The one thing we couldn't be thankful for at tonight's Ghost Light afterparty was heat.
Maybe it was there, but if it was, the females in the room couldn't feel it for the second annual 1st GLAPsgiving celebration (also given a shout-out as the weirdest GLAP ever), but Princess Di sat next to me with his Cosmo and I used his furnace-like body heat to warm my hands throughout the evening.
Hostess Maggie wore a fetching green circle skirt with "thank you" written in a dozen languages on it. Host Matt wore a headband with a giant acorn and pine needles. The guy who volunteered to run sound, a funk DJ at WRIR, was not only new to the job but new to the space. There was only one microphone instead of two and it only worked when it wanted to.
And nobody ever did find pianist Sandy's sustain pedal ("So we're going to have some choppy-sounding piano tonight, y'all").
"It's a technological shit storm," Matt warned.
"Usually I'm thankful for heat," Maggie said, shivering in one of Matt's bustiers.
Given that the set was one of a glitter-encrusted igloo (albeit with a rainbow over it), the absence of warmth fit right in.
The festivities got off to an amazing start with her saying, "First I'd like to thank the lord. You can snap along," and then she, Matt and Audra launched into Lorde's "Royals."
With nothing but the occasional bongo beats and snapping fingers, they nailed the song everyone knows.
Let me be your ruler (ruler)
You can call me queen bee
And baby, I'll rule, I'll rule, I'll rule, I'll rule
Let me live that fantasy
Nick from New York (who's apparently in the cast of "Fiddler on the Roof") was invaluable tonight, at one point calling out during a lull, "I have a pop song in my back pocket if you need it."
Wouldn't the world be a better place if we all had a good pop song in our back pocket?
Matt and Ali did a goosebump-inducing version of "I'd Give It All for You" when their two incredible voices harmonized.
When Audra and Ali got up to sing a song from "Little Women," Ali introduced it by saying, "This is where one of us dies," host Maggie broke in, saying hilariously, "Don't spoil it for the people!"
We already knew it was going to be serious because Ali spit out her gum.
Another devastating song followed when Brittney did a song from "Les Miz," Princess DI's least favorite musical.
The always clever Starlet Knight said she was going to sing the only Thanksgiving song she knew and did the sweetly retro "Counting My Blessings" while wearing a spotted Cruella deVille jacket.
From there, the weirdness flowed like syrup on pancakes.
Sam, the sound guy did "Fly Me to the Moon," a standard you might not expect from a funk DJ.
Joe did a dramatic reading of a hand-written letter he found on the sidewalk that began with, "Boo, I know things be whack," and moved through discussions of (and he'd warned us about the adult language in his "dramatic reading") both his anatomy and that of the babe he was writing to and where he'd like to see things placed.
With each reference to a body part, we in the audience began snapping our fingers in applause, beatnik-style.
When he finished, both Maggie and Ian bowed down at his feet.
The first half closed with "The Circle of Life" because what is a GLAP without it and the accompanying interpretive dance, bongos and myriad shaker balls?
Instead of the usual pizza, there was a GLAPSgiving feast of fried chicken and a yard of cookies (really, the box was 36 inches long) while dance music (Janet Jackson, Go-Gos, Tony Basil) blared.
The second act got off with a bang as Nicole got up to sing "As We Stumble Along" from "The Drowsy Chaperone," which I'd just seen a couple weeks ago.
Hilariously, she started singing, then stopped and said of herself, "She already messed up."
Maggie, who is also in the show, smiled and said, "We're in week four of our run," and pianist Sandy said, "Take 2" for the rousing tribute to alcohol.
Could there be a more appropriate song at GLAP? I think not.
Nick and guitarist Steven (whom Maggie called Jesus when she couldn't remember his name) did "Dock of the Bay," Nick promising to "break it down" for us.
Another old chestnut that got rolled out was "Suddenly Seymour" with David and Audra acting out as well as singing, while a couple slow danced over by the bathroom to it.
Wearing her Hello, Kitty gloves for warmth, Starlet returned to sing "Romance is a Slow Dance," perhaps inspired by what was going on nearby.
Suddenly it was last call and we finished out the night with Audra and Ali singing.
"This is from a musical about co-joined twins," Audra explained. "It's kind of a creepy story."
But the song, "I Will Never Leave You" was gorgeous and surprisingly well executed considering the hour and alcohol consumption, while it had the princess next to me all but tearing up.
I had to break it down for him. Don't be cryin' at the GLAP, Boo. That just be whack.
Showing posts with label ghost light afterparty. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ghost light afterparty. Show all posts
Monday, November 25, 2013
Monday, September 30, 2013
Wooden Swings, Corn Dogs and What I Did for Love
Never commit to a road trip date unless you're sure he's a good conversationalist.
I knew from previous dates that he was, so he picked me up and we hit the back roads going west.
First stop was Satterwhite's for a bite to eat.
I wanted the hot turkey sandwich with gravy and mashed potatoes, but they were out of turkey.
Country music blaring from the radio in the corner, I settled for a club sandwich, described as righteous looking by my date, which it was.
From there we wound through the country to Cooper Vineyards for their Aftershock Sundays, which means nothing more than that they have live music.
Today's was pianist Charlie Kilptarick who provided the soundtrack as we tasted through the wines.
Choosing the Norton reserve 2011, described in the tasting notes as "exceptional and well-behaved for Norton," we went out to the deck overlooking the pond to start working it down.
With a corner table and a view of the pond and the vineyards, the date was going quite well.
Pleasant as Charlie's music was ("My Dad would have played this music," he observed), we decided to take our bottle and wander the grounds.
We admired the LEED-certified tasting room from all angles, got up close and personal with the low-trellised vines and began walking down toward a grove of trees.
When we spotted two wooden swings, my date said, "We win," as we took the one that had the higher back, prepared to get comfortable.
Nearby was the pet cemetery with the former winery dogs' names on markers over piles of rocks.
It was a gloriously sunny day but we were comfortably shaded by the big, old hardwoods growing over the swing, making it the perfect respite from the crowds on the deck.
Looking back at the tasting room, we talked about their green efforts - water collectors, solar collectors- and segued into a discussion of outdoor showers (hello, Harry) and rooftops water tanks like they have in Barbados.
Like I mentioned, this date is a good talker. So far anyway.
Once the well-behaved wine was gone, it was back on the road again, this time to Doswell for the State Fair.
Driving in to the fairgrounds, a big sign warned that, "General parking, straight ahead. Buses, horses, handicapped, right lane."
Since we were arriving early in the evening, we got slotted into a terrific parking space, no doubt recently vacated by an earlier arrival.
Inside the fair, we wanted nothing more than fair food, animals and maybe to see some blue ribbon winners.
The food was fair, alright.
He'd had his mouth set for Virginia Tech's Block & Bridle lamb-b-cue, but they were out of lamb and told us to come back next Saturday.
Since that wasn't possible, we settled for a rib-eye sandwich from them, a poor substitution.
A huge corn dog was, well, what it was and a fried shrimp combo was plenty good enough.
We ate that at a picnic table overlooking the Triple Crown stage where Redneck Pool Party, a cover band was playing to a scant crowd.
I don't want to be unkind, but they were no Sweet Justice, the cover band I'd seen last night.
And when's the last time I saw one, much less two, cover bands in less than 24 hours?
We wandered around seeing the baby ducks and chicks (where one poor newborn looked close to death), but not able to get close enough to see the racing pigs.
After admiring the giant pumpkins, we sampled local honey, enchanted by the tulip poplar honey, which showed such stellar hints of orange that my date bought a bottle.
Somehow, I even managed to run into a friend who teaches at VCU and the last person I expected to see at the fair.
Just goes to show, you can't judge a fair-goer by their regular life.
We left to the strains of American Idol contestant Casey James singing, as good a reason as any for leaving.
To my date's credit, he drove us home on Route 301, ending a scenic day beautifully.
But what so you do when your date drops you off at 9:30?
If, like me, you've only been up since 11:30 this morning, you get in your car and go to the Ghost Light afterparty for some music and laughs.
The GLAP had been on hiatus for the summer and I'd missed the monthly evening of show tunes, drunken humor and bongos.
When I walked in, Beatbox Annie sold me a ticket, letting me know that I'd only missed the first song.
Well, that was a lucky break.
Naturally, I headed to the bar to get some wine only to find lots of pretty people there and soon found myself chatting like I was at a party. Which I was.
I arrived in my usual seat just in time for Jason and Scott to do "We Can Do It" from "The Producers," a rip-roaring way to start my GLAP evening.
Although I've seen Scott in scads of plays over the years, he'd never been to GLAP before and he was a natural.
Despite the summer break, everyone fell back into their GLAP mindset easily.
A song would begin and someone would pick up maracas, a tambourine or even the bongos and begin playing along unsolicited.
Interpretive dance abounded.
Before we heard "I Need a Hero" from "Footloose," which played at Dogwood Dell this summer, host Maggie got off on a tangent about how fish sandwiches from Croaker's Spot are now available at the Dell, which somehow led to a recent news item about large, testicle-eating fish.
That's a perfect example of how GLAP works. Insanity.
Tonight's best dressed singer had to be Matt, wearing a pink shirt and salmon-colored blazer, who sang "Look Over There" from "La Cage aux Folles."
It was shortly thereafter that host Matt spotted me in the second row, called hello from the stage and announced I was in the house and how fabulous I looked.
All this can be yours, too, with regular attendance.
He also did a terrific rendition of "Wicked Little Town" from "Hedwig and the Angry Inch," pausing between verses to kneel down to where his drink sat on a stool and take a sip through a straw without missing a beat.
The talent knows no bounds at GLAP.
Intermission came early and the pizza arrived late, so there was lots of time to mingle.
I met Princess Di's Prince Charming, got quizzed about my attendance for the Artsies and got invited to a wine and art party.
And ate a couple of slices of pepperoni pizza.
The second act began with the inimitable Georgia who played nervous almost well enough to be believable before breaking into a kickass, full-on version of "Alexander's Ragtime Band."
The cast of "Pop! Who Shot Andy Warhol" came out and apologized in advance, saying, "We haven't rehearsed this since we closed."
"Why would you?" shouted out some comedian before they did the showstopper, "Big Gun."
There were jokes tonight, too.
What did the mermaid wear to math class? An algae-bra.
Why do gay melons hate Virginia? Because they can't elope.
"Too soon!" another comedian yelled.
During a momentary lull, Matt came up, saying he'd been told to storm the stage, as if you can do such a thing in a salmon-colored blazer.
His intent was to do a little R & B ("This is the Last Time I'll Fall in Love"), made even better when Grey went onstage and began to pantomime the woman he was singing about.
Unsolicited, I might add.
At one point, host Matt got on stage, drink in hand, and announced to no one in particular, "If you're thinking of leaving now, that's a really bad idea."
Terry, a self-admitted GLAP virgin, did "What I Did for Love," nearly sending Princess Di into paroxysms of ecstasy,
Evan dedicated Jimmy Eat World's "May Angels Lead You In" to a friend he lost last year, leaving nary a dry eye in the house.
He also closed the show, leading an all-star cast doing Britney's "Hit Me Baby One More Time," just as I knew he would.
