By Seth Rudetsky
02 Feb 2009

Rip's first Broadway show was Sugar Babies, where he replaced Mickey Rooney. He feels that Broadway is the hardest job to get but the easiest one to do. He said it took him forever to get to Broadway, but once he was there, he loved doing eight shows a week for a theatre audience as opposed to trying to get laughs out of Las Vegas crowds who were sitting and drinking because they lost thousands of dollars that day. Of course, in this economy, Broadway audiences are also sitting and drinking because they lost thousands of dollars that day. He thought Ann Miller was incredibly funny…without knowing it. One day he told her, "We can't do the show Tuesday…it's Passover!" and she said, "I never do game shows." What the-? Hmm…maybe he should have said Pesach?

Rip was cast in the Robert Redford/Demi Moore film "Indecent Proposal," playing Demi Moore's boss. The very first day of filming he walked into her trailer and said, "Hi, Demi! (pronouncing it Deh-mi). She said, "It's Demi (pronounced d'mi)". He paused..then pointed to himself and said, "It's D'Rip!" She loved it! Rip was in New York because he was performing his new one-man show (It Ain't All Confetti) at the Apap Convention where all the regional theatres come to town to pick their season. Hopefully, you'll soon see Rip in a theatre near you! After the show, I had him sign the new leather Chatterbox autograph book James got me for a Hanukkah present and Rip signed it, "Keep looking into that light."

Here's what's coming up: A few months ago, I got a call from my pal Carl Andress (currently the director of the new Charles Busch play, The Third Story). He asked me if I'd be interested in being the conductor for a benefit he was doing for the NFFR, which stands for the National Foundation for Facial Reconstruction. That's an organization that helps children with facial deformities get the surgery they need. I said yes immediately, and Carl began to describe the kind of benefit they wanted. He said they wanted it to be a big, fat event, but it needed to be very unique and not the typical kind of "stand and sing" benefit. And, finally, he said that the last time they did it, they used a full orchestra. That did it. I asked him if he thought my show, Seth's Broadway 101, is what they were looking for. He had seen it when I did it as an Actors Fund benefit Off-Broadway. Carl thought it was a great idea and set up a meeting between and the head of the organization, a woman with the amazing name of Fiorenza. I met her and the benefit committee at Fiorenza's lovely apartment near Central Park and showed them an eight-minute highlight reel I had of the show. One member of the group was a Broadway fanatic and another didn't know anything about Broadway. Turns out, they both loved it (maybe Obama should talk to me about reaching across the aisle), and they agreed that it should be this year's fundraiser. So, my friends, on Monday, March 9, Seth's Broadway 101 is coming to Broadway!!! That's right, it's going to be in the beautiful New Amsterdam Theatre, where Mary Poppins is playing. I just had my fabulous music contractor, Charlie Gordon, book a delicious 25-member orchestra, and I have booked all of my singing/dancing ensemble and most of my stars. I am so excited to do this show again!!! I keep expanding it, and I'm loving all the new stuff.

Speaking of expanding, when I got to Utah they gave me an amazing box of chocolates as a greeting and within two days it was 80 percent gone (The remaining 20 percent had a fruit filling…gross). What have I been thinking over the last 12 months? Why have I been on a year-long binge? How am I going to pull off my big dance number on March 9 with only a month to lose those delicious Utah chocolates, the Rosie cruise buffets, my Thanksgiving all-day eating, a full holiday week in deep-fried loving Texas and the Cinnabon I'm planning on getting when the plane lands at JFK. Hmm…how many calories do you burn while typing? What's that? You say whatever I've lost while typing this has been added twofold by the free Delta Airlines box of cookies I'm eating right now? Well, as Angela Lansbury sang in Dear World, "I Don't Want To Know." I'll just have to let out my costume (jeans and a blazer) a little. On a related note: Do Levis come with a stretch waist? Well, they should. Anyhoo, I have a little clip from last years show on my website (http://sethrudetsky.com/blog/). If you like what 'ya see, go to http://nffr.org/upcoming.php and get tickets ASAP! Peace out!

(Seth Rudetsky is the host of "Seth's Big Fat Broadway" on SIRIUS Satellite Radio and the author of "The Q Guide to Broadway" and the novel "Broadway Nights." He has played piano in the orchestras of 15 Broadway musicals and hosts the BC/EFA benefit weekly interview show Seth's Broadway Chatterbox at Don't Tell Mama every Thursday at 6 PM. He can be contacted by visiting www.sethrudetsky.com.)