Happy Halloween

Today is a special day for me. Not just because it was the baby's first Halloween but because it's my mother's birthday.

My mom was a great lady who gave much of herself to others in the way of service. She was a teacher (elementary school) and a learning specialist for children who had difficulty. She passed away in July of 2005. We miss her greatly.

So when we fund raise for Broadway Cares and the Phyllis Newman Health Initiative for cancer, it means a great deal to me. Both of my parents were subjected to the effects of cancer and both lost their lives to it.

I've seen too often the pain associated with this disease and it's been one of my goals to raise awareness and help in the fight.

Most importantly I wish that my parents were here to see the baby. They would have loved her, how could you not? She was indeed a Pumpkin today... soooo cute with big pudgy cheeks and that orange suit.

Ultimately I know that they are seeing her from wherever they are.

So tonight was indeed special. It was for my mom. And as I ascended the stairs at the end of the show... I could feel both my parents in the "heavens" looking down on me.

Happy Birthday mom and Happy Halloween.

Joey Reynolds

So I did the joey Reynolds show tonight WOR radio. What an amazing guy.

We had an absolute blast.

Joey loved Tale and is sending everyone he can. He even played some song clips from Tale and from my CD.

Joey's history is rich and his experience diverse. Please tune into him and give him a listen.

To listen to it online look for "Joey Reynolds - October 31, 2008 - 3A-4A".

Anger

Damn you! Curse you! Wait a minute, did we hear the Phantom right? I thought he loved Christine? Now he’s damning and cursing her and calling her names? What’s up with that?

“You little prying Pandora!” Pandora, the first woman created by the Greek gods, who each gave her unique gifts. She opened a jar out of curiosity and released all sorts of evils upon mankind. (Not much different from Eve biting that apple.) Did he equate Christine’s act as prying curiosity that released his evil reaction when she took off the mask?

"You little demon!” Quite self-explanatory, an evil spirit, malicious and wicked. He calls his beloved Christine a demon, when he equates himself as one inwardly. Psychologists call this psychological projection, which is a defense mechanism used to project our own unacceptable thoughts or emotions upon another. Thank you Sigmund Freud!!

“You little lying Delilah!” Delilah! The woman who betrayed Samson – a biblical story. Samson was the strongest man in the world, and his enemies the Philistines wanted to destroy him. He loved a Philistine woman, Delilah, who covertly tried to find the secret to his strength. Christine is trying to find the secret behind the mask, but he’s accusing her of lying about her sincerity and betraying him - prophetic in word, I would think.

“You little viper.” Now he’s referencing her as a poisonous snake lying in the grass ready to strike with her venom.

So what triggered this outbreak of rage and anger against the woman he loved? Christine, as we would say in modern times, “pushed his buttons,” “triggered a reaction,” or “hit a sore spot,” however you’d like to term the act. Her removal of his mask exposed the most painful part of who he was as a human being – his physical deformity. Unfortunately, she did not only do it once, she did it twice! Each time elicited the same reaction - rage.

Leroux’s version of Christine’s words reveals his pain upon the stripping of his covering, “I should always hear the superhuman cry of grief and rage which he uttered when the terrible sight appeared before my eyes.” Erik’s reaction in the original work is violent. He hisses at her, curses her, and pulls her by the hair. On stage he curses and cries, and crawls across the stage in grief. In the movie, he acts violently pushing Christine down, and verbally abusing the woman he supposedly loves.

I think all of us have what we call trigger points. Painful reminders in our lives, sore spots, and places we don’t like to be touched. Like pushing on an open wound, we cry and react in unbelievable pain. We yell at those we love, and hurt those close to us.

The scene in the book, play, and movie is another example of Erik’s humanity. You may have pulled the symbolic mask off another person out of curiosity and been the brunt of someone’s outburst; or you have had your own mask removed and lashed out at the one who exposed and poked you. We all have those places of pain we don't wish touched by others. Through the story, we know Erik's pain, understand how he must have felt, and forgive his rash behavior. One of those been there - done that moments we all relate to.

At the end of the scene, Christine sheds tears and hands to Erik his mask, that dignity she stripped from him, no doubt sorrowful she caused him such pain out of idle curiosity. He places it back upon his face and rises. I've often pondered her act exposing him a second time, knowing the great pain it would cause him and the response it would illicit.

The question remains for you, what's your trigger? What sore spot in your life sets you off when touched? We all have them. I know I do.

Respectfully,
The Phantom's Student

Order Lessons From the Phantom of the Opera Here

Stage Craft

There are so many things that go into the development of a Broadway show from the designs of the set, lighting, costumes and even sound. Not to mention, of course, the development of the music, script and lyrics and how all of this ultimately comes together as a final product.

