And the leaves are gently turning...
Current mood: blessed
Category: Life

still the wild mountain thyme grows around the blooming heather...

So Hockey, Ren Faire and summer have all come and gone... it has been amazing.... starred in the world premiere of a show in Toronto, recorded and released my first CD, had a wonderful Faire season, enjoyed the summer with the love of my life and my amazing family including two trips to Cape Cod -- and now...

on October 2, I drove all the way BACK to TORONTO to begin rehearsals for our remount of Hockey: The Musical! I'm staying with two amazing friends, Arnon and Peter, who have so quickly become like family. In one week, we will have our show up and running for our exlcusive one-night engagement in the heart of Toronto's "village". We sadly had to replace some cast members, but the new recruits look and sound amazing and I can't wait to begin working with them!! The team is only growing... no one I believe has truly "left". Once Hockey  is over on the 12, I pack up in Toronto and make for Cape Cod once more...

and for those who are finding out in a blog I apologize, but on Saturday, October 18, 2008 I will be marrying my fiance Rickey Allen Wilson and become Christopher Dobbs Leidenfrost-Wilson. (Unfortunately for Sarah Palin she will have to "tolerate" my marriage and nothing she or her wrinkly, war-bitten cohort can do will ever be able to nullify, change nor mar the fact that I will be a legally married HOMO in "this great nation"... seriously if I hear her call it that one more time I might just throw something at the TV... unless it's Tina Fey doing her... then it's golden) But enough politico-rant taking away from the real news... Yes my friends, I am taking the plunge and I'm so happy and secure in this choice that I cannot begin to say anything much more than that. I have found the man who I can love, create with, and share my life with... and I only wish everyone could find that person (if they haven't already). My mother has been granted the right to perform the ceremony by the governer of Massachusetts and will be marrying us. It's going to be a rather small wedding but my family will be there as well as a few close friends and that's what is important- I promise once I'm back-less busy- and have a little more cash coming in not being used to pay things off we will have a big post-wedding bash sometime next year that will have a slightly larger... if not to say exhorbitant guest list. :) Suffice to say... October is going to be a busy month. (I'll be doing the last weekend of Forest of Fear right after the wedding to boot...)

Well, friends, again I wish YOU all the best and until we all meet again,

hugs, kisses and love,

-C

1:11 PM - 14 Comments - 24 Kudos - Add Comment

Here we go folks... O! Canada!
Current mood: electric
Category: Life

Well... it's 10:56AM and I am packing and getting ready to leave for Canada until potentially the middle of August. Aaaaaah! For everyone out of the loop- I'm going up to produce and star in the world premiere of Hockey: The Musical! by my friend and partner Rick Wilson and his past student Justin DeMarco. For those of you who don't know what this is all about check out: www.hockeythemusical.com  and friend request our myspace page (top row of my top 40)!  This is hopefully going to be an amazing project and quite a ride...  I will miss you all terribly and wish you all an amazing, wonderful, delightful, fun-filled, productive and safe summer! I shall see you upon my return... Thanks for the support, love, and friendship you guys have always shown!

See you around! Off to the great, white North!

-C

10:56 AM - 4 Comments - 6 Kudos - Add Comment

A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum
Category: Music

Hey everybody...

This blog is to let you all know that now through June 8 I will be appearing as "Hero" in Stephen Sondheim's  "A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum".  It is playing at The Broadhollow Theatre at Elmont at the Elmont Public Library. If you are a fan of this show or have never experienced this wacky Roman farse for yourself, I highly recommend it! I'm not in the last four performances because I'll be headed to Canada for Hockey: The Musical right after our matinee on the 8th- but- for the next two weekends Fri-Sun I will be in the show. 8pm Fri/Sat, 2:30pm Sundays. check out www.broadhollow.org for more info!

Regards,

C  : )

6:20 PM - 4 Comments - 2 Kudos - Add Comment

Another PIRATE NIGHT!
Current mood: excited
Category: Music

It's time for another one!! For everyone who is missing NYRF and needs a teaser for this summer, come on out!! It's also a fund-raiser for the horses, so it's a doubly-cool thing! See you  there!

-C

Show Time: Saturday May 17, 2008 - 5:00 PM
Venue: PIRATE NIGHT! @ The Lodi Portuguese American Club of Lodi
Address: 180 Hamilton Avenue
City: Lodi
State: New Jersey
Country: US
Zip Code: 07644
Cost:  $12 cover
Description: Pheonix Flame Entertainment is hosting... PIRATE NIGHT! Featuring

THE CRIMSON PIRATES
RICK NESTLER as Hurricane Sam the Shantyman
CHRIS LEIDENFROST as Capt. Henry Martin
MELISSA ARLETH, NEIDFYRE, DANIEL BURKE, MATT DEBLASS, and KAY'S BAWDY HOUSE OF WICKED PLEASURES!

This is a Buel-Aide event to help raise money for NYRF's horses as well as the International Fund for Horses.

