Moved to NY/NJ...
Current mood: satisfied
Category: Life

So, Jeff and I drove across the country in a Budget moving truck, which was a pretty nice trip except for breaking down in Gallup, NM (not a place I'd recommend spending a lot of time in).  We arrived in the afternoon on July 3rd, just in time to watch the fireworks over the Manhattan Skyline from Hamilton Park (overlooking the Hudson, just two blocks from our apartment).  

We're settling in pretty well.  We're all unpacked, artwork's up on the walls, Jeff's applying for various jobs (and learning the public transportation systems), I've been going out on auditions, seeing old friends, and getting ready for my next gig - in Wisconsin, of all places.

Yep, that's right.  We just got here, and I'm already leaving again.  I'll be doing How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying   at the Fireside Theatre in Ft. Atkinson, WI from 8/3 through 10/19.  Poor Jeff!  He'll have been here exactly one month when I leave him to his own devices - and he's never lived on the East Coast before.  :-P

Other than that, there's not much to report.  If anybody's in the Midwest and wants to come see How To Succeed, the theatre website is here:
http://www.firesidetheatre.com/

Hope everyone's doing great!

xo
E

4:46 AM - 1 Comments - 2 Kudos - Add Comment

"Triumph Of Love" review snippets
Current mood: accomplished
Category: Jobs, Work, Careers

I realized I hadn't posting anything over here about the show (we close tomorrow!), so here are some snippets of the reviews:

...Amato is hands-down the star of this production. It helps that she has the best song, the heartbreaking ballad "Serenity," but she articulates every inch of her tightly laced character so persuasively that hers is the fate you lament at the end of the production. Bewitched and bullied by the scheming Leonide, Hesione serves as the emotional anchor in this overwhelmingly silly story. In fact, Amato's elegant presence and velvety voice are the best reasons to revisit this show.
--AMY KRIVOHLAVEK, OffOffOnline.com

...Ms. Amato shows off a glorious voice as Hesione- her song "Serenity" is a highlight of the evening (as it was for Tony- and Drama Desk-nominated Betty Buckley in the original cast).
--DUNCAN PFLASTER, BroadwayWorld.com

......As the philosophical Hesione, Erika Amato steals the show. Originally a vehicle for Betty Buckley, Hesione is the most developed character in the adaptation. Amato steps up to the challenge well and sings "Serenity" so powerfully that you forget what show you are in for a moment.
--DAVID STALLINGS, TheFabMarquee.com

......Lovely Erika Amato dazzles as [Hermocrates'] spinster sister -- she is a musical knockout, stopping the show with her rendition of "Serenity."
--JOHN KENRICK, Musicals101.com

......Most impressive is Ms. Amato, who brings an amalgamation of seemingly limitless chest voice and an agile lyric mezzo to Hesione's numbers. Her reading of "Serenity," Hesione's Act One showpiece, is among the best renditions I've ever heard. She's also the most comfortable actor of the bunch, soaring through a scene in which Leonide, disguised as Phocion the student, attempts to seduce her. Her voice beautifully blends with Ms. Baum's raw but appealing belt.
--CAMERON KELSALL, Theater Talk's New Theater Corps (newtheatercorps.blogspot.com)

...Erika Amato is good enough as [Hermocrates'] sister Hesione to make you mourn her character's prudishness...the performers sing their roles beautifully and have energy to spare...
--SAM THIELMAN, Backstage.com

This show has been a lot of fun for me, and a great first NY gig.  I was lucky enough to get some really nice pull-quotes, and I've made some good friends in the cast, too, which is wonderful.  I think I'm ready for it to close (the whole "everybody shares the same second-grade classroom with no mirrors as their dressing room" thing is wearing a bit thin), but I am so happy I did it.

Yay!

7:43 AM - 0 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment

So the big news is...
Current mood: adventurous
Category: Life

Jeff and I are moving to the East coast!  We found a great place in Weehawken, NJ (for those of you who don't know, that's literally just across the Hudson from Midtown Manhattan), and we're taking over the lease as of July 1st.