That’s all well and good but what’s never really discussed is how we, as actors, integrate into all of that. It’s a big process and each one of those individual aspects has a direct impact on what we do on stage.

So I’m going to write a series on how each of these aspects of stage craft integrates into my performance (may put them up somewhere other than the blog, but will link to them if I do) and how I subsequently integrate into them.

Hopefully it will prove to be an interesting foray into this area... I'll try my best to make it so.

Broadway Cares

We start fundraising for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS today. It's a charity that I've been involved with for a very long time and one that is very important to me.

From now on, at the end of every show, after the curtain call, the lights are brought up in the audience and I give a little speech about the charity and what it means. Cast members from the show head out into the audience (in costume) with buckets to collect donations from the audience for this worthy cause.

Given today's economy things are tight, we all know that. But think for a moment about those who have compounded expenses from medical issues. Broadway Cares and The Actor's Fund help to ease those burdens by providing funding to people for everyday living expenses, rent, food and even medication. This is a sweeping program.

And just think, if each person in our audience were to just give $1.00 (less than a bottle of water) we can raise almost $1500.00 a night. (And that's just if each person only gave a buck!)

So these next few weeks are important ones for everyone. We have a huge election pending, we have the economy to deal with and we have the holidays just around the corner.

But it's always important to remember that there are people we pass everyday that might be having a harder time than we are. If each of us reached out and helped one person in a very small way then the world can be a different place.

There is a story I heard once about a woman going to a business meeting in the city. She parked her car on the street, fed the parking meter and saw a homeless man sitting near her car. She stopped and gave him a handful of change as she passed by.

Well apparently her business meeting took longer than expected and she realized, as she was heading back to her car, that she probably had a ticket because the parking meter had expired while she was inside.

Much to her surprise there was no ticket and about 20 minutes left on the meter. She turned and saw the homeless man still sitting there. He smiled and said, "Don't worry... I got the meter for you."

He had been feeding the meter his change the entire time she was inside. One good gesture generates another.

It's one of my favorite stories.

Robert Redford, Kenneth Cole and the Sundance Institute

Dana and I had a wonderful evening tonight. We were invited by our friends Kenneth Cole and Maria Cuomo-Cole to the 2008 Sundance Institute Celebration.

"Sundance Institute is an international not-for-profit incubator for the development and presentation of original stories for the screen and stage. They provide independent artists a space to explore their stories free from commercial pressures, and they present the Sundance Film Festival, a platform to take their works to a global audience.

"The Institute is where film and theatre artists find access to creative professionals as mentors, and a wellspring of personal and financial support. The Institute's activities include the following five core programs in addition to a range of initiatives.

"Sundance Film Festival
"Feature Film Program
"Documentary Film Program
"Film Music Program
"Theatre Program"

It was an amazing night. Patrons and supporters of the Arts were all in attendance. Robert Redford was incredibly gracious and his dedication to Sundance is remarkable. He's a true icon.

What he has created in Sundance stands as a pinnacle in artistic development and is a testament that art can be created without the pressures of commercialized production. And that given the opportunity, artists can indeed thrive in this supportive environment.

The irony about all of this is that many of these works end up being incredibly "commercially" successful due, in my own opinion, to the freedom given to those who are creating them.

So thanks to Kenneth and Maria for a wonderful invite and thanks to Robert Redford for creating a place where artists can do what they do best... create.

Flooding the theatre

So it rained yesterday but that didn't stop the audience from flooding into the matinee performance. We had yet another full house in the afternoon.

The rain really came down after the show and we had the stroller rain cover in use for the first time. It's great for the baby... not so great for mom and dad.

Alas, that's what umbrellas are for I suppose.

We walked around the block trying to figure out where to go to dinner and ended up exactly where we started.

I don't mind the rain all that much, after all it's just water. The difficult thing is traversing the NY streets in the rain, with the stroller and all the people rushing to and fro.

We rose to the challenge however and made it through.

Looking forward to today. Hope it doesn't rain...

Friday Festivities...

There was a big group in from Syracuse Friday tonight, wonderful crowd.

And for most of this week Alison Walla went on for Mackenzie Mauzy as the seamstress. Mackenzie had to go to LA to finish up an episode of The Bold And The Beautiful. She'll be back Saturday night.

Alison is doing a wonderful job stepping in.

We have such a talented and diverse cast it amazes me sometimes. This cast gives 100% every single night. They are extremely hard working and rarely have I been around a group where everyone is as committed to the project as the person standing next to them.

Rich are experiences such as these and it's important to remember them.

Life can fly by, moments that once seemed to last forever are gone in the blink of an eye and to me, it's important to cherish every one of them.

Great to see those of you who have come back time and again. Our Adopt A Class program is in full swing and we're bringing more and more students to the show on a continual basis.

These too are moments never to forget.

