The Wicked Truth: Omaha

A while back, I blogged about a book event I was doing in Omaha, NB
for the incredibly insightful book, The Wicked Truth.

Since Omaha is not too far from Kansas City, I decided to spend a little time with my extraordinary Granny and Grandpa Deal!
They are the coolest people, and my biggest fans!

We ate lots of delicious food ( a special family talent ) and had lots of time just talking and catching up.
Granny Nikki grabbed a few shots of me performing.
Here are a few from the trip!


Chatting with the wonderful Suzanne Ross about her incredible book!




Performing "The Wizard and I"





And a little "Defying Gravity."




PS- Suzanne also wrote an incredibly witty and fun book about love called "The Wicked Truth About Love."
Be sure to check it out here!

And a few out-to-eat shots with Granny Nikki and Grampa Bob in Kansas City.

Have you noticed her fabulous jewelry? She is never without the perfect accessories!
I can only hope to be half as stylish when I grow up!

The WICKED Truth: When good people do bad things!

Coming up very soon, I will perform two shows in promotion of the book:
The WICKED Truth,
When good people do bad things
by Suzanne Ross

We have been gearing up to do these events for nearly 6 months now, and I am so delighted to be heading out to the midwest on this mini-book tour!

The two dates are :
Friday, May 15th, 7pm
The Cooking Studio at Whole Foods Market
Metcalf, 7401 W. 91st Street, Overland Park, KS 66212

Saturday, May 16th, 2-4pm
Barnes and Noble Booksellers,
3333 Oakview Drive, Omaha, NE 68144
phone: 402.691.4557.


It will be just me on the 15th, and the author, Suzanne Ross, will join me for the event on the 16th. She has written an incredible book that really helps to understand the deeper themes of the musical WICKED, and has given me an even deeper appreciation for it's parallel's to my own life! I will be performing several songs from WICKED as well as discussing the book and my experiences with the show.

If you are anywhere near these locations, I'd love for you to come out. There is no charge, but seating is limited so you should arrive early. The book will be available for purchase there, and Suzanne and I will be available for autographs following the event. I look forward to seeing you there!
For more information check out:
www.TheWickedTruth.com

I'm Kind of A Big Deal. . . in Japan

So, remember how I told all ya'll about a show I put together in New York. Well, I never got around to posting the videos. . . til now.

So, for your enjoyment, here are a few of my faves.
It was such an amazing time, and I am so grateful to my talented sista's for doing this with me!
(Christine Dwyer, Lara Janine & my ru-bu-fu Jen Talton)
And none of this would have happened without the incomparable Katie Thompson, who astonishes me every day (did I mention last week she performed at the White House for the First Lady and the New Cabinet? Yeah, I know her!)
Oh, and of course I must shout out to Barbara Anselmi who stepped in to play for half our show the night before the concert!!! Thank you Thank you!
So, without further adieu. . .

Our opening Number, was an idea in my head that was genius-ly brought to life by Katie and the girls. . .


Here's my emotional moment. . . a pop cover written by Marie Digby, it's "Miss Invisible:


Lara and I both played Elphaba in Wicked in Japan. So, we decided to battle it out to discover who is "The Best Elphaba Ever."


We decided to pay tribute to the iconic and life altering music of En Vogue. . . of course in our signature style!

I wasn't going to post this because I'm a perfectionist, but this one's for Erin. It's a little song for my family's new settlement in the Pacific Northwest. I may not drink it, but it sure is funny.
Here's Starbucks, by Michael Mahler:

Closing out the show, we had to give it up for our genius musical director KT!
So, here with one of her original songs is "I Will. . . (Kick Your A**)"
Disclaimer: This song has minor profanities that may not be suitable for all audiences. . . ie to my nieces and nephews, stop watching now ;)

We're Kind of A Big Deal. . . In Japan

The time has come!!! As many of you know, I have been working on this cabaret for the past few months, and now we are ready to rip of the band-aid and see what we've got. . .
But with the Talent involved on this, it's sure to be genius! Katie Thompson musically directing, my fellow Elphaba Lara Janine, my roommate and Rent star Jen Talton, and her tour mate Christine Dwyer. If you're in New York on March 2nd, you absolutely must come to the Laurie Beechman Theatre at 9:30pm and watch us throw down!!! Hope to see you all there!


Thanks to Peter Chen for his photography skilz!!

