Seth Bisen-Hersh

April | July | September | November | December

APRIL

April 13, 2006 — April showers…

Greetings all in ledger land! I apologize that I haven’t sent a ledger since the end of last year. WHAT?! I can’t believe that is true! I am very ashamed… Truth be told a lot of the reason for my lapse is that I started
blogging, which has filled the reporting to people about my life quota. Also, things have been very up and down – and unfortunately, when they are up, I am too busy to write a ledger, and when they are down I am too
depressed! But I am going to take advantage of being trapped in a cubicle till 6pm to fill you all in on the major events that have transpired…

EMAIL ADDRESSES

I had some good news today! NYU has officially give its alumni their accounts for LIFE! I had been worried they would cut it off, so I hadn’t signed up for a personal address… but now that they have decided to provide the account forever, I have taken up a new alias — sadly, seth was taken, but now for those of you who can’t
remember the address, you can simply write to sethbh@nyu.edu — as always, you can also write to
seth42@alum.mit.edu — or seth@sethbh.com — they all come to the same place. I also have seth42@gmail.com and sethbh42@aol.com still, but I rarely check those. sbh227@nyu.edu still works, so no one will ever have to change their address books, etc, but if they can’t remember, now it is easier than ever
before!

PLAYBILL.com

And this is why I have all this time to write and blog. I am doing part-time work for playbill.com. Yup, my
homepage. Basically I’m helping to compile a major cast recording database. So I basically just have to rip a
billion cds, scan their covers and xerox the booklets. The scanning and xeroxing obviously take much less
time than the ripping. Thus, I end up with a lot of down time. I’ve also been fortunate enough to have access
to a printer and scanner, so I am enjoying those amenities. I come in twice a week, usually 2-6, Thurs and Fri, unless I end up with an audition gig.

I actually find coming to an office for 8 hours a week to be very draining. I would not be able to do this more
than twice a week. 2pm is too early for me, as well. So I feel very fortunate to not need to do office work to
support myself.

I, in fact, am not doing it for the $$ since they aren’t really paying me much (I make the same in an hour
coaching as I do in 5 hours at playbill)… I am doing it for the cds!! With the help of playbill.com and the 250GB hard drive I got for Hanukkah, I now have over 1000 recordings. Yup, over 1000.

And I started playlisting them by voice type and type of song…

COACHING/ CABARETS/ AUDITIONS/ WEDDINGS

Which brings me to coaching… I like coaching, and I have found I’m very good at it. I have a no bullshit approach where I figure out what the singer/ actor has been doing wrong. I’m also amazing at finding 16 or 32
bar cuts — I also recently wrote a 32 bar song, which laments trying to find a 32 bar song, which I will soon
make available to the actors/ actresses I know.

I recently sent an email ad to all the actors I know, which resulted in quite a few people setting up sessions who had been meaning to for awhile. I also started spamming actors I find on myspace — I wrote 600 so far, and got 6 positive responses — 1% return — not bad at all! In fact, 2 of them have already booked time – one
already came, and was so happy that he had found me. And you know that if someone likes you, they spread the word… so I think in another few years, I will be one of the most sought after vocal coaches in the city.

I also have cute fliers up around town, and my craigslist posting… which gets me the occasional job.

Like this WEDDING that I’m doing — not the actual wedding, but I think it’s the pre-wedding party or something. It’s a Friday night in June. And Rori and I are going to be providing enterntainment for some sort
of dinner. We’re doing a few sets of songs, and probably some of my own songs – but the non-bitter, and non-
raunchy ones… which leave like 3…

And then I’m doing at least three cabaret acts this spring/ early summer at the moment – musically directing –
and probably more Matt David showcases… one of the acts is actually down at the Duplex in the Village, so I’m branchin’ out from Mama’s…

And then, I keep playing auditions, which is my preferred job b/c it pays the most, and gives me the most
hours. It’s always up and down, but I’ll be playing for Sierra Musical Theatre on the 20th, and then I got an
entire week playing for the Fulton Opera House in May… which means I won’t have to worry about the rent in
June… speaking of…

ROOMMATE UPDATE

So Zach was going to move out in June… I started showing the apartment, and now he informs me that he
probably will not move out until September… and he might just stay till he graduates in December… or even
longer. So it’s all up in the AIR, but the moral is I have stopped my search, which is great b/c I didn’t have time for it. And I really like living w/ Zach. I like not being the only tivo obsessed roommate…

The lease is up 9/1. I kind of wish I had signed a 2 year lease — but I didn’t b/c the landlord wanted the 2nd
year to go up even MORE. But now I worry that he’ll try to up it more than he originally would’ve b/c the block
is getting all these new stores, and he’s redoing the hallways, etc… and he’s trying to sell an apt on the 3rd
floor for $3000/ mo. One that is barely bigger than mine…

But it is pointless to stress about things 5 mos away, is it not?

CURRENT PROJECTS

Well, we finished the revised Meaningless Sex, but I think we’re going to do more revisions. There’s no point in rushing. I’d like to have the show as close to perfect as possible, and then we can submit it to theater
companies. I’m thinking that the best fit for the show would be New York Theatre Workshop where RENT
started… since they do not shy away from progressive shows. Meaningless Sex is of course as raunchy as an episode of Sex and the City… my friend did get the contact info of a producer from HBO for me at this
conference in LA. So I think I’m going to send the script to him, as well as a few of the major New York theater companies. Or maybe we’ll do an industry reading of the show this fall. That’s another possibility.

I get compliments on my webpage nearly daily now from friends and strangers, alike. It’s really just a matter of finding someone who likes me just as much, but has a lot of $$$.

My latest cabaret act, Neurotic Tendencies, is nearing completion. I’ve been taking my time with the act b/c I’d rather every song be a gem than to cursorily put it on prematurely. I am thinking of booking space in
September… and I think I might actually get a few singers to perform my work — fewer of the songs are about
myself, which I think is a good direction to be heading. I mean I already have 3 really autobiographical acts…

And I think after I do it, I’ll record the best of the act, as well.

So yeah, I’m just making as many connections as I can… keeping on writing… keeping on recording… waiting
and waiting… I think mid-30s is about when things happen for people, so another 5 years or so of working
this hard should pay off, right?

EXCITING EVENTS

This next section is going to be completely copied from my blog. Over the last few mos, the most exciting
events have been meeting Sondheim and having an amazing birthday…

EXCERPTS FROM MEETING SONDHEIM

I found out last week that Sondheim would be signing Sweeney Todd cds tonight, after the show, from
10-12. Sadly, I knew that I had rehearsal until 10, but I was determined to run over afterwards anyway… and I
was really, really excited… Like that’s really an understatment…

I called over to my friends, Dave and Andy, to check on the line — Andy had gotten there around 10:10, and
was determined to stay regardless of the length of the line. Dave had gotten there at 7, and was 4th on line.
He went to the back to hang out with Andy, and possibly get a second one to sell on ebay… Anyway, at 10:30, I confirmed they were still waiting and still moving slowly; thus, I decided to sprint on over.

When I arrived, I found there were very few people behind Andy — so most people had gotten there by 10. I
cut in line w/ Andy and Dave, and proceeded to wait in the freezing cold to see if we would make it inside.

Around 11:30, they declared that was it (apparently since they announced it on Playbill, they decided to end at 11, instead of 12). Sadly, we were inches from the door to enter the theatre (though there was still a queue
inside, as well — yes, I just used queue). Andy was furious… they started handing out vouchers for autograph
cds for $25 — and you could get a refund on your cd if you bought it there — but obviously, I got mine for free
as a press copy, so that wasn’t going to happen. Though I did toy with the idea of seeing if they would notice…

However, we are persistent. Dave noticed they were refocusing the barriers to go around the stagedoor, as
would normally happen at a show afterwards. We knew that Steve would be coming out that way, and we
intended to meet him.

My acquaintance, Alex Gemignani came out first, and we chatted for a bit; he told me Steve was in a great
mood, and so that helped calm my nerves a bit.

Very few people had stayed at this point — most had left after they were told that was it — there were at most
a dozen of us still around.

Patti came out next — she was like, how come you guys didn’t get your cds signed before — we informed her
how we were working in the theater, and had a rehearsal and a show, and couldn’t get there early enough —
she said that was awful, and then signed, and was like, I’ll make sure Steve signs for you guys.

But she need not have worried. Steve was the nicest person I have ever met in my life. He was smiling, and so friendly! Who knew? He was sorry to hear that we couldn’t make it, but was glad to sign… AND he signed the inside of the cd booklet — not the outer shell — inside they were only allowing you to get the outside signed — but that’s how you ruin autographs…

But it gets better. So I told him who I was, and how I had invited him to my shows and stuff, and he had this
look of recognition — and shook my hand, and said it was a pleasure to meet me — and then he added a “to
Seth” to the cd…

Then Steve and Patti went to the other side to sign some autographs, and Dave was taking pictures left and
right, and I was like, dude, we need to get a picture with him.

So I waited for the perfect moment when Steve was disengaging and Patti was still occupied, and asked him if we could take a picture — and he was like of course, Seth — so there it is — as my new default — the picture
that Andy and I got taken with our idol, Stephen Sondheim by our good friend, Dave.

What else is there to be said? I didn’t really believe it was happening at the time. It wasn’t until I got home and looked at the autograph and the picture, that I realized what had just transpired.

I hope one day to give the kind of joy Steve gave me tonight to someone else.

EXCERPTS FROM BIRTHDAY BLOG

The final tally is 79 people who have taken me out, phoned, IMed, called, left a message on myspace, friendster or facebook. 79 people — the year of my birth!!! That is AMAZING — I don’t think that many people have EVER remembered my birthday before. And I didn’t even do one of those countdowns like I used to have…

BIRTHDAY STATS:

HIGH SCHOOL/ SUMMER THEATER — 16
MIT — 9
NYU 13
Post NYU NYC/ internet friends — 34
FAMILY — 7
————————–
79

note the numbers below add up to more b/c some people were sweet enough to do one or more (sometimes 4! — yay internal rhymes) of the following:

TAKEN OUT/ IOU to be… — 13 (includes 2 that I organized)
TOOK ME TO SHOWS — 3 (maybe, 4)
CAME TO MY EVENTS — 15 (2 twice, so 13 mutually exclusive)
CALLED — 8
IMed — 17
TEXT — 1
EMAILS — 7
ECARDS — 10
REAL CARDS — 7
MYSPACE COMMENTS — 11
FACEBOOK MESSAGES — 2
FACEBOOK WALL — 6
FRIENDSTER MESSAGES — 1
————————-
including all doubles of people — 98

OTHER EXCITING APRIL NEWS

April Fools Day continues to be my favorite day of the year! I managed to fool an INSANE amount of people
with various jokes… even people I have been fooling for decades!!