The Asolo

Well, yesterday we had two shows and they were fabulous.

The evening show was attended by a group of people from the Sarasota, Florida area made up of supporters of the Asolo Theatre (where Tale had it's out of town run).

What great folks... and it was terrific to see them again. Some people I knew from my time down there and some I met for the first time last night. Everyone was enthralled by the show they saw last night.

I did a benefit concert down at the Asolo last year and it was a big success.

We're trying to figure something out for this year but it looks like schedules are packed both or me and for the Asolo. Hopefully we can work something out.

Oh, we also had a big group sponsored by Adopt A Class who came to the matinee yesterday.

It truly is an incredible program.

The Last Chapter of the James Barbour Romance

Dana put up the last chapter (at least so far) of her story of the James Barbour romance :)

Here is the link:
How I Tamed the Beast, Chapter 4 – And Then it Clicked

It is a fun ending to the great story she has been telling.

Monday Night Off...

After a very long week I finally head into a day off... and a much needed one at that. Of course, I still keep working. Many e-mails to catch up on and I have to go over my schedule for the week ahead.

That said, I want to take a second and remind everyone (not that you need reminding) that the election is fast approaching. And no matter what your political affiliation it's important to get out and vote. It's not only your right, it's your duty. OK that's my piece on that.

I've been able to catch up a bit on a couple of TV shows... mostly the World Series of Poker. I watch it every year. I was going to play in Don Chealdes' Ante Up For Darfur (a portion of everyone's winnings went to the charity) but I was on the road with Camelot and couldn't make it to Vegas. One of these days I'll get out there.

Oh... by the way... a shout out to my friend Tom Cavanagh. He's got a new series on TNT with Eric McCormack called Trust Me. From the buzz it sounds like it's going to be great. Make sure you all tune in.

CBS and Miss America

Well yesterday was a big day for A Tale of Two Cities. After having done the UN the morning before and a performance that Friday night, I was up at 6am on Saturday to head down to CBS studios here in NYC.

I had the great honor to appear with Steve Bartlestein on his morning CBS news program. Steve had come to the show a couple of weeks ago and just loved it... hence me being on his show. What a great guy. So generous, as was the entire staff there at the news room.

I arrived at around 7am, did a little sound check at 7:30 (ugh) did some pre-record at 8:30 (a little less ugh) and then went on air LIVE with him around 9:45am. Steve even got me a bagel.

I don't know if any of you caught the show but here's a link to the feed. I sang part of "I Can't Recall" live on air.

Boy is it tough to sing that early in the morning. Dana and I didn't really get to sleep until around 3:30 the night before because the baby was a bit fidgety... but I gotta do what I gotta do. I think I squeaked it out.

Anyway... many, many thanks to Steve Bartlestein and the entire staff at CBS. If you haven't done so, you guys should tune into him on Saturday mornings. He's fantastic.

OK... then... I had two shows that same day.

Talk about tired.

It didn't matter though. The matinee audience was packed and the energy lifted me out of my fog and propelled me onward. There was a group of friends, from my high school days, at the show that afternoon and some some other great friends from my undergrad days as well. Always nice to have friends in the house.

The evening performance was great too. Our current Miss America, Kristen Haglund, was in attendance. She came backstage afterward to meet the cast. She's a very sweet person and loved the show. Her reign ends at the end of the year so here's wishing her the best in all future endeavors.

Off to the matinee.

It's cold today so layer, layer, layer!

CBS Interview

Here is a link to the video:

CBS Interview with James Barbour

Including the fact that he loved it and says he never believes the critics.

James is recovering from quite a crazy schedule with shows and interviews, but he will post again, don't worry.

Smarthistory Wins Prestigious International Award

AVICOM, the committee of the International Council of Museums (ICOM), responsible for audiovisual, image, sound and new technologies awarded Smarthistory the gold medal in the web category at its annual competition on October 17, 2008 in Ottawa. Please visit our terrific new website at Smarthistory.org.

Print

Update: December 10, 2008

I am happy to report that I have received permission from The Really Useful Group it use portions of the lyrics in my printed version of the blog. Things are progressing!

Update: December 4, 2008

To update from my post below, I have been busy working on putting this blog into print form; however, it will take some time. Right now I'm dealing with Hal Leonard Corporation, the U.S. copyright agents for The Really Useful Group (Andrew Lloyd Webber's company), trying to get permission to reprint the lyrics. They have requested to read all of my posts where the lyrics are embedded. Today I sent them via email, very nervously I might add. I have no idea what they will think. I'm keeping my fingers crossed. In addition, I am waiting on other permissions from Warner Brothers and from Random House. You will see me removing some of the Warner Brothers pictures here, as I'm trying to stay clear of copyright violations even though I have disclaimers everywhere.

