A week in the life of actor, musician and Chatterbox host Seth Rudetsky.
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I'm on an airplane leaving the city of New Orleans, where I just spent four days of debauchery.
And by "debauchery" I mean teaching master classes, doing my show and eating meals with my mother. Yes, I've reclaimed the word "debauchery" and made it nerdy. I was invited down here by A.J. Allegra, a young NYU graduate currently teaching musical theatre acting at the local arts high school (for info on their amazing programs, go to Nocca.com). First of all, the high school (funded by the state) is beautiful and has state-of-the-art everything. How come I grew up on Long Island, which is a lot closer to Broadway than Louisiana, and we didn't have an arts high school? We did, however, have a Bullying High School. That was fun. Also, the teachers all have to maintain professional credits throughout the year to stay on the staff, so all the kids are being taught by people who are working in their respective fields. A.J. arranged for me to do master classes with all of the musical theatre students and to do my show Deconstructing: The Good, The Bad and the Headache-y at a sassy club called Le Chat Noir. Everything in New Orleans is very last minute, and my show wasn't announced until last week! I was in a panic that the audience would consist of my mom, the spot operator and a (one) waitress, but it was totally sold out! The night we arrived, A.J. met us at the airport, and I asked if we could get some food. The closest place to get food was at the Harrah's casino near the hotel. OK. First of all, smoking is still allowed in bars in New Orleans and that place was smokier than the Phantom's lair and/or the "No Good Deed" scene from Wicked. Secondly, we waited in line to get in, and the security guard asked A.J. for his ID to see if he was old enough to drink. Naturally, I got my driver's license ready to flash, but the security guard could not have cared less and immediately waved me in…alongside my mother. I was ignored with the subtext of "no need to check your birth date…you and that woman you're with are obviously both in the same age range." Devastating.
Seth Rudetsky and the students of Nocca
photo by A.J. Allegra
The week began for me at Cipriani's, where I put up a mini-version of Seth's Broadway 101 to benefit the National Foundation for Facial Reconstruction (NFFR.org), which helps kids get surgery for facial differences. PS, they're not getting surgery to look better, it's literally because often they can't eat or breathe. Lillias White garnered an immediate standing ovation after she sang "Don't Rain On My Parade" and afterwards told me that she felt this was the most important charity I've ever done a fundraiser for. Lillias has done so many benefits for me. The first was in 1996 when she ran over to Don't Tell Mama to sing the Fight Scene from Dreamgirls right after she had a tech rehearsal for The Life. That's what gave me the idea for the Actors Fund Dreamgirls concert. She's a brilliant performer and has some hilarious stories. Once, when she was playing the uptight secretary in How to Succeed (who finally lets loose in Act Two), she was relaxing, totally nude (!), in her dressing room. Suddenly, she heard her cue for a quick crossover! The scene was supposed to be her leaving work in her coat, and as she passes the elevators, she runs into Matthew Broderick. So, she shot up, pulled the coat around her naked body, ran onstage and did the scene. Hopefully, that coat was dry cleaned before the understudy had to wear it.
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Wednesday was an exciting day at my Sirius XM Live on Broadway show. If you saw [title of show], you may remember that at the beginning of the show Jeff Bowen and Hunter Bell talk about how their show is about the writing of their show and anything they say can be the dialogue. So Jeff wonders that if he says "Wonder Woman for President" it can get in the show, and Hunter says yes. Then Jeff pauses and says, "Wonder Woman for President." That line was based on the fact that Jeff grew up obsessed with "Wonder Woman" and Lynda Carter. As a matter of fact, both he and Hunter went to the Museum of Broadcasting so they'd be able to watch Lynda Carter's variety show from the seventies. That's dedication. Cut to, Lynda Carter has a new CD called "At Last" and is doing her act around the country, so she was booked on my show. (On a side note, if you buy a CD at www.LyndaCartersings.com and buy the CD, she'll send it to you hot off the presses and autographed.) Well, I knew I had to rock Jeff's world by introducing him to her. I emailed his co-star, Hunter, and we arranged it all. He told Jeff that they were booked on my show to talk about whether or not [title of show] would come back to Broadway before the Tony Awards. The problem was that I wanted to surprise Jeff, but we had to announce Lynda Carter's name at the beginning of the show. So, Hunter told Jeff that they had to wait outside on the street until I texted him that I was ready. It literally made no sense, but Jeff bought it for some reason. I started the show, Hunter got the signal to come in, and I immediately called them onstage. I mentioned to the audience that Jeff was a mega-fan of Lynda Carter and turned offstage and brought her out. Jeff's mouth fell open, hands flew to his face and he started freaking out. Oh, wait. I mean he stared blankly and nodded politely to Lynda Carter. Seriously! I've seen more facial animation on Paula Abdul's forehead. I was mortified. Was Jeff not a fan of Lynda Carter? Did I get her mixed-up with the Bionic Woman? I did the interview with all three of them and then brought Jeff and Hunter up for game-show segment and confronted Jeff on his re-creation of the stoic-ness Mary Tyler Moore displayed during "Ordinary People." Turns out, he was completely freaked out, but he was in, what Susan Blackwell from [title of show] calls, his "emotional closet." He assured me and the audience that in three days he'd be sitting in his apartment, crying hysterically. Phew. Read his take on it at www.titleofshow.com.
Then I interviewed John Tartaglia from Shrek the Musical and found out that they're filming a new commercial this week. I love Broadway commercials, although it's often hard to tell what the show is about from tiny snippets. I remember in the Evita commercial they combined the part of the show where Che sings at Evita's funeral and a part of "Don't Cry for Me Argentina." The lyrics don't go together in the show and my memory is that I thought the show was about Evita being the un-dead.
CHE: (singing) You were supposed to have been immortal. That's all they wanted…not much to ask for.
EVITA: (singing/glaring) I kept my promise, don't keep your distance.
You kept your promise? Huh. You know what, I actually am going to keep my distance because you're a terrifying poltergeist. Go into the light…there is peace in the light!
Continued...