My major email this year was telling people I was going to work full-time at playbill.com… as if! As I mentioned I can barely handle 8 hours/ week… and I called people and emailed people with various pranks… Jen M still thinks I’m moving back to NJ b/c I haven’t gotten to talk to her since April 1st…

I had a rehearsal at 11, and called my director at 10:59 to tell her I just woke up and didn’t think i could make it right before I went in, and she was completely flabbergasted, but then couldn’t stop laughing. And I brought
my after dinner mints that are really a snake again around with me — and TWO people actually FELL for the
oldest gag in the WORLD!!!

So yeah, then I prank called people on my entire walk home, leaving various jokes that were believable and
personalized… ah, what a fun day… and yes I am like 5 years old.

WEDDINGS

I am going to BOSTON next weekend, for the first of 2 weddings — first YAMINI and then AMITHA in May… I
don’ know why they’re starting them at 11, but I’ll be there (and probably sleep through the ceremony). But it’ll
be nice to have a major reunion of all my MIT friends. Samidh, Kevin and Aaron and I are going to drive up
together, and it’s going to be like old times. Incidentally, I will not be going to the official MIT reunion for my
class b/c I will be up in Boston the weekend before for our own reunion for Amitha’s wedding in May… and
besides, between the weddings and the hunt, I really see everyone I was friends with…

Speaking of weddings and marriage… my friend KRISTINE is PREGNANT — she is the first friend I know who is actually having a baby… it’s insane. I’m happy just having a cat.

TV UPDATE

Has anyone else noticed that there are fewer tv shows to watch every year? It’s kind of sad. The only shows I really watch now are GILMORE GIRLS, 24, SCRUBS (the best comedy on tv!!!), SMALLVILLE, MY NAME IS EARL, THE OFFICE, SIMPSONS, MALCOLM (which only has a few eps left 🙁 ), FAMILY GUY… and American Dad… I’ve been trying new shows but can’t get into them as much… I like How I met Your Mother… and HUFF is back and has been pretty good this season. And I’m watching Big Love, which is okay… they say it picks up after the first 6 episodes… I can’t wait for the return of the 4400 and Weeds… oh yeah, I’ve also gotten addicted to DEGRASSI the Next Generation… (thanks CAT)

I really wanna watch Veronica Mars, but I need to borrow the dvds to catch up. But I hear good things about
it…

THEATRE UPDATE

I have been rehearsing and coaching a lot more, and viewing less… that and I’ve cut back on reviewing b/c it’s
just added work… so I have access to fewer shows. But here’s what I’ve seen so far in 2006:

Anomal — amazing mind technique guy — he bent a spoon in an audience member’s hand — insane
Doubt — finally saw last year’s best play w/ the new cast
Woman in White — ALW’s musical that closed — I was one of the only audiences to see both Maria Friedman
and Michael Ball since they both missed so frequently — and they were great!
Bingo — off-bway musical, really cute
Nightlife Awards — amazing evening sitting front row for Elaine Stritch, Uta Lemper, Eartha Kitt… (there’s a
blog about it)
Kismet — encore revival with Marin and Brian – decided i couldn’t miss this show since it’s never done
The Color Purple — really packed, almost 3 hour musical… La Chanze is amazing.
Chita Rivera — Chita is a monument. She’s just amazing. And she signed my poster…
A Trip to Bountiful — really, really touching play at Signature that Andy was doing sound op for
Broadway by the Year: 1930 — usual fun concert of all the musicals from 1930 — lots of ballads
Nora — Bergman’s pairing down of a Doll House — quite good production (review on oobr.com)
The Changeling — one of those seminal, classic plays (review on oobr.com)
Bernarda Alba — OMG, Michael John LaChuisa is just brilliant. This show was amazing. Absolutely amazing.
title of show — lots of inside theater humor and a sweet heart in this off-bway musical
Merchant of Venice — good revival of the shakespeare classic (review on oobr.com)
Point of Departure — the less I say about this, the better. got comps through a friend.
Family Secrets — really funny one-woman show about a jewish family… we didn’t realize it’d be so good!
The Rabbit Hole — this play is GREAT. Cynthia Nixon and Tyne Daly. How can you not be in awe?
The Music Teacher — musical downtown that had some funny moments…
The Drowsy Chaperone — THIS is the BEST NEW MUSICAL on BROADWAY — go SEE IT — I laughed the ENTIRE time. the ENTIRE time. ENTIRE.
I Love You Because — it was really weird to know that I have the email for 3/6 of the cast…

I shall be seeing the following shows in the next few weeks: Three Penny Opera, The Pajama Game, The
Wedding Singer… and I am DESPERATELY trying to find a comp to Bernadette’s concert at Lincoln Center, for I haven’t missed a major concert or show she’s done in NYC since 1996!!!

CONCLUSIONS

Someone in my stress workshop had this quote this week: “Those who have given up on their own dreams will work very hard to help you give up on yours.”

Oh, I’ve been taking a free stress workshop through my union, and it’s great. I have learned how to breathe and relax more, as well as acknowledge when I am feeling stressed, and just calm myself down. Kind of like, you acknowledge your feelings and let them happen — and I kind of make fun of myself … there was an article in Time about this sort of thing too — i just alone the feelings or thoughts to happen, and then dettach from
them. It works wonders.

It’s very laissez-faire — which is the mantra I am trying to accomplish in general for 2006 — stop pushing so
hard towards people — let them come to ME — which can be seen in the fact that I have been ledgering less,
but that’s sad. Really, I should try to at least send one every other month!!

Having lots of time stuck in a cubicle does allow for a very verbose catching up though! That is one of the
positives.

I am going to continue to try to get on the major casting directors audition pianist rosters. I am also going to
contact the keyboardists from every new Broadway musical in the hopes to sub into a show on Broadway
sometime before I hit 30! My friend is friend’s with the 3rd keyboardist at Le Stat, but he said he’s not planning on missing a show for months… and I’m meeting one of the keyboardists from the Drowsy Chaperone in a few weeks… and I think it’s about time to call the Ave Q guy again and be like, it’s been a year, I’m still interested…

Lots of pianists do summer stock over the summer, so I think this summer I am in a good position to creep up on lists and such.

Patience is not a virtue I have, so that’s why I have to multi-task!! But hey, Jonathan Larson didn’t have a Broadway show until 36. I have time.

I hope you are all having wonderful springs so far. Shoot me a note if I haven’t talked to you in TOO long.
Which is MOST of you!

Always,
Seth

JULY

July 5th, 2006 — if Ju-ly to me, I’ll be mad…

The Seth Ledger

Hahahahaa… yes, that’s awful. But it’s so awful that it’s funny!! Or maybe not. Well, it is to me, even if it isn’t to you… but at least it made you groan, yes?

So here it is, way too many months since I’ve written a ledger, but in my defense I was actually busy non-stop in May and June. Yes, it was a very lucrative, productive and exhausting few months. However, I had the last few days off, and thought it was time to drop a little (or verbose) recap your way!

CURRENT PROJECTS

My new act, NEUROTIC TENDENCIES, is virtually finished! I just have to write the music for the title number; the 15 other new songs are all complete. And all really good. I actually wrote an extra few, and cut the ones that weren’t as good. It is definitely going to be my strongest and funniest act to date. I have invited 4 singers to perform it with me; more details on all that when Don’t Tell Mama finally gets back to me on the actual dates…

I do know it will be the weekend of SEPTEMBER 9th!! Almost definitely a show on that Saturday, the 9th — probably one the Wed or Thurs before and then possibly a Sunday night show… I’ll keep you updated! *THIS JUST IN* Right before clicking send, Sidney has called me back — my cabaret act will officially be as follows:

Neurotic Tendencies
an abnormal act of original songs

By and Starring Seth Bisen-Hersh

With (tentatively):
Rori Nogee, Kevin Reed, Jessica Scuteri and more…

Thurs, 9/7, 8:30PM
Sat, 9/9, 6PM
Sun, 9/10, 8PM

Don’t Tell Mama
343 W. 46th St.
Call for reservations after 4: 212-757-0788
$10 cover/ 2 drink min.

I am going into the recording studio on the 23rd with some singers to record the newest 3 songs from MEANINGLESS SEX, as well as a handful of songs from the new act. And my new 32 Bar Blues song — which is a 32 bar song venting about finding the perfect 32 bar cut for auditions… I’m going to put up the MS songs, most definitely, right away but I think I’m going to wait on putting up the stuff from NT till the act, so people can’t be like, why should I come, I already heard a third of the songs on your site?!

In other Meaningless Sex news, I am up to my 6th or 7th bookwriter (even I can’t keep track). My latest bookwriter, Paul, is really busy with his film career (Disney is paying him an obscene amount to write a biopic of some sort…) so he regretfully has left the project. However, I live with a wonderful writer, Zach, who has agreed to do a polish of the show — removing surgically anything bordering on seriosity or melodrama, while enriching the characters, etc. I think this will end up being what’s best for the project, by far.

I will be submitting the new MS to every single non-for-profit theatre group in NYC, as well as any producer who has produced an off-Broadway musical in the last decade, as well as an HBO producer my friend met at a conference a few months ago, as soon as he’s done, along with the new cd, which will contain 12/17 of the songs… I will get this show off-Broadway and on HBO by 2008!!

In other news, after a 2 year hiatus, I believe we shall start revisions on the Spickner Spin this August, I hope.