I have also been doing my research on self-publishing. A few authors who have walked that route are helping me take the journey. Hopefully, while I keep writing a few other posts, all these other issues will resolve. Some of my former posts will be edited and reposted here, as I prepare them for publication. I will keep you advised. Thanks again for following me on my journey.


Original Post: First, let me thank all of my readers who have followed my blog, written comments, sent me emails, and talked kindly about my writing on various forums around the Internet. I have received requests from many readers to place this blog into print form. Well, I am about to do that very thing. I believe it's time.

I do have a few more posts in mind regarding the Phantom of the Opera, but at present I am going back through my older posts to tweak them a bit, edit, seek permissions, find an illustrator, and finalize them for print through the means of self-publishing. This may take me a while, but my goal is to have this finalized by January of 2009.

Please, if you have any suggestions, items or topics of further discussion you would like to see included in the final print form, feel free to shoot me an email. When the blog is available in book form, I will post a link where you can order a copy.

Again, I thank all of you from the bottom of my heart who have faithfully followed this blog and left your comments and thoughts! The story has touched us all in a variety of ways, and I am quite sure will continue to do so for many years.

Fondly,
The Phantom's Student

The United Nations Performance

Some of the cast of A Tale of Two Cities performed at the UN today. It was fascinating.

I've been around politics and politicians a great deal in my life and my father-in-law has spoken at the UN many times... but it's still wild to be in the epi-center of the worlds decision makers.

Today the General Assembly was picking new members of the Security Counsel so it was extra busy. And our performance area was directly opposite THE General Assembly room.

We were singing for Stand Up For Poverty.

We arrived at the UN about 8:40am which I have to admit was tough given that most of us go to sleep around 1am after a night show. The baby was a bit active last night so Dana and I didn't really hit the hay until 2ish. That makes for an early morning especially when I had to do a sound check at 9:30am (meaning getting up at around 6:30). UGH! Not so bad when I'm on a TV schedule but for theatre... it's killer.

It also wouldn't be so bad if I didn't have to sing in the morning. Sleep really makes a difference to the voice and without it... it's a bit tougher to squeak out those notes.

That said... we all did our sound check, Natalie sang Out Of Sight Out Of Mind, the ensemble sang Until Tomorrow and I sang I Can't Recall.

After the sound check we went back to our holding room.

Walking through the halls of the UN is a pretty cool thing. You are surrounded by delegates from all over the world and these people are making THE decisions about what goes on. It reminds me how important it is to vote by the way... so please do so!

At any rate, the event began at 11 am and was hosted by Hosted by H.E. Miguel D'Escoto Brockmann. President of the UN General Assembly, Asha-Rose Migiro, UN Deputy Secretary-General, Ad Melkert, Under-Secretary-General and Associate Administrator, UNDP and Kiyo Akasaka, Under-Secretary-General for Communication and Public Information, this event was broadcast all over the world to the many participating consulates. Pretty spectacular!

Our cast was amazing and sang their butts off. We filled the grounds of the UN with music from A Tale of Two Cities and since we were singing outside by the Peace Bell the message of music really made its mark across the world.

For a video of the event, click here.

After the event some of the cast stayed for a private tour and lunch in the delegates room... but a couple of us thought it best to head home since we had a show that night and we were working on very little sleep.

I raced home and got a couple of hours sleep myself but before long it was diaper changing and dog walking time.

Ahh, life in the city...

United Nations

Going to be a little quick note as I am heading to the UN in the morning to sing for Stand Up for Hunger.

It's an early day but for a tremendous cause. Our performance will be broadcast across the world to foreign dignitaries to spread the word about this great cause.

I'll give you all the details about the program so that you all can join in the effort.

Monte Cristo

Dana and I had dinner with Frank Wildhorn and Brandi Burkhardt tonight. We discussed so many new things as well as the Dracula CD and Monte Cristo reading.

The cast for Monte Cristo (which i can tell you about when it's official) is pretty cool. Great voices all around.

I'm pretty sure that the reading won't be open to the public given the union rules governing these things but I'll be sure to keep the updates flowing during the process.

Now to the important things... what to dress up the baby as for Halloween!!!

We were thinking Pumpkin but everyone does that... maybe a flower with petals all around her head, she'd be soooo cute. (Wait... maybe I'll wear that one).

James Barbour's Wife Chapter Three

She put up the third chapter of her story “How I Tames the Beast”:

Chapter 3 – We Seem to Blossom

She says she jokingly tamed her Beast using the fact that James Barbour played the Beast in Beauty and the Beast.

A Nine Show Week

Well normally we do 8 shows in a one week period... this week we're doing 9.

It was decided a long time ago that since Monday is a holiday and more people would be visiting the city that we would add a Monday night show. That means we have Tuesday off.

