Saturday, May 31, 2008

Seasons of Concern Benefit by Missy Young


Missy Young, my Edie to my Steve ... the gal I just performed "Snuff That Girl" with in Urinetown for four weekends in May, is having a benefit performance for Seasons of Concern tomorrow (Sun. 6/1). A bunch of us are meeting in the afternoon to reunite and then head on over to the shindig. Here's the info:

The fabulous Missy Young, who recently raised over $1,600 in audience donations collected after her performance in Urinetown with Big Noise Theatre Company, is hosting a one night only concert benefit for Season of Concern this Sunday, June 1st at 7:00 p.m. in the Bailiwick Studio Theater.

And it's also her birthday party.

The concert will be selections from a well loved Broadway musical soon to be closing.

In addition to Missy, the concert also features Jon Cunningham, Rob Smith, Barbara Myers, Vallea E Woodbury, Sean Walton, Aaron Holland, Jayson Brooks, Gerald Richardson and Bethany Thomas.

The incredible Rick Frendt is at the piano.


And the best part is the concert is free! Missy will asking for donations during the intermission and hopes to raise $500 for Season of Concern that night. I have a feeling she's going to go well beyond her fundraising goal!

See you Sunday! This is one birthday party you won't want to miss!


Miss Young's Birthday Concert for Season of Concern
Sunday, June 1, 2008 - 7pm
The Bailiwick Studio Theater
1229 W. Belmont Ave.
Chicago, IL 60657

Thursday, May 29, 2008

Is It Spring Yet?


Chicago has had some warmer days, but inbetween it's been chilly. My cousins visited at the end of April when it was still in the 50's. And for most of this week it's been in the 70's and tipping into the 80's, but it's still on-again-off-again weather. Here's a pic I took of a fountain in a shopping mall near where I work. I guess we're doing good if the water's not frozen.

Sunday, May 25, 2008

Sex Police Cadets 2008


One of the great things that the not-for-profit organization that I'm a board member of does is AIDS awareness using theater and dance. Here's a photo that I just got of the "Sex Police Cadets" that happened this past spring.

Thursday, May 22, 2008

Stolen Karaoke Moments




Having lost the traffic battle to get to dance class last week, I decided that since I was on the North Side of the city, I ought to grab a moment to Karaoke and in the process encountered a couple of friends. We ended up at Mary's Attic and my dance-studio friend Elizabeth sent me the evidence.

Sunday, May 18, 2008

Urinetown Closes

Sad to say, we Snuffed our last Girl this afternoon with the close of four weekends of Urinetown. The cast understood what a special collection of people we were and knew it would probably never happen again. The mushier of us cried. The jaded ones filed it away for the big teary outburst we'll have on our death beds. But just thinking about the breadth of talent in a cast of extremely generous actors ... In my day, we'd sing "Kiss Today Goodbye" and feel something.

But in the venacular of a Urinetown song:

This is the end.
Roll the dice.
Place your bets.
In this miserable world, that's as good as it gets.


I know, sentimentality died in the 80's.

Wednesday, May 14, 2008

Backstage with Urinetown





Missy Young took some shots of the cast backstage and I'm posting a few of them here. It's a lively cast that likes to party after the shows.

Friday, May 09, 2008

Two More Urinetown Weekends













Time is flying for my stint in Urinetown, the Musical. Just two more weekends until my life goes back to normal.

It's been a great experience with the cast and with the challenges of the role. Finally, I'm getting some pics up for you to see. I have a couple of stand-out moments in what's really a great ensemble show.

Thursday, May 08, 2008

Zooming Past $4 a Gallon


Just wanted to share a picture of a gasoline price sign near my house. Chicago's city taxes always push our prices up higher than the surrounding suburbs--and even the nation. San Francisco is the other metro area I hear where prices have pushed past the $4 threshold.