It’s been a very busy end of summer/beginning of fall and as a result I haven’t gotten a chance to post for almost two months! So I’m here now to change that. To recap, and work backwards, I had a fantastic last official day of summer this past Sunday, playing a show to a sold out audience at the Troubadour in West Hollywood. I was playing an acoustic set with Morgan Reilly (along with Nat Zegree on keys and Josh Roberts on cajon—a killer band!), a New York-based friend and frequent Selda and Derek collaborator, who was opening for pop star Jessie J. This was my first time playing Morgan’s original music with her, and it was an absolute blast. The cherry on top was getting to watch Jessie J’s set. I was only vaguely familiar with her hits, but in this stripped down setting she put on an amazing, and amazingly compelling, show.
Earlier in the week I played guitar for the last two scheduled shows of Player Hater Productions’ A Walk To Remember: The Unauthorized Musical, this time at the Rockwell Table and Stage. It’s always great to play at the Rockwell (I’ll be back there at least a couple more times this fall subbing on the Rockwell Musical Parody of Stephen King’s IT!), especially with a truly stellar cast and band (I love how often I get to say that!). It was wonderful getting to work with Janel Parrish again, a month and a half after finishing up The Last Five Years and over two years after our first time doing this show. Brian Logan Dales was fantastic as Landon and my buddy Trent Mills truly stole the show as the Reverend.
Prior to Walk, I got to link up with my good friend Andrew Orbison for the Los Angeles regional premiere of Fun Home at the Candlelight Pavilion, presented by the Inland Valley Repertory Theatre. I didn’t know much about the show going in, although I was familiar with Alison Bechdel and her eponymous Bechdel test, but man, does it pack an emotional wallop. John Lalonde was spectacular as Bruce Bechdel, headlining a terrific ensemble top to bottom. Throw in a great band (I’m starting to sound like a broken record!) playing Jeanine Tesori’s beautiful score (which has some excellent guitar parts) and you get a moving production. Three performances were hardly enough for anybody who saw it or worked on it!
Speaking of Jeanine Tesori, Shrek the Musical at 3-D Theatricals was a rousing success. I had a blast playing (and having a pretty good seat for) that amazing show. Audiences loved it and my parents were on hand to witness the magic. My regional theatre run continues next month, as I’m excited to share that I’ll be playing Guitar 1 for Musical Theatre West’s regional premiere of Something Rotten! I saw this show at the Ahmanson a couple of years ago on its first National Tour and loved it. Thrilled to be taking part in the first production outside of the Tour/Broadway!
