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DIVA TALK AT SEA: Chocolate, Creel and Cruisin' with Rosie
By Andrew Gans
12 Jul 2005
Diva Talk hits the sea this week as the Norwegian Dawn travels from New
York City to Nova Scotia and Massachusetts with a host of Broadway
performers.
******
Day Two: Monday, July 11
Have you ever been to a chocolate buffet? I hadn't either. Looked a bit
like a scene out of "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory," which seems
highly appropriate with the remake of the classic film (now titled "Charlie
and the Chocolate Factory") about to hit movie theatres across the country.
Anyway, the chocolate buffet aboard the Norwegian Dawn was something to
behold: several mile-long tables filled with every imaginable chocolate
confection -- cakes, pastries -- as well as two areas that served ice cream
with chocolate sauce and chocolate candies. Waiters also filled the aisles,
carrying chocolate covered bananas and other dazzling treats.
My friend Zeke— who is traveling with me for the week-long excursion to
Halifax, Boston, Provincetown and Martha's Vineyard—and I somehow
managed to restrain ourselves. He sampled the chocolate-covered banana, and
I tried one of the dozens of chocolate pastries. Chocolate, however, isn't
the only game in town. Food is abundant on the enormous Norwegian Dawn with
ten separate restaurants catering to a variety of tastes. In fact, we had
just finished lunch at Aqua (including an amazing peach cobbler—perhaps
that's why we were able to show some chocolate restraint) when we heard
about the chocolate buffet in the Venetian Restaurant.
We've decided, though, if we're going to eat our way to Canada, we're going
to attempt to exercise away the calories. So, we spent a good part of the
day in the El Dorado Fitness Center. After breakfast, we ran on the
treadmill in the exercise room, where I noticed a bunch of Broadway
favorites—Liz Callaway, Gavin Creel, Darius de Haas and Mario
Cantone—also taking advantage of the 24-hour fitness center. We used
the various weight machines, swam laps in the pool and, later in the
evening, took a bicycle spinning class from which I am still recovering.
Food and exercise aside, the second day aboard the ship also featured
wonderful entertainment. At 8:30 PM, the Spinnaker Lounge on Deck 12
offered a concert with the aforementioned Gavin Creel, of Thoroughly
Modern Millie and, more recently, La Cage aux Folles fame.
Backed by Robbie Roth on guitar, Creel offered a 45-minute set of
original tunes he penned with Roth. The Tony-nominated actor possesses a
smooth, clear and rangy tenor and an honest delivery that is extremely
appealing. His voice is a blend of rock, folk and theatrical styles, and
his songs—of love, acceptance and political protest—are catchy,
clever and often touching. In addition to his own work, the long-haired
Creel also covered "A Case of You," offering a fine version of the Joni
Mitchell classic, which speaks of a "lonely painter/ [who] lives in a box
of paints/ I'm frightened by the devil/ and drawn to those who ain't
afraid." Creel fans will be happy to learn that the actor is heading into
the studio next month to record his first solo CD, which will feature his
own compositions. Among the songs he sampled at the Spinnaker were such
titles as "Don't Break Your Heart," "Friday, Saturday, Sunday," "Green to
Grey," "Light Up" and "These Four Walls."
At 9:30 PM, Rosie O'Donnell offered Rosie's Variety Hour, which
featured the former talk-show host and several of the performers who will
be offering their own solo shows throughout the week. After a big
production number featuring O'Donnell and "The RFamily Dancers," the
actress and Broadway enthusiast welcomed the enthusiastic crowd and
acknowledged some of the celebrities who are traveling this week on the
Norwegian Dawn: Susie Essman, Sharon Gless and pop singer Melissa
Etheridge.
And, what would an evening with Rosie be without a few "giveaways"? The
stand-up comic— whose topics included George Bush, Tom Cruise and
oversized underwear—handed out four iPods as well as an all-expense paid
vacation to New York, including Broadway tickets to any show of the
winner's choice. O'Donnell also announced that the documentary filmed
aboard last year's premire RFamily Vacations cruise has been so
well-received at HBO that it will be included in this year's Sundance Film
Festival and will be released as a theatrical film. The current cruise will
also feature a screening of the documentary.
Rosie's Variety Hour boasted performances from John Tartaglia
(who performed Avenue Q's "I'm Not Gay" with the help of Jennifer
Barnhart), former out football player Esera Tuaolo (who belted
out an emotional version of Hairspray's "I Know Where I've Been"),
the RFamily Singers (who were joined by the appealing Tartaglia for the
title song from Free to Be You and Me), musical director/comic
Seth Rudetsky (who had the audience roaring with laughter as he
"deconstructed" the song stylings of Barbra Streisand and Bea
Arthur) and a finale that featured Orfeh and Anika
Larsen's fierce belting of "Nights on Broadway" (backed by Jennifer Krushkamp, Anne Steele and Stephanie Harwood).
We've been at sea all day today, but tomorrow marks our first port of call:
Halifax, Nova Scotia. . . More to come . . .
Happy sailing, and, of course, happy diva-watching!
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