Concert Sneak Peak - Kyle Dean Massey- Holy Man

While we await the official videos from Monday night, here's a little sneak peak courtesy of a little bootlegging. Kyle Dean Massey gave pretty much a flawless performance of one of my favorite songs from Nicholas & Alexandra-- and one of my favorite performances of the evening. Crazy too that even though we wrote this song two years ago, I'd never actually heard anyone sing "Holy Man."


More on the concert to come-- once I've regained my mental faculties back from jet lag. In the mean time, enjoy Kyle as the debauched, crazy-like-a-fox Rasputin!


Photo by Daniel Robinson

Mentors & Inspiration

I have so much to say about how awesome last night was. But I'm already late for leaving for the airport. So for now, let me say that when I was being interviewed, I was asked about who my mentors are and the music that inspires me. Incidentally, my answer was this guy. While I was showing me and Steven's music in NYC, he was in my hometown performing at the Smith Center with Suzanne Vega. Who went?


And here he is talking about the song that changed his life. Pay it forward ya'll. Back to rainy London town. 

I Am Titanium

Wow, I love today. It's days like this that make me wonder why I ever left NYC. I mean, I know why, but it sure is great to be able to soak up everything I love about the city I love the most. Perhaps I should enumerate.


1. The sun is shining
2. But it's not too hot
3. Iced Coffee. It exists here. 
4. I talked about writing all morning with an amazing friend
5. I saw my old co-workers, the people who essentially named this blog. The only people who call me Fergie. 
6. Hope looms large on the paid writing/employment landscape
7. MOST importantly: tonight will be a massive musical celebration. Pretty much everyone who gave me and Steven a start in this business will be there. Not to mention, the people who sustained us and inspired us in the fat times and the lean times (of which, there have been many.) 


It's kind of amazing to hear songs that are technically new-- in that, no one besides me and Steven have ever heard them-- but that are two years old, or even just a few months old. They always seem channeled from another part of myself. Or another world entirely. 


I'll tell you why that's a comfort. I'm a bit of a control freak. I like things a certain way. I get hung up on people being a certain way. I'm easily disappointed. In other people. In myself. In my work. But if you stay attached to that stuff, you'll spend most of your life being disappointed. 


If you let it go-- and know that pretty much everything is just being transmitted, that we're just conduits-- then you're pretty much invincible. Which is the best feeling in the world. And that's why this is song for today. See you guys at Lincoln Center for some good singin'. 6PM. 65th & Amsterdam. Lincoln Center Performing Arts Library. 

Playing Cultural Catch-Up at Cookshop

The amazing Schu (and Steven too!) was good enough to treat me  to some NYMag Critic's Pick, Cookshop, last night. This little spot on 20th and 10th is truly delicious. Everything was delicious. Everything. Even the martini our waitress spilled all over Schumann and the table and my arm (which is how I tasted.)

My cocktail was also delicious. A rhubarb margarita. Apparently, says Schu, (and you know, he's always up on these things) rhubarb is the new "it" ingredient. (Or the First Food of Spring.) So I was happy to join the ranks of with-it New Yorkers again-- even if only for the short time it took to consume one cocktail. 

I had probably the least expensive thing on the menu: a ramps pizza (ramps, apparently being the other fashionable food item due to their short freshness window, says Schu. How does he learn this information?) that definitely took the prize for best bang for your buck. For just a couple of ingredients, it was the perfect size and totally inhaleable. Personally, I was a fan of Schu's Porkchop. But at the end of the evening, we agreed that the winner of the entrees was Steven's scallops. Despite the relatively small portion size, these babies just lemted in your mouth and were flavored in the same subtle, melts-away fashion. Delish. 

Add to the food, some of the sharpest pop-cultural minds in the business today, and it made for a first rate evening. Basically, no one delivers cultural commentary like Schu. And turns out, the combination of that one and Steven Jamail might just be lethal. Watch out, New York City.