There is a ton of good stuff coming up this week. We have a performance at the U.N. for the Hunger Program. And I might be doing a little TV appearance later on in the week as well.

I'll keep you posted on that as everything settles.

Frank Wildhorn has asked me to play the title role in the upcoming reading of The Count Of Monte Cristo. That should be fun. The music is great and I love working with Frank. We're doing it a the end of November so it should be a great Thanksgiving.

But right now... it's baby, wife and football. What more could a guy want?

Oops! NBC cuts into President Bush's speech about economy with ad for 'A Tale of Two Cities'

Had to share this article with everyone, NY Daily News reports

Oops! NBC cuts into President Bush's speech about economy with ad for 'A Tale of Two Cities'
Updated Saturday, October 11th 2008, 2:32 PM

It was the worst of technical difficulties.

WNBC-TV cut into President Bush's speech about the dire state of the economy this morning with a commercial for the Broadway musical "A Tale of Two Cities."

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times," the ad bellowed over the ominous image of a guillotine slamming down.

After several seconds of the gloomy ad, WNBC's feed quickly snapped back to Bush's speech.

WNBC said it was a glitch and the incredible timing was a coincidence.

"During the President's speech this morning, we experienced a 4-second technical issue and inadvertently interrupted his message," the station said in a statement.

"We fixed the problem quickly and apologize for the error."

A station source said they got no complaints from viewers and no employees were reprimanded for the snafu.

The glitch occurred as Bush addressed the press after holding talks with finance ministers from the Group of Seven industrial nations.

The screen cut to the ad - featuring a grim clip of actor James Barbour grasping a flask as character Sydney Carton - just as Bush was assuring viewers, "these extraordinary efforts are being implemented as quickly as ..."

The station quickly switched back to the president's comments, and Bush continued, "...but as the actions take effect, they will help restore stability to our market and confidence in our financial institutions."

It continues from there with more of about Bush, etc., but this was just way to funny!!

Update: Here are some more links to this story, will add them as I find them:

A Tale of Two Cities Interrupts Bush Speech
It was the "Worst of Times" for NBC

Opera!

Opera! After all, it's the Opera Ghost's favorite form of entertainment, and it's the setting for the story the Phantom of the Opera. So what's all the hype about opera anyway in Paris in the mid-19th century? Plenty!

During the mid-19th century, numerous composers, French, Italian, and from other countries wrote several famous operas. Paris in the 19th century actually had two opera houses. The original was known as the Théâtre de l'Académie Royale de Musique, which was destroyed by a massive fire. It had been the chief opera house in Paris and center for ballet since 1821. The second opera house in Paris, built by Garnier, which our Ladyghost has written about below, was opened in 1875. Of course, the Opera Populaire is a fictional opera house given the name by Andrew Lloyd Webber.

Grand Opera in the 19th century usually contained four or five acts, and were lavish productions with large casts, orchestras, outstanding designs and sets. Ballet at opera was also developed in Paris, and ballet performances usually appeared near the beginning of the second act, and was part of the performance to satisfy the wealthy aristocrats who enjoyed the ballet dancers.

Attending operas was an important aspect of social life, as well. While doing research recently for one of my books, I came across an interesting historical comment for wealthy men stating, "It is imperative for a man of fashion to appear at the Opera on Friday's."

So what about the operas presented in The Phantom of the Opera. Are they real operas or the imagination of Leroux and Webber? Well some, yes - some no.

The first opera mentioned in Webber's work is at auction with Lot 663, the production poster of Hannibal by Chalumeau. This is a fictional work, though there is an opera by the name of "Hannibal."

The second mentioned in Webber's work at auction was Lot 664 talks about the production by , Robert le Diable by Meyerbeer. Boy, talk about symbolism in that reference! This was a Opera, written by Giacoma Meyerbeer. Robert le Diable translated means "Robert the Devil." I've included a link below so you can read the synopsis.

The third opera in Webber's work, Il Muto, is a fictional work in the story, as well as Don Juan Triumphant, of course, written by the Phantom.

The opera mentioned in Leroux's original work, Faust, is an actual opera about making a pack with the Devil. There are also numerous other works mentioned in Leroux's version, which are actual works and composers, and I quote, "All the great composers of the day had conducted their own works in turns. Faure and Krauss had sung; and, on that evening, Christine Daae had revealed her true self, for the first time, to the astonished and enthusiastic audience. Gounod had conducted the Funeral March of a Marionnette; Reyer, his beautiful overture to Siguar; Saint Saens, the Danse Macabre and a Reverie Orientale; Massenet, an unpublished Hungarian march; Guiraud, his Carnaval; Delibes, the Valse Lente from Sylvia and the Pizzicati from Coppelia. Mlle. Krauss had sung the bolero in the Vespri Siciliani; and Mlle. Denise Bloch the drinking song in Lucrezia Borgia. But the real triumph was reserved for Christine Daae, who had begun by singing a few passages from Romeo and Juliet..." (by Gounod).

