Nerd-Joy and Great Music at 54 Below

I performed at 54 Below the other night! I’ve always wanted to, and truth be told if I can get a solo evening there one day my life will be complete. For now a two-concert Monday will have to do; it was an evening of the music Nell Benjamin and Laurence O’Keefe, the couple that brought you Legally Blonde, Cam Jansen and The Mice together, and separately Heathers, Mean Girls and Bat Boy. I met them a number of years ago doing a concert version of their work Life of the Party, a serio-comic-almost-opera about the film industry in Stalinist Russia (it’s quite good and deserves a real production, producer-readers out there; likewise their hilarious Huzzah! - a musical about the Rennaissance Fair, really - somebody pease produce this stuff it's so good. Did I mention it's good?); they graciously asked me to join their merry band for the 54 Below celebration, and I jumped at the chance.

I got to sing a moving duet with one of my dear friends, Paul Lincoln, and play the straight woman First Lady to Mo Rocca's President Dave from the forthcoming musical versiono oof the iconic film. (Full disclosure: I have always had an intelligence crush on Mo Rocca and he is lovely and kind in person and we're from the same town-ish so I completely geeked out with nerd-joy, even though I only had one line and mostly just stood there. I'd do it again.)

Other favorite moments for me belonged to Brooke Quintana who sang "Stars" from Mean Girls with such heart and connection, Jared Bradshaw as the power-ballad-singing Secret Service agent (Silver Fox will be thrilled that the detail gets a moment when Dave comes to Broadway, as it should) and Nell herself rapping a verse of "Miladies!" the rousing and hilarious lady-pirate-anthem from Huzzah!. Seriously, produce it please...

Although he doesn't know it at the time of this writing, Paul and I recorded two songs from Life of the Party as a birthday surprise for Larry; they're gorgeous and when they're ready I will post.