COME ONE, COME ALL! ASIDE FROM A MASS OF INCREDIBLY TALENTED SINGERS and MUSICIANS ALL TOGETHER IN ONE SPOT, THERE IS ALSO A FULL BAR and DOOR PRIZES TO BE HAD! ARRR!!!

5:54 AM - 2 Comments - 2 Kudos - Add Comment

Life Is A Cabaret, Old Chum!
Current mood: bouncy
Category: Music

Hello folks...

To any and all who are interested:

I will be performing Friday nights this month (April) at Piano's Bar and Grill in Bloomfield, NJ. This is the same establishment where I just finished my run of Thrill Me: The Leopold and Loeb Story. The show runs from 8-12 and features singers and pianists from all over the area. It is also an amazing bar and restaurant, so come and have a drink or two and one of their AMAZING hamburgers and enjoy some quality --freeee-- entertainment while you do! Piano's is located at 36 Broad Street in Bloomfield, NJ, 07003. To make reservations (highly recommended if you want a table) call: 973-743-7208.

As an extra bonus- the incomparable Jen Hope will be joining me Friday, April 11, to do songs from Hockey: The Musical! and Camelot!

Again... this is going to be the next four Fridays, so you have plenty of opportunities to come see me before I go off to Canada!! Hope to see you there!

Cheers,

Chris

UPDATE!: Tonight, Friday the 18, I'll be going on around 9:10pm.

UPDATE!:  I will not be performing the final Friday of  April 4/25 because I will still be stuck in Canada doing business for Off Sides Entertainment and Hockey: The Musical!

6:44 AM - 5 Comments - 2 Kudos - Add Comment

Thrill Me: The Leopold and Leob Story

Hey folks...

Currently I am finishing my run as Richard Henry Lee and John Witherspoon in Broadhollow's 1776. I am also in rehearsals for two AMAZING shows, Thrill Me: The Leopold and Leob Story and The Last of Mrs. Lincoln.

Thrill Me, by Stephen Dolginoff, if being directed by longtime friend and colleague Linda Wielkotz. I am playing Nathan Leopold- the obsessed lover of Richard Leob, played beautifully by Craid M. Tiede. This show is a roller coaster ride following their relationship in the year 1924- when the criminally deranged Richard begins a crime spree and Nathan reluctantly follows in return for his affections. The crimes culminate in the murder and mutilation of a 12 year boy, Bobby Franks, and suddenly everything begins to unravel. Haunting and bewitching- this is not your average love story. We open Friday, Feb 29 at 8pm at the new theatre space at Pianos Bar and Grill - 36 Broad St., Bloomfield, NJ, 07003. We also run Sat. March 1 @ 5pm, Sun. March 2 at 3pm (WITH an talkback with writer/composer Stephen Dolginoff!), Fri. March 7 at 8pm,  and Sat. March 8 at 3pm and 8pm.  Tickets 13.00. Reservations required. Fully_Flighted_Productions@yahoo.com or 917-847-3748.

For more info call me or the number above. For even more info check out these sites:

www.pianosbarandgrill.com

www.thrillmethemusical.com

www.leidenfrosteffect.com

7:21 AM - 6 Comments - 4 Kudos - Add Comment

Support the Arts (& Enjoy a Show!) Knights, Camelot and Singing Pirates
Current mood: ecstatic
Category: Jobs, Work, Careers

Hey guys!

What an exciting and hectic month it has been- Camelot is finally up and I have to say- it is quite a show... The cast is awesome... and includes not only myself but also my brother Tom in his NY stage debut... Woo!! Rick and Jen- our Arthur and Guenevere respectively- are breathtaking performers who will make you laugh, cry and think... it has been SUCH an honor and privelege to work with them on this as well as our director, Laura, who has plumbed the show for all of it's impact and in my opine pales many productions including the film because of her work. All this said... it is quite epic... 3:20 with intermission!! But totally worth every minute!

We run Friday, Saturday and Sunday through December 23 and tickets and info are available at www.broadhollow.org. The show is at their Elmont theatre- a convenient 45 minutes from NJ and even closer to NYC and Queens. Come see this pirate be a knight for a change.... (but of course, he's still a singing one)

Also please come out and support Pirates and Pancakes! I will be performing as my swarthy, Scottish counterpart, Henry Martin and singing songs to help raise money for a friend in the midst of a kidney transplant. My dear friends the Wyrd Sisters will also be performing! Here's all the pertinent info:

PIRATES AND PANCAKES!

When:
Sunday Dec 09, 2007
at 7:00 PM

Where::
IHOP of Bloomfield
1129 Broad Street
Bloomfield, NJ 07003
United States

 Hermann Jimenez, recipient of our prior charity P&P will be recieving proceeds to help him thru his recovery. Hermann will be recieving a kidney from his wife in January. The surgery was pushed back by the hospital.