My "Hubby"

You may have heard me refer at various times in the last year to my beloved "husband." Sorry for all the confusion, and just to clarify, my left hand is still ringless. . .
However, in Japan, I had the blessed opportunity to meet one of the most incredible and generous people I've ever met. Ralph Meitzler was a dancer in my cast of Wicked, and now back in New York, he is ready to stake his claim on Broadway not only with his dancing, but with his incredible voice, great acting, and seriously manly looks!
Last week, we had gorgeous weather, so I called Ralph up, and he ran over for a quick mini-shoot!
Here's the results.









I had to put this in there, cause. . . can we just talk about the size of that arm???

Meeting a Musical Icon!

On Thursday night, my sister and I had the opportunity to go backstage and meet the incomparable Stephen Schwartz! Here's how it all came to pass. . .

Earlier this year, I started a little email chat with Carol de Giere (www.musicalschwartz.com)
For the last 8 years, she has been writing a biography about Stephen Schwartz, that has finally been published! Yay! It's called "Defying Gravity- from Godspell to Wicked" It's an incredible book with all sorts of behind the scenes stories and photos including over 80 hours of interviews with Stephen.

Well, this week, they were scheduled to do a book signing here in New York. I sent Carol a note saying I was in town and hoping to meet her. She then invited me to come backstage before the show to meet them. So, with my fabulous sister in tow, we headed out to say hello. They were both so sweet, and chatted with us for about 10 minutes before signing a copy of the book and posing for a few photos.

It was truly one of the coolest moments of my life!


How precious is Carol? She is so tiny and soft spoken, and just a truly lovely woman!

Stephen with my "twin" and I! Gotta love his Green shirt!

Shots from Today

Here's a few shots a from today's show.

Charity Brooke Smith

Charity Brooke Smith, also known as the GORGEOUS Elphie.
She's so stunning that in rehearsals, our director asked her not to smile too much as she is making Elphaba too pretty!
But she plays the goofball card pretty well, too.
For her shoot, she had the added elements of Movieman and Kenji Umei on set shooting her from every angle as part of the documentary they are making about me. I couldn't have chosen a better person for this day, and she was such a blast to shoot with!
Another change for this shoot, is that this is all natural light. My intention was to do my typical flash set up, but my tempermental flashes decided not to work that day.
Good thing it was a beautiful day!

Sweating Lime Cool-Aide

With temperatures over 100 degrees F, and 50 % humidity, working in an enclosed amphitheatre can feel like your
being baked like a clam on an eastern shore. . .
Gotta love the giant sweat droplets falling off my face through out the show.

(It doesn't help that I wearing a giant black potato sack that's 4 layers thick and weighs the same as my 8 year old niece! Take a heavy black wig and paint your face in 3 inches of green spackle and then belt your face off. Now, you can imagine why in my head I hear a little voice shouting,
"Just walk off stage. . . your gonna die!"
Good thing I'm stubborn.)

You can't tell from this photo, but when I pat the sweat off my face in the 15 or so seconds
between The Wizard and I and the scene before Popular,
you would think the Cool-Aide Man had some and sprayed me with a super soaker of his Lemon-Lime Blast!
Either that, or I've been drinking way too much Mountain Dew!

As quoting from The Wizard of Oz, "I'm Melting, I'm Melting!" Quite literally.

(PS- I haven't had Mountain Dew in ages! It sounds so refreshing right now! Oishii!)

Kyoto, 4th of July and Antonia's Opening

Okay, so it's been a crazy week, but beautiful in so many ways.

Let's Start with Antonia's Opening as Elphie!

So, after many months of waiting, our director, Komei, finally had a chance to come down from Tokyo to rehearse with Toni so that we could finally have our understudy! And I must say, she was brilliant!!! Charity, Cassie and I all sat in the audience together like little momma-hens, holding hands the whole time, and just beaming with pride for our girl! The fans were freaking out to see all three of us there at the same time. So now she is in once a week, and is just going to be amazing as she continues to grow.


Toni checking her make up before her last dress rehearsal.


Next, let's discuss the 4th of July.

Let's just say, it was mellow. But seriously fun. All us expatriates gathered for a casual barbecue throughout the day. I had 2 shows that morning, so I came by after I finished. We had a blast, especially later in the evening when I went a little nuts dancing, and setting off fireworks. I'm proud to be an American Expatriate! I miss you USA, but i'll see you soon!


My reflection in Antone's glasses.


Malachai in his patriotic tank just basking in the sunset.


Now for Kyoto.

Yesterday I made my bi-monthly trek to Kyoto for my larynx massage with the sexy Dr. Aita and his oh-so-hot assistant. They are in Tokyo for the rest of the month, and I'm seriously considering going up there, for "additional treatments."
But while I was in Kyoto, I did some of my usually sight seeing. This time, I went to Chion-in, a huge temple in the Gion district.


relaxing at chion-in


A big Buddha shrine inside one of the smaller pavillions.