I hope you find this post informative and interesting. To truly understand and appreciate any story, knowing the history behind what makes it a great work in itself is always helpful. Happy reading as you follow the links to learn more about Opera!

Below are links for interesting reading regarding opera:
Grand Opera in the 19th century - link: Grand Opera
Origins of Opera - link: Opera
Brief history of Opera - link: The History of Opera
Robert le Diable - link.
Faust - link.

Your servant, as always - who has never been to an opera herself!

The Phantom's Student

Order Lessons From the Phantom of the Opera in Paperback Here

Adopt A Class

I want to give everyone further information on the Adopt A Class program that was created for Tale. This program is the first of it's kind and is truly having a remarkable impact on the community and educational systems that are taking advantage of it.

This blog is quite a bit longer due to all the information about the program.

The producers of Tale have created an innovative new program never before done on Broadway: Adopt-A-Class. This one-of-a-kind program provides the funds to bring classrooms of inner city students to enjoy, perhaps for the first time, a wonderful and memorable Broadway experience.

The creator of this program, Roberta Nusim, grew up in the Bronx and is a former NYC teacher.

Here is a brief description of the program.

Adopt A Class to See A Tale of Two Cities... and Inspire Young People to Make Their Dreams Come True!

This unique program offers schools and youth groups the opportunity to come to Broadway to experience and be inspired by the powerful themes of A Tale of Two Cities.

How Does the Program Work? Make a tax-deductible contribution to the Weiner Nusim Educational Foundation, a 501c3 not-for-profit organization, and your entire contribution will fund the purchase of tickets for young people to see A Tale of Two Cities.

Your contribution of $2500 will purchase 30-50 tickets for youth to an upcoming performance of A Tale of Two Cities. You can make any donation in multiples of $500.

You can earmark your tax-deductible contribution to send young people from any school or community group you select as long as it is a public school, church, synagogue, library or other not-for-profit institution serving young people.

Some sponsors are funding groups in their own communities, others are selecting schools they attended as children, others are adopting inner city schools, local teams, religious or community youth groups. You can select the specific school or youth organization you would like to fund or leave it to the Foundation to choose for you.

On Wednesday September 8th a group of 50 students from Mott Haven School (a Title One school) in the South Bronx initiated the program when they came to their first Broadway experience at the 2pm matinee.

The following is an excerpt from a letter by Bob Nation who was an educator in New Jersey for 38 years.

“Hello all,

I wanted to take a moment to remind everyone...of the incredible thing that happened in the Al Hirshfeld Theatre yesterday afternoon.

Fifty students from the south Bronx, who had never stepped foot in a Broadway theatre, came to see A Tale of Two Cities and had the "time of their life." At the talk back many members of the cast were gracious enough to talk with these kids even though they had another show in a couple of hours. Roberta Nusim captured their attention with reference to her own schooling that occurred within walking distance from Mott Haven. And they applauded wildly when they heard it was her foundation that got them there. What a delight to hear such innocent questions as: "were you really singing live?" "were there real musicians playing down there?" or comments like, "its gonna make reading the book so much more fun." And 50 "thank you's" - one by one!

Realize the mark that A Tale of Two Cities, the musical, is making on this community that no other Broadway show has yet to do. Throughout my years as an educator in a so called, "well to do" community, I never imagined that a school within walking or subway distance from Broadway may never have seen a live, professional show..."

The program really did have an impact. Most of these students were reading Tale as part of their curriculum and all of them spoke about how after seeing the show they had a greater understanding of the story and were now encouraged to go back and read the novel or class. It makes a difference and even if only one student is motivated to grow and learn that is one more person who can make a positive impact on this world.

If you know of a group who would qualify for this program or know of benefactors who would like to aid in this effort...please help us bring this valuable educational tool to the lives of students everywhere. Help us Adopt A Class.

Please also note that students in New York City do not require transportation. However, if you prefer to sponsor a school outside of NYC transportation costs will be additional, estimated between $500 and $1000 per busload.

You will receive confirmation of the date and group that you are sponsoring and you are welcome to attend the performance and meet the group. You will also receive an acknowledgement from the Weiner Nusim Foundation of your contribution for tax purposes.

Please spread the word about Adopt A Class...and Inspire Young People to Make Their Dreams Come True to your friends and business associates today.

If you are interested in making a donation to this exciting program or wish to recommend a specific school or youth group to add to our list awaiting sponsors please contact Roberta Nusim at schoolroom@aol.com or call for more information 203-526-3895.

Poster Pictures

So I got to the theatre the other day and they had put up the production photos on the outside of the theatre.