Lillie's Pennies

We did it up NYC style last night. It was a late night. And I feel the night is best expressed in photos. 

"Happy Birthday" sung by a bunch of professional singers sounds pretty good.

Beckster!

We write songs. We dance. Ladies & gentlemen, Ferguson & Jamail can do it all. Clearly.

Pretty Becky.

These two are just walking sex. AMIRIGHT!?

SJamail and SGib

Ashley's tattoo is rad. Jackie is the bomb.

By the end of the night, we were all drinking these "Lillies Pennies" from copper mugs. I thought it sounded a little dirty, but they sure were tasty. Slainte!

Guess the Lord Must Be in New York City Links

Ugh. I love being back here. I love sitting on patios and having lunch, I love day drinking, I love talking about theatre all the time.  I love walking amongst the crazies. 45th Street was a gold mine of delight this morning as we strolled the dogs with our coffee. There was the three legged chihuahua and the theatre queens proclaiming that "Um... Estelle Parsons....needs....to win a Tony," and of course the step-limp druggies. This bitch is a beautiful city. 


I'm sitting in Steven's living room right now listening to a very talented friend, the secret recipient of every Smash Recap I write, sing all the parts from Annie, the first musical I every truly loved. I used to to watch and sing it with my Grandma. It's easy to remember everything you ever liked about being yourself when you lock in on something that crucial to the original kernal of who you were going to become. 


Peep this. 
- Ugh. Student debt. Thanks, guys. 
- Yeah, why are so many Americans single?
- In cased you miss this Ashley Judd piece, it's right on point
- Awesome feature on the show I most want to see while in NYC, Peter & the Starcatchers
- The peach champagne sapphire is my new favorite thing
- As someone who writes television recaps, I enjoyed this defense of television recaps. 
- SNL & their recently hip taste in music

Serenading Unicorn

I swear! You leave the United States for just a few years and you miss important cultural touchstones such as the Juicy Fruit Serenading Unicorn. Sigh. I first learned of its brilliance from my Hav-ster (Who I get to see TODAY!) who posted the birthday version on my wall last week. But some of the other choice selections include, "Please Take That Post Down," "Sorry You Lost Your Phone" (very Weezer-esque) and "I See You Are Single Again." You're welcome. It's almost Friday! I'm in New York City!

Celebrating at the Cosmopolitan

From the first time I visited semi-recent addition to the Strip, Cosmopolitan, it became a favorite. That made it easy when I was planning my big birthday night out. I knew Cosmo had pretty much everything I wanted and all in a pretty convenient package. 


We started at Comme Ça, the David Myers French Brasserie upstairs for a girls dinner. It was good to have an intimate dinner like that. Let's just say Em and McC are a pretty vivacious combo. We feasted on delicious artichoke salads and flatbreads and then McC and I decided to get crazy. Comme Ça offers a Beef Wellington for two, served with a kind of black-eyed peas and kale succotash and peppercorn sauce. I conquered that Beef Wellington. McC was defeated by its girth. It's hard to blame her though. It was some serious Beef Wellington. 

Next, we moved on to the dessert course. I picked the Beignet au Chocolat, satisfying McC's love of bananas foster and Emily's love of chocolate. Our waiter, Nick, had them write me a birthday message in chocolate and since he had been so kind as to recommend some delicious espresso cocktails to go with dessert, I took his additional recommendation that I lick the plate. (Apparently, he'd been trying to get someone to do that for ages and I was the only one to oblige.) 

The meal was such a success, we thought, why end it there? So McC may or may not have slipped Nick her phone number and he may or may not have joined the party downstairs in the Chandelier Bar.


Corraling large groups makes me anxious, so I was happy once I found everyone and felt like I could relax with my London Summer cocktail. It was great to see everyone-- old high school and Buddhist friends, my old buddies from the newspaper-- some people I hadn't seen in years. People who taught me how to drive, people I won a State Championship with, people who taught me how write something like this blog right here.


