Diana DeGarmo's 'TOXIC' Blog: 'OH MY GOODNESS!'

Diana DeGarmo, Season 3 "American Idol" runner-up and Broadway vet has returned to the New York stage where, beginning Friday, August 14th, she assumed the role of Sarah, the sexy, blind librarian in The Toxic Avenger - named the "Best New Off-Broadway Musical" by the Outer Critics Circle.

Theatre audiences in New York will remember DeGarmo's critically acclaimed performance as Penny Pingleton in Broadway's HAIRSPRAY and across the country in the cast of the first national tour of Brooklyn: The Musical and her starring role as Dorothy in the first national tour of Oz. Ms. DeGarmo will recently starred in the Lyric Theatre of Oklahoma's production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.

You can follow her "TOXIE" journey right here on BroadwayWorld.com as we bring you her Toxic Avenger Blog! 

OH MY GOODNESS!

Wow, time has FLOWN! I guess that little old saying IS right "Time flies when you're having fun!"

I have been meaning to write in since I opened the show, but the past week and a half have gone right by in the blink of an eye!

Wow. That is the best way for me to describe how I am feeling. Since I joined the cast on the 14th, my life has kind of gone topsy turvy, but in a good way! My opening day/night was sooooo crazy and I would not have wanted it any other way! My put-in with the cast that morning was a bit overwhelming to tell you the truth. There were so many new things to soak up in such a short amount of time. It was my first time in costume, hair/makeup, lights, sound, and of course the CAST! Like expected, some things didn't happen as smoothly as I would've liked them to the for first go around, but I didn't let it get me down. I just went home after the put-in, slept with my weenies for an hour, and then went back and had a FANTASTIC show! I felt like such a princess because when I got back to the theatre I was bombarded by flowers, balloons, and cookies from my wonderful fans. The ladies dressing room looked like a flower/party shop! There was a lot of excitement in the air.

After the show there was a lovely little reception outside of the theatre. There were photographers, fans, friends, and TOXIC COOKIES! Yes, that's what I said. They look absolutely hideous, but taste ooooohh soooo good! Everyone was so nice and excited and made me feel so warm and fuzzy inside. :-) I closed out my evening with Pad Thai over at VYNYL over on 9th Ave. If you are in NYC you MUST go to VYNYL. I love that place!!

Over the course of the next few days I slowly got more and more comfy cozy with the show. The whip cream section of "Hot Toxic Love" took quite a few trial and error moments, but hey, we got through it and no one got hurt! Ha! On my first Sunday I got to work with our spunky, talented, funny, female understudy, Erin Leigh Peck. It was a great time to throw someone new at me because it kept me on my toes! You can never get too complacent with your show for sure. On Monday, the 17th, a very special guest came to see the show, Mr. David Bryan! (insert insane crowd roar) He was REALLY nice and so complimentary. I'm glad he liked me. :-) Plus, his hair is freakin AWESOME. I wish I had such perfect, luscious, golden curls like that! He even coined a new name for my wig--"Suzanne Somers." It's totally true, too! I also made peach cobbler for the cast and crew. It didn't even make it to half hour, so I guess they liked it......

Week 2 (starting Wed, the 18th of August) was kicked off with Nick Cordero having a family emergency so I got a NEW Toxie for the week--Nicholas Rodriguez! I'm telling ya, with the show throwing me curve balls like this every few days, I am gonna be able to do this show backwards, forwards, and inside-out, in my SLEEP! HAHA! The great thing is, since Nicholas had been teaching me the show for the last two weeks we had both "worked together." I already kinda knew how he played Toxie and he knew what to expect from me. It was all still fresh and worked out nicely. :-) When you are playing a blind character you learn to reeeeaaallly trust what the other people around you are doing. Nicholas was great. I love him to death! Plus, I would watch him during the day on "One Life To Live" and then go kiss him at night! What can I say, I've got a sweet gig!

Soooooo, everyone, over this last week (and a half), I have gotten to work with both of the understudies, meet David Bryan, make homemade peach cobbler and lemon/raspberry cake, actually HIT the barrel with my face during the chase scene (yes it hurt, but I am okay!), and figure out how to time the dang whip cream in "Hot Toxic Love" and not get it all over me, Toxie, or the stage! I would say that so far, so good!

Oh and PS-- if you get tickets to the show and sit in front of the "gay" barrel (front row, house left) please don't look totally terrified when you see my boobs rushing towards you during the "fake rape." I promise they won't magically jump out of my bra and bite you..... hard. ;-)

Posted by Diana DeGarmo on August 25, 2009 at 1:03pm

The Toxic Avenger is a charming love story and laugh-out-loud musical that has it all -- an unlikely hero, his beautiful girlfriend, a corrupt New Jersey mayor and two guys who play...well, everyone else...bullies, mobsters, old ladies, and stiletto-wearing back-up singers. The show also features the most memorable and unbelievable duet you'll ever see on any New York stage. Audiences from teenagers to senior citizens love this hilarious new hit musical! Easily 1,000 laughs.

Featuring book and lyrics by Joe DiPietro (I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change), music by David Bryan (Bon Jovi) and direction by Tony Award winner John Rando (Urinetown), The Toxic Avenger is playing an open-ended run at New World Stages (340 West 50th Street).

Ms. DeGarmo joins fellow cast members: Nick Cordero, Demond Green, Jonathan Root and Nancy Opel. Erin Leigh Peck and Jason Wooten are also featured as covers for all of the female and male roles in the production.

The production team for The Toxic Avenger includes: Beowolf Boritt (Scenic Design), David C. Woolard (Costume Design), Kenneth Posner (Lighting Design), Kurt Fischer (Sound Design), Mark Adam Rampmeyer (Hair & Make-Up Design), John Dods (Prosthetics & Special Effects Design), Rick Sordelet & David DeBesse (Fight Direction), Wendy Seyb (Choreographer), David Bryan & Chris Jahnke (Orchestrations) and Doug Katsaros (Music Director).

The performance schedule for The Toxic Avenger is: Monday, Wednesday - Friday at 8PM, Saturday at 4 & 8PM and Sunday at 3 & 7:30PM. Tickets are $51.50 & $71.50 and may be purchased through Telecharge at (212) 239-6200/www.telecharge.com.

The original cast recording (Time Life) is in stores now and available on iTunes.

For further information and fun online content, please visit the show's official web site (TheToxicAvengerMusical.com).