The production photos are pictures of the cast from the show in costume... just blown up really big. In some cases life size or bigger.

It's funny to see a life sized me looking at me.

Anyway... you should all check out the pics next time you pass by the theatre... and while you're there, buy a ticket or two to see the show again.

In the next blog I'm going to talk more about our "Adopt a Classroom" program. It's really making a difference and believe it or not Tale is the first Broadway show to ever implement a program such as this.

We had out first group from this program come to the show yesterday and it was a huge success!

James Barbour's Wife Again

Dana Stackpole put up another article called We Grew Apart and then the Spark.

She has a similar writing style to James and they are fun to read, thought everyone would enjoy it.

Julie Andrews

So some of you who were at the show last night got to meet Julie Andrews... who was also in attendance. What a spectacular career she has had. It was wonderful to have the "buzz" throughout the theatre that she was here.

We had another great show and did a "talk back" for educators who were seeing the show. We all truly feel that this production has great value as an educational tool. Not only does it present classic literature in a very accessible way but it's also entertaining at the same time.

Tale has programs set up for students and educators including an "Adopt a Classroom" program designed to help provide an opportunity to those who might not otherwise be able to see the show.

There are so many ways to enjoy this incredible Broadway experience and I hope that you guys out there can spread the word about the opportunities!

James Barbour's Wife Shares

James Barbour's wife Dana Stackpole decided she wanted to write her own little series about how her and James meet.

She put up the first chapter here: How I Tamed the Beast, Chapter 1

Check it out, it is pretty good and she promises more are coming and it won't be that long of a wait.

James Barbour and Derek Keeling Photo

Me with Derek Keeling who is starring in 'Grease' on Broadway. Derek was also a part of the reality TV show You're The One That I Want (searching for the leads in Grease).

Photo was taken at The Broadway Flea Market. (Blurry I know...)

Another Sold Out Sunday

Wow, another huge day at the theatre. A packed house and a tremendously responsive group at that.

Its great to end the week on a high note (literally and figuratively). I must confess that I am sometimes tired at the end of the week but the life and energy that pours out of the audiences and the people I meet at the stage door fills me back up again. I'm like the Energizer Bunny.

So, thanks everyone for that!

We have a nice day planned for tomorrow's day off. Some friends are coming into town and I've got to get to work on another little project I've been putting off (more on that later) and I've got to get back to some reading. I'm in the midst of three different books.

By the way... Andrew sent in a photo he took of us outside the stage door. It is up on the Facebook fan page. And Alex gave me the nicest gift of a plaque with a great quote inscribed "Life Is A Song, Love Is The Music." I'm going to put it up in the theatre for everyone to share. (Thanks Alex).

There are so many great quotes that I've kept with me over the years. Quotes from Presidents, Spiritual leaders, Business people to Poets, you name it.

I'm a big fan of the poet Charles Baudelaire 1821-1867. I began reading his works while in a comparative literature class in undergraduate school and got hooked. He was a contemporary of Dickens, 1812-1870, but Baudelaire lived in France. He was quite controversial and "dark" for his day... Carton probably would have liked him.

Another Set of Questions Answered by James Barbour

I tried to collect up all the questions again for James to answer (previous ones here). Again, let me know if you have any more in the comments:

Q. Any update on when "The Tale" CD is going to be recorded and released?

No new update as of yet. Last I heard they were shooting for sometime in October.

Q. Will there be a DVD from this show someday?

I haven't heard anything about a DVD of the show... this would most likely happen way down the line. It's not often that Broadway shows are recorded for DVD. Good idea though!

Q. Did you suggest or recommend the Hirschfeld, or perhaps found it for the producers, and then they decided whether or not to acquire it? Any influence?

I had no influence nor did I suggest the theatre to the producers. Acquiring a Broadway theatre has mostly to do with availability and timing.

Q. Did you "time" the arrival of your baby to more or less be at the time of the official opening of Tale, or was the whole thing (pregnancy, that is) not planned at all?

Considering a baby's gestation period is 9 months and we had no idea when TALE was going to Broadway it would have been difficult to "time" anything like that. That would have been quite a task. It was just coincidence.

Q. If I buy a poster, will you sign it?

Sure!

Q. I just went to your Facebook fan page and saw the event of you signing a record deal with Tres. Tres's website is still showing a 'coming soon' type of ad, so I was wondering if you'd talk about what's happening with that on your blog?

"Tres" is indeed still moving forward. With Tale in full swing and my other "band-mates" in the midst of current projects we're all trying to get our schedules on track so that we can take the Demo that we did and turn it into a fully produced CD. I'll keep you guys posted as more info comes my way.

Q. Do you have any other "secrets" for saving your voice you can share? Like do you do a whole long warmup, or a short one and just sing?

