"You gotta know when to hold 'em....."

Hey everyone.

It finally happened.
They day we've been dreading for quite sometime.

The onslaught of summer.
The fact that the weather is now so unbearably hot, that all one can do outdoors is walk from their house to their car.
I am very lucky, and have a pool, so everyone likes to take full advantage of their friendship with Natalie during the summer.
Which is fine by me.
Last week we had a Monday Night Pool Extravaganza complete with Cliff and Kristin singing the entirety of "A Little Fall of Rain" from Les Mis and Alex Wallace cooking steaks, shirtless, while smoking cigars. Classy.

And this past weekend Trina came to visit and sit poolside with her little "peanut", as she so lovingly refers to him.
Porter was having somewhat of a fussy day, but he is still a handsome little man.
And I did manage to hold him, and keep him quiet long enough for his mama to get a quick dip in the watery oasis.

I've been enjoying my last few weeks of nothing to do.
I often will be lounging on the couch, and stop watching The Tudors on my netflix instant.
Sidebar.
Netflix instant is amazing. I never realized how awesome it could be till I got my swanky new iPad, and it has an app for watching all that stuff.
So, now all I do is watch TV series that I can't normally watch.
The Tudors is currently my guilty pleasure.
Everyone on that show is, like, painfully good looking.
Even Sir Thomas More.
Sexy McSexerton.
Anyways.
I've done a lot of netflixing and reading.
But I'll suddenly stop, and try to figure out something more productive I should be doing.
And then realize I have nothing more productive.
Which is kind of a nice feeling.
It's over in a few weeks, though.
I start rehearsals on the 8th, and I'm quite looking forward to it.
Can't wait to work at Le Chat again, and can't wait to work with Mr. Routhier.
Gonna be a swell time.

I went and saw Singin' in the Rain this past Sunday out in the Rivertown.
I have not been to see a show in that theatre in probably 2 years.
Quite a long time, and I almost forgot how funny the audiences are in that place.
They will just talk to the actors on stage, and comment about the plot at FULL VOLUME.
I find that very amusing.
The show was quite charming and delightful.

Abbey and Bob were swell as Zelda and Charlie Chaplin...I just wish Abs had more to do!
Micah, the girl playing Kathy Seldon was very tan. And very pretty, and had a beautiful Disney Princess voice. She did a good job.
Ken Goode was fun to watch. He played Cosmo, and he just kind of looks like a cartoon character in life, so that worked well for the part. His "Make 'Em Laugh" looked down right athletic, and I don't know how he was able to sing and do all that craziness at the same time. I also enjoy Ken tap dancing because you can see him pounding that floor. He was adorable.
Jennifer Delatte played Lina and she was hilarious. I was quite surprised.
Not gonna lie, I've always wanted to play Lina, so I had very high expectations, and she was very funny. Her voice was perfect and she landed all the jokes. And the best part is--Jennifer is a very trained opera singer, so the fact she was playing the girl who can't talk or sing, was quite funny.
And then there is my darling Cliff.
He is just a dream to watch on stage.
He dances so well, and his voice is so beautiful, and I totally believe he could charm the pants off of anyone on that stage or the audience.
And yes, perhaps he doesn't have all the attributes of the stereotypical "Gene Kelly" type, but he's tall, he's super handsome, and he's got the prettiest eyelashes ever.
And who likes stereotypes any way?
Not this redheaded, bespectacled, short, slightly chubby lady.
I'm pretty sure I get parts because I DON'T look like anyone else at the auditions.
Then again, to each his own.
I'm just saying, I think Cliff was swell. And all those little old ladies after the show just went nuts for him.

In more recent theatre news, last night was the 18th Annual Storer Boone Awards, held, as per usual, at Le Chat Noir.

The evening was quite an event. Lots and lots of people. And all people I really enjoy.
Before the doors had been opened Kristin and Laura and I had decided that we needed to weasel our way to the front of the crowd so we could be the first ones in the theatre.
Well, we managed to get in the front, and then the three of us immediately grabbed the coveted corner booth near the door/bar.
We did it. We represented, the three of us, plus the NOLA Project intern, Sara, got the entire corner.
Many people walked by and gave us evil looks for for little ladies holding court in this huge section.
Eventually the rest of the company sat down and we didn't feel like such bitches anymore.
There was a large group of us: Claire, Pete, Yeargain, Suzannah, Sara, Laura, Sam, Cliff, Kristin, AJ, Casie, Shauna, Jamie Wax, Jaci, and myself. And immediately in front of us were Carrie, PJ, LJ, Lisa and SEAN PATTERSON! (Who, by the way, I was beyond thrilled to see. I wouldn't stop hugging him. And the first thing he said to me was that we needs to get some cake, put it in some to go cups and eat that shit! Its a joke we have about the fact that one Mardi Gras we were at a house a party and we both put cake in to-go cups and started eating it with spoons. This is when we realized we'd be friends forever.)

