Mamie Parris News

This February and March at 54 BELOW presents an exciting lineup of the brightest talent from Broadway and beyond, including Christopher Sieber, Annaleigh Ashford, Randy Graff, Melinda Doolittle, Jeff Daniels, Linda Eder, Andrea McArdle, Sondheim Unplugged, Taboo: 10th Anniversary Reunion Concert, Beth Leavel, Lindsay Mendez and Derek Klena.

This February and March at 54 BELOW presents an exciting lineup of the brightest talent from Broadway and beyond, including Christopher Sieber, Annaleigh Ashford, Randy Graff, Melinda Doolittle, Jeff Daniels, Linda Eder, Andrea McArdle, Sondheim Unplugged, Taboo: 10th Anniversary Reunion Concert, Beth Leavel, Lindsay Mendez and Derek Klena.

As always, Connecticut's professional theaters offerered a bountiful selection of excellent theater in 2013. It's hard to pick just a few, but here are some of the year's standouts from the theaters I cover for BroadwayWorld.com:

A private industry reading of 26 Pebbles, a new play written and directed by Eric Ulloa, will be held December 13 at Playwrights Horizons Studios at 2pm. The reading will be held on the one year anniversary of the Sandy Hook Tragedy.

Now that we've gotten to know our principles, it is time to get down to the foundation of any great show…the ensemble.

Like a page straight out of a comic opera, 'The Most Happy Fella' utilizes a trio of comic relief to introduce us to the world of Tony's Vineyard and just how damn Italian it all is. This relief comes in the form of three chefs that work for Tony and when not cooking, they belt out their powerhouse voices (you have NO idea what you're in store for until you hear them!) that bring down the house eight shows a week. This week I give you the actors that bring Pasquale, Guiseppe and Ciccio to life - Martin Sola, Greg Roderick and Daniel Berryman. I hope you enjoy getting to know this tasty trio! (I promise that sounded a lot less creepy in my head)

Tonight, October 25th , Goodspeed Musicals will host a private reading of actor Eric Ulloa's new play 26 Pebbles at the McMillan Rehearsal Studio on the Goodspeed campus. The play, by The Most Happy Fella ensemble member Ulloa will feature cast members from Goodspeed's current production for "Fella."

It's Saturday, and that means it's time for BroadwayWorld's 'Saturday Intermission Pics' roundup. Today's photos come from the casts of HONEYMOON IN VEGAS at Paper Mill, THE MOST HAPPY FELLA at Goodspeed, the WE WILL ROCK YOU, EVITA and THE ADDAMS FAMILY national tours, TOP HAT in the West End, THE JUNGLE BOOK at Huntington, BLUEBIRD OF HAPPINESS in Manila, Philippines and more!

Goodspeed Musicals transports audiences to beautiful Napa Valley with its production of Frank Loesser's The Most Happy Fella. This all-new production of the beloved musical that Goodspeed sent to Broadway in 1991 will run through December 1 at the Goodspeed Opera House in East Haddam, Conn. BroadwayWorld brings you highlights from the production below!

It's Saturday, and that means it's time for BroadwayWorld's 'Saturday Intermission Pics' round-up. Today's photos come from the casts of SOUL DOCTOR, KINKY BOOTS, Goodspeed's THE MOST HAPPY FELLA, HONEYMOON IN VEGAS at Paper Mill, THE JUNGLE BOOK at Huntington, TOP HAT in the West End, THE BLUEBIRD OF HAPPINESS in Manila, Philippines, the national tours of ELVIS LIVES and HELLO, DOLLY! and more!

This revival is a sweet romance made delightful by Nolte's portrayal of Tony Esposito and a strong performance from Mamie Parris as his love interest, Rosabella.

There's no business, like show business, like no business I know...

Goodspeed Musicals will transport audiences to beautiful Napa Valley with its production of Frank Loesser's The Most Happy Fella. This all-new production of the beloved musical that Goodspeed sent to Broadway in 1991 will run from September 20 - December 1 at the Goodspeed Opera House in East Haddam, Conn. The Most Happy Fella will be sponsored by Connecticut Light and Power. BroadwayWorld has a first look at highlights below!

