You’ll see some up close shots of the cast, Marc, Bruce, Scott, Jim…the people involved…
It was an incredible experience and I hope I can create some of the fun behind it as if you were there with me…well. I’ll try:-)
Anyway, I’m totally exhausted, and will probably crash and burn tonight and start writing for the weekend…