AUDITIONS and COACHINGS

I have been extraordinarily busy playing for auditions and coaching actors to prepare for auditions. Extraordinarily. One of the perks of working for playbill.com is that they let me put up a free ad… I had a dozen new clients within a few days! And I still write oodles of actors on myspace, as well with my ad…

I finally got on 2 more major casting directors’ lists — Tara Rubin and Jim Carnahan — I’ve played for them both once, so hopefully they approved me for their list, and they’ll use me lots more this fall.

So between auditions (at least one a week in May and June) and clients, I haven’t really had much free time until now… I also played for the New School Summer Intensive in June for a few weeks, which was a blast, and I made some new clients and some new friends.

Oh, I will most likely be watching my favorite musical from last season, The Drowsy Chaperone, from the pit in the next week or so! So if it runs for awhile, maybe I can finally get on a sub list…

FREE SUMMER IN THE CITY

Since I have a huge feeling this fall is going to be intensely busy, I am trying to enjoy the summer while I can.
I have a summer events list, as those of you on it will know… Zach and I are throwing biweekly parties. I am going to go to as many free movies and concerts as I can. I had a huge group for Broadway Under the Stars, which was really fun (especially given the amount of real stars they had).

There are 2 symphonies in the park coming up this month, and then 2 operas in August, etc… also, my new friend, Alexis, and I are watching the XFiles from the beginning – it’s our summer project — he moved into a studio across the street from me, so it’s very convenient… (ah, memories of 1998 when I watched 5 seasons w/ Amanda in one summer…)

SUMMER TV

There’s only one show I’m watching religiously this summer — The 4400. I absolutely adore this show. It’s now the 3rd season, and they keep writing all these twists and turns… WATCH THIS SHOW! It’s the best new sci-fi show ever (one of the , and I’m THIS close to buying the DVDs of the first 2 seasons, but I only have $25 in my gift certificate balance to amazon… and both are $40 which I’d have to get together so I could get free shipping! So I’m waiting until I win or am given a gift certificate for $15… sadly, no one got me one for my birthday this year. 🙁

Other than that, they cancelled Huff, which hasn’t been good recently anyway. And I started watching Lucky Louie, the new HBO sitcom, and I really enjoy it a LOT. It’s the same kind of humor as MS, so I’m hoping that one day they’ll make it into a movie musical…

SUMMER THEATRE (haha, no not really, but I started singing “Willimania” just typing it)

I have been so busy working that I haven’t seen all that much, but this list might look long b/c I haven’t sent an update since mid-April:

Defiance — really good off-broadway play about morals
Three Penny Opera — bway revival with lots of stars
The Pajama Game — bway revival w/ Harry Connick Jr, which was really well done and really fun
Audra at Carnegie Hall — what can I say? Audra’s 2nd evening at Carnegie Hall was just marvelous.
Bernadette at Lincoln Center — yup, I managed to get comps to see BP and LC, and she blew me away, as always — in fact, most of the fans agree this was the best she’s ever been in concert, so I’m glad I went…
The Wedding Singer — really fun musical — I adore the soundtrack
Angel Falls — off-off bway play I reviewed for oobr.com
Ethan Frome — reading of my friends’ new musical
Let’s Face It — old Cole Porter show at Musicals Tonight — even Porter’s lesser scores are filled with wit
The Lieutenant of Inishmore — this is my FAVORITE PLAY of this season — I was laughing throughout the ENTIRE PLAY — if you have to pick one Broadway play to see this year — THIS IS IT.
The Singapore Mikado — wonderful production at the loverly Theater 1010 — the Mikado has always been my favorite G&S show… (CHOP IT OFF, KOKO, CHOP IT OFF! aw, I don’t think anyone on this list had AP Music w/ me, period 3, senior year… 🙁 SCRIBBY, if you’re still reading, forward that section to Gina!!)
Drama Desk Awards — I was a head seatfiller again — one of these years I should be nominated…
White Noise — reading of my friends’ new musical
Jackie Beat — drag queen show — so much fun. I wasn’t even the only straight male there.
The Busy World is Hushed — REALLY good off-bway play at playwrights. Really enjoyed it.
Red Light Winter — lots of simulated sex on stage in this off-bway play — so yeah, I enjoyed this one, too.
Tony Awards — seatfiller for year 5 — I didn’t end up on tv this year (though Dave did) b/c I was sitting front row of the mosh pit — yes, I was in the front of where an orchestra would be if they had one (well they had one, but on like the 9th floor or something)… I was SO close. It was insane. Julie Andrews and I made eye contact for like a second…
Because He Can — really good off-off-bway revival of this mystery thriller.
Broadway By the Year: 1978 — enjoyable concert, reliving the year before I was born on Broadway… Carolee sang “50 Percent”. Nuff said. (Even though only 2 of you might get that reference, and who knows if either of you will read this far since I talk to both of you daily.)
Clean — off-off bway show
Broadway Under the Stars — already mentioned; free concert — Liza surprised us at the end… was a great night.
MacBeth — I went to see MacBeth in Central Park 2 nights ago, and I really enjoyed the production a lot. It’s always been my favorite Shakespeare.

CONCLUSIONS

Well, I think that’s it. I mean I might have missed something… I helped Kevin on a film shoot one day… I played for a few cabaret acts and a handful of showcases… Rori and I are suing the people who hired us for that wedding thing b/c they stopped payment on the check… but that’s all in my blog. I’ve become addicted to Text Twist on yahoo games — I can just leave the game open when I have to do things or go to sleep — I got up to 100,000 points once… Snickers is asleep right now. He sleeps a lot. That’s the cat update…

Oh, Samidh, Kevin, Aaron and I went to Atlantic City for a weekend. And all lost $$. Except for Aaron, who won $42. After I saw him win on a slot machine, they had to drag me back to the hotel. The most annoying thing about AC — they have no slot machines — I couldn’t put in the lucky quarter I found on the street (instead it went to a toll on the ride home). You have to put in $5 at a time — what a ripoff! They have penny machines, I couldn’t play with my pennies! LAME.

Oh, I went to 2 weddings in Boston — the twins both married a month apart. It was like 2 reunions, very close together. Fatema and Nageeb got married (shout out!), and I was invited to a lunch or something, but they didn’t invite anyone else I was friends with in high school, and it’s like at noon, so I regretfully passed. What is with having events so early in the day? Some of us don’t like being awake until 1. It’s bad enough I have to get up for gigs sometimes that start at 10, but they’re PAYING ME.

Speaking of early mornings, I have JURY DUTY in a few weeks. I am not opposed to the concept, but I will be going in my pjs and glasses b/c I have to be there at 8:45. I don’t think I’ve woken up before 9 in 6 years, so it’s not going to be pretty getting up at like 8:10. Maybe I’ll try to drug myself at 2 or something.

Yeah I think that’s really it. I hope you are all having amazing summers! I again apologize for not being able to write sooner, but as you can tell, I like putting in time and effort into these ledgers, and I did not have the time or the effort in May or June.

Write back if I haven’t heard from you all year!

Always,
Seth

SEPTMBER

September 3, 2006 — Falling into fall through no one’s fa(u)lllllll…t.

The Seth Ledger

Whoa! It’s been 2 months since I sent a ledger again. How is that possible? I must admit that I had quite an unexpected busy summer. I almost wrote the busiest summer of my life… but that felt so superlative. And also incorrect. I mean, I had 2 fringe shows in the summer… those summers were probably busier. So I don’t want to lie to my general public about business and busiestness or whatever.

But suffice it to say, I have been busy with the following…

NEUROTIC TENDENCIES

Yes, my FOURTH cabaret act in 4 years is going up THIS week. Which is part of the reason I’m sending this ledger. Anyone even remotely close to NYC has already gotten spam about it today, I know, but just in case someone far and away wants to come into town this weekend… 😉

Neurotic Tendencies
an abnormal act of original songs

By and starring Seth Bisen-Hersh

With: Nicholas Cobey, Julie Goldin, Rori Nogee, & Jessica Scuteri

Thurs, 9/7 @ 8:30PM; Sat, 9/9 @ 6PM; & Sun, 9/10 @ 8PM
$10 Cover/ 2 Drink Minimum

Don’t Tell Mama, 343 W. 46th St.
Call for reservations after 4: 212-757-0788

Seth Bisen-Hersh, composer of the award-winning Fringe Festival musicals Meaningless Sex (Audience Favorite Award 2003) and The Spickner Spin (Audience Favorite Award 2004), returns to the cabaret scene for the 4th year in a row with his 4th cabaret, Neurotic Tendencies, an abnormal act of original songs. Co-starring Nicholas Cobey, Julie Goldin, Rori Nogee & Jessica Scuteri, Neurotic Tendencies explores quirky neuroses in a mostly comical light. With 16 new songs about everything from unrequited love (sometimes for inanimate objects) to incessant insomnia to overwhelming anxiety, Neurotic Tendencies is sure to amuse anyone who has ever been neurotic.

OTHER PROJECTS

I have been musically directing a show in NYMF (New York Musical Festival) these last few weeks. It’s a rock-musical called, Lunch, about some middle schoolers at lunch. It’s filled with angst and stuff, and it’s been a lot of fun. And the cast is very talented. It has taken most of my nights the last few weeks, while NT and playbill.com (yup, I’m still doing part-time work on a top secret project, but I think it will be no longer secret soon! and I am reposting my vocal coaching ad on playbill.com which got me a dozen of clients last time…….) have taken most of my afternoons… so it’s been a little busy, between that and clients — I have even had to leave playbill.com early one day to run home, coach someone here, then run to rehearsal… (but it’s cool b/c now that client’s on the ledger list. muhahaha…)

Anyway, if those 2 shows weren’t enough… I got asked to write the opening number for the NYIT Awards — www.nyitawards.com — I wrote a draft of the lyrics in a day — then they sent it back with the concept entirely changed — and then I went back and forth w/ a collaborator for a few days — but finally we got a draft we’re all happy with (which is chock FULL of internal rhymes!) and I wrote the music Friday night, and then put it in the computer yesterday and finally finished today….. phew.