And the ambience at Chandelier (excepting the truly tragic girl one level above us who kept leaning over the bar in the shortest dress ever to reveal to us she was not wearing any panties) is divine. If you want good photos from an evening, go there. 

Finally, as we all started to turn into pumpkins, we went to see our friend go-go dance at Bond. There, almost got in a fight with a tranny and danced to an oddly nineties mix of music, recalling our days of teenage glory when we'd drive around like good-hearted brats in Gia's BMW. Those were the days. And so are these. 

Royal Ballet - Chroma

Sometimes it's easy to think we've run out of beautiful ideas in the arts. Most everything is derivative. But there's derivative and then there's derivative. And then there's something else. The Royal Ballet and Wayne MacGregor's Chroma is just such a something else. It is something wild. 


Not only does it feature a surprisingly perfect score from.... The White Stripes and Joby Talbot.... but this is the first dance piece I've maybe ever seen where the visuals and the choreography genuinely surprised me. Good job, Brits. Who couldn't use something beautiful and strange and unexpected on a Tuesday? 


For you can see several clips below, or watch in its entirety here. 

Scenes from Paradise - The Wynn Las Vegas

McC and I have a special knack for excellent decision making. One of the things I love about hanging out with my pal of ten years is that we find a way to congratulate ourselves and be enthusiastic about even the simplest decisions. (This philosophy is kind of parallel to the ground-breaking epiphany I had when I was about fifteen that the key to having a good birthday is simply to go around joyously reminding yourself and everyone around you that... it's your birthday! Turns out, most people like having a reason to celebrate. Anything. Anything at all. The joy is contagious. Promise.)


So thanks to old pal Flintie, Sara and I got walked in to the Wynn pools on Saturday and spent a lovely five hours or so lounging, laughing, and making excellent decisions about sunscreen application, reading materials, storytelling, drink ordering and meal splitting. (Throw back: hey, do you want to split my twix??) God, we're good. 


While I take the UK hands down on a lot of topics, on the topic of sunshine, I will always feel a twinge of longing for my West Coast, USA origins. I mean, not everyday, because then it's not special. But man, I could use a little more sunshine. The March we had in London this year would do just fine. But I feel like I've been spoiled and that it surely can't last. 


And of course, our perfect, still (meaning: windless. Super rare for Vegas Spring.) sunshiney day had to come to a close too. But it will ge written down in the annals of the amazing McC/Ferg Friendship Chronicles. 


If you're ever in Vegas, I highly recommend greasing your way into that pool. Or at least taking a stroll through the Wynn with all it's Alice in Wonderland topiaries and waterwall-feature cocktail experiences. Despite its vibrant decor scheme (designed especially for Vegas Uber-Mogul Steve Wynn's long-serving and loyal wife Elaine-- who he very shortly thereafter divorced... ???.....[Rather ironic too then that the themes for the hotel are "Life imitating art" and "Imperfect Dream") I still find the Wynn one of the chic-est spots in Vegas. 

Out of the Game - Rufus Wainwright

Last night was so amazingly fun. Thank you to everyone for helping me celebrate. I'm beat. Here's some Rufus Wainwright being helped out by one Miss Helena Bonham Carter. Hot. Hot librarian in fact. Look at you, look at you, look at you. Does your momma know what you're doing?


Here's to you, Las Vegas. I could never stay, but I'll always thank you for loving me first and probably best. There's no memories like Las Vegas memories. They're the same ones from the nineties. They just keep echoing out, amplifying off each other. 

Saturday Celebration Music - New Regina Spektor

Dear Regina is finally back with a new album this May and the first tracks are hot. I'm jamming to "All the Rowboats" & "Don't Leave Me" today (along with various ridiculous Americana from John Cougar Mellancamp, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Garth Brooks and eff it, some Zac Brown Band just for shitz and giggles-- am I RIGHT McC!?!?!) while we chillax by the Wynn pool and do our girly thing. A+ on this carefree little french number. Ooh la la. That's our pool party song. 


