...and I got a signed glossy of Stephen Colbert!

The morning after Plane Crazy closed at Theatre Sheridan, my family and I piled into the car and drove back to New York. It was a great drive -- only 10 hours. We didn't want to miss the big Monday night New York Musical Theatre Festival (NYMF) Best of Fest Bash! at Dodgers Stages!

It was really great to have lots of friends there as well, including directors, producers, and cast members from the New York NYMF production of Plane Crazy as well as the Theatre Sheridan production!

My husband Grad, my two daughters (Myrna and Trinity) and I got all glammed up and headed over to the VIP reception at 6pm. You could feel the excitement in the air! My eagle-eyed daughter Myrna quickly spotted Gary Beach and John Lloyd Young mingling in the crowd. Of course Myrna and Trinity were the only kids in the room!

The theatre was packed! I looked at my program, and there it was (number 12 out of 15 acts) -- "Turbulence" -- performed by Karen Ziemba and back up singers Amber Stone and Bridget Berger! The evening was hosted by a very hilarious Gary Beach (he made a joke about the revival "Cheney Get Your Gun"!), the very dapper and elegantly suited John Lloyd Young, and the very hip Jeff Marx (of Avenue Q fame) wearing a t-shirt that said "I miss my foreskin".

The evening was directed by Joe Calarco, with musical direction by Jana Zielonka, and choreography by Chase Brock.

There were fifteen numbers, starting with Altar Boyz and ending with The Great American Trailer Park Musical's "Press On" as sung by Tituss Burgess from Jersey Boys! Other performers included Kerry Butler, Curtis Holbrook and Jeffrey Denham (who did a fabulous tap number from Yank) and Anne Harada who had given her last performance in Avenue Q just the night before! Karen Ziemba stepped in at the last moment to sing a number from "Meet John Doe" since the performer who had been scheduled to do it was home with a bad cold! What a pro!

Plane Crazy was introduced by Jennifer Gambatese and Josh Strickland, the two new stars of Disney's new Broadway musical Tarzan. I had no idea what Karen was going to do with the song. But when the music started and out danced Karen and her two back-up singers, it was thrilling. They sang and danced the whole song, and made it sexier than it had ever been before! There were lighting effects and everything! Too cool for words!

The after party was tons o' fun! We mingled, schmoozed, chatted, exchanged business cards, and a bunch of the Toronto Plane Crazy cast showed up. Myrna and Trinity quickly became experts at tracking down and devouring the tasty snacks. I met John Lloyd Young, (I was able to tell him how much I loved Jersey Boys) Jen Gambatese (I was able to tell her how much I loved All Shook Up). To top off an already fabulous evening, I won the raffle prize! I got a signed color photo of Stephen Colbert, 4 tickets to the taping of The Colbert Report(my favorite late night show -- and that's the truthiness!), tickets to a New York movie premiere, a Colbert Report t-shirt which I gave to my hubbie, and other goodies too! Not bad for a $20 raffle ticket!

Congratulations and thank you to Kris Stewart, Isaac Robert Hurwitz, and Sharon Fallon for putting together such an exciting, glamorous and enjoyable evening! Here's to NYMF 2006!

Technorati tags: Broadway Music Movie Musicals Musicals Blog Blogs Theater Theatre Entertainment