Oh, baby, baby, how was I supposed to know?
Thank god GLAP is back in town to provide this kind of killer evening again.
By the time the party ended, I'd still only been up eleven hours, but all good things must come to an end.
If only my key had worked in the front door, that would have ended my night.
Instead, that was me, knocking on my neighbor's bedroom window at 1:30, looking for assistance.
Some nights you need a hero. Boom.
I knew from previous dates that he was, so he picked me up and we hit the back roads going west.
First stop was Satterwhite's for a bite to eat.
I wanted the hot turkey sandwich with gravy and mashed potatoes, but they were out of turkey.
Country music blaring from the radio in the corner, I settled for a club sandwich, described as righteous looking by my date, which it was.
From there we wound through the country to Cooper Vineyards for their Aftershock Sundays, which means nothing more than that they have live music.
Today's was pianist Charlie Kilptarick who provided the soundtrack as we tasted through the wines.
Choosing the Norton reserve 2011, described in the tasting notes as "exceptional and well-behaved for Norton," we went out to the deck overlooking the pond to start working it down.
With a corner table and a view of the pond and the vineyards, the date was going quite well.
Pleasant as Charlie's music was ("My Dad would have played this music," he observed), we decided to take our bottle and wander the grounds.
We admired the LEED-certified tasting room from all angles, got up close and personal with the low-trellised vines and began walking down toward a grove of trees.
When we spotted two wooden swings, my date said, "We win," as we took the one that had the higher back, prepared to get comfortable.
Nearby was the pet cemetery with the former winery dogs' names on markers over piles of rocks.
It was a gloriously sunny day but we were comfortably shaded by the big, old hardwoods growing over the swing, making it the perfect respite from the crowds on the deck.
Looking back at the tasting room, we talked about their green efforts - water collectors, solar collectors- and segued into a discussion of outdoor showers (hello, Harry) and rooftops water tanks like they have in Barbados.
Like I mentioned, this date is a good talker. So far anyway.
Once the well-behaved wine was gone, it was back on the road again, this time to Doswell for the State Fair.
Driving in to the fairgrounds, a big sign warned that, "General parking, straight ahead. Buses, horses, handicapped, right lane."
Since we were arriving early in the evening, we got slotted into a terrific parking space, no doubt recently vacated by an earlier arrival.
Inside the fair, we wanted nothing more than fair food, animals and maybe to see some blue ribbon winners.
The food was fair, alright.
He'd had his mouth set for Virginia Tech's Block & Bridle lamb-b-cue, but they were out of lamb and told us to come back next Saturday.
Since that wasn't possible, we settled for a rib-eye sandwich from them, a poor substitution.
A huge corn dog was, well, what it was and a fried shrimp combo was plenty good enough.
We ate that at a picnic table overlooking the Triple Crown stage where Redneck Pool Party, a cover band was playing to a scant crowd.
I don't want to be unkind, but they were no Sweet Justice, the cover band I'd seen last night.
And when's the last time I saw one, much less two, cover bands in less than 24 hours?
We wandered around seeing the baby ducks and chicks (where one poor newborn looked close to death), but not able to get close enough to see the racing pigs.
After admiring the giant pumpkins, we sampled local honey, enchanted by the tulip poplar honey, which showed such stellar hints of orange that my date bought a bottle.
Somehow, I even managed to run into a friend who teaches at VCU and the last person I expected to see at the fair.
Just goes to show, you can't judge a fair-goer by their regular life.
We left to the strains of American Idol contestant Casey James singing, as good a reason as any for leaving.
To my date's credit, he drove us home on Route 301, ending a scenic day beautifully.
But what so you do when your date drops you off at 9:30?
If, like me, you've only been up since 11:30 this morning, you get in your car and go to the Ghost Light afterparty for some music and laughs.
The GLAP had been on hiatus for the summer and I'd missed the monthly evening of show tunes, drunken humor and bongos.
When I walked in, Beatbox Annie sold me a ticket, letting me know that I'd only missed the first song.
Well, that was a lucky break.
Naturally, I headed to the bar to get some wine only to find lots of pretty people there and soon found myself chatting like I was at a party. Which I was.
I arrived in my usual seat just in time for Jason and Scott to do "We Can Do It" from "The Producers," a rip-roaring way to start my GLAP evening.
Although I've seen Scott in scads of plays over the years, he'd never been to GLAP before and he was a natural.
Despite the summer break, everyone fell back into their GLAP mindset easily.
A song would begin and someone would pick up maracas, a tambourine or even the bongos and begin playing along unsolicited.
Interpretive dance abounded.
Before we heard "I Need a Hero" from "Footloose," which played at Dogwood Dell this summer, host Maggie got off on a tangent about how fish sandwiches from Croaker's Spot are now available at the Dell, which somehow led to a recent news item about large, testicle-eating fish.
That's a perfect example of how GLAP works. Insanity.
Tonight's best dressed singer had to be Matt, wearing a pink shirt and salmon-colored blazer, who sang "Look Over There" from "La Cage aux Folles."
It was shortly thereafter that host Matt spotted me in the second row, called hello from the stage and announced I was in the house and how fabulous I looked.
All this can be yours, too, with regular attendance.
He also did a terrific rendition of "Wicked Little Town" from "Hedwig and the Angry Inch," pausing between verses to kneel down to where his drink sat on a stool and take a sip through a straw without missing a beat.
The talent knows no bounds at GLAP.
Intermission came early and the pizza arrived late, so there was lots of time to mingle.
I met Princess Di's Prince Charming, got quizzed about my attendance for the Artsies and got invited to a wine and art party.
And ate a couple of slices of pepperoni pizza.
The second act began with the inimitable Georgia who played nervous almost well enough to be believable before breaking into a kickass, full-on version of "Alexander's Ragtime Band."
The cast of "Pop! Who Shot Andy Warhol" came out and apologized in advance, saying, "We haven't rehearsed this since we closed."
"Why would you?" shouted out some comedian before they did the showstopper, "Big Gun."
There were jokes tonight, too.
What did the mermaid wear to math class? An algae-bra.
Why do gay melons hate Virginia? Because they can't elope.
"Too soon!" another comedian yelled.
During a momentary lull, Matt came up, saying he'd been told to storm the stage, as if you can do such a thing in a salmon-colored blazer.
His intent was to do a little R & B ("This is the Last Time I'll Fall in Love"), made even better when Grey went onstage and began to pantomime the woman he was singing about.
Unsolicited, I might add.
At one point, host Matt got on stage, drink in hand, and announced to no one in particular, "If you're thinking of leaving now, that's a really bad idea."
Terry, a self-admitted GLAP virgin, did "What I Did for Love," nearly sending Princess Di into paroxysms of ecstasy,
Evan dedicated Jimmy Eat World's "May Angels Lead You In" to a friend he lost last year, leaving nary a dry eye in the house.
He also closed the show, leading an all-star cast doing Britney's "Hit Me Baby One More Time," just as I knew he would.
Oh, baby, baby, how was I supposed to know?
Thank god GLAP is back in town to provide this kind of killer evening again.
By the time the party ended, I'd still only been up eleven hours, but all good things must come to an end.
If only my key had worked in the front door, that would have ended my night.
Instead, that was me, knocking on my neighbor's bedroom window at 1:30, looking for assistance.
Some nights you need a hero. Boom.
Monday, June 17, 2013
I'll Make a Man Out of You
The Ghost Light Afterparty was a drag.
All that really means is that instead of one guy in high heels, there were many guys in dresses/wigs/cute shoes.
The women favored facial hair- fake beards, beards made of cotton balls and lots and lots of fake mustaches.
Our usual hosts, Matt and Maggie, were replaced by people of the opposite gender playing them.
You had to see Nick playing Maggie in a long, striped dress and blond wig, but squatting like a football player on the side of the stage.
So feminine.
It seems that Matt was off at a "brine-through," which is apparently a read-through with much beer and wine added in, so he arrived late.
And more than a little loopy. And scantily clad.
And speaking of, there were a couple of drag queens, one in honor of tonight's festivities (who sang that he aspired to a neighborhood as nice as Scott's Addition to much laughter and the other committed to the lifestyle (red and white polka dot halter dress and fake eyelashes so heavy his eyes were half closed).
Several newbies showed up and sang tonight, like the soon-to-depart to NYC Brett who sang "And They're Off" while acting out the part.
Bartender Evan, wearing a skintight red dress, blond wig and full makeup, who when he got behind the piano to play "Let it Be," asked of the crowd, "How do you play piano in a dress?"
An audience member answered: "Same way you poop in a dress."
The cross-dressing crowd was all over the musical map, with songs from "Mulan," "Aida" and, get this, Billy Idol's "White Wedding."
Saying, "There's no excuse for a man in a dress to sing Johnny Cash," Evan proceeded to do just that.
Special guest Kerry got called up for 20 questions, about which hostess Audra said, "This is a game but it's just nosiness really."
Best answer: "I thought if I wore knee socks with shorts to work, it would show less skin and seem more conservative. I was told that it was definitely not conservative."
Meanwhile guys around her shook their head no.
Pop music abounded - "Jolene," "I Am the Walrus" and the always-popular evening closer, "Hit Me Baby One More Time."
But there were classics, too - "What I Did for Love," "Old Man River" and "At Last," all three of which garnered much hooting and hollering from the enthusiastic room.
Alex got up and said, "Five years ago in Nags Head, I sang this song to a roomful of drunk people and tonight I can do it again," before screwing his voice up high and starting Queen's "Somebody to Love" which soon had most everyone singing along.
It would be hard to overlook one of the evening's highlights, during the pizza intermission/dance party; just as the music was about to be turned off, there was a rallying cry for the next song.
When Scissor Sisters "Let's Have a Kiki" began, suddenly there was a crew onstage lip-synching and dancing to every note, every gesture.
It wouldn't be an afterparty without bongos, shaker balls and interpretive dance and all three reared their syncopated heads before the evening ended.
Early on, usual co-host Maggie had gotten onstage and said, "Real Matt isn't here yet so I don't want to blow my wad early."
I don't know why she worried. From where I sat, wads were blown all night long.
Honey, that's the beauty of the GLAP being a drag.
All that really means is that instead of one guy in high heels, there were many guys in dresses/wigs/cute shoes.
The women favored facial hair- fake beards, beards made of cotton balls and lots and lots of fake mustaches.
Our usual hosts, Matt and Maggie, were replaced by people of the opposite gender playing them.
You had to see Nick playing Maggie in a long, striped dress and blond wig, but squatting like a football player on the side of the stage.
So feminine.
It seems that Matt was off at a "brine-through," which is apparently a read-through with much beer and wine added in, so he arrived late.
And more than a little loopy. And scantily clad.
And speaking of, there were a couple of drag queens, one in honor of tonight's festivities (who sang that he aspired to a neighborhood as nice as Scott's Addition to much laughter and the other committed to the lifestyle (red and white polka dot halter dress and fake eyelashes so heavy his eyes were half closed).
Several newbies showed up and sang tonight, like the soon-to-depart to NYC Brett who sang "And They're Off" while acting out the part.