It’s literally a 6 minute musical number — with like 6 or 7 different musical styles thrown in… and it’s going to be viewed by at least 500 people on the 18th of September. And it’ll be on a DVD that I can get a copy of! (And maybe I can figure out how to get it up on youtube… actually, I’m pretty sure I can figure something like that out since I have a computer science degree from MIT… not that you all needed reminding, but I was just talking aloud… or typing aloud… or typing silently but having a stream-of-conscious-like thinking to typing thing going…)

And there are some really famous presenters… like Lanford Wilson and Ben Vereen and one of my favorite composers, Michael John LaChiusa… so I’ll get to hang out w/ them backstage. And then we’ll all party at the after party! Though I will be worn b/c wouldn’t you know… that’s one of the only dates so far for Sept that I have a 10-6 audition gig lined up…

But I am beyond excited about it! And now all the IT award people HAVE to come to my act. And hopefully the LUNCH people will, too.

And if THREE shows weren’t enough to keep me occupied… I am applying again for the Jonathan Larson and Ed Kleban awards after taking last year off. I am hoping my new tracks and last few years’ experiences have made me a better candidate… we shall see.

IN OTHER SUMMER NEWS

OH BRIGHT NEW DAY, I’M MOVING AWAY…

Well, the biggest news of the summer is that I MOVED. It was completely unexpected and not at all premeditated. I had been worried in general about my landlord upping the rent again. And one of my friends had managed to find a studio for only $1200 in my neighborhood. So I started perusing Craigslist for studios around $1200, and never saw any… until the last Tues of August. Now, I wasn’t even thinking of moving by August. I was thinking maybe Sept 1st. Maybe. But I saw the posting for only $1150. Rent stabilized. W. 45th St. And I flipped — it was exactly my apartment but over 2 blocks!! I called Wednesday, and had made a deposit an hour after viewing. By Friday I had signed the lease!

So yeah, I have a STUDIO. It’s not big, but it’s not minuscule… the most oft used word to describe it is “cozy.” There is not a single square inch unused. And it’s one of those — you sort of have to move things out of the way to get to some things… but it’s VERY New York starving artistesque… and it’s ALL MINE.

And it turns out to be very lucky I moved b/c he was going to up the rent to $2400 for 2 people — so I pay LESS here to live alone… and then after we told him we were leaving (my roommate almost stayed w/ a subletter I found, but then he didn’t have enough for a deposit and 2 mos, so they ended up moving to Brooklyn to a bigger, cheaper place), my landlord was able to get $2700 for the place! So we all are happy.

The move was intense. I would like to publicly thank the following people who made it possible in order of when they helped: Lauren, Jessica, Eric, Kevin, Dave, Aaron, Jordan (yay dollies!), and Pearl!

It was literally 50 or so trips back and forth… I’d spend the day packing my 8 rubbermaids — grab a friend and make 4 trips — unpack them, then repack the next day, etc. It was completely organized, I am pleased to say…

(AWWWW there’s a bird on the fire escape, and Snickers is trying to get at it through the window. Silly, cat, you can’t go through windows… you’d think he’d have learned that by now…)

RECORDING

The Sunday after I moved, I went into the RECORDING studio to record some more tracks. I recorded the 3 new songs I wrote for Meaningless Sex after the last draft… the links are easily accessible at www.sethbh.com/news3.html — they’re also up with the MS songs on the shows page, but then you’d have to figure out which were new. We also did a few of the songs from Neurotic Tendencies, which I will link to after the act… (I don’t want people to be like why should I come when I’ve heard 1/4 of the songs!)

One of my singers started losing her voice, so there are another 3 songs to record the vocals of after the act is done. And I also took advantage of the extra half hour to lay down the piano for 7 of my solo songs from various acts… so there will be another 10 songs up on my webpage sometime in October.

OH, also, I’m doing MEANINGFUL SEX again one more time — with Rori and probably Jessy — NOVEMBER 5th at 7pm. That’s a Sunday night. At Theater 1010 again on the UES. It’s a $10 suggested donation — no drink minimum — so basically if you’re POOR you can come for $1. If you’re not poor but just cheap… then you can also come for $1… but then you’d feel guilty that you could afford $10. Maybe not today… maybe not tomorrow… but eventually.

VACATING THE PREMISES

So for the first time in 3 years since I went to Chicago in 2003 to visit Kristine (who is having a baby any day now!) and see the new Sondheim musical, I vacated the city for an ENTIRE week. Literally the day after I recorded, which was the day after I moved. So after moving I had to pack one bag for the recording session, and then pack for a week.

I went with my family to visit my grandparents in VA, who seem to be doing fairly well for 86. My grandfather says he’s going to live to at least 100, so I hope those are the genes I inherited. I actually blogged about it up on myspace, so I won’t repeat myself here. But if you’re interested in my perspicaciously profound thoughts on family vacations, please go check it out.

I actually landed the Lunch gig while away, and also had to turn down 3 last minute gigs b/c I wasn’t in the city. Which is why I don’t leave the city very often. And given the fact that the last few weeks of August have been THIS busy, I am very optimistic and a little trepidacious about how busy this fall will be. Usually the day after Labor Day, I get a lot of calls, and it’s coming up soon… (not to mention I’m rehearsing for my act 2:45-6, then Lunch 6:30-10 that day/night…)

LET’S TAKE BACK THE HOUSE AND SENATE

I just got a call reminding me that I had signed up to call random strangers reminding them to vote Democratic this November… so I thought I’d put a plug in the ledger for moveon.org. I went to this party and got free dessert, and got inspired to sign up. Now, unfortunately, I am rarely home early enough to call… but sometimes I can call people in CA if I make it home by 10… not that I have made a SINGLE call yet. But that’s b/c I’ve been overwhelmed and busy. But now that she called, I feel guilty, so I may actually call some tonight… ah, or not… I am surprisingly quite timid about some things. Like harassing random strangers… I think I’m too anal-expulsive. I want to please everyone, and I don’t like being confrontational or annoying… haha, but I am annoying all the time in some ways! I am an ENIGMATIC CONTRADICTION!!

But yes, do remember to VOTE this November. We need to purge Washington of all Republican scum, sooner, rather than later.

And see AL GORE’s movie! It’s brilliant.

ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT (You have to sing that w/ the theme song for its full effect.)

MOVIES

Well, that seemed like a good segue into movies. This summer I have seen 5 movies in the theaters… and I paid for… wait for it… wait for it… NONE OF THEM!

Jen had an extra pass to see a free preview of LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE. I cannot recommend this movie strongly enough. I ADORED it. It was probably the best movie I have seen in a really, really long time.

Afterwards, I snuck into the aforementioned Al Gore’s movie, An Inconvenient Truth and was deeply moved. Then, even though I was hungry, the cheap Jew in me couldn’t resist sneaking into another… The Devil Loves Prada. Seth did not love the Prada movie, however. While he really likes Anne Hathaway and completely adores Meryl Streep, he felt that the entire thing was far too predictable. I mean REALLY. You knew the entire movie’s arc from the first 5 minutes. And while Meryl was great to watch… why go to a movie that’s so cliche? Especially after seeing 2 brilliant (but very different) movies that day.

The 4th movie I saw this summer was Superman Returns. I got free tickets off Craigslist. Well… the catch was, this guy took pictures of us before the show for some art project — America in the Dark. So we got there early, had our pictures taken in the theater for 5 minutes, then signed a standard release form, and then got to see the free movie. I enjoyed the new Superman movie. Except for the father to son to father to son crap (Yes, I am censoring myself in my ledgers, but never my blog). Anyway, I really liked how the movie had humor. I think humor is the most important thing for a play, movie and tv show to have — even if it’s a serious one. There’s some deep advice for all of you writers out there.

Finally, the 5th movie I saw was SCOOP. The new Woody Allen movie. I saw it w/ my family in VA, so that’s why it was free for me. And free popcorn, as well. My sister and my father fell asleep during it at different times — actually there’s yet another example of my sister taking after my father, and me taking after my mother. But we all really enjoyed the movie. I need to meet Woody one day.

Moving on to a different genre… as the summer dissipates into the cooler fall, I am happy to report that I enjoyed a few new shows this summer…

My favorite summer show is still the 4400. I still think this is the best sci-fi show on television right now. And I highly recommend it to any of you netflix subscribers! It never ceases to surprise me at every turn, which is hard to do…

Other than that, I really enjoyed the new show Psych about a fake detective who pretends he’s psychic. And I started watching the new sci-fi channel show Eureka. I got roped into watching Project Runway, which although it’s not my favorite show, it has its moments. And I have to watch it b/c everyone does.

My new favorite HBO show this summer became Lucky Louie — which is a sitcom that actually uses real language and also has nudity sometimes. It really is very funny. And WEEDS is back on Showtime — and is better than ever!

After Julia Louis-Dreyfuss won the Emmy (btw, CONAN was an AMAZING host), I decided to give her new show a try — and it’s actually kind of funny. So that is on my list of things I’m watching this fall. I also intend to borrow my friend’s VERONICA MARS dvds b/c I have heard from a LOT of people that that show is great. So I intend to watch both seasons before the new one in October.

So in case some of you are wondering (and I actually got asked for a guide to some tv shows for the fall, this is what my lineup this fall looks like):

Sunday: Simpsons, Family Guy, American Dad, War at Home
Monday: How I Met Your Mother, 24 (on hiatus), The New Adventures of Old Christine (Julia’s show), Sorkin’s new drama – Studio 60
Tuesday: Gilmore Girls, Veronica Mars, Scrubs (on hiatus — there’s a musical episode by my buddies who wrote AVE Q this season!)
Wednesday: 30 Rock, 20 Good Years (new NBC sitcoms w/ Tiny Fey & Jon Lithgow I’m going to try out), Bones (b/c my friend Eric’s on it)
Thursday: My Name is Earl, The Office, Smallville, Supernatural

If there’s a new show you think I should try, please let me know. My DVR box let’s me record 2 shows at once, so I can try up to 2 shows in every time slot.