Standing backstage in the wings of the theatre, you begin to notice that your pulse has increased and you're a little sweaty despite the freezing AC coming down on you. 'Rosabella' is singing the last 16 bars of 'Somebody, Somewhere' and you can feel the vibration of the automation kicking in that will soon roll the diner off and take the audience from San Francisco to the Napa Valley. You check and recheck that your prop comb is in your pocket and that your prop newspaper is tucked into your waistband and ready for use. The actors next to you are doing similar actions, whether checking their own props or running lines in their head, looking at times like a manic person on the New York City subway talking to themselves. The song ends and since the scrim is down in front of you, you only hear muffled applause, therefore unable to gauge how things have gone these first 15 minutes of the show. The scrim lifts, the lights blare into your eyes and you see the once vacant seats now full of strangers who have paid to have a great evening of theatre. The time has finally arrived…ladies and gentlemen, it's time for your first preview.

Today's blog is brought to you by my second cup of coffee and the last tiny flecks of energy I have left after this insane tech week. The insanity and long hours though, have brought us to this, our first preview, where the world will see what we've been working on for that last five weeks. Will it be a hit for the Goodspeed? Will people find our grapes to be sour? (Grant me at least one Napa Valley pun…I'm exhausted). I have my opinions on our show, which I've mentioned at length on here, but the audience member is the one who truly decides our fate.

There is a high holy day each week, where actors pause to relax and reflect on everything that has happened the 6 days prior…and thy name is Monday. So, with excitement for the blessed days arrival, the cast of The Most Happy Fella had their first run through for the show designers, producers and staff this past Sunday. Up until this point we have been blocking the individual scenes and numbers, not really aware of what the full journey would feel like. I knew the scenes and numbers I was in, that I had set transition assignments and that my chest seized up every time I finished dancing "Big D," but I had no idea what/how it all came together. Like Amanda Bynes to a ratty wig, we actors need an audience to really feel it all come together and add in that new element that we hadn't felt thus far.

Goodspeed Musicals will transport audiences to beautiful Napa Valley with its production of Frank Loesser's The Most Happy Fella. This all-new production of the beloved musical that Goodspeed sent to Broadway in 1991 will run from September 20 - December 1 at the Goodspeed Opera House in East Haddam, Conn. The Most Happy Fella will be sponsored by Connecticut Light and Power. BroadwayWorld has a sneak peek below!

The theatrical world is extremely small. There is this preconceived notion that there are thousands of actors and that our community is massive, but when you scale it down to working actors in New York City, we are a thimble sized network of people who all somehow know or know of each other. So when an actress with the talent and resume of Mamie Parris crosses your path just now for the first time, you begin to think to yourself, "Where the hell have I been?"

So this show marks my first time in the ensemble in my professional career. Now, I mean that just as a fact, not as an "ugh, the ensemble" type comment. In fact, my mind has been blown in these past two weeks as to the amount of extra work one must put in when the circumstances given to you are sing, dance and insert random line during a scene change where you're grabbing a stool to take offstage. Our director, Rob Ruggiero, is very detail oriented and insists on an ensemble that has their own backstories and aren't just "peas and carrots" and "hub-bubbing" in group scenes. This cast has risen to the challenge and have created a warm and inviting community chock full of relationships and intricacies. Me? I'm giving you a full committed three act riff of August: Osage County deep within my subtle, "Well, hi boss!" and "Yeah, I seen her picture. She's beautiful." As I always say, "If you give a mouse a cookie…"

Goodspeed Musicals will transport audiences to beautiful Napa Valley with its production of Frank Loesser's The Most Happy Fella. This all-new production of the beloved musical that Goodspeed sent to Broadway in 1991 will run from September 20 - December 1 at the Goodspeed Opera House in East Haddam, Conn. The Most Happy Fella will be sponsored by Connecticut Light and Power.