My new show opened! I had my official opening of Seth鈥檚 Broadway Breakdown October 15 and am thrilled to say I already got extended, meaning I鈥檓 now running until the end of November. The only scary part for me is once a show opens, I always feel I can relax about knowing my lines because I鈥檓 doing it so often. Well, my show is only on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays. So, I haven鈥檛 run the show since last Sunday and now I鈥檓 in a full panic that I don鈥檛 know any of my lines anymore.
It鈥檚 like my years when I was subbing the piano books on Broadway. On a typical week, I could play Phantom on Tuesday, Les Mis茅rables on Wednesday, How to Succeed... on Thursday, and then not have any gigs for a week. Then back to Phantom on the following Friday. But that would be 10 days between playing that particular show. So, I鈥檇 always get there 90 minutes early and run the whole piano part. And if I didn鈥檛鈥� hoo boy! I remember when I was playing Victor/Victoria and Anne Runolfsson was on for Julie Andrews. Anne sang the songs in a different key and, one time, after I played the show with Anne, I didn鈥檛 play it again for a few weeks or so when Julie was back on. I showed up and thought, 鈥淭his has been open for a long time. I know this. I don鈥檛 have to practice.
Well, playing the songs in the original keys was fine for me鈥� until the Act 2 song 鈥淟iving in the Shadows.鈥� It began with a huge piano solo and I was so thrown playing it in Julie鈥檚 key after I had last played it Anne鈥檚 key. I clinked and clunked throughout the solo, and was doubly mortified realizing that the entire time I was playing Julie鈥檚 blocking was to simply stand center stage and look thoughtful. She was there for my entire pianistic disaster. After the show, Joe Thalken (whom I was subbing for and was conducting that night) visited Julie in her dressing room. I nervously asked him if Julie noticed my clambake during 鈥淟iving In The Shadows鈥� and the answer from him was yes she did. Her reaction to my clinks and clunks was 鈥淚 thought I was living in the shadows.鈥� Huh? I know it was a bust on my horrific piano playing鈥� but I didn鈥檛 really understand it. Then I thought, maybe it was a British thing? Perhaps in the U.K., when someone messes up on the piano, the singer thinks they鈥檙e the title of the song? Like if I messed up during The Sound Of Music, she would have said, 鈥淚 thought I was a lonely goatherd.鈥� Can I get a yea or nay from a West End star?
By the by, if you never Anne Runoflsson鈥檚 different key in Victor/Victoria, you have to watch where she belts the high F at the end of 鈥淟e Jazz Hot鈥濃� and then does the same ending with a three octave slide鈥nding on an F above high C. For real!
I just remembered one more Victor/Victoria story, too. Even though people thought Julie Andrews lip-synched the end of 鈥淟e Jazz Hot,鈥� she did not. She sang it live every performance. However, in the scene directly after, a partygoer would confront 鈥淰ictor鈥� and ask 鈥渉im鈥� to sing the signature high note. Victor would hit the high note again and everyone at the party would hold their ears and glass would shatter. Well, that note actually was on tape. I don鈥檛 like lips ynching, but I didn鈥檛 mind that because it was during a scene (not a song) and it was right after the number, so Julie needed a reprieve from relentless singing (and dancing). Hilariously, though, one night the pre-recorded note didn鈥檛 work. So, the partygoer asked to hear the amazing high note, Julie opened her mouth鈥nd nothing came out. Uh-oh. She knew she needed to do something so she sang a note but she was completely not prepared so it was decidedly not a high note. Yet the rest of the scene remained the same. The audience was like 鈥淎 middle C can do that?鈥�
Anyhoo, I鈥檝e been posting mini-Broadway breakdowns since my show began and here are some of my favorites. First, I breakdown the fact that Leslie Odom Jr. in Hamilton the same way I did when I was 12 on Long Island. Then, the lyrics of Les Mis茅rables, qu鈥檈st-ce que c鈥檈st une centime!?And why does Patti LuPone two amazing high notes during Anything Goes.
Come see Seth鈥檚 Broadway Breakdown Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 PM and Sundays at 4 PM. And speaking of Sundays, I follow my 4 o鈥檆lock show at Asylum NYC with a live concert from our new Upper West Side apartment. Last week, I had Jessie Mueller and there were so many amazing moments. First of all, James joined her for 鈥淵ou Matter To Me鈥� and he was so nervous he wouldn鈥檛 know the harmony until Jessie told him she didn鈥檛 really remember the harmony. The fact that she had sung it 8 times a week and didn鈥檛 remember it completely relaxed him and they .
Speaking of doing something 8 times a week and not remembering: the amazing Priscilla Lopez starred in A Day in Hollywood/A Night in the Ukraine and won a Tony award for her performance. She had an incredible Act 1 song called 鈥淭he Best in the World鈥� about an aspiring actress whose father is overly enthusiastic. Every chorus begins with a version of 鈥淧apa said鈥ou鈥檙e the best! You鈥檙e the best in the world鈥︹�. There are four choruses with a version of that. Well, she took one week off and when she came back, she told me she got to the chorus and sang 鈥淧apa said鈥︹� and then silence. Finally, someone backstage or in the pit loudly whispered, 鈥測ou鈥檙e the best鈥� and she went on. So, back to the beginning of my column鈥t鈥檚 hard to remember lines, etc. when you鈥檙e doing a show 8 times a week. If you鈥檝e never heard the song, .
My other favorite moment from my Jessie Mueller concert was when our doggie Bagel wandered downstairs during the concert. He was wandering around while she was singing and decided to pipe up only at the very end鈥n a . It was exactly on the button. His timing was so completely in the pocket.
Coming up this Sunday I have Erika Henningsen who starred in Mean Girls on Broadway. I just rehearsed with Erika and she shocked me by to the end of 鈥淢eadowlark.鈥� And the amazing Mean Girls news is that Cady and Aaron Samuels will be together again: Erika (who played Cady) and Kyle Selig (who was Aaron) are now engaged鈥攁nd Kyle鈥檚 joining her for the concert. #YassDuets! Come join us live on Sunday at 8 PM ET by getting tix at and then peace outs.