I've actually sublet this exact apartment from a friend of mine 3 times before, so it already feels like home.  :-)

I'll be flying back to LA on May 31st, Jeff and I will spend all of June packing and getting ready to go (let me know if you're in the market for any furniture, 'cause we're getting rid of a ton of stuff), and then we'll drive cross-country in a moving van to arrive sometime before July 5th!

I'm going to miss LA a lot - actually, all of CA - but it definitely seems like the right time to do it.  Triumph Of Love has been a wonderful "first-NY-experience" for me, (sure, it was "just" an Off-Off-Broadway production, but it's been so much fun, and we've received some really great reviews), and KSA has signed me across the board in NY, and I booked a regional theatre gig from an EPA I went to last month (I'll be doing How To Succeed In Business at the Fireside in WI), so I'm feeling OK about the move.

And Jeff's excited about it, too! 

So, that's the big news.  After over 15 years in LA, I'm going back to NJ!  Crazy.

8:15 PM - 10 Comments - 14 Kudos - Add Comment

My First NY Booking! :-)
Current mood: happy
Category: Jobs, Work, Careers

I actually got the offer a week ago, but I forgot to blog about it on this profile. 

So, anyway, I’ll be playing Hesione (the Betty Buckley role) in an AEA Showcase production of Triumph Of Love at the Astoria Performing Arts Center (or APAC for short) from April 25 through May 11th. 

http://www.apacny.org/index.html

I’m still auditioning at a crazy pace, and I’ve got a few callbacks coming up, so maybe I’ll book a cool summer gig or something, but in the meantime, it’s just going to be fantastic to be working on something and performing while I’m here in NY.

We start rehearsals on March 28th, and only rehearse nights and weekends (very much like the 99-seat code in LA), so I can still go out on as many auditions as I want.

Of course, I would just LOVE it if any and all of my NY area friends would come out and support me in what is, in fact, my NY professional theatrical debut. 

Woo-hoo!

Currently listening : Triumph Of Love (1998 Original Broadway Cast) By Jeffrey Stock Release date: 20 October, 1998

3:44 AM - 2 Comments - 4 Kudos - Add Comment

"White Christmas" gets rave reviews! :-)
Current mood: happy
Category: Jobs, Work, Careers

The first reviews are in for White Christmas, and they're all wonderful!

Welk's 'White Christmas' is a holiday keeper
By: PAM KRAGEN - Staff Writer

Nov. 14, 2007

Welk Resort Theatre took a big risk this year by replacing the successful holiday revue it's staged for the past 12 years with a more traditional book musical. But the risk has paid off, and they'll be counting lots of green this season with their magical new production of "White Christmas," which opened Friday...

Directed and choreographed by Jon Engstrom and smartly visualized by set designer Andrew G. Hammer, the Welk production is a triumph. The show features the best ensemble dance numbers I've ever seen at the Welk and the principal performers have big, beautiful singing voices...

Engstrom has put together a super-talented cast who can deliver Berlin's songs with the same gusto as the film's original cast and are strong actors and dancers as well. John Racca and Mishi Schueller lead the cast as Bob and Phil, respectively. Racca has an innate likability and good-guy appeal and Schueller is charming and a terrific dancer as well. Erika Amato has a rich singing voice, a sensitive stage presence and smart comic timing as Betty Haynes. And Rayne Marcus is sweet, polished and a stunning dancer as Judy Haynes. Her dance scenes with Schueller are the best part of the show...

For a dozen years, Welk stuck to the "if it ain't broke" philosophy and staged a traditional revue during the holiday season. But change can be a good thing, and let's hope that with the debut of "Irving Berlin's White Christmas," a new holiday tradition is born.

You can read the entire review here, if you like:
North County Times Review


'White Christmas' More Than The Typical Holiday Songfest
By Eileen Sondack

Nov. 20, 2007

...The show abounds with wonderful, hummable tunes, including "Blue Skies," Happy Holidays," "Let Yourself Go" and Berlin's blue chip "White Christmas." There's also a lot of laughs and fun along the way. However, the old soldier (played to perfection by Gene Brundage) provides the show with a heartwarming side...

