ONSTAGE & BACKSTAGE: Another Weekend in the Country

By Seth Rudetsky
13 Apr 2009

Seth with James and Juli
Seth with James and Juli

A week in the life of actor, musician and Chatterbox host Seth Rudetsky.

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I am sitting in the kitchen area waiting for my farm-fresh eggs.

And I literally mean "fresh." There are hens right outside who are busy a-layin'! No, I'm not on the set of Li'l Abner or even the more upscale Little Abner, I am in the beautiful William Rivers House, which is a bed and breakfast in Chester, VT. The two guys who run it, Mark and Geoff, are fans of my Sirius/XM show and invited me, James and Juli to stay last winter, and we loved it so much that we're back again. I wrote a column about it last February quoting my friend Tim, who predicted that Mark and Geoff would pull a Kathy Bates and the weekend would end with them hobbling me. That hasn't happened yet but they have been feeding us non-stop. Perhaps the whole vacation will end with a Vermont version of the Twilight Zone "How To Serve Man" episode in which the aliens wind up eating the earthlings. Who cares? If this is what it's like to be fattened up to be eventually placed in a buffet, then bring on the cannibals.

On a side note, this pastoral setting reminds me of my childhood. Not because anything was peaceful, but because my mother made the bold choice of buying me a lunch box when I was in first grade that featured not Mary Poppins nor Bugs Bunny (two of my faves) but instead the down-home stars of "Hee-Haw." I said it then and I'll say it now: What the hell was she thinking? Do I look like someone who enjoyed country music as a child? Why was I forced to carry that to Yeshiva? Still angry.

Okay, on to Broadway. And by Broadway, I mean "Off-Broadway." I went to go see Mike Birbiglia's Sleepwalk With Me, and I loved it. He is so funny and the show is so enjoyable. It's a solo show where he talks about a bizarre sleepwalking disorder he has, but that's woven together with hilarious stories about his life. I was asked to do something called "10 Awkward Minutes With Mike" at the end of the show, which is an after-show specialty where he calls up a guest and chats with them. As soon as I got onstage with him, I brought up the awkward fact that he started the show with a 10-minute spin on why people need to turn off their cell phones, and then, right before the end of the show, someone's cell phone went off! It was literally during the one serious part of the show where he couldn't break and do shtick about the phone. He agreed with me and made the audience person 'fess up. She finally raised her hand, and she said her phone turned on by her butt. At first I thought she was babbling, but then I knew exactly what she meant because she has a Blackberry like me. Essentially, you can think you've turned it off, but if you even just breathe on a key, it will turn on again. The "Ten Awkward Minutes" is supposed to be between Mike and a celebrity (the next one was going to feature Rue McClanahan), and I was lamenting about how not a celebrity I am. Mike said that he felt the same way about himself and told us that when people recognize him on the street, they want a prize. They'll walk up, point and say, "Mike Birbiglia, right?" Then they'll smile proudly and ask, "What do I get?" Go to his great website and then see his show, www.MikeBirbiglia.com.

On Wednesday I interviewed the talented composing team, Marcy Heisler and Zina Goldrich, who wrote the ubiquitous and delicious "Taylor, the Latte Boy." I've played that song for many singers, but first played it for Kristin Chenoweth when I was working on "The Rosie O'Donnell Show": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=69uHbD2nWKs. I went to go see their show Dear Edwina with Juli, and now the CD is being played 45 times a day in my apartment. Juli is able to take any Broadway song I love and turn it into Chinese Water Torture. After the five-hour drive up here to Vermont, I now officially hate the Actors Fund Hair CD that used to be one of my proudest achievements. Good job, Juli! Marcy and Zina are working on the Broadway-bound Ever After based on the film, and they sang a song from it on my show! You can hear it this Friday (April 17) at 7 PM by logging on to Sirius.com and getting three days of the radio for free. Continued...