I don't spend a lot of time in my life feeling cool. But some songs actually have the ability to make you feel cool enough to do things like dress up and go out hard core in your own ridiculous, camp hometown. To hit up pseudo French restaurants and lounge in a big chandelier. To walk through the casino in slow mo with your girls, fake wind machine in front of you, blowing your hair... right before you trip because you don't normally wear heels... but before that, you feel like a badass, because it's your birthday... and this is one of those songs. 


Well done, Reg. I shall buy this "What We Saw From The Cheap Seats" album when it comes out May 29. And thanks for the jams today. 

New Decade Friday Links

It's a beautiful spring and I'm 30. I'm off to catch some rays before we kick the weekend of celebrating off right with a country hoedown and my dad's band playing with Sam Riddle. 


- Anthropologie has a new magazine. Ooh. 
- Lindy West delivers laughs on the Titanic Re-Release. (Em & I are seeing it anyhow)
- Is it wrong that the cutest Spring coat I've seen in years is this green maternity coat?
- How did it take a trip to States for me to learn the Guardian was $50 million in the hole?
- Someone key is going to die in Season 3 of Downton?!? NO. Just say it isn't Maggie.
- Can the brain fall in love?
- Some nice stationary up in here.
- More on Fat Betty Draper
- This makes me laugh. 
- I was right. 
- FINALLY a link that should work in the UK: Real Housewives of Disney. Bam. 
- McC comes today! McC comes today! I don't have a link for that, exactly, but she's coming and we're going to hit the town. Woo!

A Very Good Birthday Present from Lincoln Center

One nice present for turning 30 is that we're having a big concert at Lincoln Center, featuring songs from three of Steven and my musicals! It's extra exciting because at least 5 of these songs are brand new-- as in, no one's heard them before-- and a few have never been heard in NYC. 


Add to the amazing venue (Lincoln Center!?) a first rate cast of the best in the biz and our very good friends, and this is shaping up to be the place to be next Monday. Here's just some of the folks set to sing: Katie Rose Clarke, Janet Dacal,Chelsea Morgan Stock, Autumn Hurlbert, Rachelle Rak, Haviland Stillwell, Kyle Dean Massey, Marie-France Arcilla, Anthea Neri, Katie Thompson, Jason Michael Snow, Tim Dolan, Sam Tedaldi and Nikki Kimbrough with Jaygee Macapugy, Britt Bonney, Andy Geary, Anne Karner, Lauren Blackman, Ashley Klinger, Bobby Hubner, Beverley Simpson, Daniel Robinson, Christine Schisano, Eric Deibolt and Adam Shorsten.


It's even free! But there's only 200 seats, so get there early to make sure you get one. 

I'm not shy in saying that Steven is a very lucky dude. Not just because he gets to work with yours truly. If I had to pick collaborators, I'd also pick Kirsten Guenther, Sara Patterson, Morgan Karr, Krystin Crain Johnson and Mayzie Drake. 


Put this in you calendars right now!
Broadway's Future
April 16th
6PM
The New York Library for the Performing Arts
at Lincoln Center
111 Amsterdam Ave & 65th Street


Hope to see you there!

Unicorn Plan-It Season Two!

For a straight girl, I sure am drawn to lesbians in the arts! I'm not just talking about Susan Sontag, Adrienne Rich and the Indigo Girls, here, though... duh.... No, I'd say, in general most of my lesbian friends just happen to know what they're talking about more than anyone else. So I listen. 


Especially when it's Haviland! Me and the Hav-ster go way way back and while there are many amazing things about her, one of the top two things about her is how she's always working on a project. Girlfriend is always on the go. So now, she and badass collaborators Ashley Reed and Sarah Croce are back with a follow up season of their ultra-popular webseries, Unicorn Plan-it.


The show follows the office and out of office shenanigans of a lesbian event planning company and it's as wacky and hilarious as the set up sounds. For example, Haviland plays a new-age healer named Harmony. 'Nuff said. Girlfriend is raising that awareness, ya'll. 


