So I Saw Newsies This Weekend....

And it was pretty much the best weekend of my life. Holy crap. I live near Salt Lake City, and I saw it in Dallas. Why, you may ask? Well, when Newsies first announced the tour, none of the cities that it had listed were anywhere near where I live, and I HAD to make sure that I was going to get the chance to go, right? The second phase of the tour, which it's coming to Salt Lake City on, wasn't announced until a few weeks ago, when the 2016 Broadway season was announced. Also, my step-niece (?) was at my house in January and we started talking about how much we both love Newsies, and we decided that we needed to go together. She lives in New Jersey, and it was in Dallas near her birthday, so we met in the middle to see an awesome show together.

Now that I've bored you with my ramblings, it's time to get into the meat of what went down on that trip. After going to that museum by where JFK was shot (which was pretty cool too), we headed over to the AT&T Performing Arts Center and it might have been the most beautiful theater I've ever been to, even considering the theaters I've been to on Broadway. It had like 5 floors and our seats were so close I could even see the newsies' faces.

I cannot even begin to describe the feeling in my stomach when the curtain came up and I saw Dan DeLuca and Zachary Sayle on that stage. Newsies has always had a special place in my heart because of all the symbolism of hope involved in it, and finally seeing these characters on a stage in front of me I suddenly felt like something in my world was right. It sounds totally stupid that my main source of inspiration is cheesy musicals about newsboys, but the way that the characters stand up for what they believe in and never give up makes me really hopeful that everything will always be okay (especially since Melissa Steadman Hart played a girlsie in the closing number !!! Thanks for giving me hope, Melissa).

Of course, the music was wonderful, the boys were cute, but what really amazed me was how phenomenal the dancing was. Ben Tyler Cook, who played Race, is only 16 and was, in my opinion, the best dancer up there. He’s already in the touring cast of a major musical and that totally makes me feel bad about what I’ve done so far with my life (I’m just kidding, I love you Ben Tyler Cook <3). Another great dancer was Julian DeGuzman, but that makes more sense since he’s like 25 and has a BFA in dance. 

After the show, we went to the stage door, obviously. I had to meet my baes. They all signed my playbill and I was able to get pictures with some of them: 

Josh Burrage <3

Ben Tyler Cook <33 

Jordan Samuels <3

Jeff Heimbrock <33

Vincent Crocilla (he was wearing an Adventure Time shirt !!)

DeMarius R Copes <33

Zachary Sayle <33

  

I’ve since returned from Dallas, but last night I saw Garett Hawe, who was in the original cast of Newsies, perform in a local production of The Music Man! I still don’t know what he’s doing here, but I got a picture with him, too: 

he was soooo sweet, I can't believe I had the chance to meet him!!

How to Act When You're Watching Live Theatre

I love me a good musical. But when SOMEONE in the theatre is being RUDE it ruins the ENTIRE SHOW for the audience AND the performer. So please don't be that guy. Please. No one likes that guy. Here's how to not be a public nuisance:

1) Before the Show
Arrive early, but don't act like your life depends on being the first one to your seat. The doors open at the same time for everyone, you're no more special than they are. Also, be nice to the people at the door and the people selling merchandise. All they're doing is trying to make your experience better, so show a little gratitude and thank them. If you have to climb over a few people to get to your seat, try not to cause too much of a disturbance. I know, sometimes you can't help it, but at least alert the people you're climbing over when you're coming.

2) During the Show
As soon as the lights start to go out, TURN OFF YOUR FREAKING CELL PHONE!! I would say that it would also be okay to just put it on silent, but to be honest, it really just needs to be turned off and put away where no one can see it. You can't use it during the performance, so why not just turn it off?? Speaking of that, listen to the announcers and absolutely do not use your phone, especially for flash photography. Everyone can see the little light if you're scrolling through facebook in a dark theatre, and it distracts and disorients the performers if you're taking flash pictures all through their number. Patti Lupone even stopped Gypsy just to tell a guy off after he kept taking flash pictures and making her trip. You really don't want that to happen to you. And to be honest, why would you do that anyway? You just paid a crap ton of money on seats to see a live play, and you're wasting it just to be looking at a little screen you could be looking at any other time of the day? I really don't understand.