Bartender Evan, wearing a skintight red dress, blond wig and full makeup, who when he got behind the piano to play "Let it Be," asked of the crowd, "How do you play piano in a dress?"
An audience member answered: "Same way you poop in a dress."
The cross-dressing crowd was all over the musical map, with songs from "Mulan," "Aida" and, get this, Billy Idol's "White Wedding."
Saying, "There's no excuse for a man in a dress to sing Johnny Cash," Evan proceeded to do just that.
Special guest Kerry got called up for 20 questions, about which hostess Audra said, "This is a game but it's just nosiness really."
Best answer: "I thought if I wore knee socks with shorts to work, it would show less skin and seem more conservative. I was told that it was definitely not conservative."
Meanwhile guys around her shook their head no.
Pop music abounded - "Jolene," "I Am the Walrus" and the always-popular evening closer, "Hit Me Baby One More Time."
But there were classics, too - "What I Did for Love," "Old Man River" and "At Last," all three of which garnered much hooting and hollering from the enthusiastic room.
Alex got up and said, "Five years ago in Nags Head, I sang this song to a roomful of drunk people and tonight I can do it again," before screwing his voice up high and starting Queen's "Somebody to Love" which soon had most everyone singing along.
It would be hard to overlook one of the evening's highlights, during the pizza intermission/dance party; just as the music was about to be turned off, there was a rallying cry for the next song.
When Scissor Sisters "Let's Have a Kiki" began, suddenly there was a crew onstage lip-synching and dancing to every note, every gesture.
It wouldn't be an afterparty without bongos, shaker balls and interpretive dance and all three reared their syncopated heads before the evening ended.
Early on, usual co-host Maggie had gotten onstage and said, "Real Matt isn't here yet so I don't want to blow my wad early."
I don't know why she worried. From where I sat, wads were blown all night long.
Honey, that's the beauty of the GLAP being a drag.
Monday, May 20, 2013
Chasing the Years of a Life
Show tunes met birthday party tonight.
The monthly Ghost Light Afterparty was also a celebration of pianist Sandy's 50th birthday.
You might not know if you've never been, but Sandy is the heart of the GLAP, playing any music that's put in front of her and doing it with aplomb and a grin.
Appropriately things were gussied up withe the tables covered in tablecloths and lamps set on them as part of the set decoration for "La Cage aux Folles," which is playing at Richmond Triangle Players.
All I know is that to get to my usual seat, I had to walk down a runway, something I hadn't done since I was in my 10th grade fashion show.
In a pale green polyester jumpsuit, I might add.
The festivities started with "what did you do this weekend?" a party game.
Hostess Maggie got the party rolling by telling us that she'd gone to Nationals Stadium to hear the National Opera perform "Showboat" on a giant screen.
It had clearly been a seminal evening in her life.
Co-host Matt had attended a family wedding where he saw all kinds of his past, including, "My ex-stepdad who's 41 and had a blond-tipped crew cut. It was the most tragic thing I ever saw."
Come to think of it, in addition to the usual show tunes, there was a lot of comedy throughout the evening.
Maggie slow-motion danced for effect through the birthday balloons strewn on the floor, saying, "Now that I know how that feels, there's going to be a lot more of that."
Birthday girl Sandy was hysterical doing high kicks, lunges and eventually pulling up her dress to show us her leggings underneath.
It's okay; there are no rules for birthday girls.
After the dress raising, Matt took one look at her and announced, "I'm buying Sandy another glass of wine now!"
Kent did a dramatic reading of the University of Maryland sorority president's e-mail to her sorority sisters.
Although I'd read the e-mail, it was even funnier with Kent's pithy inflections, valley girl-style.
Josh did a birthday lap dance with Sandy perched on a stool and cracking up.
Music ran the gamut, maybe even a little more far-flung than usual.
A remix of the Temptations' "My Girl" by Chris, Evan and Nick.
"Welcome to the '60s" from "Hairspray," with singer Sara lamenting mid-song, "Oh, god, another key change!"
A guy named Eduardo (who'd been innocently driving by Richmond Triangle Players last month, come in and caught the end of GLAP) had a chance to sing twice tonight.
People, people who need people
Are the luckiest people in the world
Even the honoree Sandy had a song for us and she never sings, only plays piano.
She did a Five for Fighting song called "100 Years," about the passing of the years.
There was pizza to soak up the alcohol, albeit late pie because someone forgot to order it on time.
You, with the yellow shorts and black fingernails, I'm talking to you.
Because of the celebration, there were also mini-cupcakes, described by color as, "the pink ones are Cosmos and the chocolate ones have something alcoholic in them."
I absconded with two while Josh laughed at my audacity.
In "Little Mermaid"-style, there was a group singalong to "Kiss the Girl" that resulted in Evan kissing Sandy on the lips.
It was truly a GLAP gone mad.
Before we knew it, it was last call and we knew the songs from "Follies," "Funny Girl" and "A New Brain" would soon be silenced.
Luckily, Sarah got up and saved the day.
"I don't want anyone to be sad because the GLAP is over," she said and dramatically sang Melissa Manchester's "Don't Cry Out Loud," a true time warp.
The only way to top that was with a killer closer like "Rock Me, Mama, Like a Wagon Wheel," with harmonica, which is exactly what happened when Chris, Evan and Nick took charge, manly men that they are.
And sitting in the front row, grinning ear to ear, was Sandy.
Every woman should have such a great birthday.
The monthly Ghost Light Afterparty was also a celebration of pianist Sandy's 50th birthday.
You might not know if you've never been, but Sandy is the heart of the GLAP, playing any music that's put in front of her and doing it with aplomb and a grin.
Appropriately things were gussied up withe the tables covered in tablecloths and lamps set on them as part of the set decoration for "La Cage aux Folles," which is playing at Richmond Triangle Players.
All I know is that to get to my usual seat, I had to walk down a runway, something I hadn't done since I was in my 10th grade fashion show.
In a pale green polyester jumpsuit, I might add.
The festivities started with "what did you do this weekend?" a party game.
Hostess Maggie got the party rolling by telling us that she'd gone to Nationals Stadium to hear the National Opera perform "Showboat" on a giant screen.
It had clearly been a seminal evening in her life.
Co-host Matt had attended a family wedding where he saw all kinds of his past, including, "My ex-stepdad who's 41 and had a blond-tipped crew cut. It was the most tragic thing I ever saw."
Come to think of it, in addition to the usual show tunes, there was a lot of comedy throughout the evening.
Maggie slow-motion danced for effect through the birthday balloons strewn on the floor, saying, "Now that I know how that feels, there's going to be a lot more of that."
Birthday girl Sandy was hysterical doing high kicks, lunges and eventually pulling up her dress to show us her leggings underneath.
It's okay; there are no rules for birthday girls.
After the dress raising, Matt took one look at her and announced, "I'm buying Sandy another glass of wine now!"
Kent did a dramatic reading of the University of Maryland sorority president's e-mail to her sorority sisters.
Although I'd read the e-mail, it was even funnier with Kent's pithy inflections, valley girl-style.
Josh did a birthday lap dance with Sandy perched on a stool and cracking up.
Music ran the gamut, maybe even a little more far-flung than usual.
A remix of the Temptations' "My Girl" by Chris, Evan and Nick.
"Welcome to the '60s" from "Hairspray," with singer Sara lamenting mid-song, "Oh, god, another key change!"
A guy named Eduardo (who'd been innocently driving by Richmond Triangle Players last month, come in and caught the end of GLAP) had a chance to sing twice tonight.
People, people who need people
Are the luckiest people in the world
Even the honoree Sandy had a song for us and she never sings, only plays piano.
She did a Five for Fighting song called "100 Years," about the passing of the years.
There was pizza to soak up the alcohol, albeit late pie because someone forgot to order it on time.
You, with the yellow shorts and black fingernails, I'm talking to you.
Because of the celebration, there were also mini-cupcakes, described by color as, "the pink ones are Cosmos and the chocolate ones have something alcoholic in them."
I absconded with two while Josh laughed at my audacity.
In "Little Mermaid"-style, there was a group singalong to "Kiss the Girl" that resulted in Evan kissing Sandy on the lips.
It was truly a GLAP gone mad.
Before we knew it, it was last call and we knew the songs from "Follies," "Funny Girl" and "A New Brain" would soon be silenced.
Luckily, Sarah got up and saved the day.
"I don't want anyone to be sad because the GLAP is over," she said and dramatically sang Melissa Manchester's "Don't Cry Out Loud," a true time warp.
The only way to top that was with a killer closer like "Rock Me, Mama, Like a Wagon Wheel," with harmonica, which is exactly what happened when Chris, Evan and Nick took charge, manly men that they are.
And sitting in the front row, grinning ear to ear, was Sandy.
Every woman should have such a great birthday.
Monday, April 22, 2013
Like Animals
Top a night that begins with a duo singing "Karma Chameleon," I dare you.
Yea, I knew you couldn't.
The Ghost Light afterparty had an animal theme and apparently lizards were the first animals to come to mind.
Pianist sandy, clearly a product of the '80s, harmonized along with host Matt while playing a mean piano.
The woman is a wonder.
Starlet Knight, wearing her snazzy new slacks from Diversity Thrift, announced she'd be singing "Run, Rabbit, Run," a song "from the '30s before things were politically correct."
It was all about a farmer having fun with a gun.
Yep, that wouldn't fly anymore.
Keeping to the theme, Matt and Jason did "Alone in the Universe," a song sung by Horton the elephant in "Seussical," the musical."
It got an added degree of humor because Matt was wearing a green knit cap and goggles, I think hoping for a frog look.
Stretching the theme halfway, Sarah sang "part of Your World," from "The Little Mermaid," so half fish, half girl.
Close enough.
Sara P. had a decided animal motif going on with leopard pants and doing a song from "Lord of the Rings" which she dedicated to a young cancer victim she'd known.
Just before she began singing, a guy sat down in the front row and held up two phones, causing Sara to wave at them and say hello to her Mom and Dad, as he filmed her perform via the magic of technology.
"That's the first time the GLAP has had telephoned-in audience members," Matt laughed.
Honestly, nothing that happens at the GLAP is all that surprising.
The handsome Nick was next and he's definitely one of my favorites because he's got such a terrific voice.
He did "Why, God, Why?" from "Miss Saigon" and had me melted in my seat.
Dan got up to sing, with host Maggie saying, "I can't think of many people more adorable than Dan" and with his hot pink sunglasses nestled in his curly black hair, I was inclined to agree.
The scenery is always so attractive at GLAP, if you know what I mean.
Eschewing the whole animal theme, he sang "I Found a Boy," causing Matt to observe, "Only Adele would put a key change in the middle of an a capella part."
"Adele's disgusting," Maggie agreed, acknowledging the singer's effortless vocal prowess.
Starlet got back up to sing along with Rico, the green puppet pianist Sandy had brought, making for the first time we've had a puppet show at the GLAP.
Next, mime?
Robin was a GLAP virgin but her killer voice had audience members cheering in their seats for some of the notes she hit.
Must be nice to be born with a voice that silences a room.
We veered back into Disney territory (they do have a wealth of animal songs, after all) with Josh doing "Be Prepared," from "The Lion King," clearly a childhood favorite of the better part of the crowd.