John Racca makes Bob an engaging character, and his song and dance skills are impressive. Mishi Schueller has just the right amount of mischief in his acting style to bring Phil to life...

Erika Amato has a wonderful voice, and she uses it to excellent effect in her big number ("You Didn't Do Right by Me") in Act 2. Amato does right by all her assignments in this lively show...

Rayne Marcus is enchanting as Judy ...

Among the dancing highlights in this energetic staging is a Fosse-style production number — complete with hats and canes. It's a real show-stopper. Martha (the innkeeper's assistant, played with spunk by Arlene Thomas) has a big scene as well, and she really belts out "Let Me Sing and I'm Happy..."

Berlin's music still packs a punch — and so does this uplifting production of "White Christmas."

You can read the full review here:
MyLocalNews Review


Welk strikes gold with "White Christmas"
By Frankie Moran

Nov 28, 2007

...In a departure from their longstanding annual tradition of musical Christmas revues modeled on the Lawrence Welk show itself, the company is producing the San Diego premiere of the new stage musical...  If it lacks the grand Hollywood scale of [the Pantages] production, director and choreographer Jon Engstrom more than makes up for it with breezy pacing and some winning (if chamber-sized) dance numbers.

Based on the 1954 Paramount classic starring Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney, and Vera-Ellen, the plot (with book by David Ives and Paul Blake) is as standard issue as the U.S. Army uniforms that keep popping up periodically throughout the show. Boys get girls, boys lose girls, boys AND girls put on a show in the barn, and -- voilà! -- the snow starts falling just in time for a powdery white Christmas. It's all really just an excuse to showcase some great (and a few not-so-great) Irving Berlin songs.

Singing the best of these is John Racca in the Bing Crosby role. Though Racca's singing voice is a little robust for the tender "Count Your Blessings Instead of Sheep," he's a charismatic leading man, guiding the audience in a rousing singalong of the title song, and he plays well opposite Erika Amato as his on-again off-again love interest. Her sultry, torchy "You Didn't Do Right By Me" is an Act II highlight.

As the younger dancing couple, Mishi Schueller and Rayne Marcus lighten things up with several charming pas-de-deux...

Real life husband and wife team Gene Brundage and Arlene Thomas team up as the decidedly not married innkeeper and his assistant. The dignified, crotchety Brundage is a nice contrast to Thomas' belty old broad...  Thomas gamely delivers ["Let Me Sing And I'm Happy"]  across the footlights à la Merman...

[The] opening number, "Let Yourself Go," and the afore-mentioned "I Love a Piano" are tap-happy highlights, but lest anyone think this is "42nd Street" or "No, No, Nanette," Engstrom keeps the style firmly in the 1950s where it belongs (think less Busby Berkeley, more Ed Sullivan Show).

...if it's well-staged holiday nostalgia you're after, this "White Christmas" is probably your best bet short of booking a flight to see the Toronto cast. And why dig your passport out when yoe've got such a sure thing in your own backyard?

Full review here:
SanDiego.com Review

Here are a couple of pics:

Sisters (these are not our real wigs, nor is it the set!)

Blue Skies

If you're interested in coming, get your tickets ASAP, as we're sold out for just about the entire run. Christmas Eve seems to be your best bet - we have both a matinee and an evening show that day, and there are still seats available at both.

YAY!  

11:09 AM - 2 Comments - 2 Kudos - Add Comment

It’s my anniversary!
Current mood: happy

I woke up at 5am, and I couldn't go back to sleep, so here I am on the computer, writing about how it's my anniversary today!  Yay!

Jeff and I will be spending the day at Disneyland and CA Adventure, and having a nice dinner at Blue Bayou this evening.  Should be fun! 

I'm leaving for Escondido on Thursday, and Jeff's already saying how much he's going to miss me, and that he's decided he's going to call the Welk and tell them I can't do the show after all. hehehe  He's a sweetheart.    Of course I'll miss him, too, but I actually love hotel living, so I'm really looking forward to the gig.  And he's going to come visit all the time, anyway...it's not like it's that far. 