It was a little slow getting started, but once it did it was off and running.
The category we were looking forward to the most was Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy. The nominees were: AJ, Yeargain, Bartelle, Sam and Michael Sullivan.
We joked with Michael before hand, that if he wins he would single-handedly defeat the entire NOLA Project.
The award comes up, and of course, Mr. Sullivan won!
Congrats to him for a hilarious victory.
Things continued, everyone around me got more wasted.

And Jamie Wax is a terrible terrible influence on me. We cannot sit next to each other at these things, we just talk, and comment and gossip the whole time. It's terrible.
Especially when PJ and LJ have to turn around and tell us to shut the hell up.
I blame Wax. Completely.
His Fault!
Dennis Assaf got the Lifetime Achievement award. Which was lovely, and quite nice for him....even though he really isn't old.
But, everyone in the community agrees, he has the hair styling of Kenny Rogers. I think even Dennis can agree to that.

So when he went up there, PJ ran back to our booth and just quietly sang, "You gotta know when to hold 'em....."
And I lost my mind. As did everyone at the table so we were all like kids in church trying not to laugh out loud as this poor man is giving his speech.
Sorry Dennis. We all love you!

Brief rundown of the awards:

Laura Jean won Best Stage Manager. Because she is. The damn award should be named after her.
Cecile won Best Costumer. I was hoping somehow Shauna would edge her out...but, if my bestie can't win, CC is my next pick!
David Hoover won Best Director of a musical. Yay!
Carrie won Best Choreo for Damn Yankees....wish she would have tied with Frannie!
Trina FINALLY won an award for Best Supporting Actress in a Drama for King Lear. I happily took that home for her, seeing as everyone thought it fitting for me to give her the award, I have it in my custody! Perhaps I will give it to her.....mwhahahaha.

Taste won Best Original Play which was awesome and kind of a surprise, seeing as though is was up against tour de force, Loup Garou.
AJ won Best Actor in a comedy for Marmalade and Andrew won Best Director of a Comedy for Marmalade!
My category was filled with all kinds of goodness like Claire Gresham for Taste and Lisa Picone for Valley of the Dolls.
Before the show Lisa said she hoped we tied.
Sucker.
Our category came up and my name was announced and it was the loudest applause and hollering I've ever heard. I've never felt so loved. I really almost teared up.
Pathetic, I know.
I kept making evil faces and Claire and Lisa...and then Chrissy and Mike Harkins announced that I had won.
Double the fun, my peers think I'm funny, and Chrissy and Mike gave me the award.
The Storer Boone's are kind of my favorite because I think it is very lovely that the community votes on them, and I think it is a very nice gesture that we all appreciate the work of one another.
I made my speech, thanked everyone, and said I was really happy that Lisa and I didn't tie.
Class class class.

The big awards were all that was left.
Mr. Marmalade has been a big loser in the Best Comedy category all season.
It wins the acting awards, but then can't take home the big prize.
So...we weren't really expecting for anything different last night, especially since those damn Running With Scissors people always win!!!!
But, alas, WE WON BEST COMEDY!
Yay!
We were so surprised we didn't know what to do.
Since I had been up, and AJ had gone up twice, and Yeargain accepted on behalf of Larimer, Sam went up and accepted for the show! YAY!
We're funny, us!

I think a good time was had by all.
It was a lovely way to close out this year of awards.
I haven't done anything funny in 2010, yet....so...I don't think I'll be defending my title 3 years in a row....
Perhaps I'll take a turn into Drama-town.....?
Or maybe I'll get back to my roots and do a damn musical?
I think that Chase Kamata needs to be taken down a notch....heh.

And on a plugging note:
Love's Labour's Lost opens this weekend for the Tulane Shakespeare Festival.
Go see it! It's a co-production with NOLA Project.
Hugely talented cast.
And poop jokes.
Win win.

Roe Balls!

Today is an awesome day.
I'm so giddy with excitement.

Unfortunately, my excitement has to be kept hush hush for a few more days.
But I've already squealed in a public place twice today.
So. Yeah.

I think the evening I had is just rolling over into today!
Got to hang out with my favorite "soon to be married lady", Ms. Rosenberg.

We went to Vega Tapas and had a feast, like every single time I go to that place.
It is so yummy, and underrated.
We had an apple and brie salad, gazpacho with crab meat, cheese plate, carp roe dip, a lobster and avocado stack, and the dessert waffle.
Delicious.
It was very lovely to hear all about the wedding plans and shoes and dresses and such.
It's going to be a killer wedding.
As PJ said, "Knowing Frannie, she'll probably give US presents just for coming."
Which is very true.
Oh! And I got to be the first to see the Save the Dates.
And they are perfectly Frannie-like.

The only downside to the evening was the fact that my car didn't start while waiting for Frannie.
So the old AAA had to come out and jump me, except when they came out to jump me I tried one last time to start the car, and of course it worked.
Very odd.

I got Fifi checked out this morning and they said her battery was just fine.
So, don't really know what all that was about.
I guess sometimes our batteries just need a little break from life.

And, when I got to work today...
A lady who was a raging cunt to me yesterday on the phone, and said I was a useless little girl, called to apologize for being so mean to me.
The apocalypse is surely near us.

This weekend should be equally stellar.
Tonight Beau and Chrissy are graduating from Grad school!
Huzzah!

And then Sunday will be a day of pool hanging, Project planning, and seeing Lisa's cabaret at Le Chat.
I'd like to go to Lenny Kravitz's Gulf Coast concert thing, but I think lounging is going to take precedence.


PS.
I read this great book called, I Don't Care About Your Band, by Julie Klausner.
She is one of my favorite funny ladies and bloggers.
The book is great.
Very girly.
All about the terrible and ridiculous men she has had in her life.
And all about her love of musical theatre.
And she is a redheaded jewish girl.
I want to be her best friend.

PSS.
Speaking of fabulous red heads I would like to be best friends with.
Mad Men.
Season 4.
July 25.
Solid.

"YOU ARE NOT BOXED WINE!"

Ah. Life.
This year is going by so quickly.
I finished my spring semester of school last week.
And now I have nothing to do but work.
And go see all my wondrous friends in spectacular shows.

A few weeks ago I saw Our Town at UNO.
A show I normally hate, but the production was great.
Caroline made me tear up.
I rarely feel anything when I see that play, so bravo for making the 3rd act actually mean something.
Good job Mr. Hoover, you got me to not hate this play for once!

I also saw Grey Gardens this weekend at Le Petit.
The show was solid and lovely.
The costumes are to die for.
Cecile did an AMAZING job.
The cast is great. Kristin and Wallace make a fabulous pair.
Vatican is so ridiculous and sassy and enjoyable.
Janet Shea makes me laugh hysterically, and breaks my heart all in a matter of her saying one line.
She's amazing.
Leslie also does a great job with her beast of a role.
And it is always a pleasure to watch Kris Shaw work.
And even more of a pleasure to talk with him for hours after wards, and have him regale all your friends with how he used to get you and your boyfriend and all the rest of the cast falling down drunk at Sidelines.
Thanks, Kris....very classy.

Everyone go see Cliff and Abbey and Bob in Singin' in the Rain out at that Rivertown.
Who wouldn't want to look at Cliff in vintage suits and listen to him sing Gene Kelly music?
Sounds like a night of perfection.
I can't wait.

And Lisa is doing her Peggy Lee cabaret at Le Chat this weekend as well.
Lots and lots of things to go see.
I have extremely talented and in demand friends, what can I say.

Speaking of talented and in demand....
I got to attend the Marquee awards with two of my favorite fellas last night: Mr. Wax and Mr. Dudley.
The Marquee awards are quite a spectacular thing.
Jay Stanley loves theatre, and appreciates what we do for the community so much, that it is swell to be recognized by a person who really loves the stuff.
I especially like it when there is a tie.
Last night there were 3 ties, I do believe, to which Jay just casually mentions, "I couldn't make up my mind."
It was stellar.
I really wanted my category to end up in a tie, but alas, I won all by my lonesome, and defended my title in Comedy for the Marquees.


It also happened to be the UNO banquet on the other side of the Marigny, so I got to hit two award show birds with one stone.

I, of course, lost my Best Actress award for the third year in a row.
Damn you Chrissy Garrett, damn you.

Wax and Sam came and crashed that side with me and we people watched and listened to the crazy cowboy band that was very good.
My favorite comment for the night from my two dates was them trying to compare me and the men I date to wines:

"Natalie, you are an aged, 1985, full bodied, red wine....and you continue to find these guys who only drink boxed wine. YOU ARE NOT A BOXED WINE!"

Then we went to Dino's and met up with Cliff, Bob and Abbey and talked about the future of theatre in New Orleans.
We would all like to not have day jobs.
So let's make this happen.



Other awesome things that happened since I last wrote:

My brother graduated from Loyola.
Drew Brees was the speaker.
He accidentally said sex while referring to Ellen Degeneres.
Awesome.

Saw Iron Man 2.
RDjr and Sam Rockwell are amazing.
The movie is super fun.
Watching the movie next to James Yeargain who is RDjr's long, lost brother....even more fun.
I love that James and I have our summer movie blockbuster midnight showing at Prytania tradition.
Last year we had Star Trek and Transformers 2.
We've been looking forward to Iron Man 2 for quite some time. And it definitely did not disappoint.
And the fight scene Scarlett Jo has as Black Window is pretty spectacular, too.

On Treme, John Goodman finally gave the infamous Ashley Morris blog rant.
Complete with Fuck you, you fucking fucks.

Made my life.