THEATRE

Well, I haven’t really seen that much in the last 2 months. I did see a handful of Fringe shows though… so here’s the tally just so I can put them up on my webpage… (Btw, I am looking forward to a few things this fall… Spring Awakening moving to Broadway… Company being back on Broadway with instrumentalists…)

Shining City — Broadway play w/ Oliver Platt
Frances Ruffelle at the Supper Club — the original Eponine in concert… no comment.
Drowsy Chaperone from the pit — I love this show, and it was AWESOME to be down there! I hope that Larry needs another sub soon… (I think he’s coming to my act to check out my skills!)
If You Give a Mouse a Cookie — cute theatreworks show… really cute.
Follies in VA — I just stuck this in b/c I did see Follies in the park in VA… and it turned out that I KNEW someone in the cast (someone who’s on the ledger list!), so that was just insanely coincidental, and the world is quite small.
FRINGENYC 2006: We Love You Johnny Hero, Pumpkin Pie Show, …Categories, Tradition!, Fallen Angel, Pith, The Revenants, Never Swim Alone, The Big Picture — so 9 fringe shows. That’s up from 8 last year I think.. down from 45 the 3 before…
The Ticket — reading of a show I played auditions for — my friend was in the cast… and then I realized I knew 4 other people in the cast. 4!

BOOKS

Oh, I actually started reading more frequently, so I should add a Seth Book of the Month Club section. In VA, I read THE KITE RUNNER b/c my mother left it on my car seat. It was a GREAT book. I also finally finished Fitzgerald’s the Beautiful and the Damned which I had borrowed from Felicity awhile ago. Before that I read IN COLD BLOOD after seeing Capote. Really good book. And now I am reading THE GOOD EARTH, which I borrowed from Kevin.

I’m into fast paced books in general b/c I have the attention span of a flea. So if you have any suggestions, lemme know. I don’t like borrowing from the library b/c I don’t like the time pressure of 3 weeks (not that I can’t finish a book in 3 weeks, but sometimes I get really busy, and don’t read for a few weeks) so I always borrow from friends. So if you have books I should read and can borrow, do let me know! I’ve been reading for at least a half hour before going to bed, and I find it very relaxing.

CONCLUSIONS

Well, I think that’s it. I actually have to wait till after midnight to send this b/c Road Runner only allows you 1000 outgoing emails a day. And I think I already spammed really close to 1000 about my act, and I don’t want to push it…

I wish you all, an amazing fall. Never hesitate to email or call… to say hi!
And with this internal rhyme, I think it is time, to bid you all goodbye.

Always,
Seth

NOVEMBER

November 4, 2006 — November’s Novella

The Seth Ledger

Greetings all of you out there in Ledger Land! I am so sorry that I haven’t found the time to catch you all up on my life sooner. October completely got away from me. Completely. In fact, November seems like it’s going to do the same thing. So rather than leave you all out of the loop, I am going to be writing this ledger piecemeal b/c I want to send it out before Sunday in case some of you haven’t gotten my 14,000 emails regarding doing my act again… and before Tuesday b/c I need to have a section reminding you all to VOTE.

So if you get nothing else out of this update… remember I have a show Sunday at 7 that you should come to if you’re in the tristate area (and even if you’re not, but if you’re not, I’ll accept your absence more readily).

I am starting this ledger from playbill.com where I continue to work on a project that should be public soon… until it is, I still can’t talk about it in a ledger. But if you ASK me, I can tell you about it. I have absolutely NO attention span today, so I’m just going back and forth to this and other things… not that I usually have an
attention span, but today is just worse than usual… probably b/c I’m exhausted from doing so much. I think that’s the cause. I did sleep till a normal hour (1pm) today, so at least I got sleep. But I had 3 days of waking up for auditions this week, and that just wears me out in general… and I have clients on the days I’m NOT playing auditions… such that I rarely get a day off, and when I do… I usually end up catching up on things I need to do in the apartment… and still even though writing a ledger was on my list ALL week, the
only way it’s going to get done before Sunday is in bits and pieces… which is NOT how I usually like to write them, b/c then the flow is all off… but I know you’ll forgive.

But enough digression… onto the actual news…

the RETURN of MEANINGFUL SEX…

Most people in the area have gotten plenty of spam about it, but just in case you haven’t:

—

MEANINGFUL SEX
an act about the ins and outs of relationships

By and starring Seth Bisen-Hersh
(“The Gayest Straight Man Alive”)

Also starring Rori Nogee

Sunday Nov. 5th @ 7pm

Theater Ten Ten
1010 Park Ave (b/t E84th & E85th)
$10 suggested donation, cash only at the door
Reservations 212-288-3246 x3 (24-hour hotline)

Seth Bisen-Hersh, composer of the award-winning Fringe Festival musicals Meaningless Sex (Audience Favorite Award 2003) and The Spickner Spin (Audience Favorite Award 2004), will reprise his third cabaret, Meaningful Sex, an act about the ins and outs of relationships this November. Co-starring Rori Nogee, Meaningful Sex delves into the eccentricities, pains and pleasures of being in a committed relationship. There’s the usual raunchy comedy as well as the luscious, sweet ballads. With 16 songs including The Birthcontrol Blues, Id Rather Take a Nap and Sex with the Ex — this is the perfect act for anyone who has been (or seen others) in a relationship.

—

Rori and I have redone the patter, yet again… and it’s a much more cynical act since the relationship that inspired it has been over for awhile. And I think cynical means it’s funnier. And also more 20-20 hindsighty. Yes, hindsighty. AND I am PREMIERING a NEW SONG that I just wrote a month or so ago! And it’s probably the best song I’ve EVER written… and I played it for the owner of the 48th St Studios after my audition workshop (oh, more on that later…), and she was CRYING afterwards… Which was just… wow. Like, that’s why I’m doing this. Not for awards (though they would be nice). To affect people. To actually connect to them… make them laugh… make them cry. Make them feel. That experience has renewed my energy and focus in the never ending followage (haha, I really don’t like real words today, apparently) of my dreams and goals.

Anyway, it should be an amazing night, and thankfully Kevin is coming to video it, so those of you who can’t come… can watch the DVD… BUT it will pale in comparison to being there live. You know these
things never translate well… (Je peux ce translater dans francais, mais je ne peux pas, actualement.) (Quel domage, j’ai oublie beaucoup de francais… especialment le spelling…) (Yes, I REALIZE I could
just go to babble fish, but I think it’s far more drole… or droler, as it may… to just leave it like that. And besides, I am ALL about sincerity!)

OTHER PROJECTS

Well, since we’re on cabaret already… Neurotic Tendencies was a HUGE success. Much more than I expected it to be… 89 people came over 3 nights. 89. In 2004, I had a night where I played to 3 people (never again will I do a Friday night at 10 — awful time slot…). But, wow. Yeah, and there wasn’t a single bad reaction to a single song or anything. I think we’re going to do it again in April… I will keep you all updated, of course b/c that’s FAR away. We ARE going to record some of the songs soon… perhaps early December. There is ANOTHER thing to do… email the cast and ask their availability. Well they are ALL on this list, but who KNOWS if they will be reading this paragraph. I am told that some people SKIM these… although I
KNOW for a fact that there are people who read EVERY word… and people who print them out… (those people are family… as far as I know they are the only ones, at least…)

Yes, the point — NT went well. Recording soon. I am about 1/3 done writing songs for the act for 2007 — WHY AM I NOT FAMOUS YET: an act of bitter frustration — it will start being about the career, but
since my career actually is going WAY too well, it will soon go into OTHER frustrations that I’ve had… or heard of. And it should be a mix of really funny and really poignant material, as always. Yes, there will be a hilarious song on Sexual Frustration, I promise. It will probably be entitled, Sexual Frustration.

MUSICAL-wise… well I FINALLY sent MEANINGLESS SEX off to this HBO producer my friend met at ASCAP… so we’ll see if he responds or not. I am sure he gets a lot of mail each day, but I did write a very
funny cover letter. And I sent him a demo of the show, and the best 10 pages. So, that’ll hopefully wet his appetite? I am still searching for my like 8th bookwriter on the project. I found someone interested who was really busy, so I should actually double check w/ him… ah MORE things to do. Like I need more!! I wanted to start revisions for SPICKNER, but Scribby disappeared AGAIN… even though I have a friend who works at NAMT… I should email HIM again, too, but he is READING this… though again he could be skimming. Darn skimmers! Yes, I cleaned that up. I try to keep these ledgers family friendly… somewhat… hahaa… or not…

I have a NEW PROJECT. And I cannot tell you what it is! B/c we do NOT own the rights. It is an idea to adapt a movie into a musical… does that narrow it down a little? 😉 But it’s an AMAZING idea. I had posted on craigslist at the beginning of the month looking for new collaborators… and I met this guy, Mike, and he had this brilliant idea… and I actually contacted a few producers, and one is definitely interested in at least hearing our pitch… so we are finishing up the first 10 minutes of the show-ish… well there’s a tiny number that goes into a HUGE number. And musically it’s all done, but there are scene breaks and stuff, and so we don’t know where all the lyrics are going yet, but we are going to finish that NEXT week, and then I am going to send an mp3 to the producer, and hopefully she’ll love it, help us get the rights from Hollywood… and
then we can do a reading in 2008, and it can be on Broadway by like 2010ish.

So please knock a lot of wood. There are a LOT of things that need to happen for that to occur, but it is certainly a possibility. And it is a certainty that I will have a musical on Broadway in the next decade at the latest. I promise you all that.

AUDITIONS, COACHINGS, WORKSHOPS, oh MY!

I have been very busy playing auditions. And coaching. And I started an audition workshop. The workshop is 4 weeks on Sunday nights, and I think it’s been helpful for the actors in it. Basically, I had seen all these ads for workshops — 4 weeks for $400 or $500 or $350 was cheap. So I am doing one for only $150. Though, I don’t have to pay a pianist. So that’s probably why I can afford to do it cheaper… also, it’s my first time doing something like this. But I have played for MANY and for many classes, and I’ve been getting really good as a coach in general. Like there was a point where I finally realized what I needed to do as a coach.

So it’s not just about playing everything perfectly the first time or transposing on sight (though I still do that all). It’s about getting the actor to relax. And to actually connect to the material. And to facilitate that by how I’m playing the song. And to give them frank, actual, no-nonsense advice for how to act and what to do in an audition situation… since as I’ve mentioned, I play a lot of them.

Anyway, so the workshop has gone really well so far, so I think I’m going to do it again in January right before summer stock auditions… and possibly in the summer if there’s enough interest for it. So 3 times a year seems very reasonable.