On a side note, I just got new headshots taken yesterday...  I can't wait to see the proofs online!  Hopefully, they'll look as good as they felt, you know what I mean?

Well, I guess that's it.  I'm going to try to go back to sleep for a little bit before the anniversary excitement begins. 

Currently listening : Slave to Love: Best of the Ballads By Bryan Ferry Release date: 17 July, 2000

7:00 AM - 10 Comments - 13 Kudos - Add Comment

Ovation Award Nomination!
Current mood: bouncy
Category: Jobs, Work, Careers

So, I just found out yesterday afternoon that Sleeping Beauty Wakes (the show I did back in the Spring with Center Theatre Group and Deaf West) got nominated for 10 awards, and I got nominated, too!

SBW got nominated in the following categories:

World Premiere Musical

Musical Large Theatre

Direction of a Musical (Jeff Calhoun)

Musical Direction (Brendan Millburn)

Lighting Design Large Theatre (Michael Gilliam)

Sound Design Large Theatre (Eric Snodgrass)

Lead Actress in a Musical (Valerie Vigoda)

Lead Actress in a Musical (Alexandria Wailes)

Featured Actor in a Musical (Kevin Earley)

Featured Actress in a Musical (Erika Amato)

Yay!

Congratulations to everyone in the SBW family, and also to everyone nominated this year! (For a full list of nominees, go here: http://www.theatrela.org/ovationaward.asp )

This is my first individual Ovation Nomination, so I'm pretty excited about it.

Yay!  I get to dress up and go to a nice party in November!  Awesome!  


The wonderful cast and crew of Sleeping Beauty Wakes

11:25 PM - 3 Comments - 6 Kudos - Add Comment

Recent news, etc.
Current mood: cheerful
Category: Jobs, Work, Careers

I realized I haven't really been keeping up with news, etc. over here, so here are the two most recent blogs from my other page (myspace.com/erikaamatomusic), which I attend to a lot more frequently. 

Oh, and in addition to the stuff I mention below, I'm also shooting an indie short film at the end of August/early September.  And of course, there's always 88's Cabaret on the 3rd Monday of every month. 

Monday, July 30, 2007

So, the Stephen Schwartz concert at 88's Cabaret ("Changed For Good") is tonight, and I'm really looking forward to it!  The performers are all amazing (see bottom of blog), so it can't help but be a fantastic show.  Yay!

On a whim, I uploaded live clips of me singing "Anything Goes" and "Blow Gabriel Blow" to a couple of hosting sites.  (The first site started giving me trouble, so I had to find another one.)    The sound quality is pretty lame, and AG in particular sounds kind of weird, 'cause there are these really long instrumental breaks, and since it was recorded off a backstage monitor and they kept turning our mics off for the tap breaks, etc., it just sounds a bit odd.  But check them out anyway...

Blow Gabriel Blow

Anything Goes

On the news front, I'm going to NYC for a couple of weeks (leaving on Friday), and I'm going to see lots of shows and see old friends, and audition for a couple of things while I'm there (why not?), so that will be fun.  When I get back, I'll be doing a workshop/staged reading of the new musical, I Come For Love, which will be presented twice on August 25th, 2pm and 8pm, at the Fred Kavli Theatre in Thousand Oaks.  The show has a great cast (Kim Huber, Roger Befeler, Robert Townsend, Jill Lewis, Eydie Alyson, etc.), and Stan Chandler's directing, so it should be a great experience. 

I've also been picking up a lot of days down at Disneyland (doing that Princess show), which is nice, as it keeps me busy and puts money in my pocket.

