HALF WAY THERE!!!! YOU GUYS ARE AMAZING!!!

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TIME FOR AN UPDATE

Well, or those of you saw my post about The Musical Stage Company, it’s an update.  For those of you who didn’t, welcome to something important to me (and hopefully to you too if you care about great musical theatre and kids and young people.

I’ll start with the update which is great news:  We are half way there to our goal of ANOTHER HUNDRED PEOPLE!!  WOOHOOOOOOO!!!!!  Only 50 more supporters to go.

For those of you who did not see this before or those that need a refresher, here is an amended version of the previous blog.

So I rarely have big causes or projects I believe in enough to write a blog about them.  But this one is so worth it.

I think many of you know… or maybe you don’t….  I shouldn’t assume that people keep up with my comings and goings…. who do I think I am???   But you peeps in the business of “show” know this; and in case you DIDN’T know, I’m on the board of directors of an extraordinary company called The Musical Stage Company.

This year, we’ve taken on a really exciting challenge that will “take a village” and we’re looking for people who believe in musical theatre to help get us to our goal.… [Continue reading]

MARY POPPINS

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So I directed a production of Mary Poppins at Young People’s Theatre in Toronto that opened on Nov. 8, 2018 (3 days ago) and I had to post something. I have been inspired to share some thoughts about it.

First of all, I always love working at Young People’s Theatre (YPT) because the entire crew, administration staff, custodial staff, box office staff are the nicest, most generous people ever.  And they are lead from the top by Allen MacInnis  (Artistic Director) and Nancy Webster (Executive Director) who are two of the most decent, thoughtful, funny, creative, helpful human beings in the business. Allen has been a friend for several years but in the last few years has become an unofficial directing mentor and he and Nancy have been two of my greatest supporters.

One of the many things I love about Allen is that he wants his theatre to reflect the cultural landscape of Toronto, so multicultural casting is always of the utmost importance.  As an actor/performer/now director of colour, I couldn’t be more on board with that.

Jump back in time with me for a second (insert flashback music).  I saw my first shows at Stratford when I was 14. … [Continue reading]

LIFE AND BITS

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Okay so here we are. The second blog on my new blog spot. Very exciting. I’m sure a lot of folks have seen this. I’ve been posting this all over social media like the loving media-whore that I am. But if you haven’t already, I shot a teaser for a new possible web-series called FACE CANDY about cosmetic counters in a high-end department store. It was hilarious and we laughed all day long.


Here is the teaser:

I play Stefan, the makeup artist for SMAC (yes, you see where that’s going). The whole show is about the cut-throat world of cosmetic sales. And it’s hilarious but they need to get the money to have it made. So if you have 2 minutes and want a huge laugh, watch it/share it/”like” it/comment on it. The more numbers we have, the more reason there is for a producer to put money into it.

Here is a little bit from my character Stefan:

So help a brother out if you wanna see more of my ass on TV. Okay, okay, you’ll see the rest of me too. 😉

In other show related news, I’m going to be doing a Harold Arlen review in August which I’m really excited about.… [Continue reading]

SOME OVERDUE NEWS

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Once again, it’s been so long since I wrote my blog. I always feel there is something I can’t say that I want to say so instead of talking about any of the other things I could say, I say nothing. Ummm . . . stupid. Okay that is a bit harsh, Thom. Let’s just say, . . dumb.

Aaaaanyway. It’s been an incredible year. OH MY GOD. I just peeked at my blog to see what the last thing was that was happening to me. We were in the middle of the run of Peter Pan in June. That literally feels like it was years ago. It’s been a funny year of piggybacking. On the day of our first performance of Elegies, I was offered Peter Pan. Then a week before the end of the first leg of Peter Pan in June, I got a call to fill in for the role of Javert in Les Miserables for Drayton. Then the day before we closed Les Miserable in Drayton and I was about about to go back to the second leg of the run for Peter Pan, I got some other news.

So whoever is reading this blog, (and since I may post this link to Facebook and Twitter, that could be .… [Continue reading]

PETER PAN AND LIFE

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Interesting times, my people.  I’m here in Penetanguishene in the middle of our run of Peter Pan.  It’s been a great and incredibly exhausting experience.  A great cast and great director/choreographer, David Connolly. Who, incidentally, will be choreographing the upcoming Broadway premiere of First Wives Club in 2015.  He’s great.  We only had two weeks but what he did in those two weeks was astonishing.  A cast of 14 (including the boys playing Michael and John Darling) plus two groups of 18 kids that play a multitudes of roles and alternate shows.  Lots to gather but he did an amazing job.  Fantastic Stage Management team and super musical director, Michael Barber, as well as a sweet, fun stage crew.  It’s been a hoot.  But my God, I didn’t think I’d be expending this much energy as Captain Hook.  The sweat is streaming down my face and I’m drenched after the first scene as Hook.

The good news is the audience is loving it and we’re a hit.

http://www.simcoe.com/whatson-story/4571129-review-a-silly-fun-adventure/

Here is a taste of the good Captain.

Captain Hook 3

And Penetanguishene is beautiful.  It’s been lovely here.  Right on the water of Georgian Bay.  The King’s Wharf Theatre is right on the water. It’s breathtaking.… [Continue reading]