She's also raising money for da show. So check 'em out! I'm off to spend the last day of my 20s relaxing in the sun and trying to kick a wicked case of jetlag. 

A Change of World - Adrienne Rich

With everything going on lately, I forgot to talk about the loss of amazing poet and feminist essayist, Adrienne Rich. I can scarcely think of any artist, let alone a female artist who stuck to her guns the way Adrienne Rich did. Sometimes, in the quest for readers, the quest for success, it's easy to feel like you have no boundaries. That you'd accept any recognition. But not Adrienne. She turned down more National honors and Awards than most people could ever hope to be considered for in a life time. 


We circle silently about the wreck
we dive into the hold. ...
We are, I am, you are
by cowardice or courage
the one who find our way
back to the scene
carrying a knife, a camera
a book of myths
in which
our names do not appear.


There are certainly costs to sticking to your principles, but Adrienne was always asking us to consider the cost of not doing so. Dive into the Wreck, indeed, Adrienne. You'll be missed. Today, I fly. See you on the other side of the world.

Betty Draper is Fat and Kit Harington is Hot.

No matter what the season is or the country I'm in, all my favorite shows are on Sunday nights. This often means I end up watching them on Monday here in the UK. While I miss Homeland, Dexter & True Blood at the moment, it's a golden time because of Mad Men's Season 5 and the new Game of Thrones. 


Last night brought the return of Betty Draper-- absent from the premiere-- and she's gotten fat. I'm torn as to whether I think it was a bit genius to take from Betty the thing she most relied on or whether it was a cheap shot (and convenient work-around January Jones' real life pregnancy). Or whether the cheap shot at women getting fat is just another part of the genius of the show's look at women in the first place.


There was a time when I hated the idea of television. But now, I don't think anything happening in cinema is anywhere near as good as the kind of long game amazingness of what's going on even many seasons in to my favorite shows. Makes me itch to start writing something that open-ended, that ambitious.  


What did you guys think of the Season Premiere of Game of Thrones? Of Betty's return?


Bonus show links: Hitchcock's Icy Blondes, My G-O-T ultra-crush, Kit Harington aka Jon Snow. I'm hoping I run into him on the streets of London. 

The Voice UK...and Some Thoughts on Risk

Since I weighed in on the American version of The Voice, it seems fitting that I weigh in on the version actually airing where I live. I'll admit I sort of wasn't interested at first. But then G told me Jessie J was a judge (if you've never seen that video I just linked to, you must. We laughed about how-- quite accurately-- Jessie J made this song... uh, a ballad. Which, it is.) Not to mention, also judging Tom Jones! (Also, then I turned will.i.am and wyclef into the same person. It's the W's. Wherever you are, Wyclef, I apologize.) Then G told me I had to watch this crazy adorable kid, Sam Buttery. 


And that was pretty much enough. But then! I found out that West End star and veteran green girl in Wicked, Kerry Ellis, was rejected. I mean, they didn't know it was Kerry Ellis. And in fact, even when half the people in the audience screamed over her, yelled out WICKED, none of those four judges knew who she was. Or cared. 


Granted, it probably wasn't Kerry's best vocal, but she's had a more illustrious career and is probably more well known than Danny What's His Face guy on there. Not to mention, just, as a vocalist, She sang Elphaba eight times a week. 'Nuff said. 


I was filled with a lot of thoughts and feelings, you guys. About risk, and standards and other people's opinions. What people will say or think about you in one context vs another context. Your skills measured in one place vs. another. I thought about all that in relation to theatre vs. other media. Broadway in relation to West End. New York in relation to London. There's no right answers to these questions. Just the continued recognition that they're always worth mulling over. 


I've been in London for exactly one month. In some ways, I have a lot more than I thought I would have. In some ways less. But more and more I learn not to judge myself by anyone else's standards but my own. And even embarrassing risks are worth taking.  

Broadway Bonus Video. I could not love these friends and frequent collaborators more! Go Newsies!