I guess that's about it.  I think I'll go over my music for tonight's show, now.  :-)

-E

Perfomers/Songs for "Changed For Good" -

Deborah Gibson - "I'm Not That Girl" from Wicked

Wilson Cruz - "Beautiful City" from Godspell

Eden Espinosa - "Meadowlark" from The Bakers Wife

Eden Espinosa & Megan Hilty - "For Good" from Wicked

Jai Rodriguez - "Popular" from Wicked

Erika Amato - "Turn Back O Man" from Godspell

Greater Los Angeles Cathedral Choir w/Meloney Collins - "Let There Be" from Children of Eden

Ava Gaudet - "O Bless The Lord" from Godspell

Kim Huber - "Colors of the Wind" from Pocahontas

Kevin Earley - "Out There" from Hunchback of Notre Dame

Danny Calvert - "Lost In The Wilderness" from Children of Eden

Misty Cotton - "Defying Gravity" from Wicked

Brooke Wilkes & Ryan Black - "In Whatever Time We Have" from Children of Eden

Bruce Vilanch - "No Time At All" from Pippin

Levi Kreis - "On The Willows" from Godspell

William Katt - "Morning Glow" from Pippin

Jeffrey Landman - "Lion Tamer" from The Magic Show

Chad Doreck - "Corner of the Sky" from Pippin

Brooke Wilkes - "Where is the Warmth" from The Baker's Wife

Shelly Goldstein - "Day by Day" from Godspell

Bets Malone - "Spark of Creation" from Children of Eden

************************

Sunday, June 24, 2007

OK, time for an update.    Toy Story was so much fun (we presented it for the big brass this past Monday), and now I'm in the middle of rehearsals for The Thief, another new musical, which is extremely interesting so far.

Toy Story was a blast for so many reasons: I got to play Bo Peep (how fun is that?), I got to work with my friend Richard for the first time - and my friend Melissa for the first time in 2 years; I finally got to work with music director extraordinaire, David O.; the music and lyrics were written by the brilliant Brendan and Val from Sleeping Beauty Wakes, and the director, Stefan Novinski, was just a doll.  Yay!

The Thief is going well, although at this point in the process it's a bit dull for me.  ;-)  See, my character doesn't make her appearance in the play until Act 2, so in Act 1, I'm the least used member of the ensemble, getting put in the back row of the big musical numbers so that I get "saved" for later. Which is totally cool; it's just a tad boring right now.

I just got cast in a short film, which will shoot at the end of July, so that's cool.  I'll be the female lead, speaking French and being all sexy.  Should be fun!

Guess that's it.  Happy Summer!  (And check out my blog about the summer sale I'm offering on my jazz CD!)  Yay!

--E

P.S.  I forgot to mention that The Thief will be presented at the El Portal Theatre in N. Hollywood July 12 - 15.  I'll post details (like, how to get tickets) once I know them!  :-)

7:56 AM - 0 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment

Poem for Grandma
Current mood: pensive
Category: Life

The memorial service is tomorrow in NJ, and although I unfortunately can't be there, my mom is going to read the following little poem for me.   It's not impressive or anything, but it holds a lot of meaning for me.

MEMORIES OF GRANDMA

Staying up late on New Years' Eve, watching Dick Clark.

Having fun sleepovers on our big pull-out couch.

Eating dinner on TV trays at your place – so exotic!

You and Grandma Miller driving down Lombard Street,

And getting snockered in First Class on your flight home!

Loving when you'd come stay with us on LBI.

How proud you were of me, every day, all the time.

Everyone at Vassar thinking you were my Aunt,

Every time you came up to see me in something.

Watching you kick up your heels at my wedding.

Seeing you through the smoke at a Hollywood club

As you watched me and Jeff perform with our band.

How your voice would fill with joy every time I called

And how we'd always end each call with a big kiss.

These are just a few of my memories of you, Grandma,

And I will cherish them always.  I love you.

6:09 PM - 2 Comments - 4 Kudos - Add Comment

Very sad day...
Current mood: sad
Category: Life

My wonderful grandma passed away this morning. I loved her very, very much. I was an only grandchild, so we had a pretty special relationship.

Here we are back when I was about 8 or 9. Actually, it may have been my 9th birthday, now that I think about it.



Maryann Coluccio, b. June 9, 1917 - d. May 27, 2007



Rest in peace, Grandma. You will be sorely missed.

7:59 PM - 11 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment