Well Toxaholics, in about 1/2 an hour I will be leaving to attend the Opening Night Performance of The Toxic Avenger. And I have to say, as I file my final blog here, I'm feeling a bit verklempt, as Shinequa and Diane sing in "My Big French Boyfriend." I'd never written a blog before this one, and I worked hard to make sure that it never took itself too seriously while still providing some behind-the-scenes info. So your response has been overwhelming to me.
I've been absolutely thrilled and su…
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Added by Joe DiPietro on April 6, 2009 at 5:28pm —
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Yes, Toxaholics, today we have our last two previews (yay!) -- a Sunday matinee full of rockin' seniors and then a 7 PM show full of folks who don't want the weekend to end.
But here's a story that I absolutely must share with you. After yesterday's matinee, I heard the best question EVER asked to me by an audience member. I know, I know what you're thinking, "Joe, you're overhyping again! Is it really the best question EVER?" Well listen up, Toxaholics --
Immediately following the matinee, I…
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Added by Joe DiPietro on April 5, 2009 at 2:52pm —
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So at last night's performance (Thursday) started ten minutes late.
"But Joe," you anxiously ask, "why would the show start a full ten minutes late? Especially on a night in which the audience was filled with wonderful, wonderful critics? Weren't the actors ready? Wasn't the band ready? Wasn't the backstage crew ready? Why, Joe, why?"
Good questions, generic Toxaholic! And yes, the actors, band and backstage crew were all ready at 8:00 sharp, as always. And yes, I love all critics and think th…
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Added by Joe DiPietro on April 4, 2009 at 2:36pm —
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Hey Toxaholics!
It's day 2, week 3 of previews and the critics are pouring in to see the show. Of course, in our new technological age, everyone is (literally) a critic, and last night, I met a group of bloggers who had came to check us out. They were from Yelp, and if you don't know what Yelp is, shame on you! (Actually, I had no idea what Yelp was, so you can share in my shame.) But Yelp is a cool website that plays host to a lot of cool bloggers who happened visit Toxic last night. It was gr…
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Added by Joe DiPietro on April 3, 2009 at 12:57am —
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Afternoon, Toxaholics.
Yes, it is the afternoon of 1st Critic's Performance Day (yay!) and an eerie calm has befallen the DiPietro household (I'm relaxed, dog is snoring.) The Toxic actors and band and crew have been rockin' it for two weeks now, so I feel as if we're totally ready for the press to take a look at us -- so bring it on (and please press, remember that I absolutely LOVE you all.)
Now, since the critics will be coming to every performance this week, I will be in the back of the th…
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Added by Joe DiPietro on April 2, 2009 at 1:30am —
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Greetings Good Toxaholics,
Well, today starts the final week of my blog, "THE CREATION OF THE TOXIC AVENGER," proving that all
great good mildly amusing things must come to an end. Though,of course, this blog will live on for many years as high-level academic scholars use it to study, uh, uh, uh -- important theatrical stuff.
But tune in everyday from now until OPENING NIGHT, APRIL 6TH for complete FINAL WEEK OF PREVIEW blogging.
Today, Tuesday, is our day off (yay!) and David a…
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Added by Joe DiPietro on March 31, 2009 at 9:30pm —
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Hello Toxaholics,
In the past, some critics have accused my work of
sucking not being on the cutting edge. Well, in order to jump so firmly on the cutting edge that I've actually gone over the cutting edge to find a new edge that not only cuts but slices and dices, I have decided to partake in an historic first -- I will be the first author in the history of theatre to LIVE BLOG a performance of my own show. That's right, Toxaholics, at tonight's Sunday preview, I will be LIVE BLOGGING a…
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Added by Joe DiPietro on March 30, 2009 at 2:19am —
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So for this evening's rockin' Saturday night performance, my Mom & Dad drove in from New Jersey's own Enchanted Active Adult Community (Exit 7A) to see a delightful show.
But as soon as we entered the New World Stages Theatrical Shrine, my mom disappeared! Where did she go, I wondered, somewhat concerned. But then I realized -- Of course! The Merchandise Kiosk! And there she was, having wedged her way in front of a gaggle of teenage girls, all mesmerized by the glittering display of Toxic m…
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Added by Joe DiPietro on March 29, 2009 at 12:49am —
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Great news, Toxaholics!
Last night's show was Fantoxic (that is a word coined by our PR whiz Richard Hillman, who spent 10 years as Helen Reddy's back-up singer. That's right, a dude stood behind her all that time and sang back-up to "I Am Woman." Rock 'n roll is a crazy world.) Anyway, last night's audience was so loud and laugh-filled that I wanted to take them home and have their baby.
In fact, things have been going so well that today our directorman, TonyAwardBoy John Rando, decided to 'f…
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Added by Joe DiPietro on March 28, 2009 at 12:44am —
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So last night was the first preview of our 2nd week of previews -- the day I call "Black Wednesday." Let me explain --
About 15 years ago when I was but a
clueless starry-eyed lad with big theatrical dreams and little theatrical knowledge, I wrote a show entitled "I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change," which debuted in New Jersey's American Stage Company. Being an
idiot novice, I was simply thrilled that an actual professional company with actual professional actors was performi…
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Added by Joe DiPietro on March 27, 2009 at 12:49am —
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Hello, Toxaholics! I'm back from my day off and at your service once again.
So today we begin our 2nd (of 3) week of previews. Now, this is the more cushy week of previews. The first week was nothiing but terrifying (will the audience like us or did I just waste 2 years of my freakin' life writing this damn show!) Fortunately, they liked us. And next week is the week that critics will be attending our theatrical enterprise, so I will revert back into my attractive nervous/terrified mode.
But t…
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Added by Joe DiPietro on March 26, 2009 at 2:00am —
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So we're sitting in a Monday afternoon rehearsal and tomorrow is our (eagerly-awaited) day off! There's no performance and no rehearsal on Tuesday, so the actors will get to rest their bodies and voices, and the crew and the creative staff will get to chill. I'll be hangin' with the dog and oversleeping and things like that. Oh yeah, and I'm happy to report that Sunday night's performance went terrifically -- another packed house of Toxaholics who clearly didn't want the weekend to end.
By the…
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Added by Joe DiPietro on March 24, 2009 at 2:30am —
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So last night was our fourth preview and our first full house (Yah!) It was also our first Saturday night performance.
And I bet ye Toxaholics are wondering how it went.
Well, here's the thing about Saturday night audiences -- they tend to be quieter than audiences on other nights of the week. That's right, different audiences on different nights of the week have different personalities. And Saturday night audiences are notoriously known as
dead sedate, generally because of the time-hono…
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Added by Joe DiPietro on March 23, 2009 at 2:14am —
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Hey Toxaholics,
So we had yet another very fun crowd at last night's preview of Toxic Avenger! And it was a very diverse crowd, too -- from teenagers to seniors -- and the whole house seemed to have a great time. So I am soooo much calmer than I was just a few days ago. The only one who isn't that happy about it all is my dog, who has been home a lot more lately since I've been running off to rehearsals and the show. But I actually have a day off (!) on Tuesday, so he'll get some hang out time…
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Added by Joe DiPietro on March 22, 2009 at 12:50am —
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So sitting here in rehearsal on Friday afternoon, and director John Rando just told the actors to "pick it up from the lyric -- "I'll be your bookselling whore." So all is normal in Toxieland.
Last night we had our second preview. And in theatre, there is a stomach-churning phenomenon (at least it's stomach churning to this author) known as "Second Night." "Second Night" basically means that the second performance of any show rarely goes as well as the first performance, since the first perform…
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Added by Joe DiPietro on March 21, 2009 at 11:59am —
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Greetings, Toxaholics --
So it's the afternoon following our first preview (which was very
Toxarrifc Fantoxtic exciting) and we're rehearsing parts of the show that we think we can make better. That's why shows have previews, so you can strengthen and tighten and fix parts during the daytime and then try them out at night.
Right now, our
Toxtacular terrific leading woman and mutant, Sara Chase and Nick Cordero, are running through the scenes that establish their relationsh…
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Added by Joe DiPietro on March 19, 2009 at 6:00pm —
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So it's First Preview Day! Yay!
But before I begin, lemme just thank all you Toxaholics for the good wishes you've been posting! Between getting the show up and writing the blog and talking care of a needy dog and trying to get at least a little sleep -- I haven't had a moment to answer, but don't think your posts go unread. They are GREATLY appreciated, especially in this time of need (i.e. dress rehearsal and previews.)
So I just returned home from rehearsal to have some dinner and tend to t…
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Added by Joe DiPietro on March 19, 2009 at 12:39am —
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So last night was our Invited Dress Rehearsal! Let me explain for all you non-theatre professionals -- we had a dress rehearsal and we invited people to see it. (Note: I thought I had to explain what it was but now that I think about it, it's pretty clearly named. Sorry.)
Anyway, we had about 300 invited folks in the audience. Who the hell were these invited few, you ask? Well, here's an idea of some of the luminaries in the audience --
1 - 30 or so people from the theatre where Toxic originat…
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Added by Joe DiPietro on March 18, 2009 at 1:08am —
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As
The Week that Won't End Tech Week rolls along, the Toxaholic demand for another canine photo essay has reached a crescendo. So being a
total whore person who believes in giving the audience what it wants, I took my Canon Sureshot to Le Stages de New World today to record the joy.
At the civilized hour of noon, dog/blogstar Rocco and I hopped in a cab. After being driven down Amsterdam Avenue at 120 miles an hour, we arrived at rehearsal to find Rando and company working through…
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Added by Joe DiPietro on March 16, 2009 at 2:30am —
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Hey Toxaholics! You guys rock! You rock! You rock!!!
I hope you enjoyed that
suck-up warmly-felt greeting, but I just want to extend my appreciation to all my
millions hundreds of thousands enthusiastic readers who have made this blog the Number One most viewed blog for Musical Theatre. Thanks all!
So I know what you're all DYING to know -- how is Toxie Tech going today? Spectacularly! And the reason it's going spectacularly is 'cause I'm not there. I'm home with my needy…
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Added by Joe DiPietro on March 14, 2009 at 6:50pm —
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