This page was last updated on: April 16, 2010
What's Up!
Updated
April 16, 2010
Howdy, y'all. Ok, so it's an all time record for me to not update my website but in all fairness, it has been some of the busiest and most stressful weeks of my life. Things are still a little crazy in James land but enough is enough so here goes another 4 A.M. update. Also, to be fair to the friends who have checked back often only to be disappointed. I'll give you a really quick play by play of 2010 up to now, but I'll start off with the Big News. Here we go....In about 10 days I start rehearsals to play Tarzan in the regional premiere of the Disney Musical which will take place at the Tuacahn Center for the Arts, in Ivins, UT. Here's a little blurb about the show from Tuacahn's site:
POST-BROADWAY REGIONAL PREMIERE!
The jungle will come to life in the desert when Tuacahn Amphitheater presents the regional premiere of Tarzan--the Broadway musical based on the popular 1999 Disney film and beloved story by Edgar Rice Burroughs.
This classic tale begins when an early 1900 shipwreck leaves an infant orphaned on the West African shore. The helpless baby is taken under the protection of a gorilla tribe and becomes part of their family. When he eventually encounters his first human--Jane Porter, a curious young explorer--both of their worlds transform forever.
Tarzan features the songs from Disney's film as well as nine new songs written specifically for the Broadway production. The show's Grammy� Award-winning musical score, written by singer/songwriter Phil Collins, propels the energy and imagination of this literary favorite, making this a "must see" at the Tuacahn Amphitheater in 2010.
I'm honored and excited to be doing this part in the regional premiere, and at such an amazing venue from everything I've heard. I can't wait to see how they transform the desert to the jungle. If you happen to be near Zion's National Park or Las Vegas, NV, Please come out and visit us. I will be on this adventure from the end of April until mid October, and in a way I'd like to really transform myself for the better with this time and come back to LA and NYC with a new James they haven't seen before. We shall see. Our family is excited for the fun change. My 2 year old is going to love all the flying monkeys for sure.
Like I said, about 10 more days till vines and loin cloths. Yikes gotta start working on that tan. Wish me luck.
And now onto ancient 2010 history...
Right after I finished THE GRINCH at the Pantages Theatre in Los Angeles, in JANUARY, I flew right to NYC to do a reading / workshop of a new version of the fantastic show, WANDA'S WORLD, which I did Off-Broadway in 2008. They've made a few cast additions, updated the script, added new music, and have done some great new orchestrations. With all that, they have high hopes to bring the show to Broadway in either the fall of 2010 or perhaps the spring of 2011. In any case, it was a blast getting together with all the kids from Cheese Valley again. We had 2 sold out performances at the John Jay College Theatre, and the response was amazing. Go Bovines!!! We'll see what the future holds for the little show that could.I was in NYC for most of that month being a perky middle schooler, but when I got back, it was time for something completely different. Before I had left I booked a sweet little part on the up coming Third Season of the crazy popular HBO SeriesTRUE BLOOD. I think they actually paid me as a Guest Star, but it's a very small role which I can't say too much about. My character's name is Sergeant Kinney, and I am part of a very important flash back set in WWII Germany. For fans of the show, I just gotta tell you that the whole experience was amazing. It started off with a table read of the whole script will all the actors, writers and producers. Then later, on the set, they treated me unbelievably well, and I got to know and work with some of the best guys in the cast.
Sadly, with each new draft of the script, my scene had to keep getting shorter, so at the end of the day I'm not sure how much I'll even be on, but you certainly won't miss me if you're watching episode 2 of the 3rd Season. All I'm gonna say is that I get chewed up pretty bad. I sooooo want to post some pictures but I think I'd get in deep trouble. Maybe, possibly, I'll get called back....? Nope prob not folks. But still watch out for it.Finally after that I got roped in to playing some thug in a low budget Sci - Fi movie Called the Payback or IronHeart or something. It kept changing. This was one of the worst sets I've ever been on. So busted. I was supposed to be working on some chain gang and then make an escape only to be blown up. It was a slightly agonizing experience but I did make some good friends. Strange that we were musical theatre guys trying to look very tough for our outer space prison. What do you think?Yeah....We bad....We were tempted to bust out some West
Side Story on em all too.
Ok, Lots' more is going on right now, but I gotta end this one here. Hopefully there will be a lot more changes in the site with my whole reinvent myself strategy. Hope all is well with you my friends. Peace be with you until the next time.
James