Audition-wise, I’ve played in the last few weeks for both Spelling Bee auditions again (with the MD and associate MD there… and actually with Tara Rubin, herself!) and Spamalot… and I played for High School Musical auditions a few weeks ago… and really whored myself like crazy to the actors there. So hopefully they’ll come for coachings.

Coaching-wise, I haven’t had a week w/o a client since, um… February? I don’t know, but it’s been a long time. In fact, I barely have a day w/o a client sometimes — the last few weeks have been crazy, squeezing clients into whatever breaks I have. But I think it’s going to calm down a little bit… and December should be pretty light in general, so I can catch up on writing. And on finishing arranging my apartment… which is a good segue as any…

MY APARTMENT

This seems like the perfect place to pause to finish up here and go BACK to my apartment where I can report on it. For you, there will be absolutely no interruption! We shall see how much more I can get
written before I’m out for the night…

I am back and have an hour to see if I can get closer to finishing this! As promised, you see absolutely no pause… though if we were shuffling off a mortal coil… THEN we MUST give pause.

And, btw, it looks like I had ZERO spelling errors in my first part (it checks through Eudora, not the web-mail that I was using at playbill…)

I adore my studio. I adore it. And Snickers says HI. And he’s finally adjusted, though he has a passion for trying to sneak out a lot. He never manages to do it when it’s me, but other people just don’t have the knack for getting in w/o giving him the opportunity to sneak passed. Shame, shame!

The apartment itself is pretty much done being organized… except I haven’t done ANY of my sheet music binders, and when I have clients who want to go through something I have, and they don’t… well, I pretty much can FIND anything, but it’s quite a feat sometimes. Especially b/c I have to maneuver things to get into either of my closets. But it’s COZY. And it’s VERY New York. And it’s on 45th St. Which is really funny given that my home address is 45 Roosevelt Ave… AND my apartment is 5RE… so it’s fate that I’m supposed to live here, obviously.

I can finally sleep through the construction outside and downstairs without ear plugs, though I still need a blindfold b/c as much as I have the windows covered w/ the opaque shade, the sun still manages to sneak in sometimes…

The only thing I miss is having a washer/ dryer… and a ROOF… speaking of…

NEW YEARS PARTY is ON!!

It’s not OFFICIALLY official yet… but it is HIGHLY likely I will be able to co-host my New Years party on my friend’s roof. She has to double check w/ her roommate, but they were already planning to have a party… and it’s on 48th St… literally across the street from my old apartment… and 3 blocks from the new one. Regardless if I officially co-host, I’m sure I can bring a few dozen of my closest friends. So all of you who were REALLY upset to not get to spend the 4th new years in a row on a MIDTOWN ROOF — FRET NOT!! For it WILL happen!!! And it just teaches me to NOT stress about things so far in advance!!

Speaking of holidays, I will be in EB for THANKSGIVING — I am considering having a get-together like I used to on FRIDAY night of the holiday weekend… like a small one. IF YOU ARE IN EAST BRUNSWICK FOR THANKSGIVING, LEMME KNOW. We can watch some high school videos… haha, or not. But SERIOUSLY, I would LOVE to have a mini-reunion if any of you are around b/c my grandparents aren’t staying Friday night like they have the last few years, and I have plans in NJ for Saturday night, so it’s stupid to not just stay the weekend…

In other holiday news, I have found at least ONE person for XMAS MOVIE DAY — where we pay for ONE movie, then hop around for 12 hours… last year we saw FIVE!!! I was going to say, let’s try for 6 this year, but I think 5 was PLENTY. Really. So if you’re in NYC that week, please lemme know b/c although I have a lot of things I need to complete before the end of the year, I am SURE that I would LOVE TO HANG OUT WITH YOU. (Especially b/c many people will be gone that week, and there’s no comps to be had to shows, etc…)

OH, OH, yes speaking of HOLIDAYS — I have to talk about my 2nd favorite holiday… HALLOWEEN!!! RORI and I went to the PARADE — she was dressed up as Maureen from RENT. And I was….. wait for it… ELSIE from the song “Over the Moon”… for those of you who DON’T know… which really is probably too many of you. Tsk, tsk. ANYWAY, I was basically in a COW SUIT.

And it was very MOOVing and quite AMOOSING… and an UDDERly fabulous time… AND I am done with cow puns. Officially. For I have been MILKing them WAY too much. And I hereby OFFICIALLY STOP MAKING COW PUNS.

But here are the pictures… the last one is a direct quote from RENT, so get the mp3 on iTunes if you don’t have the song memorized… (Why wouldn’t you have it memorized?!? Shame, people, shame!)

https://www.sethbh.com/images/moo.JPG
https://www.sethbh.com/images/moosnick.JPG
https://www.sethbh.com/images/rideme.JPG
https://www.sethbh.com/images/rideme2.JPG
https://www.sethbh.com/images/swollenudder.JPG

Yeah, so we were INTERVIEWED for CBS!! BUT they didn’t AIR it — I tivoed EVERY news show on CBS… and they didn’t show a single interview. 🙁 But we were SOOO FUNNY. She asked me about my lack of face time in the movie, and I said: “Well… at least I’m getting some name recognition from it… though, for some reason a lot of kids here today are calling me Mr. Cow.” And we reenacted that last photo… and Rori had a great quote on bisexuality, which I don’t want to post on the web b/c one day she’ll use it somewhere. But I can tell you if you email and want to know.

That’s the moral of this entire ledger — I can’t say like ANYthing about ANYthing, so you’ll just HAVE to respond if you want the inside dish. Assuming you aren’t content w/ the outside one.

But, yeah, it was really the best Halloween I’ve had in YEARS… since those days when Eric and I mapped out the neighborhood to optimize trick or treating…

Sorry, I just had a phone call. BUT again you don’t know that I paused — someone wanting me to play auditions TOMORROW at 9am! And it’s not even a FULL day. And I have clients tomorrow, and a show Sunday. Can’t be tired for the show. So I gave her some names of other pianists… now THAT is the MOST amazing thing about making a living — I do NOT have to take EVERY gig that I’m offered anymore. It’s AMAZING…

And I haven’t been as CHEAP! Really! Like, I will NEVER not be frugal. BUT I am taking the subway tonight (well, I couldn’t really walk to Williamsburg), and I have been taking people out for their birthdays or to dinner if they used to buy me dinner many times when I was poor, etc. It is SO nice to be able to be benevolent again. REALLY. Like, it’s not like I spend a LOT of $ — I still spend less $ per week than ANY of you, I am 100% sure. But it’s nice to not have to worry so much.. or starve so much… not that I ever really starved.

VACATIONS

Besides going to EB for a weekend, I may be visiting Samidh in SEATTLE b/c I’ve never been there… though I HATE flying… but if I go, I’d have to go BEFORE the year is out b/c Dan gets one more free buddy pass from jetblue (where he works)… so it’s highly likely I will visit Samidh in December, although I just got an email asking me to play rehearsals Saturdays in Decembers… BAH! But I could always send a sub one week. It is AMAZING not having to put my career in front of EVERYthing.

I still put my career in front of everything, anyway. But I don’t HAVE to. Hahaha… and I put my composing career far ahead of my coaching and audition career now b/c I CAN. It is a good feeling… to know you’re alive… it’s just a happy feeling… random…

Oh, vacations… yes, and of course, I will be going up to BOSTON in January for Martin Luther weekend… for my 10th Mystery Hunt… how is THAT for scary?? And I still haven’t been on a winning team! What is UP w/ that? I’m probably the only one who’s been hunting for a decade who never gets on the winning team… maybe we can change that this year, Brandy and Robbie??

VOTE OR DIE!!!!

Yes, I forgot to have a section on VOTING. REALLY, PEOPLE. We can FINALLY TAKE BACK THE HOUSE AND THE SENATE. You have to vote. HAVE TO VOTE. If you want to be considered anything in my life… be it friend, acquaintance… or sister (ahem!) — VOTE DEMOCRAT. VOTE VOTE VOTE. VOTE VOTE VOTE.

I got so busy that I have been shirking my duties as a phone volunteer. 🙁 But I can still harass all of you… VOTE!! And I promise to try to make some calls this weekend… or on election day. Maybe I’ll call people on election day to remind them to vote. That’s something…

VOOOOOOOOTEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Woo, I’m making good time. I just have the theatre, tv and book updates left… though it’s almost time to leave… oh, tonight I am doing 2 things I rarely do… I’m going to BROOKLYN… for a Shabbat dinner! BUT it’s really not a shabbat dinner… it’s really like a Friday night dinner, where we’re mostly Jews (I don’t know if we have enough for a minion). Like, it’s free dinner. Is the point. I’m bringing wine, which I’ve had forever since I don’t drink very often, and can’t have parties here anymore… and SCRABBLE — we’re going to play SCRABBLE!!!!!!! I am SO EXCITED!!! I LOVE SCRABBLE!!! SCRABBLE!!!!!!!!!

Yeah, I have to get ready. I will finish this when I return; have no fear! And you won’t even know I’ve been gone… well, you will. B/c I just said so now. Other moral of the ledger is SINCERITY — you’ve gotta be, sincere… (I’m totally in a crazy quoting random things mood today! Who knew?)

BACK! We played TABOO tonight!!! And I got 8 in one round! The only one to get that many! Woo! But only once… it took forever to get home, and it’s a little after 3, so I will finish this tomorrow. Apologies to those of you who I told I would have this out before I went to bed. I know how much you live for the ledgers, but I assume you can wait another day… it’s not like waiting for the last Harry Potter book!! (Come on, J.K.!)