What I've said before is pretty much it. I don't really "warm down" from the performance the day before so I'll do a very short warm-up with some light humming.

(Note: See this post for original post)

Q. How is Buddha doing?

Buddha is Great! What a dog!

(Note: See this post for last update)

Q. Is there any way you can tell us in advance of your promotional stuff you do?

Sure...I can. Sometimes I don't know until the day before but I'll do my best when I have a long lead time.

Q. When did you get married?

Almost 2 years ago

Q. Is Hudson's birthday August 29th?

Yes

Q. Is there a way I can email you something?

Edin here (since I am the more technical one) you should join the James Barbour fan page on facebook where you can upload fan photos with comments. We are going to test some other things so keep a watch there.

Q. How, actually, does one post a picture, and a comment to go with it, on your "facebook"?

Edin again, Go to James Barbour fan page on facebook and in the right column you will see a box that says "# of # fan photos" and then to the right is "Add Photos". After that it pretty much walks you through the steps of uploading an image including writing a caption. Let me know by comment here if you have any problems with this.

Packed Sat

Another full house Saturday afternoon! It was a great audience.

One of our cast members had a small group from his home town at the show. We did a short 'talk-back' afterward with them (a talk-back is where a group sits in the audiences, asks questions of the actors and the actors... talk back).

What an interesting group from all walks of life.

Always nice to hear what the rest of the world is doing. It's so easy to get locked into our lives and put blinders on to what's going on around us.

I think it's important to extrovert ourselves and look at the world objectively. I try to do so and it thus gives me a more objective viewpoint on my own life.

One more show today and then a day off!

Star Studded...

So, every once in a while various celebrities come by to see the show and its so great to meet them or to say hi if I've known them from before.

The other night one of my favorite people came to the show... Dennis DeYoung, who was the lead singer of the band STYX. I grew up listening to Dennis sing all those great power rock ballads, 'Come Sail Away', 'Babe' etc. He's truly an amazing singer and songwriter. And has also become a great friend.

It was so good to see him. We worked together a while back on a project that he wrote based on 'The Hunchback Of Notre Dame' and the music is truly out of this world. When I was asked to sing for him all those years ago... it was such a treat. Here I was in the room with the guy who wrote all those songs on all those albums. (I gotta confess I was a huge STYX fan!)

So, working with him on that show was a stellar experience.

Anyway... ya never know who is going to show up at the stage door and it was a nice surprise to see Dennis!

Another packed house tonight. Another tremendous audience! Thanks everyone!

Rain Forest Bouncer

Well the Rain Forest Bouncer is the savior in our household! I'm not doing any plugs here mind you...just that this item has been the favorite place of rest for the baby. I LOVE IT! And so does she!

I wish I had one of those things... wait a minute I do... it's called a recliner... never mind. Only thing is my recliner doesn't vibrate or play music and it certainly doesn't have plastic monkey's on it that slide back and forth. That would be cool. I do have the remote and TV so I guess that rates.

But as I said... not much TV watching time these days. We had a nice walk in the park... seems like Fall is upon us which is nice. I like the change in seasons... don't necessarily like the COLD but I like the change... makes for good picture taking.

There is something about the smell of a fireplace against the crisp cool autumn air that brings back a rush of memories for me. It's comforting.

And by the way... Happy New Year to all of those who celebrated Roshashana!

TALE Promo

So we're on to our second show of the day in about 40 minutes (yes I have internet in my dressing room) and I'm sitting in the warmth of the room writing the blog.

It's a rainy day today but despite the weather we had some amazing folks waiting outside the stage door (IN THE RAIN). Thanks to all those who braved the weather. Wasn't so bad really just a bit of a drizzle but it was still wet.

There is a great new promotion TALE has going on. We're selling $79 tickets through Nov 25th! The info is below.

Call 212-947-8844 use code TCBBX77 or go to Broadwayoffer.com and enter the code! $79.00 tickets !

Gotta go get ready!!

Big Box Office!

Well we had an amazing week last week. TALE had one of the (if not THE) largest increase in ticket sales of any Broadway show on the boards! Thanks to you all... we're really flying.

The push continues to fill every seat and let people know that TALE is here to stay.

To that end... thanks so much to Rae and her husband who both came back to the show last night for their (3rd time) I think. It was great to meet them. Rae and I took a picture backstage that I'll have posted on the blog as soon as I get a copy.

It was another wonderful show last night. Although I did almost get the hiccups right before "I CAN'T RECALL." That would have been tough.

I'm having such a blast playing this role. It's exhausting but so fulfilling.

Oh, one other note... I did a half hour interview with the legendary Joe Franklin yesterday which aired live on Bloomberg Radio. He loved the show and said that he thought it was going to be "the sleeper hit of the season." Thanks Joe!!

Two show day today!