I want a T-shirt that says: Jason Robert Brown Rocks My Face Off!!!

Cause he does. So, last night, the North Shore Theatre Company people put on a benefit to raise money to help rebuild their previously incinerated theatre... with the help of Jason Robert Brown, the Caucasian Rhythm Kings, Lauren Kennedy (premiered the Last Five Years), and a small cast of newenglanders (probably isn't one word, but I'll go with it). Freaking awesome. Now, I'll say that the show as a whole was very good--there were some impressive performances from the local singers. But the best things about the whole night were J.R.B's absolutely entertaining stage-mumblings, the song with Lauren Kennedy singing her guts out, and J.R.B. singing "She Cries," and his encore. Seriously, to utilize an oft-applied NEC/jazzer term, he is so sick. It's absolutely disgusting how uniquely talented he is. A pioneering composer who sings to great effect while killing on the piano. In the musical theatre genre. The little theatre geek inside me was in heaven, and the jazz critic/musician inside was satisfied. Yay. Plus, Karissa and I met him, had him sign our newly-purchased cds, and took a picture with him. In the words of Emilie, (shaking hands) it was a phenomenal night!!!

Oh, and did I forget to mention that I met Julie Andrews a couple weeks ago? Um, yeah, I did. She was signing books at Barnes and Noble, and she signed my book, complimented me on my grammar, and we spoke the word "misting" in unison. We're best friends. It was kind of surreal to be talking to her, because her face and voice were such an integral part of my movie/musical exposure from childhood into adulthood. It was honestly a little like being in a movie with her. Oh well, I suppose that's the closest I'll get. But what a great month for me and musical theatre. Did I mention that my little sister is jealous? Bonus!

In school and real life-related news, here's what's on the burner:
MIDTERMS! Oh, woe. My Bergonzi improv seminar midterm is going to leave a mark. My bum still hurts a little from where his class kicked my ass the other day. Oh well, I'll think positively and practice, and it should be fine.

Deadlines! Yeah, so I'm applying for this IAJE (international association of jazz educators) Sisters in Jazz competition thingy, and the deadline is November 4. This means I have to get two recommendations, record two tunes, and get a cheesy, cheap Sears headshot done before then. Woo hoo. Yep. We'll see how that goes.

Band! So I'm sort of in a band now, being led by a killing vibes player, Mike Pfaff, and I'm writing lyrics to some of his originals, and we're also doing a bunch of covers. Oh, and this is not a jazz band. We're covering an eclectic mix of genres, and I might actually be singing "Toxic" of Britney Spears fame. Anyway, I'm pretty excited about it, especially as it's the closest I'll probably ever get to singing in a rock band. Yay for indirectly fulfilled guilty pleasures.

Singing! My friend Ryan has arranged a ballad for me to sing with NEC's jazz composer's orchestra. We rehearsed tonight, and it sounded good. Anyway, it's really nice to sing with a big band again, as the last time was with Joyner's jazz band at PLU when we did the Kenny Wheeler suite. Yay for performing.