TV Update

Well, it’s been a decent season for tv… I have a few new shows that I really enjoy. Unfortunately, I’ve missed the first 2 seasons of 2 of them… but I will eventually catch up. I figure the easiest way to do this is by day of the week. Sadly, or happily depending on the perspective, I’ve been waking up early so often, that I have sometimes picked sleep over tv. Meaning going to bed around 3 and missing my hour of relaxing tv time. Which is the right decision for getting through the days, but also made me fall behind. I have finally mostly caught up, though this week I am mildly behind again… sadly, or happily, I can’t even get a weekend night off… or one home early… OR maybe this is b/c I really like to be out late on Friday and Saturday nights in general b/c otherwise I feel like a loser. That is probably the underlying reason, but what can you do? I will catch up on tv in December when nothing is happening…

Anyway, w/o further ado: (This doesn’t include shows that are on hiatus like 2 of my favorites – 24 and Scrubs…)

Sunday nights I watch FOX mostly — Simpsons, Family Guy, American Dad, and War at Home. I find that Simpsons is hit or miss nowadays, and FG is not as funny as it used to be… but it’s still funny. And AD is pretty good. WaH is okay — usually a few laughs per show… it’s one of those keep on in the background while doing other things shows… I also started to watch the Showtime show, Dexter, which is bizarre but intriguing.

Monday nights, 2 of my FAVORITE new shows air — Heroes and Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip. WOW. These shows are by FAR my favorite new ones of the season. Heroes is just INCREDIBLE — and you can watch the ENTIRE season on NBC.COM if you’ve missed it!! NBC is brilliantly putting ALL of its shows online now… Other than that, one of my favorite comedies, How I Met Your Mother is on CBS at 8… and then I sometimes enjoy Everybody Hates Chris and Julia Louis Dreyfuss’s show, The New Adventures of Old Christine. Both of those are do other things while I watch shows… the BEST show on Mondays is actually over for the season, Weeds. BRILLIANT show. This season was just BRILLIANT. Looks like Showtime has eclipsed HBO in terms of series lately…

Gilmore Girls, Veronica Mars — Tuesday is a CW day. GG started off a little rocky w/ the new writing staff, but by the 3rd episode was back in stride! Though I really am unhappy with the whole Luke thing. And they didn’t even MENTION that Lane could get an abortion… which is what she’d DO in real life. So that kind of annoyed me (and my friend, Aileen), but at least Emily and Richard are back and better than EVER. I haven’t actually started to watch VM — I hear great things though, so I have been saving the entire season… TWO of my friends have offered to lend me the DVDs… so I am WAITING for that to happen. This will probably be the show I watch in December, like when I caught up on 24 last year… I am looking forward to hibernation…

Wednesday is the WEAK day… I watch Bones b/c my friend Eric is in it… I tried 30 Rock, but it’s just not that funny… but I keep watching hoping it will turn into funny. 20 Good Years is amusing. But those are all do other things while I watch tv… as was Project Runway, which frankly I only watched b/c EVERYone else watched. I am not into reality tv.

I LOVE Thursdays — the other 2 great comedies are on Thurs — My Name is Earl and The Office. The Office has FINALLY hit its stride… this season has been REMARKABLE. And Earl never disappoints… Then there’s the CW — Smallville and Supernatural. Both of which I usually do things during, not always during Smallville… That’s like my guilty pleasure show…

Speaking of guilty pleasures… Friday is Degrassi: the Next Generation. Which I absolutely adore. AND my NEW Sci-Fi show, Battlestar Galactica!!! (Thanks, Amanda!) WOW. This show is INCREDIBLE, people!! I was ordered to watch the catch up special — and I was like WHOA… so I started this season (season 3), and I am SOOO HOOKED. SUCH good writing. SUCH good parallels to today. SUCH good sci-fi. WOW. Yeah, so this is my new Star Trek replacement while the 4400 is gone for the summer…

Yeah, so that’s my TV line-up for the fall… when I have time to watch. But really, tv is the only thing that just completely lets me zone out, so I try to watch at least a half hour show a day before bed…

Book Update

I finished The Good Earth about a month ago. If anyone has read it, please email me b/c I want to discuss the ending… even KEVIN whom I BORROWED it from hasn’t actually read it — I could not find a single person who had read it… or at least recently enough to discuss the ending. I don’t want to ruin it for people, but I was completely taken aback, and it really made me cry at the futility of life…

Q Guide to Broadway — I reviewed Seth Rudetsky’s new book for nytheatre.com… you can go to the cds and books page to read the review. I really enjoyed it, and it’s a quick read. Oh, I forgot to mention Seth used me for the Actor’s Fund concert this year as a rehearsal pianist… well, I’ll put that in an asterick in the theatre update below…

I went to my favorite book store, the Strand about a month ago… and found 5 books for $2!! Yes!! What a DEAL, right?? I got all stuff by really famous authors b/c I really want to read classics, in general… I started the first one:

The Unpleasant Profession of Jonathan Hoag — Heinlein — it is GREAT so far. WOW. Yeah I really am enjoying it… a sci-fi mystery!! What could be better for me to read?
The Death of Ivan Ilyich – Tolstoy — I’ve always liked Russian writers.
Mostquitoes – Faulkner — I’m sure it’ll be a tough read, but I always enjoy Faulkner.
The Yearling – Rawlings — there’s a musical based on this classic, so I figure I should read it.
The Lost Girl – D. H. Lawrence — I never got into Sons & Lovers (I thought there’d be lots of sex, but I was wrong)… but I figured I’d give Lawrence another try…

Theatre Update

Well, I completely forgot to mention in the news that this year Seth used me as a REHEARSAL PIANIST for the HUGE actors fund concert. Which was amazing. Playing piano for BROADWAY people… just amazing. And I was used 7 times, and was like the MAIN rehearsal pianist. AMAZING. And it gives me a lot more validity when writing people. I think I’m going to sit in the Chorus Line pit to watch the show in a week or so… just waiting on a response to the exact date… so THAT part of my career is going REALLY well, as well… but onto shows I saw the last few months…

Awww, there’s a cat on my lap… he must’ve missed me tonight… oh btw, I decided to keep writing the ledger instead of stopping b/c I got a 2nd wind… and Samidh came online…

NYIT Awards — I wrote the OPENING NUMBER, as I think I mentioned in the last ledger. It went over SMASHINGLY… I am hoping to get a DVD of it, and then put it on youtube or something…
The Guys — revival of a play about 9/11…
Oedipus for Kids — show in NYMF that my friend wrote and my other friend choreographed…
Pumpkin Pie Show — the cardiac shadow — I always love the PPS. Very touching show.
Martin Short – Fame Becomes Me — Martin was VERY funny and VERY Martin. Very nice to see a funny show. (thanks, Danielle!)
The Man in my Head — another NYMF show that I knew the writer on…
Lemkin’s House — good play at Vital.
Losing Louie — ushered for this bway show to see my pal, Michele Pawk… I REALLY loved it even though all the reviewers didn’t… guess they didn’t appreciate the pierced clitoris jokes…
BARBRA STREISAND — UM, talk about AMAZING. WOW. Yeah, I have a blog on that. And it’s just the word “wow” repeated 100 times. Literally probably one of the best nights of my life. Wow. Barbra is just a legend. And you can see WHY she is a legend. Just incredible. Just incredible. Wow. Wow. Wow. Wow.
The Treatment — good play about a soldier by Eve Ensler who wrote the Vagina Monologues…
Modern Living — saw my friend, Chris, in this off-off bway show…
Spamalot — finally saw Spamalot to see my pal, Lauren Kennedy… good timing b/c I ended up playing auditions for it that week… (thanks, Danielle!)
The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas — what can I say? AMAZING. Amazing concert. Amazing. And I played for the REHEARSALS. Wow. Yeah, it’s AMAZING to be IN the program of a HUGE concert like this… even w/ your name spelled incorrectly… and then the AFTER party… I KNEW people. I knew LOTS of people… and Brian Stokes Mitchell, or STOKES as I call him now, shook MY hand and thanked ME for my hard work… WOW. Like a perfect evening, really.
Krakenhaus Blues — reviewed for oobr.com
Kern Salute — beginning of the amazing weekend at Town Hall — I knew people at this after party, too!! And one person I met had already HEARD of me and been to my website randomly…
Alice and Emily — seeing the Side Show girls from the FRONT ROW — what an out of body experience (This is mentioned in my blog, too.) And then Emily starred in Whorehouse, so I befriended her at rehearsals, and she gave me the BIGGEST hug at the after party… WOW. Yeah, I’ve made it, peeps.
Broadway Originals — last concert of the series — original people coming back to recreate moments — my favorite was seeing the Baby ladies doing “I want it all” and then Chip and Joanna singing “It Takes 2.” WOW. Just wow. That was the end of my week and a half of WOW. Barbra, Whorehouse, Town Hall…
Unlocked — reading of a new musical that I played auditions for.
Have You Seen This Man — reviewed for oobr.com b/c my friend, Josh, was in it and he came to my act (and is coming on Sunday, too! Yay, Josh!)
Daphne CD Release Concert — what FUN! Front table (thanks, Rori). Daphne looks GREAT, and still remembers my name! I was glad to be able to support her (this is actually the first thing I paid for in AGES, but it was worth it…)
Butley — Nathan Lane in a really sad play. You know, I think I liked it overall, but there were quite a few things that didn’t work… if you want a full review, lemme know.

Conclusions

Well, I lied about finishing this tomorrow. Sorry… I would go back and change it, but as we know — SINCERITY is sincerely what I go for. I don’t like doctoring thoughts up once they’re out… though perhaps sometimes I should… 😉 And I really didn’t think I would make it through the entire thing before 4 actually hit, but I did…

Snickers is still on my lap. I don’t know how ANY of you live without a cat. Seriously.

I don’t know what else there is to say. I walked into this nytheatre.com party the other day, and someone from the NYIT award staff called me over… and introduced me to 2 strangers… and they were apparently all just talking about me. And the other night at a bar, I ran into 6 people I knew… including a huge Broadway musical director… and at least once a week, I meet someone who has already heard of me.

I don’t want to sound all like narcissistic… but it’s probably too late… but I mean I’m only sending this to the ledger list… so it should be mostly people who already adore me… hopefully.

But… yeah… I don’t know. It’s like palpable. I have a really good feeling about this new project. And I have a really good feeling about everything career-wise. Things are all starting to come together. All that working non-stop for the passed 3 years is really paying off.

It is possible to follow your dreams and make it. Remember that people.

And remember to see my act Sunday… and to VOTE on Tuesday.

And to write back if I haven’t talked to you in awhile, b/c I care about EVERY single person on this list. And would love to know how YOU are doing.