Katie and Ian, looking like a darling indie duo, stood butt to butt to sing "I Will Never Leave You" from "Sideshow," a musical about Siamese twins.
Again, straying a bit from the theme, but done well enough that an audience member found her way to teeh front row and waved her Bic lighter in the air, swaying side to side.
When the music moves you at GLAP, you do what you gotta do.
Another of my favorite performers is Ben, the multi-talented Ben, still sporting a mohawk and tonight letting Sandy play (he usually does his own ivory duty) while he sang "Johanna," from "Sweeney Todd."
It was particularly satisfying for me since I'd just seen ":Sweeney Todd" the other night, but in a version without music.
Leaving the stage, Matt and Maggie cracked wise about how Sondheim songs are "so easy, hardly any notes and no meaning to them."
You see, it's okay to be a smartass at the GLAP.
"The Lion King" roared its head again with Josh and Sara doing "Just Can't Wait to be King, much to the delight of the crowd.
Of all the songs done and redone at GLAP, surely one of the most popular has been "Suddenly, Seymour," which Andrew and Tricia did yet again tonight, albeit, as Maggie said, "the most hippie-dippie, kumbaya version ever."
It's not often we get hippie-dippie, kumbaya versions of anything at GLAP.
Starlet brought her retro talent back onstage with "Straighten Up and Fly Right" with Matt hilariously taking on puppet duties.
Once last call was announced, Maggie took charge, saying shed picked the last song and it was to be an animal singalong.
"Cats!" one of the Saras screamed.
Yes, "Cats" as in "Memory," as tried and trite a song as ever written and done in full-on singalong by the last remaining audience members, although not me because I've never seen "Cats."
Well, that and I can't sing.
Midway through, Maggie began some interpretive dance and finally Matt joined in, doing his best ballet moves and ending with a dying swan dip that ended the song.
And, fittingly, animal night at GLAP, may the poor creatures rest in peace.
Yea, I knew you couldn't.
The Ghost Light afterparty had an animal theme and apparently lizards were the first animals to come to mind.
Pianist sandy, clearly a product of the '80s, harmonized along with host Matt while playing a mean piano.
The woman is a wonder.
Starlet Knight, wearing her snazzy new slacks from Diversity Thrift, announced she'd be singing "Run, Rabbit, Run," a song "from the '30s before things were politically correct."
It was all about a farmer having fun with a gun.
Yep, that wouldn't fly anymore.
Keeping to the theme, Matt and Jason did "Alone in the Universe," a song sung by Horton the elephant in "Seussical," the musical."
It got an added degree of humor because Matt was wearing a green knit cap and goggles, I think hoping for a frog look.
Stretching the theme halfway, Sarah sang "part of Your World," from "The Little Mermaid," so half fish, half girl.
Close enough.
Sara P. had a decided animal motif going on with leopard pants and doing a song from "Lord of the Rings" which she dedicated to a young cancer victim she'd known.
Just before she began singing, a guy sat down in the front row and held up two phones, causing Sara to wave at them and say hello to her Mom and Dad, as he filmed her perform via the magic of technology.
"That's the first time the GLAP has had telephoned-in audience members," Matt laughed.
Honestly, nothing that happens at the GLAP is all that surprising.
The handsome Nick was next and he's definitely one of my favorites because he's got such a terrific voice.
He did "Why, God, Why?" from "Miss Saigon" and had me melted in my seat.
Dan got up to sing, with host Maggie saying, "I can't think of many people more adorable than Dan" and with his hot pink sunglasses nestled in his curly black hair, I was inclined to agree.
The scenery is always so attractive at GLAP, if you know what I mean.
Eschewing the whole animal theme, he sang "I Found a Boy," causing Matt to observe, "Only Adele would put a key change in the middle of an a capella part."
"Adele's disgusting," Maggie agreed, acknowledging the singer's effortless vocal prowess.
Starlet got back up to sing along with Rico, the green puppet pianist Sandy had brought, making for the first time we've had a puppet show at the GLAP.
Next, mime?
Robin was a GLAP virgin but her killer voice had audience members cheering in their seats for some of the notes she hit.
Must be nice to be born with a voice that silences a room.
We veered back into Disney territory (they do have a wealth of animal songs, after all) with Josh doing "Be Prepared," from "The Lion King," clearly a childhood favorite of the better part of the crowd.
Katie and Ian, looking like a darling indie duo, stood butt to butt to sing "I Will Never Leave You" from "Sideshow," a musical about Siamese twins.
Again, straying a bit from the theme, but done well enough that an audience member found her way to teeh front row and waved her Bic lighter in the air, swaying side to side.
When the music moves you at GLAP, you do what you gotta do.
Another of my favorite performers is Ben, the multi-talented Ben, still sporting a mohawk and tonight letting Sandy play (he usually does his own ivory duty) while he sang "Johanna," from "Sweeney Todd."
It was particularly satisfying for me since I'd just seen ":Sweeney Todd" the other night, but in a version without music.
Leaving the stage, Matt and Maggie cracked wise about how Sondheim songs are "so easy, hardly any notes and no meaning to them."
You see, it's okay to be a smartass at the GLAP.
"The Lion King" roared its head again with Josh and Sara doing "Just Can't Wait to be King, much to the delight of the crowd.
Of all the songs done and redone at GLAP, surely one of the most popular has been "Suddenly, Seymour," which Andrew and Tricia did yet again tonight, albeit, as Maggie said, "the most hippie-dippie, kumbaya version ever."
It's not often we get hippie-dippie, kumbaya versions of anything at GLAP.
Starlet brought her retro talent back onstage with "Straighten Up and Fly Right" with Matt hilariously taking on puppet duties.
Once last call was announced, Maggie took charge, saying shed picked the last song and it was to be an animal singalong.
"Cats!" one of the Saras screamed.
Yes, "Cats" as in "Memory," as tried and trite a song as ever written and done in full-on singalong by the last remaining audience members, although not me because I've never seen "Cats."
Well, that and I can't sing.
Midway through, Maggie began some interpretive dance and finally Matt joined in, doing his best ballet moves and ending with a dying swan dip that ended the song.
And, fittingly, animal night at GLAP, may the poor creatures rest in peace.
Monday, April 8, 2013
To the Birdhouse in Your Soul
The Ghost Light afterparty that had been postponed because of snow had no excuse tonight.
It was "Back to Basics" so the plan was to do old-school Broadway songs for a change.
But you have to understand that for this crowd, "Hair" is old-school and that's exactly where we started with our golden-throated host Matt doing "Going Down," as in, with Lucifer.
In other words, there was nowhere to go but up.
And yet, the next thing we heard was about Audra's hair, which led to an announcement that, "Audra shaved her pussy today."
The crowd reaction showed some variety - snickers and gasps- but once she came onstage and told the story, it was a rated G version about some found kittens and one's matted hair.
Sitting onstage was a guy with a guitar who was soon introduced as Evan's brother and as he took the stage, an audience member called out, "I've seen his butt twice," no doubt a reference to Evan's current role in "The Pride" as a Nazi sex master.
Brother Chris wasn't impressed, responding, "Me, too!"
Translation: we weren't fifteen minutes into the Ghost Light afterparty and we'd already touched on going down, pussies and butts.
Is this a great way to spend a Sunday night or what?
Chris played a mashup of "My Girl" and "Ignition" and made it work hysterically ("What you gonna do with all that junk...my girl?").
Hostess Maggie did a beautiful, sad song, only forgetting lines twice and finishing by saying, "Well, that was depressing," and admitting that she'd been forgetting the words to the song since high school.
Three guys in jeans, members of Hanover Tavern's production of "Cotton Patch Gospel" came up with upright bass, guitar and threir voices.
Their first song went off flawlessly and the second required three starts before the guitarist ended it saying, "Let's get Jesus more vodka."
Yes, let's, shall we?
Kristin, an actress from D.C., is new to Richmond and she was making her GLAP debut tonight singing an exquisite song she said was written for her by Joey Contreras.
With a guest star in the house came the return of the Mad Lib, practically a GLAP tradition, but for the benefit of newbies, there was an explanation of the process to gather words for it.
We were instructed to come up with funny or dirty nouns and verbs for the Mad Lib.
"Be creative, penis gets boring," Maggie, the Mad Libber explained.
"Excuse me, penis does not get boring," host Matt clarified. "Quit making those blanket statements."
So you see how back to basics we were at this point.
Chris did his best to get us back on track with Nat King Cole's standard, "L-O-V-E."
We took another tangent, this time with Paul, who did a sweet version of the Beatles' "Blackbird," tellingly from a music book entitled, "The Groovy Years."
And, really, aren't those the years we all want to have?
Two of the "Cotton Patch" gents returned to entertain us, with Lucas doing his best to get through a song before sharing, "Hi, I learned banjo eleven weeks ago."
He got the gold star of the night for playing a new instrument and on a song that he doesn't even play in the production.
Guest star Kirstin returned for a poignant song called "The Portrait," which she introduced by saying, "It's another sad one but I figured I'd be funny in the Mad Lib."
True that, since it was set to "My Favorite Things" and she apologized to Julie Andrews after singing the insane and smutty lyrics.
Tonight's moment when time stood still came courtesy of Nick, whom I'd just seen in "The Pride," when he sang a moving version of "The Impossible Dream" in his magnificent voice.
Now, that felt old school.
We were treated to an impromptu medley of They Might Be Giants songs because uber-fans Matt and Maggie were sad they were missing the TMBG show at the National tonight.
Hannah did "Isn't This Better?" from "Funny Lady," a heartbreaking song and a personal favorite I'd never have expected to hear.
The reliably funny Maggie Boop got up and announced she was doing a dramatic reading and then proceeded to read Kreashawn's "Gucci, Gucci" with the unforgettable lyric, "Bitch, you ain't no Barbie, I see you work at Arby's."
No, really, and she did it with Matt alternating between playing bongo beats and snapping his fingers overhead, beatnik-style.
And without ever losing her poise.
The crowd, however, was rolling on the floor.
The only way to follow that was with Sarah singing "The Wizard and I" while Maggie held a lamp in mid-air to aid her lyrics-reading while doing justice to a shaker ball in the other hand.
After that, we broke for pizza and to give our faces a break from non-stop smiling.
After the break, Chris was called on yet gain, prompting him to say, "I'm the one who came in with no music and I keep getting called up on stage."
And with good reason, young man.
Evan's little brother had everyone in hysterics as he did "Life in the Slaw Lane," a tribute to the plant world.
I'm the kinda guy that works hard for his celery and I don't mind telling you I was feeling a bit wilted.
But I didn't carrot all. 'Cause, otherwise, things were vine.
I try never to disparagus and I don't sweat the truffles.
I'm outstanding in my field and I know something good will turnip eventually.
A bunch of things were going grape, and soon, I'd be top banana.
At least, that's my peeling
Brilliant, right?
For the classic "The Weight," Chris had Maggie singing back-up and audience members doing impromptu harmony...for all five verses.
By the time the song finished, everyone had the hang of it and it sounded pretty great.
The vocal co-mingling of the crowd with the performers inspired the final song of the night, a group singalong to "Tomorrow" from "Annie" and a song most people in the audience knew.