A small buddha shrine in the big temple.


You take one half and I'll take the other of this Heavenly Wishbone! 1, 2, 3, Pull!

What did you wish for? I wished I could be in the same place as you right now! Too bad, you got the bigger half! Hope you made a good wish!

xoxox

You've all been begging. . . Here it is!

So, I've been in Japan for nearing 5 months now, and I told you all that I was starring as Elphaba in Wicked out here. . . but doubts have crept in to my honesty as I have yet to provide any video proof of my employment. . .

Well, no more complaining cause a fan has been able to provide the evidence. Apparently there is a video of me performing the Wizard and I and Defying Gravity on YouTube!
Check it out soon, as it may not be up forever (the show is licensed and so the video may be removed from YouTube at some point.)
If you get a chance to see it, I really hope you enjoy it, as I understand why almost no one feels like forking out the thousands of dollars it would cost to come see me live!
(There's still 3 months left, so I'm not giving up hope yet!)

Meet and Greet the Cast of Wicked!!!

Since our show was closed for maintenance, (the dragon had a runny nose, and since he weighs a few tons, the doctor's visit last for 4 days,) we came out for the first time ever to do a meet and greet with our wonderful and devoted fans!
I was being a big ol' dork, as usual, but it turned out to be TANOSHIMOH! (Fun!)
We have the greatest fans ever, and it was a total blast!



With me in the video is my Glinda, Cocoro, and my Wizard Uryu (before every show we do a Buddha belly bump!) I heart them!

Thanks so much Movieman for making this video!
You are amazing!
xoxo

A New Camera in Japan

So after many a years of longing for a SLR camera, I decided I had suffered long enough. I still made myself be frugal and bought the cheapest possible camera I could, and I'm happy to report that it's enough to get me started. I am in love with photography and so excited to share with you my contributions to the photography world. Here are a few shots with my new Nikon D40, and my own little eye as I live and work and love Japan. Enjoy!

(The shot at the top is the 1st picture I took with my new camera of the lens cap in my room. . . notice the green nails? )


THE FERRY TO WORK




There are few ways to get to USJ, but the fastest is to ride my bike to the ferry, go across the water and ride in to work. . . The total travel time is about 15 minutes door to door.


A DAY ON THE JOB
Backstage at USJ's Wicked
The Big Universal Globe at the Entrance to the Park
Uryu, Ozu no Mahoh tsukai sama! xoxo
Nobu and Saki in their Emerald City Gear!
Adorable Saki close up!
Nobo-san, the Praying Mantis Wizard (cause he's so skinny!)
Hair and Make-up Love!
Ryoko's adorable toe socks.
My Galinda, Cocoro (her name means heart!)
They are eating dried Octopus and squid. Oishi nai!

My favorite anime character come to life!
Adorable Ai-chan!
Ryoko-chan!
Michiko!

It's all in the eyes!
And I'm ready to face all of OZ!

AFTER WORK IS DONE

Waiting for the ferry back across the bay.

Kaigandori House, the home of Gaijin Galore!

Time to do some laundry. . . good thing I have a washer/dryer in my apt!

Mom and Dad sent me the greatest care package ever!!!
Full of delicious goodies that you just can't get in Japan!
I'm such a lucky girl!

The view from my balcony. . .
looking out at the shipyards and the bridge to Cosmosquare.

A DAY OFF!
hanging around Osaka
The National Museum of Art, here in Osaka.
Brass door handles at a small local temple.
There are rivers the criss cross all over the city, flanked by gorgeously manacured parks.

There is an abandoned brick warehouse right next to our apartment building, covered in ivy and vines, just aching to tell it's story.

Lion lamp post at Osaka City Hall.

The homeless in the city are rarely seen, but when you do see them, they do not beg for money or food. They do not even seem scary. This man seemed to just be waiting for his fortune to change.

Napping by the river.


VENTURING OUT
a day in kyoto with jared.

Field Trip!
The kids are so cute, and so excited to be out of the classroom in their matching field trip hats and clip boards, here on the train!

A picturesque little footbridge.

Baka Gaijin!

We be throwin down the reverse peace sign, like we hood. . . but we're so not!

Ringing the bells

The Giving Tree

These cemeteries scare me a little.

Canopy of green.

A little thinking spot.

So that's it for now. . . I hope you enjoyed my first blog post! Thanks for stopping by!
xoxo