Don't talk while the show's going on.  A little "Oh, I love this song!" to your friend is fine, but please don't be having excessive conversations with the people around you. This might be a little hard, but you really shouldn't sing along to any musical numbers, either, unless you're specifically instructed to do so. If you really can't resist, lip sync, but people came to the show to listen to the performers, not you. Your time will come.

3) After the Show
Never. EVER. EVER LEAVE DURING BOWS!! I don't care one bit if you want to get to the stagedoor or your car fast, applaud the performers and show your appreciation until the curtain goes down. Even then, be polite just like you were when walking in. Don't trample anyone, just leave with the crowd. If you're going to stagedoor, don't worry. The performers still have to gather up their stuff to leave and even if they beat you out of the theatre they'll still probably be signing autographs when you get there.

Now it's time for a little stagedoor etiquette. Always remember to treat the performers like what they are: people. Be respectful and tell them what a good job they did. It's fine to ask for an autograph and a picture, just be polite about it. They're probably very grateful that you came to see them and they'll be happy to sign your playbill.

preach, carrie

Thanks. It's important for you to have fun, but you also have to make sure you don't ruin the experiences of others. Have a nice day!!

Musical Theatre Actors with Twitter Accounts (Alphabetical)

Hey guys! I’m really sorry I haven’t been on in a long time, I just can’t seem to get motivation to write. But I’ve been on Twitter a bunch, so I decided to put together a super long list of all the musical theatre people that I know have a twitter. They’re in alphabetical order (mostly I think) so that if you have any particular favorites you can find them easily. Go follow every single one of them because they are my baes and deserve more followers. If you know of any that I haven’t included, or if one of the links is wrong/won't work, just let me know in the comments and I’ll add/fix them right away. Also, if you want a list of any other group of people with twitter accounts, comment about that too and I'll get working on it.

Image courtesy of Google
I need a picture on every post so here ya go

Here’s the list:

Aaron J Albano: @aaronjalbano

Mark Aldrich: @MarktheGinger

Michael Arden: @michaelarden

Colin Anderson: @colinmanderson

Annaleigh Ashford: @TheAAshford

Josh Assor: @joshassor

Skylar Astin: @SkylarAstin

Samantha Barks: @SamanthaBarks

Kristen Bell: @IMKristenBell

George Blagden: @gblagden

Tommy Bracco: @TommyBracco

Ethan Bradshaw: @ethan_bradshaw

Alistair Brammer: @alistairbrammer

Ryan Breslin: @Uncle_Bres

Melanie Bright: @melanie_bright

Josie Brightwell: @JosieBrightwell

James Brown III: @TheJBill

Sierra Boggess: @sierraboggess

Dyllon Burnside: @4merlyknownasD

Joshua Burrage: @JoshuaBurrage3

Dougie Carter: @Dougie_Carter

Pierce Cassedy: @piercecassedy

Darren Criss: @DarrenCriss

Michael Colbourne: @MikeColbourne

Ben Cook: @bentylercook

DeMarius R. Copes: @DeMariusR_Copes

Corey Cott: @NapOnACott

Gavin Creel: @gavincreel

Jade Davies: @Jadedavies_4

Julian DeGuzman: @julianOfGuzman

Nico DeJesus: @Nicodj3

Dan DeLuca: @DDeLuca15

Taye Diggs: @TayeDiggs

Lee Dillon-Stewart: @LeeDillonStu

Delius Doherty: @dellyd17

Killian Donnelly: @killiandonnelly

Samantha Dorsey: @_SamanthaDorsey

Matt Doyle: @MattfDoyle

Natalie Charle Ellis: @Natalieeinnyc

Jake Emmerling: @JakieJake88

Ben Fankhauser: @PlznFankU

Michael Fatica: @michaelfatica

Fra Fee: @frafee

Wendy Ferguson: @WendyMFerguson

JP Ferreri: @JPFerreri

Sky Flaherty: @sky_flaherty

Santino Fontana: @SantinoFontana

Sutton Foster: @sfosternyc

Hadley Fraser: @hadleyfraser

John Gallagher, Jr: @JohnGallagherJr

James Gant: @jamesgant

Eric Giancola: @MEATSQUAWKER

Jason Gotay: @jasongotay

John Arthur Greene: @JohnArthurG

David Guzman: @D_Guzz

Jacob Guzman: @J_Dawg86

Jarrad Biron Green: @BironGreen

MaryJoanna Grisso: @MJGrisso

Katy Hanna: @kadyshorten

Garett Hawe: @GHawe

F Michael Haynie: @fmichaelhaynie

Jeff Heimbrock: @jheimbrock

Samantha Hill: @samjeannehill

Dayle Hodge: @DayleJamesHodge

Chris Holland: @loonyholland

Rob Houchen: @robhouchen

Eric Huffman: @ehuffs

Corey Hummerston: @Rycors

Adam Jacobs: @AdamJacobsNYC

Evan James: @EvanJames

Nikki M James: @nikkimjames

Thayne Jasperson: @thaynejasperson

Tyson Jennette: @tysonjennette

NaYoung Jeon: @Jeon_NaYoung

Jeremy Jordan: @JeremyMJordan

Tyler Jones: @TylerMacJones

Ramin Karimloo: @raminkarimloo

Adam Kaplan: @AdamSKaplan

Andrew Keenan-Bolger: @KeenanBlogger

Celia Keenan-Bolger: @celiakb

Dominique Kelley: @DomKelley

Jacob Kemp: @mrjacobkemp

Andrew Kober: @andrewkober

Daniel Koek: @dankoek

Sarah Lark: @MissSarahLark

David Larsen: @dlarsen22

Nick Laughlin: @NickLaughs

Marty Lawson: @LawsonMarty1

Antyon LeMonte: @AntyonLeMonte

Jess LeProtto: @D8Jess

Zachary Levi: @ZacharyLevi

Iwan Lewis: @IwyLewis

Kara Lindsay: @KaraLindsay1

Peter Lockyer: @Peter_Lockyer

GinnaClaire Mason: @GinnaClaire

Kyle Dean Massey: @kyledeanmassey

Chris McCarrell: @ChrisMzCarrell

Idina Menzel: @idinamenzel

Lea Michele: @msleamichele

Michael Munday: @MichaelLMunday

Tam Mutu: @tammutu

Alexandra Ncube: @alexandralove12

Jenny O’Leary: @Jennyoleary90

Rory O’Malley: @RoryOMalley

Weston Wells Olson: @westowells

Laura Osnes: @LauraOsnes

Luca Padovan: @MoreOrLesLuca

Michael Park: @park24hrs

John Pinto Jr: @JohnPintoJr

Andrew Pirozzi: @AndrewPirozzi

Ben Platt: @BenSPLATT

Jonny Purchase: @jonnypurchase

Daniel Quadrino: @dannyquad91

Andrew Rannells: @AndrewRannells

Anthony Rapp: @albinokid

Chris Rice: @ChrisRiceNY

Andy Richardson: @AMRicharson3

Alice Ripley: @RIPLEYTHEBAND

Leo Roberts: @leoroberts1

Matt Rosell: @mattrosell

Nic Rouleau: @nicrouleau

Michael Ryan: @MichaelRyan90

Jordan Samuels: @JordanSamFTW

Alanna Saunders: @alannasaunders3

Oliver Saville: @oliversaville

Zachary Sayle: @ZSayle

Kyle Scatliffe: @KyleScatliffe

Jack Scott: @JackJackScott

Brian Sears: @BrahSears

Niall Sheehy: @niallsheehy

Simon Shorten: @SiShorten

Jack Sippel: @JackJSippel

Jason Michael Snow: @JMSPinafore

Melissa SteadmanHart: @melissasteadman

Ryan Steele: @RySteele

Brendon Stimson: @BrenStims

Cody Jamison Strand: @CodyCobbler

Stephanie Styles: @StefunnyStyles

Will Swenson: @thewillswenson

Nicky Swift: @nickyswifto

Clay Thomson: @ClayThomson

Aaron Tveit (not actually him, just an official news account): @aarontveitnet

Patrick Wilson: @patrickwilson73

Chaz Wolcott: @dancinchaz

Alex Wong: @AlexdWong

Anton Zetterholm: @antonzetterholm