Chins were stuck out, grins were seen and the lovefest ended with one big, sloppy promise that tomorrow is only a day away.
Golly, gee whiz, you couldn't ask for much groovier years than these.
It was "Back to Basics" so the plan was to do old-school Broadway songs for a change.
But you have to understand that for this crowd, "Hair" is old-school and that's exactly where we started with our golden-throated host Matt doing "Going Down," as in, with Lucifer.
In other words, there was nowhere to go but up.
And yet, the next thing we heard was about Audra's hair, which led to an announcement that, "Audra shaved her pussy today."
The crowd reaction showed some variety - snickers and gasps- but once she came onstage and told the story, it was a rated G version about some found kittens and one's matted hair.
Sitting onstage was a guy with a guitar who was soon introduced as Evan's brother and as he took the stage, an audience member called out, "I've seen his butt twice," no doubt a reference to Evan's current role in "The Pride" as a Nazi sex master.
Brother Chris wasn't impressed, responding, "Me, too!"
Translation: we weren't fifteen minutes into the Ghost Light afterparty and we'd already touched on going down, pussies and butts.
Is this a great way to spend a Sunday night or what?
Chris played a mashup of "My Girl" and "Ignition" and made it work hysterically ("What you gonna do with all that junk...my girl?").
Hostess Maggie did a beautiful, sad song, only forgetting lines twice and finishing by saying, "Well, that was depressing," and admitting that she'd been forgetting the words to the song since high school.
Three guys in jeans, members of Hanover Tavern's production of "Cotton Patch Gospel" came up with upright bass, guitar and threir voices.
Their first song went off flawlessly and the second required three starts before the guitarist ended it saying, "Let's get Jesus more vodka."
Yes, let's, shall we?
Kristin, an actress from D.C., is new to Richmond and she was making her GLAP debut tonight singing an exquisite song she said was written for her by Joey Contreras.
With a guest star in the house came the return of the Mad Lib, practically a GLAP tradition, but for the benefit of newbies, there was an explanation of the process to gather words for it.
We were instructed to come up with funny or dirty nouns and verbs for the Mad Lib.
"Be creative, penis gets boring," Maggie, the Mad Libber explained.
"Excuse me, penis does not get boring," host Matt clarified. "Quit making those blanket statements."
So you see how back to basics we were at this point.
Chris did his best to get us back on track with Nat King Cole's standard, "L-O-V-E."
We took another tangent, this time with Paul, who did a sweet version of the Beatles' "Blackbird," tellingly from a music book entitled, "The Groovy Years."
And, really, aren't those the years we all want to have?
Two of the "Cotton Patch" gents returned to entertain us, with Lucas doing his best to get through a song before sharing, "Hi, I learned banjo eleven weeks ago."
He got the gold star of the night for playing a new instrument and on a song that he doesn't even play in the production.
Guest star Kirstin returned for a poignant song called "The Portrait," which she introduced by saying, "It's another sad one but I figured I'd be funny in the Mad Lib."
True that, since it was set to "My Favorite Things" and she apologized to Julie Andrews after singing the insane and smutty lyrics.
Tonight's moment when time stood still came courtesy of Nick, whom I'd just seen in "The Pride," when he sang a moving version of "The Impossible Dream" in his magnificent voice.
Now, that felt old school.
We were treated to an impromptu medley of They Might Be Giants songs because uber-fans Matt and Maggie were sad they were missing the TMBG show at the National tonight.
Hannah did "Isn't This Better?" from "Funny Lady," a heartbreaking song and a personal favorite I'd never have expected to hear.
The reliably funny Maggie Boop got up and announced she was doing a dramatic reading and then proceeded to read Kreashawn's "Gucci, Gucci" with the unforgettable lyric, "Bitch, you ain't no Barbie, I see you work at Arby's."
No, really, and she did it with Matt alternating between playing bongo beats and snapping his fingers overhead, beatnik-style.
And without ever losing her poise.
The crowd, however, was rolling on the floor.
The only way to follow that was with Sarah singing "The Wizard and I" while Maggie held a lamp in mid-air to aid her lyrics-reading while doing justice to a shaker ball in the other hand.
After that, we broke for pizza and to give our faces a break from non-stop smiling.
After the break, Chris was called on yet gain, prompting him to say, "I'm the one who came in with no music and I keep getting called up on stage."
And with good reason, young man.
Evan's little brother had everyone in hysterics as he did "Life in the Slaw Lane," a tribute to the plant world.
I'm the kinda guy that works hard for his celery and I don't mind telling you I was feeling a bit wilted.
But I didn't carrot all. 'Cause, otherwise, things were vine.
I try never to disparagus and I don't sweat the truffles.
I'm outstanding in my field and I know something good will turnip eventually.
A bunch of things were going grape, and soon, I'd be top banana.
At least, that's my peeling
Brilliant, right?
For the classic "The Weight," Chris had Maggie singing back-up and audience members doing impromptu harmony...for all five verses.
By the time the song finished, everyone had the hang of it and it sounded pretty great.
The vocal co-mingling of the crowd with the performers inspired the final song of the night, a group singalong to "Tomorrow" from "Annie" and a song most people in the audience knew.
Chins were stuck out, grins were seen and the lovefest ended with one big, sloppy promise that tomorrow is only a day away.
Golly, gee whiz, you couldn't ask for much groovier years than these.
Monday, March 4, 2013
Raw and Wry, Rags to Riches
Once upon a time, it was a good night if there was one interesting happening on any given evening.
No more.
Plenty of nights I end up having to choose from several very appealing options.
Like last Tuesday night, I had my pick of a lauded dance documentary, the Oberon Quartet or the Listening Room.
And there was no way to do more than one.
Tonight I had the same dilemma: Ghost Light Afterparty or Live at Ipanema.
I never miss either (well, unless I'm in another country).
So off I went to Ipanema to meet a friend for dessert (banana coconut cake), see friends and hear Dead Professional.
That would be one half of the Cinnamon Band and the purveyor of wry and raw pop songs and elemental rock and roll riffs using a cheapo guitar and rudimentary drum loops.
Just the thing on a Sunday night.
Using two mics for different effects, he delivered wry, raw and elemental to a rapt crowd.
Rapt, that is, except for the table closest to Dead Pro, who proceeded to try to talk louder than the man with the cheapo guitar and the drum loops.
Le sigh.
Explaining that it was only his second show, he said, "So I'll be back" and launched into "Bad Memory."
At one point, he started a song, singing, "Don't be cruel," before stopping and saying, "Let's come back to that one."
It was a nice segue into an unexpected cover of T Rex's "Main Man."
Then it was back to cruelty and the unfinished song, with the evocative lyric, "Don't keep on twisting the knife if you're not gonna cut me loose."
It was an understandably short set, but I'm counting on him being back.
The bonus was a short set meant that there was still time to get to the GLAP, where tonight's theme was "rags to riches."
I don't know where they come up with this stuff.
Walking in at intermission to find a lobby full of people eating pizza, I ran into Princess Di for the second time today, along with neighbors who hadn't been able to get hold of me to invite me to their Mardi Gras party.
They insisted that next year I just show up on the Saturday before Fat Tuesday, with or without an invitation.
You don't have to tell me twice.
I asked about what I'd missed, only to be told that it was a chill, coffeehouse-style evening for a change.
Perhaps it fit the set at Richmond Triangle Players tonight, one with stained glass windows and a massive wooden door.
Once the second half started, host Maggie began by saying, "Keeping the theme loose, I'm going to do an Elvis song. At least I think Elvis was the first one to sing it."
Let the record show she proceeded to do a killer version of "Can't Help Falling" with Scott accompanying her on guitar while Audra held her phone so he could read the music.
Starlet Knight took the stage, saying she'd had way too much bourbon (someone in the back yelled, "No such thing!").
Mid-song, she paused and said, "This is where the key change would be but I'm not going to do it."
That garnered major applause.
Matthew got up to impress us with Barry Manilow's "Weekend in New England" with Ben, sporting a mohawk, dramatically playing the keyboard for him.
"He's such a drama queen," Matt joked when he finished.
In a roomful of drama queens, who would even notice, much less care?
Aaron and Matt sang a song after announcing that it would mean a whole lot more to them than us.
At GLAP you just let people do what they need to do.
Carla and Matt did "Somewhere Out There" from "An American Tail," that classic piece of cinematography.
I was reassured to know that the cheese factor was as high as usual.
Matt stopped the room cold with his rendition of "Waiting for Life to Begin," saying that song had gotten him through some not so merry moments and even some sad orgasms.
Sara sang a song from Les Miz, but the best part was when she finished and shared that, "I spat on myself in the middle of the dramatic moment."
One reason I like to sit in the first or second row is because I like to see people spit when they perform. True story.
Ben of the Mohawk gave us a Tammy Wynette song, "Till I Can Make It on My Own," segueing nicely into Dolly Parton's "9 to 5" and causing a mass singalong.
Honestly, I had no idea so many people knew the words to that chestnut.
When it came time for raffle prizes, a friend won tickets to "Riding the Bull" and luckily for me, he and his lovely wife already had tickets for it, so they graciously handed them off to me.
See, you meet the nicest people at the GLAP.
Gray was called up to sing and Maggie praised her costume, saying, "Gray got entrance applause just walking in tonight."
It may have been the curlers made of cans in her hair, it may have been the smeared lipstick and blackened tooth or maybe even the ruffled white panties she flashed for us.
All at once, Starlet Knight volunteered to give the farewell song and even promised to do the requisite key change this time.
Boy, the time goes so quickly when you come in halfway through the festivities.
But I'd also made it to both can't-miss events, so the win was mine.
Who's got time to wait for life to begin?
No more.
Plenty of nights I end up having to choose from several very appealing options.
Like last Tuesday night, I had my pick of a lauded dance documentary, the Oberon Quartet or the Listening Room.
And there was no way to do more than one.
Tonight I had the same dilemma: Ghost Light Afterparty or Live at Ipanema.
I never miss either (well, unless I'm in another country).
So off I went to Ipanema to meet a friend for dessert (banana coconut cake), see friends and hear Dead Professional.
That would be one half of the Cinnamon Band and the purveyor of wry and raw pop songs and elemental rock and roll riffs using a cheapo guitar and rudimentary drum loops.
Just the thing on a Sunday night.
Using two mics for different effects, he delivered wry, raw and elemental to a rapt crowd.
Rapt, that is, except for the table closest to Dead Pro, who proceeded to try to talk louder than the man with the cheapo guitar and the drum loops.
Le sigh.
Explaining that it was only his second show, he said, "So I'll be back" and launched into "Bad Memory."
At one point, he started a song, singing, "Don't be cruel," before stopping and saying, "Let's come back to that one."
It was a nice segue into an unexpected cover of T Rex's "Main Man."
Then it was back to cruelty and the unfinished song, with the evocative lyric, "Don't keep on twisting the knife if you're not gonna cut me loose."
It was an understandably short set, but I'm counting on him being back.
The bonus was a short set meant that there was still time to get to the GLAP, where tonight's theme was "rags to riches."
I don't know where they come up with this stuff.
Walking in at intermission to find a lobby full of people eating pizza, I ran into Princess Di for the second time today, along with neighbors who hadn't been able to get hold of me to invite me to their Mardi Gras party.
They insisted that next year I just show up on the Saturday before Fat Tuesday, with or without an invitation.
You don't have to tell me twice.
I asked about what I'd missed, only to be told that it was a chill, coffeehouse-style evening for a change.
Perhaps it fit the set at Richmond Triangle Players tonight, one with stained glass windows and a massive wooden door.
Once the second half started, host Maggie began by saying, "Keeping the theme loose, I'm going to do an Elvis song. At least I think Elvis was the first one to sing it."
Let the record show she proceeded to do a killer version of "Can't Help Falling" with Scott accompanying her on guitar while Audra held her phone so he could read the music.
Starlet Knight took the stage, saying she'd had way too much bourbon (someone in the back yelled, "No such thing!").
Mid-song, she paused and said, "This is where the key change would be but I'm not going to do it."
That garnered major applause.
Matthew got up to impress us with Barry Manilow's "Weekend in New England" with Ben, sporting a mohawk, dramatically playing the keyboard for him.
"He's such a drama queen," Matt joked when he finished.
In a roomful of drama queens, who would even notice, much less care?
Aaron and Matt sang a song after announcing that it would mean a whole lot more to them than us.
At GLAP you just let people do what they need to do.
Carla and Matt did "Somewhere Out There" from "An American Tail," that classic piece of cinematography.
I was reassured to know that the cheese factor was as high as usual.
Matt stopped the room cold with his rendition of "Waiting for Life to Begin," saying that song had gotten him through some not so merry moments and even some sad orgasms.
Sara sang a song from Les Miz, but the best part was when she finished and shared that, "I spat on myself in the middle of the dramatic moment."
One reason I like to sit in the first or second row is because I like to see people spit when they perform. True story.
Ben of the Mohawk gave us a Tammy Wynette song, "Till I Can Make It on My Own," segueing nicely into Dolly Parton's "9 to 5" and causing a mass singalong.
Honestly, I had no idea so many people knew the words to that chestnut.
When it came time for raffle prizes, a friend won tickets to "Riding the Bull" and luckily for me, he and his lovely wife already had tickets for it, so they graciously handed them off to me.
See, you meet the nicest people at the GLAP.
Gray was called up to sing and Maggie praised her costume, saying, "Gray got entrance applause just walking in tonight."
It may have been the curlers made of cans in her hair, it may have been the smeared lipstick and blackened tooth or maybe even the ruffled white panties she flashed for us.
All at once, Starlet Knight volunteered to give the farewell song and even promised to do the requisite key change this time.
Boy, the time goes so quickly when you come in halfway through the festivities.
But I'd also made it to both can't-miss events, so the win was mine.
Who's got time to wait for life to begin?
Monday, January 28, 2013
A Whole New World
One must be fortified to face the gauntlet of Disney.
Knowing this, I agreed to meet my out-of-town friend for the last time before he motors home.
He was spending the afternoon trolling Carytown, so I suggested Secco for dinner.
What I hadn't expected was how full they would be, but we managed a couple of bar stools smack in the center of the bar.
I chose a La Torre Rosso di Montelcino, billed as a "baby Brunello" from the secret stash chalkboard list while the visitor went with a Spanish Rioja.
The first thing that caught friend's eye was their newest crostini of egg slices, marinated white anchovies and fresh herbs.
While waiting for that to arrive, he saw the squid ink bucatini with sea urchin carbonara, so he ordered that and it arrived in no time.
He was surprised at how much pig it contained, but I'd had it before and knew.
Parsnip soup was poured over an over-sized rye crouton, apple butter and celery and had a deliciously creamy mouthfeel without the sense that we were eating a bowl of cream and the understated touch of apple butter on the finish was lovely.
The tardy crostini was well worth the wait, a very Italian and rustic combination of eggs and briny little fish that we both gave the thumbs up.
I'd had the lamb sliders with date relish and Cambozola cheese before, but the visitor couldn't help but be impressed with the savory little burgers, mentioning how surprisingly filling they were.
Or maybe it was just the four dishes we'd consumed in short order.
I'd have quite there, but my friend wanted dessert and chose the cream puffs with caramel sauce, four mouth-filling bites drizzled in a dense caramel.
I was pleased that my big city friend had been so impressed with secco, saying how much better the food was than it typically is in a wine bar.
Clearly he hasn't been to the right Richmond wine bars.
Then it was time for him to head back up I-95 (he had my condolences) so that I could move on to something that only happens once.
That's right, I'm talking about the Ghost Light Afterparty one year anniversary party.
Theater types in Disney-inspired costumes singing the corniest songs ever written.
Of course, it's their childhood, so they didn't see it that way.
But as a neighbor said to me in the lobby before things got started, "I hope someone tells us what's what when they sing because I don't know any of these movies."
The costumes, on the other hand. represented a broad swath of Disney movies.
Snow White (1937). The Little Mermaid (1989). The Lion King (1994). Alice in Wonderland (1951).
Even pianist Sandy was Esmerelda (Aladdin 1992).
"Dueling Minnie Mouses!" I heard a guy say.
The first order of business was introducing the three judges. who were presented with slap watches to give them magical judging powers.
"Go out into the wold and judge!" host Matt instructed them.
As befits a Disney extravaganza, the first song was a singalong to "Circle of Life," complete with bongos, tambourine and someone placing a stuffed tiger on the mic stand for the whole room to sing to.
And, believe me, the majority of the room was also singing along to every word.
Afterwards, Matt announced, "For those of you who are here for the first time, that is just what this is about."
As in, sing anything, make mistakes, crack up mid-song, sing into your drink instead of the microphone.
Anything goes, in other words. And no judgments (other than for costumes).
There's usually a raffle at the Afterparty and while showing the prizes, hostess Maggie held up a piece of art and said its name, "Flower Shower" and its year (2006).
"It's vintage, y'all," Matt said about an object not even seven years old. Hysterical.
Lots of newbies sang tonight, a portly sultan sang an Adele song, and one song got sung twice.
Sarah (in Mouseketeer ears) and Matt (in a Mad Hatter teenage girl costume) got up to sing "A Whole New World," with Sarah saying that she'd sung that song by herself in second grade for the school talent show.
She also mentioned that she'd grown up in the trailer park capital of the country, somewhere in Florida and even took a bow for that.
Deservedly so.
Themes are always loose concepts at GLAP, so we also heard "Summer Nights" from "Grease" with the audience enthusiastically contributing the "tell me more, tell me more" refrain.
Maggie admitted to a Juice Newton obsession and gave us "Queen of Hearts," her karaoke favorite.
Mid-show there was a surprise 20 questions for hosts Matt and Maggie on the occasion of the GLAP's first anniversary.
Some of the more fascinating nuggets?
Maggie's first role was as the carrot in "Stone Soup."
Matt's dream role is Hedwig, he admitted, "And if anyone in town wants to hire me for that role, I'll blow you."
Now, that's what the Ghost Light Afterparty is about.
In the middle of the questions (Mickey Mouse or Donald Duck?), a lit birthday cake was brought out and the whole room sang happy birthday to the GLAP.
After learning a few more things in the last of the 20 questions (both would rather be mute than deaf because giving up music would be impossible), it was intermission.
That means two things: dance music and pizza.
Tonight it also meant chocolate birthday cake, so Sunday slid into Monday while everyone got their munch on.
The break always yields great eavesdropping, none better tonight than, "You're a wonderful dancer. And you're beautiful," to a man with a wonderful and beautiful back, at least from where I stood.
The second set began with all the costume contenders onstage and it was a colorful bunch.
Merlin, Ursula, Snow White's evil queen, Cruella deVille. Belle.
And then back to so many songs sung from so movies I'd never seen.
I did recognize when Mouseketeers Matt and Katie got up to sing Walt Disney's favorite Disney song, "Feed the Birds" from "Mary Poppins."
Katie forewarned us that she'd be singing in a fake British accent while Matt played the guitar.
What she failed to mention was that she'd be making asides throughout the song ("tuppence, that's like a penny").
All at once Brittney and Matt walked onstage and they'd switched costumes.
"This is just something we thought needed to happen all night," he said, incandescent in Brittney's sea foam blue gown and flipping the long red curly wig, while she now wore his Mad Hatter guise.
"Thanks for playing with us for one whole year!" Matt said to the audience just before the last song.
Bartender Evan got up on stage in his costume of green cap with red feather and green t-shirt.
"People keep asking me if I'm Peter Pan or Robin Hood," he joked. "Neither! I'm Chase Kniffen!"
It wouldn't be a GLAP if there wasn't some local theater humor.
Evan took over keyboard duties for "Kiss the Girl" from everyone's favorite "The Little Mermaid," while half the room joined him to shake things (balls, tambourines), sing along or dance.
That closed out the show on one solid year of GLAP shenanigans.
Damn, the Ghost Light Afterparty started in 2012 and you know what that means.
That's vintage, y'all.
Knowing this, I agreed to meet my out-of-town friend for the last time before he motors home.
He was spending the afternoon trolling Carytown, so I suggested Secco for dinner.
What I hadn't expected was how full they would be, but we managed a couple of bar stools smack in the center of the bar.
I chose a La Torre Rosso di Montelcino, billed as a "baby Brunello" from the secret stash chalkboard list while the visitor went with a Spanish Rioja.
The first thing that caught friend's eye was their newest crostini of egg slices, marinated white anchovies and fresh herbs.
While waiting for that to arrive, he saw the squid ink bucatini with sea urchin carbonara, so he ordered that and it arrived in no time.
He was surprised at how much pig it contained, but I'd had it before and knew.
Parsnip soup was poured over an over-sized rye crouton, apple butter and celery and had a deliciously creamy mouthfeel without the sense that we were eating a bowl of cream and the understated touch of apple butter on the finish was lovely.
The tardy crostini was well worth the wait, a very Italian and rustic combination of eggs and briny little fish that we both gave the thumbs up.
I'd had the lamb sliders with date relish and Cambozola cheese before, but the visitor couldn't help but be impressed with the savory little burgers, mentioning how surprisingly filling they were.
Or maybe it was just the four dishes we'd consumed in short order.
I'd have quite there, but my friend wanted dessert and chose the cream puffs with caramel sauce, four mouth-filling bites drizzled in a dense caramel.
I was pleased that my big city friend had been so impressed with secco, saying how much better the food was than it typically is in a wine bar.
Clearly he hasn't been to the right Richmond wine bars.
Then it was time for him to head back up I-95 (he had my condolences) so that I could move on to something that only happens once.
That's right, I'm talking about the Ghost Light Afterparty one year anniversary party.
Theater types in Disney-inspired costumes singing the corniest songs ever written.
Of course, it's their childhood, so they didn't see it that way.
But as a neighbor said to me in the lobby before things got started, "I hope someone tells us what's what when they sing because I don't know any of these movies."
The costumes, on the other hand. represented a broad swath of Disney movies.
Snow White (1937). The Little Mermaid (1989). The Lion King (1994). Alice in Wonderland (1951).
Even pianist Sandy was Esmerelda (Aladdin 1992).