$7 at the door, $5 in garb

Rusted Woodlands Fighting Demonstrations, Poetry By Devyn, Kay's Bawdy House of Wicked Pleasures providing double entendre debotchery, Musical performances by Henry Martin and THE WYRD Sisters

Holiday Shopping with vendors such as:
Little 1's Leather - Leather Accessories from Pouches and Bracers to Cuffs and Floggers
Tate and Company - Fantasy Artwork and Bald Mountain Products
Vendor with Garb and Pirate Accessories
Grifon's Claw Armoury - for all your sharp points shiny things
Immortal Chilvary with gothic goodies
Jan with all her pretty pretty jewelry
Pointy Eared Artisan with leather masks and accessories

Thanks guys and hope to see you all there!! All the best til next time...

-C : )

11:47 PM - 5 Comments - 6 Kudos - Add Comment

Elizabeth I & The Golden Age

So...

I just bought the DVD of HBO's Elizabeth I after seeing Elizabeth: The Golden Age.  What incredible films. As breathtaking as Blanchett is in both of her roles as Elizabeth, Helen Mirren simply defies description. The writing in the HBO film is simply superb and tears you apart as do the performances. I cannot recommend it enough. The Golden Age is also a wonderful film, with no expenses barred on costuming, sets, and locations which are enough to see it for. The writing lacks the painful edge that Elizabeth I has; it lacks the reflective quality that show the queen's weaker human side as well as her strong and stoic one. While both women do tremendous performances, I feel it is only the writing that lacks in Golden Age. Again- I cannot put into words how wonderful Mirren's performance is. This is a film that I feel every actor should see- it reminds me of why I chose to be one. It literally takes your breath from you.  Ergo... if you have not seen it. Rent or buy it now!!   I reeeeally REEEEEALLY want someone to make a film about her relationship with Grace O'Malley- albeit possibly more legend than fact- it's another incredible story that needs to be told on film in the way we can do it today. (And not in a musical... which was fun and cool but did not do Grace's story justice.) And that's that.

Currently watching : Elizabeth Release date: 05 November, 2002

8:34 PM - 4 Comments - 4 Kudos - Add Comment

Camelot

So... for those of you who know I auditioned for Camelot this past weekend... and now those who know from reading the last bit of this sentence... I was indeed cast as... Lancelot du Lac!! Not only was this news exciting... but the news I would get to play against my good ol' buddy Jen as Guenevere only makes this more exciting... The show runs four weekends in December and more info can be found here: www.broadhollow.org .  Woo! It's nice to blog about good news...

-C

6:50 AM - 14 Comments - 16 Kudos - Add Comment

Why all my future Faire characters will hate coppersmiths...
Current mood: irate
Category: Jobs, Work, Careers

Hey y'all!!

First off- I hate to mar what has been an awesome season with negative energy- but this has been bugging me all day and I need to rant.... sooo...

Today I was running a little late after my second music set... no worries really- yet- because I come into the Madrigals scene a few minutes after it begins.

At any rate I still and carrying my guitar, bottle and treasure chest with me and I do- as I've done EVERY DAY so far this season- proceed through the pathway through the lovely Bronze Age Studio area. Where- at the end- I meet a little lawn fence that was put up to the other side of their "booth".  Short on time I proceed to step over said lawn fence when I am [i]rudely[/i] shouted at to stop where I am and go around. "Oh... well this is new..." says I. "And deliberate... you'll [i]have[/i] to go around." Being somewhat amicable I say I'm running late where I am then told again to walk around. Biting my tongue- I did so... BUT...

It wasn't my FUCKING BRILLAINT IDEA to design my booth as a THOROUGHFARE. It ALSO wasn't my idea to at the last weekend suddenly decide that I would do something like that and not mention it to anyone. NOR was it my idea to simply ask a director to make mention to the cast that DISRUPTING ACTORS had the AUDACITY to walk through my booth whereas it would have easily been avoided. Or maybe even mentioned it to someone who passed through POLITELY.

Ergo- All of my future characters will have an unyielding hatred of copper workers and their art. It's my new active choice of choice. What really is the rub is that I quite often drew focus to their art on the street because I did at once have a regard for the people who worked there as well as their work. Now they can kiss my ass... don't blame me because you're bitter that you make one sale a year and that our patron demographic isn't in the market for $2,000 copper figurines... but then again they ARE CHOCK FULL of brilliant ideas and concepts....

Now... that said. I have great respect for Everyone who makes Faire what it is- from the office staff, to the vendors, the pickle sellers, the beer runners and all the performers and crafters-- we are all part of the great organism that is NYRF... however I do NOT accept being addressed rudely or being spoken to as if I am in the wrong ESPECIALLY if I wasn't asked to not do it in the firstplace. It really was a bee in my bonnet on my last day...

Ranting over... for now. Ha ha... Thanks again guys for all of your hard work- everyone I know who came was impressed and entertained to the hilt... I have truly had a wonderful summer because of all of you and would be honored to perform again with any of you in the future...

Regards,
C : )

6:23 AM - 7 Comments - 7 Kudos - Add Comment