Always,
Seth

DECEMBER

December 27, 2006 — the last ledger of 2006…

The Seth Ledger

Well, here it is almost 2007. In an effort to make this ledger shorter than the last one, I am writing in the most boring week of the year. This weekend with everyone out of town I watched a dozen Veronica Mars, worked on a few songs, ate chocolate, pet the cat… nothing exciting at all! I am, in fact, trying to distill the myth that my life is always exciting.

What IS exciting is that I put up 14 new tracks on my webpage — it is my new years GIFT to all of you. I finished recording these last week, and finally got them up.

https://www.sethbh.com/news3.html lists the 14 new songs in reverse chronological order — if you’re pressed for time, I highly recommend my new song, “In Love”. It got more applause than any song I’ve ever performed when I premiered it in November. If you didn’t make it to Neurotic Tendencies — there are now even MORE tracks from what most people consider my strongest act yet. (If you did make it, you can now relive your favorite songs!)

And as a special treat, I brought in my pal, MISS PIGGY, to record a torch song she has performed at various acts of mine for awhile. ENJOY!!

CURRENT PROJECTS

Well, here is where I don’t have to write much. I’m still waiting to hear back from various producers and stuff, and until this week, I was so busy, I didn’t have time to worry or write much. My new act “Why Am I Not Famous Yet?” is almost 50% done… I’d estimate 48% done right now. It is going to be awesome, I promise.

I don’t think there are any more projects. I will probably be musically directing quite a few acts this winter/ spring. I mean, people SAY they are planning things, but then I just wait for them to get their act together… literally! (Ba dum ching!)

I have a WEEK of playing auditions lined up already for January, which pretty much pays the rent for the entire month. So I’m not really worried financially as the new year approaches…

NEW YEARS UPDATE

Well, it still seems likely I will try to throw a party. However, there is still no known location. One of the roofs is an official no. My old neighbor hasn’t gotten back to me with a definite answer about the old roof yet. However, one of my friend’s aunt is out of town for the weekend, and has a big apartment on the UWS. So she has sent an inquiry as to the possibility of doing a board games/ DVD watching party… which, frankly, I find a lot more fun than a drinking party anyway. Another friend has offered his apartment as an absolute last resort backup plan, as well. I am sad that I cannot throw parties in my apartment. I do feel I have let dozens of people down this new years, but I am trying to rectify this situation, I promise. And really, I adore my apartment, and until this moment hadn’t had an ounce of regret about moving.

RESOLUTIONS

I feel like I should have some resolutions. But I really don’t have any. I feel like 2006 was an amazing year. I think you can see it in the ledgers. I feel like it was probably the best year so far, and I intend to continue as I’ve been continuing for 2007.

Maybe I should try to wax more poetical? I am not an optimist, in general. An idealist, perhaps. But not an optimist. Yet, on this eve of the eve, I have this serene sense that 2007 is going to be superb. This knowledge has kept me from worrying too much about anything, and I hope to keep it up for as long as possible.

It seems to me that the word resolution could be read re-solution — as if you’re trying to recreate an answer. Indeed, many resolutions are resolute attempts to recapture or reinvent.

Hahaha, okay, now I think I’m too poetical, and shall go back to normal.

VACATIONS

Well, I wrote a really long blog about Seattle, so I shan’t repeat myself here. But the short story is that it was fun. The flying was not. I hate flying, and never want to go on a plane ever again. Samidh and I went to the sci-fi museum (which was AWESOME) and the music experience museum where they had an incredible Disney music exhibit, the Boeing factory to see them making planes, out on the town, on the monorail…

I am vacating the city yet again for the MIT IAP Mystery Hunt… this will be my 10th year. I find it very relaxing b/c it’s the only weekend all year where I get so involved in something that I forget EVERYthing else, and it is divine.

2007 IN A GLANCE

I’m doing my audition workshop again at the end of January/ early Feb; last time it was helpful for people, I think… well, at least 2 of them are returning… and it’ll be good timing right before summer stock.

The last day of February, I will turn 28. In fact, I will be 28 on the 28th. I think I’m going to have 2 or 3 days of planned events. And then, we’ll see if I can beat getting taken out 16 times… in any case, I will be sending out a list of shows people can take me to for my birthday late January (including FOLLIES at Encore, and Bernadette’s concert in April in the Bronx!!), but it’s never too early to think about what you should get for me. 🙂

The spring will be REALLY busy with me playing for summer stock auditions, I am sure. Given that my winter has been busy, and winter is the LIGHT period, I expect to be so in demand this spring as to not have a second of free time. I hope to do Neurotic Tendencies again in April. My sister, Emily, graduates college in May, so I have to get up really early on the 18th.

The summer should be another fun summer in the city. In September, I’ll premiere my new act. In November, I think I’m going to do a Best of Seth evening at Theatre 1010. Next December, I will be bored out of my mind again during the holiday time, and again be trying to find a roof to host my annual party…

In general, I will continue coaching, playing auditions, and playing cabarets… I will try to get into all the pits in the spring, to at least view the new shows from them… I will try to get my musicals heard by producers, in an attempt to find someone brave enough to put them up off and on Broadway… Etcetera, etcetera.

MOVIES

Well, I should start with movies b/c yesterday I saw FIVE!! Jen and Aaron started the day with me at the best movie of the year — DREAMGIRLS! It was great. I mean, there were definite problems with it, but it was great. Simply great. The best movie I saw all year. Hands down.

Next was ERAGON, which was okay. Cute. Then NIGHT at the MUSEUM, which was amusing, but not as funny as we had hoped. I was on my own for movies 4 and 5 — CHARLOTTE’s WEB, which was adorable. It brought back memories of playing Avery in the musical version in 1996.

(I remember signing autographs after the show — “I hope you had A VERY good time.” None of the kids got it, but the parents were amused. I wonder if any of those still exist. They’d be worth a FORTUNE on ebay in a few years.)

Finally, I saw the most disappointed, unrealistic The Holiday. Gimme a BREAK, people. Girls that attractive never have trouble dating. And in REAL life, EVERYone is pining over someone not interested. That is how LIFE IS. I’d like to see a movie where NO ONE got what they wanted at the end. B/c that is life. (NOW who’s being optimistic? 😉 )

These weren’t the only movies I saw over the last few months. I had 2 other mini-movie days. I did BORAT and Stranger than Fiction in one.

BORAT is the FUNNIEST movie I’ve seen all year. By far. Incredible. Genius. Absolutely hilarious. I think I was crying during some scenes b/c it was just THAT funny.

Stranger than Fiction was good. Not great, but it was definitely good and enjoyable.

I had one more day of 3 movies… hm… trying to recall… The Prestige, Happy Feet, and the James Bond movie, Casino Royale… The Prestige was really awesome, actually. Happy Feet was adorable in parts, but some of it was just bland. It was certainly no Toy Story… Casino Royale was exactly how you’d expect it to be. That was the night my phone started not working (texting in the shower = bad idea), and I spent the last movie tryin’ to fix it silently… then I went and took Lauren out to the diner for her bday!!

Oh MY SISTER GOT ME A NEW PHONE for Hanukkah, and I ADORE it!! It’s a FLIP phone, so if I get pissed at people, I can just FLIP them off!!!

TELEVISION

The show I’ve been watching the most of lately is VERONICA MARS (thanks, Lori!). I am borrowing the first 2 seasons DVDs from Lori. I finished season 1, and I must say it was one of the best first seasons of any show ever! (Though I think 24 was more addicting.) I am 6/22 (or 3/11) done w/ season 2, and will probably finish in the next week. I have tivoed season 3, so I can finally start clearing those out when I am caught up!

Other than that, it’s pretty much the same as the last ledger. 24 is back soon! Woo! Heroes AND 24 on the same day! I’ll never get anything done on Mondays anymore…

Oh, SCRUBS is back! And they’re doing a MUSICAL episode in January! Written by the Ave Q composers, who I know. So that’s exciting. They released a 2 minute video on youtube, that’s AWESOME. (Here’s a link: http://youtube.com/watch?v=GF6rSGfUdyg )

THEATER

Here’s everything I’ve seen since the last ledger (* review on oobr.com):

All the Way Home — Transport Group revival of this touching Pulitzer Prize winning play
Les Miserables — downsized revival of the first show I ever saw on Broadway… brought back memories…
A Chorus Line — I actually only saw this revival from the pit… it was very exciting to be down there…
A Little Night Music* — off-off production of this Sondheim classic
Broadway Unplugged — awesome night and after-party, absolutely awesome.
The Little Dog Who Laughed — funniest play on bway now (perhaps the only comedy right now, actually)
Mary Poppins — no comment
High Fidelity — adorable but flawed show, that sadly closed before it could find its audience
Torch Song Trilogy* — saw Seth Rudetsky in this great revival of this seminal play
The Apple Tree — KRISTIN CHENOWETH is AMAZING. I could watch her FOREVER and ever and EVER. She told me I looked fabulous after the show. Dave was there; he can vouch.
Company — revival of Sondheim show where the actors play instruments — Raul was incredible – I wrote 1500 words on this for trekortreat.com; it’s not up yet, but if you’re interested, lemme know.
Evil Dead: the Musical — off-bway musical based on a movie I haven’t seen, but wish I had b/c I missed a lot of jokes…
Heartbreak House — great bway revival of this Shaw classic. Really glad I went.
Suddenly Last Summer — great off-bway revival of this Williams classic.
Spring Awakening — the new bway musical – I really wanted to love it — I did enjoy a lot of it, and the recording is growing on me. how can you not like a show that has simulated sex on stage?
The Scene — yeah, I haven’t seen this yet – ushering on Friday — the guy from Monk and the woman from that Raymond show are in it — I don’t watch either, but it’s getting a lot of buzz, so I figured there’s nothing else to do this week… if I don’t include it in this ledger, it won’t make the webpage b/c I’m going to be putting my 2006 book away for posterity soon…

CONCLUSIONS

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!!

I am in completely shock that 2006 is done and gone, but dwelling on it will not make it linger. In any case, I hope you all have the MOST amazing 2007’s ever.

If I haven’t heard from you in decades, now is your opportunity to RESPOND with a little note about what you’re up to. Until next year…

Always,
Seth

2006 Ledgers

Seth Abridged