"Dueling Minnie Mouses!" I heard a guy say.
The first order of business was introducing the three judges. who were presented with slap watches to give them magical judging powers.
"Go out into the wold and judge!" host Matt instructed them.
As befits a Disney extravaganza, the first song was a singalong to "Circle of Life," complete with bongos, tambourine and someone placing a stuffed tiger on the mic stand for the whole room to sing to.
And, believe me, the majority of the room was also singing along to every word.
Afterwards, Matt announced, "For those of you who are here for the first time, that is just what this is about."
As in, sing anything, make mistakes, crack up mid-song, sing into your drink instead of the microphone.
Anything goes, in other words. And no judgments (other than for costumes).
There's usually a raffle at the Afterparty and while showing the prizes, hostess Maggie held up a piece of art and said its name, "Flower Shower" and its year (2006).
"It's vintage, y'all," Matt said about an object not even seven years old. Hysterical.
Lots of newbies sang tonight, a portly sultan sang an Adele song, and one song got sung twice.
Sarah (in Mouseketeer ears) and Matt (in a Mad Hatter teenage girl costume) got up to sing "A Whole New World," with Sarah saying that she'd sung that song by herself in second grade for the school talent show.
She also mentioned that she'd grown up in the trailer park capital of the country, somewhere in Florida and even took a bow for that.
Deservedly so.
Themes are always loose concepts at GLAP, so we also heard "Summer Nights" from "Grease" with the audience enthusiastically contributing the "tell me more, tell me more" refrain.
Maggie admitted to a Juice Newton obsession and gave us "Queen of Hearts," her karaoke favorite.
Mid-show there was a surprise 20 questions for hosts Matt and Maggie on the occasion of the GLAP's first anniversary.
Some of the more fascinating nuggets?
Maggie's first role was as the carrot in "Stone Soup."
Matt's dream role is Hedwig, he admitted, "And if anyone in town wants to hire me for that role, I'll blow you."
Now, that's what the Ghost Light Afterparty is about.
In the middle of the questions (Mickey Mouse or Donald Duck?), a lit birthday cake was brought out and the whole room sang happy birthday to the GLAP.
After learning a few more things in the last of the 20 questions (both would rather be mute than deaf because giving up music would be impossible), it was intermission.
That means two things: dance music and pizza.
Tonight it also meant chocolate birthday cake, so Sunday slid into Monday while everyone got their munch on.
The break always yields great eavesdropping, none better tonight than, "You're a wonderful dancer. And you're beautiful," to a man with a wonderful and beautiful back, at least from where I stood.
The second set began with all the costume contenders onstage and it was a colorful bunch.
Merlin, Ursula, Snow White's evil queen, Cruella deVille. Belle.
And then back to so many songs sung from so movies I'd never seen.
I did recognize when Mouseketeers Matt and Katie got up to sing Walt Disney's favorite Disney song, "Feed the Birds" from "Mary Poppins."
Katie forewarned us that she'd be singing in a fake British accent while Matt played the guitar.
What she failed to mention was that she'd be making asides throughout the song ("tuppence, that's like a penny").
All at once Brittney and Matt walked onstage and they'd switched costumes.
"This is just something we thought needed to happen all night," he said, incandescent in Brittney's sea foam blue gown and flipping the long red curly wig, while she now wore his Mad Hatter guise.
"Thanks for playing with us for one whole year!" Matt said to the audience just before the last song.
Bartender Evan got up on stage in his costume of green cap with red feather and green t-shirt.
"People keep asking me if I'm Peter Pan or Robin Hood," he joked. "Neither! I'm Chase Kniffen!"
It wouldn't be a GLAP if there wasn't some local theater humor.
Evan took over keyboard duties for "Kiss the Girl" from everyone's favorite "The Little Mermaid," while half the room joined him to shake things (balls, tambourines), sing along or dance.
That closed out the show on one solid year of GLAP shenanigans.
Damn, the Ghost Light Afterparty started in 2012 and you know what that means.
That's vintage, y'all.
Monday, December 17, 2012
O Come, All Ye Ham and Cheesers
I come when called.
So when the Ghost Light Afterparty summoned the masses with "O, Come, All Ye GLAPful," I was there in my shortest pink skirt, my sassiest lace tights and enough holiday cheer to choke a reindeer.
Hell, somebody's gotta be the audience for a room full of hams.
As the night wore on, there was also plenty of Christmas cheese.
Like a DMX-wannabe doing "Rudolph." Afterwards, Maggie noted, "That's a holiday treat I bet you weren't expecting."
Amen.
Georgia doing "All I Want for Christmas" in s high, squeaky voice with her two front teeth blacked out.
Inexplicably, someone had brought a holiday songbook like no other, with Christmas songs about Star Wars characters.
So, yes, we were treated to "What Can You Get a Wookie for Christmas?" and the classic "R2D2, We Wish You a Merry Christmas."
As someone observed, most of the people in the room weren't born when these songs were created.
I hope they all realize how fortunate that makes them.
But there were sublime holiday moments, too.
Joy and Duron dueted on a poignant "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas."
Ben playing piano and singing "What Are You Doing New Year's Eve?" magnificently, like he was singing for a date.
The cast of "A Child's Christmas in Wales" doing "It Came Upon a Midnight Clear" with cello, guitar and two beautiful harmonizing female voices.
An exquisite "Silent Night" with only cello and piano.
Chris doing "The Christmas Song" a capella. Take that, Nat.
And, as always because it's the GLAP, serious comedy.
Like the interpretive dance break during "Let it Snow!"
Matt observing after sight-reading the wookie song, "I almost soiled myself when I sang, "Give him love and understanding."
Maggie's stellar rendition of Mel Blanc's "My Sombrero is Too Big."
And only at GLAP do you have a quartet not only looking up lyrics on their phones, but half the group doing the movie version and half doing the Broadway version, a fact they didn't realize until midway through the song.
But lest you get the impression that GLAP is just for drinking, raffle prizes and over-the-top performances, allow me to set you straight.
I pick up all kinds of salient information during my monthly five-hour stint at GLAP.
High praise from a friend who'd just seen "The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe" and is already planning to see it a second time.
Details of the renovated NU nightclub, complete with details of male and female go-go dancers, looped music and Wet Wednesdays.
A porn discussion with the praise, "All show, no grow and eight inches!"
Honestly, you can't glean this kind of information just anywhere. Or at least I can't.
And where else can I hear both Mariah Carey's "All I Want for Christmas is You" done by Gray without her trench coat and k.d. lang's "Love is Like a Cigarette" done by Starlet Night in fur-trimmed ankle boots?
It almost makes me want to lasso Santa, like Maggie sang. Or at the very least, choke him.
But I won't. Like a wookie, even Santa deserves love and understanding.
And probably a bourbon on the rocks to make him GLAP-ful.
So when the Ghost Light Afterparty summoned the masses with "O, Come, All Ye GLAPful," I was there in my shortest pink skirt, my sassiest lace tights and enough holiday cheer to choke a reindeer.
Hell, somebody's gotta be the audience for a room full of hams.
As the night wore on, there was also plenty of Christmas cheese.
Like a DMX-wannabe doing "Rudolph." Afterwards, Maggie noted, "That's a holiday treat I bet you weren't expecting."
Amen.
Georgia doing "All I Want for Christmas" in s high, squeaky voice with her two front teeth blacked out.
Inexplicably, someone had brought a holiday songbook like no other, with Christmas songs about Star Wars characters.
So, yes, we were treated to "What Can You Get a Wookie for Christmas?" and the classic "R2D2, We Wish You a Merry Christmas."
As someone observed, most of the people in the room weren't born when these songs were created.
I hope they all realize how fortunate that makes them.
But there were sublime holiday moments, too.
Joy and Duron dueted on a poignant "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas."
Ben playing piano and singing "What Are You Doing New Year's Eve?" magnificently, like he was singing for a date.
The cast of "A Child's Christmas in Wales" doing "It Came Upon a Midnight Clear" with cello, guitar and two beautiful harmonizing female voices.
An exquisite "Silent Night" with only cello and piano.
Chris doing "The Christmas Song" a capella. Take that, Nat.
And, as always because it's the GLAP, serious comedy.
Like the interpretive dance break during "Let it Snow!"
Matt observing after sight-reading the wookie song, "I almost soiled myself when I sang, "Give him love and understanding."
Maggie's stellar rendition of Mel Blanc's "My Sombrero is Too Big."
And only at GLAP do you have a quartet not only looking up lyrics on their phones, but half the group doing the movie version and half doing the Broadway version, a fact they didn't realize until midway through the song.
But lest you get the impression that GLAP is just for drinking, raffle prizes and over-the-top performances, allow me to set you straight.
I pick up all kinds of salient information during my monthly five-hour stint at GLAP.
High praise from a friend who'd just seen "The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe" and is already planning to see it a second time.
Details of the renovated NU nightclub, complete with details of male and female go-go dancers, looped music and Wet Wednesdays.
A porn discussion with the praise, "All show, no grow and eight inches!"
Honestly, you can't glean this kind of information just anywhere. Or at least I can't.
And where else can I hear both Mariah Carey's "All I Want for Christmas is You" done by Gray without her trench coat and k.d. lang's "Love is Like a Cigarette" done by Starlet Night in fur-trimmed ankle boots?
It almost makes me want to lasso Santa, like Maggie sang. Or at the very least, choke him.
But I won't. Like a wookie, even Santa deserves love and understanding.
And probably a bourbon on the rocks to make him GLAP-ful.
Monday, November 19, 2012
Monday, October 29, 2012
A Freckle on the Nose of Life's Complexion
For those not afraid of going out tonight, the message was clear.
Come in out of the mist and sing show tunes, the wind seemed to whistle.
Of course the only wind that would whistle such a thing is the one coming from Richmond Triangle Players for the Ghost Light Afterparty.
No surprise, it was a costumed event.
And while I'm not particularly the costume type, I made an exception and costumed my leg.
Others were far more creative.
Along with green hair and appalling make-up, host Matt Shofner wore a black leather mini-dress studded with squares of glass, claiming that they were from the mirror ball at Stonewall's in New York.
"I got it for my Lady Gaga show in New York," he explained as if there could be no other reason for having such a dress, but after a few drinks referred to himself as "a lipstick lesbian vampire something."
He was something alright, but his wasn't the only standout.
No, at this party were the unlikeliest of guests: Anne Frank and Hitler, two gods of wine, Carmen Miranda, Twiggy.
Starting the show, he pooh-poohed the impending hurricane, saying, "Allow me to introduce you to the real Sandy, our Hurricane Sandy," meaning the very talented accompanist Sandy, tonight wearing a fetching witch hat.
Matt referred to the impending weather event as "The Mist" as he moved around the stage, made spooky with candles, skulls, decapitated dolls and sculpture offering up human sacrifice.
Yep, just another night at the GLAP.
And by the second song, co-host Maggie Roop was doing interpretive dance, so it was another good night at the GLAP.
Things got rolling in the holiday spirit with the "Adams Family Theme" done with much audience singalong and finger snapping.
But the tone of the evening was defined by a Lady Gaga song that immediately had almost everyone singing and before long dancing.
