Oh What A Night...

Hey All!

Today was one of those exceptional days that come around where everything seems to fall into place. A day you write about, so here goes.

Woke up this morning to a beautiful sea of white snow. Two feet to be exact. And from the window, simply gorgeous. I did have to go out into it, but unlike the slush of the other day, this one was fresh powder and it kept on a-coming down hard. I left an hour early just so that I would have time to walk slowly and enjoy it. Don't get me wrong, I am SO ready for Spring to come, but this was just sort of magical, if I do say so.

First up, "Law & Order". Whilst I usually play Drunken Frat Boys and the like, this time I was a business man. Not sure how to take that, Peter Pan that I am, but hey, it officially keeps my status as a working actor/entertainer active. Most of you know me, and I am the Silver Lining/Disney Character guy, so it should come as no surprise that I find being on set, overwhelmingly fun and exciting. We shot in Chelsea, and though it took 5 hours of sitting around before we started, once we got going, we plunged right through, filming take after take until it was just right.

At first we were told we might be there until 1 or 2 am, and delays due to weather made that seem a strong possibility. However, because of the weather, and the fact that not too many people on set lived in Manhattan (except me), they decided to get it done quickly and wrap early so that everyone could get home to the outer boroughs. This meant that we got out of there at around 5pm (which was still 10-11 hours). Knowing how much free time I had on my last shoot (Mercy), I decided to take the trusty Netbook along with me. I'm glad I did, and I got a message from Memphis the Musical that they were trying to fill the seats today (again, the weather) and had a special deal.

I immediately called up the fabulous Danielle De Luca, my kindred spirit with whom I've had extensive conversations about the virtues of this amazing musical. I knew that she was dying to see it, and although I had already been three times, I never tire of it and was down for seeing it again. Danielle was super thrilled at the offer to go and so a plan was made to meet up at the theater at 7. I rushed home, changed and headed on down early, arriving at 6, just to make sure I could still get tickets. The special deal filled out the two tiers of the 2nd and 3rd levels, but I had the extreme luck of getting the last two available Orchestra Seats. Yes! D was even more excited to hear this and so I waited for her until we ended up meeting in front of the Shubert at 7:20.

We went in and I told her how much she was going to love this and that my good friend Bryan Fenkart was in it, and how I would point him out when he came on stage. We opened the playbill so I could show her his picture, and imagine my surprise when a slip came out that declared that Bryan would be going on as the Lead Huey Calhoun tonight! Too amazing (again thank you to the big guy upstairs)! I have to say, he brought down the house and had me in tears (and subsequently, Danielle too) for the entire show. If you have a chance, please go see this. We laughed and cried and danced and clapped and maintained a long ovation. Bryan sent me a text letting me know that my name was on the list at the Stage Door and so to come backstage and hang out.

So D and I went, she got to meet the cast and praise them, I got to do the same, especially Bryan and Montego. Danielle and I then marveled at the beauty of being on a Broadway stage and I was, of course, a little choked up reminiscing about my previous times on Broadway. I had forgotten how fantastic the view is from that side of the room. We met up with Victoria, as well as Bryan's brother and his friend. Once Bryan was ready, we all caught the yellow line in Times Square to the D-Lounge in Union Square. There we ran into the always fun Kate, got settled in and waited for Bryan to hit the stage.

He came on and played tunes from his CD "Imperfect Man" as well as a little Billy Joel (who Bryan really, really reminds me of song wise) and some stuff from his new album. How he could do this after the laborious job on Broadway earlier is totally beyond me. He literally rocked the room, playing guitar and piano in harmony with his amazing voice. Afterwards, we all hung out for a while, before heading our separate ways. Danielle and I had a chance to have a long conversation in appreciation of the beauty of tonight. Finally, we went our ways (D and I) and can't wait to do it again soon.

So here I sit at 4:26 in the morning, still on a natural high from the electric energy of tonight. And I can't wait to see what the Universe has for me tomorrow.

Ok, that's about it for now. Take care and all the best. Remember, enjoy what you can when you can.

See you on the B-Side,

Richmond Chandler