The Scream Queens (currently performing at Pine Camp Cultural Center) sang a song before taking audience volunteers for a screaming contest, which went to a scream-off before a winner was chosen.
It's not often you get to hear people do their full-on bloodcurdling scream five feet in front of your face.
After another song, they screened their reel, "Full Moon Slumber Party" and you can probably guess that it didn't end well.
But it was the first time I'd seen film at the GLAP.
Matt sang "Sugar Daddy" while passing the hat for tips for Sandy, acknowledging afterwards, "Okay, we've done more tragic things than that at GLAP."
The man speaks the truth.
Annie got up to sing "I Can Do Better Than That" and her fine performance had the benefit of two pianists as Ben joined Sandy to "noodle around" on the high end.
Noodling is all but guaranteed at GLAP.
When Louise got up to perform in her Civil War-reproduction dress (it looked like something Scarlett O'Hara had worn, although she said it had been her grandmother's), Maggie announced that, "Louise is going to grace our stage with a monologue."
To be more precise, she graced the stage with a story about the maggots that had climbed up her father's dog's butt and how her Dad meticulously stuck his fingers up the dog's butt to retrieve them all.
"And the dog lived longer than my Dad. Now that's love."
Our second monologue (maybe the Mist had people wanting to wax poetic?) came courtesy of Bill, who said he would do an impression of a one-armed blind man counting change.
Let's just say the wordless punchline involved him unzipping his pants so something other than his fingers could feel the money.
Some people felt it was the highlight of the evening.
Maury replicated the first song he'd sung in a 3rd grade production of "H.M.S. Pinafore" a capella.
It was "Buttercup" and he had to shout down some friends, yelling, "Shut up!" to allow him to put his game face on.
Around the time the pizza arrived, the costume contest began.
The six finalists were Jessica Rabbit (who won Best Butt), Hitler and Anne Frank (Most Offensive), Carmen Miranda (Best Work with a Banana, hilarious because judge Deejay chastely kissed her in congratulations and she bent him over like a twig and sucked half his face off), the Black Swan ballerina (Scariest), the hipster Ariel (wearing a sign that said, "I got legs so I could wear skinny jeans") and the he and she Bacchuses (the female noted, "I made my costume out of my kitchen centerpiece") who won for Best Overall Costume.
How could I compete when I'd only costumed one leg?
I always enjoy evening-appropriate lyrics, as when Katie sang "Don't Rain on My Parade," changing the words to, "Hey, Mr, Shofner, here I am!"
Nicky Arnstein would understand.
Elizabeth did a song from "Peter Pan" while dancers danced, tambourines were shaken and pom-poms fell off shoes.
Suddenly Matt was back on stage, only now he was framed between panels and wearing a black bra and tan pants.
It was a different look, I'll give him that.
As he approached center stage, accompanist Sandy casually raised her shirt and flashed him her black bra.
I'd have done the same and shown off mine except the lights weren't on me.
There's always a Mad Lib or two at GLAP and when it came time to hear the filthy lyrics, Matt demanded some help, saying, "I need someone with some goodass rhythm."
The Mad Lib had been set to a song Matt considers incredibly creepy ("Tom's Diner" by Suzanne Vega) and the audience helped out immeasurably on the do-do--do-do-do-do-do dos.
After wards, someone yelled, "I love how Romney was a dirty word twice!"
Lady Gaga took over again when Micheal (in a black bustier, fishnets and blond wig) sang "Bad Romance" and the dancing began for real.
When Maggie introduced Nick, who just last night had been Horatio in "Hamlet," she said that, "He gets the award for looking the most riff-raffish."
He got everyone's attention with Lennon's "Watching the Wheels" or maybe it was his fake full sleeves of ink.
Just when I thought the night couldn't get any better, Evan (wearing a sign that said "Gangsta Parking Only") got onstage and said he was dedicating his song to me because he'd promised and never done it when I was there.
That's when I knew it was Britney time.
Despite urban legend that this was how the GLAPs used to end, with Evan doing Brit, I'd yet to see it.
Tonight, the Mist opened up and Evan did "Hit Me Baby One More Time" as the audience relived their childhoods singing and dancing along.
It was the GLAP climax I had been yearning for.
I almost wanted a cigarette when it was over.
Afterwards, Evan told me that he'd intended to wear a Catholic girl's school uniform, a la Britney, but hadn't had time to pull it together.
As far as I was concerned, the song had been plenty.
As thanks, I offered up my costumed leg, knowing he'd get it immediately.
I needed him to give me a sign.
"Malvolio!" he exclaimed. "Cross garter yellow stockings!"
Honestly, I don't know what was more satisfying, finally hearing the ultimate GLAP closer or having my costume instantly recognized.
If I'm going to dress up my leg for Halloween, there's only one place I can go and know that people will get it.
The Mist. GLAP. Halloween.
Better than a bad romance and with way more rhythm.
You just have to get past the maggots.
Come in out of the mist and sing show tunes, the wind seemed to whistle.
Of course the only wind that would whistle such a thing is the one coming from Richmond Triangle Players for the Ghost Light Afterparty.
No surprise, it was a costumed event.
And while I'm not particularly the costume type, I made an exception and costumed my leg.
Others were far more creative.
Along with green hair and appalling make-up, host Matt Shofner wore a black leather mini-dress studded with squares of glass, claiming that they were from the mirror ball at Stonewall's in New York.
"I got it for my Lady Gaga show in New York," he explained as if there could be no other reason for having such a dress, but after a few drinks referred to himself as "a lipstick lesbian vampire something."
He was something alright, but his wasn't the only standout.
No, at this party were the unlikeliest of guests: Anne Frank and Hitler, two gods of wine, Carmen Miranda, Twiggy.
Starting the show, he pooh-poohed the impending hurricane, saying, "Allow me to introduce you to the real Sandy, our Hurricane Sandy," meaning the very talented accompanist Sandy, tonight wearing a fetching witch hat.
Matt referred to the impending weather event as "The Mist" as he moved around the stage, made spooky with candles, skulls, decapitated dolls and sculpture offering up human sacrifice.
Yep, just another night at the GLAP.
And by the second song, co-host Maggie Roop was doing interpretive dance, so it was another good night at the GLAP.
Things got rolling in the holiday spirit with the "Adams Family Theme" done with much audience singalong and finger snapping.
But the tone of the evening was defined by a Lady Gaga song that immediately had almost everyone singing and before long dancing.
The Scream Queens (currently performing at Pine Camp Cultural Center) sang a song before taking audience volunteers for a screaming contest, which went to a scream-off before a winner was chosen.
It's not often you get to hear people do their full-on bloodcurdling scream five feet in front of your face.
After another song, they screened their reel, "Full Moon Slumber Party" and you can probably guess that it didn't end well.
But it was the first time I'd seen film at the GLAP.
Matt sang "Sugar Daddy" while passing the hat for tips for Sandy, acknowledging afterwards, "Okay, we've done more tragic things than that at GLAP."
The man speaks the truth.
Annie got up to sing "I Can Do Better Than That" and her fine performance had the benefit of two pianists as Ben joined Sandy to "noodle around" on the high end.
Noodling is all but guaranteed at GLAP.
When Louise got up to perform in her Civil War-reproduction dress (it looked like something Scarlett O'Hara had worn, although she said it had been her grandmother's), Maggie announced that, "Louise is going to grace our stage with a monologue."
To be more precise, she graced the stage with a story about the maggots that had climbed up her father's dog's butt and how her Dad meticulously stuck his fingers up the dog's butt to retrieve them all.
"And the dog lived longer than my Dad. Now that's love."
Our second monologue (maybe the Mist had people wanting to wax poetic?) came courtesy of Bill, who said he would do an impression of a one-armed blind man counting change.
Let's just say the wordless punchline involved him unzipping his pants so something other than his fingers could feel the money.
Some people felt it was the highlight of the evening.
Maury replicated the first song he'd sung in a 3rd grade production of "H.M.S. Pinafore" a capella.
It was "Buttercup" and he had to shout down some friends, yelling, "Shut up!" to allow him to put his game face on.
Around the time the pizza arrived, the costume contest began.
The six finalists were Jessica Rabbit (who won Best Butt), Hitler and Anne Frank (Most Offensive), Carmen Miranda (Best Work with a Banana, hilarious because judge Deejay chastely kissed her in congratulations and she bent him over like a twig and sucked half his face off), the Black Swan ballerina (Scariest), the hipster Ariel (wearing a sign that said, "I got legs so I could wear skinny jeans") and the he and she Bacchuses (the female noted, "I made my costume out of my kitchen centerpiece") who won for Best Overall Costume.
How could I compete when I'd only costumed one leg?
I always enjoy evening-appropriate lyrics, as when Katie sang "Don't Rain on My Parade," changing the words to, "Hey, Mr, Shofner, here I am!"
Nicky Arnstein would understand.
Elizabeth did a song from "Peter Pan" while dancers danced, tambourines were shaken and pom-poms fell off shoes.
Suddenly Matt was back on stage, only now he was framed between panels and wearing a black bra and tan pants.
It was a different look, I'll give him that.
As he approached center stage, accompanist Sandy casually raised her shirt and flashed him her black bra.
I'd have done the same and shown off mine except the lights weren't on me.
There's always a Mad Lib or two at GLAP and when it came time to hear the filthy lyrics, Matt demanded some help, saying, "I need someone with some goodass rhythm."
The Mad Lib had been set to a song Matt considers incredibly creepy ("Tom's Diner" by Suzanne Vega) and the audience helped out immeasurably on the do-do--do-do-do-do-do dos.
After wards, someone yelled, "I love how Romney was a dirty word twice!"
Lady Gaga took over again when Micheal (in a black bustier, fishnets and blond wig) sang "Bad Romance" and the dancing began for real.
When Maggie introduced Nick, who just last night had been Horatio in "Hamlet," she said that, "He gets the award for looking the most riff-raffish."
He got everyone's attention with Lennon's "Watching the Wheels" or maybe it was his fake full sleeves of ink.
Just when I thought the night couldn't get any better, Evan (wearing a sign that said "Gangsta Parking Only") got onstage and said he was dedicating his song to me because he'd promised and never done it when I was there.
That's when I knew it was Britney time.
Despite urban legend that this was how the GLAPs used to end, with Evan doing Brit, I'd yet to see it.
Tonight, the Mist opened up and Evan did "Hit Me Baby One More Time" as the audience relived their childhoods singing and dancing along.
It was the GLAP climax I had been yearning for.
I almost wanted a cigarette when it was over.
Afterwards, Evan told me that he'd intended to wear a Catholic girl's school uniform, a la Britney, but hadn't had time to pull it together.
As far as I was concerned, the song had been plenty.
As thanks, I offered up my costumed leg, knowing he'd get it immediately.
I needed him to give me a sign.
"Malvolio!" he exclaimed. "Cross garter yellow stockings!"
Honestly, I don't know what was more satisfying, finally hearing the ultimate GLAP closer or having my costume instantly recognized.
If I'm going to dress up my leg for Halloween, there's only one place I can go and know that people will get it.
The Mist. GLAP. Halloween.
Better than a bad romance and with way more rhythm.
You just have to get past the maggots.
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