Well, dear readers, we had us a high old time at the Robby Awards. It wasn’t what I’d call a huge audience, maybe 100 people, but I can assure you that everyone in that audience had a grand old time because we kept the show fast and fun, coming in at two hours and ten minutes, which I believe is a Robby Awards first. I began the show with some remarks, and then launched into an awards bit that seemed to work really well and that set the irreverent tone of the evening. My co-host came out and did his stuff and then we began the show proper. All the people singing did a great job – and were very different from each other. The only remarks I actually planned was the opening, but I just sat backstage and listened to what was going on and then was able to improvise some funny stuff, off the cuff. Ten years ago I would never have been able to do this, but thanks to eight years of doing the Kritzerland shows it’s become second nature to me now, like breathing out and breathing in – what am I, Henry Higgins all of a sudden? There were so many fun people, including my old school mate Linda Hart – she looks great and we just had a blast catching up on things. And we got to talk about doing How to Succeed together on the very stage we were on back in 1968. That is fifty years ago, baby. Jenna Lea Rosen did my arrangement of the Sondheim put-together You’re Gonna Love Tomorrow/Not a Day Goes By brilliantly and got one of the biggest hands of the evening. Teri Ralston was in amazing voice doing Broadway Baby. Kim Huber killed with Absent-Minded Me/People, which I put together for her for our Jule Styne Kritzerland show. Marc Ginsburg sang a song from The Scarlet Pimpernel, so I knew he would not win Best Actor for Levi and knew he would win for The Scarlet Pimpernel, which he did. I also pretty well knew that despite two really good Kritzerland shows being up that we would not repeat our win of last year this year. So, there were no real surprises for me on that front, and I had no expectations that Levi would win its other two nominations.
But it was the camaraderie that was so special, a camaraderie that exists in no other theater awards show in LA. One time I came out and said “Isn’t this better than the Ovation Awards? The Ovation Awards is the Medea of awards shows.” That got a great laugh but it’s true, and the other shows are even stuffier. We were all there to have a good time and a good time is what we had. It really could not have gone better and there was not one hiccup in the entire evening.
Prior to that, I got about seven hours of sleep, got up, answered e-mails, and then my helper for the day arrived and we did a Costco run. Then I grabbed a bite to eat – a sandwich and potato salad, then we came back here and while I got ready the helper did some garage organizing. It’s actually getting easier to walk in there, so that’s great. Then we moseyed on over to LACC, getting there around three-fifteen. Our sound guy was loading in and he got all his stuff up and ready for our four o’clock sound check, while the helper got everything ready for the forecourt stuff.
People began arriving at six and partaking of all the foodstuffs, which everyone seemed to enjoy. We didn’t have liquid refreshments other than water, because we had no way of keeping sodas cold, but water seemed fine. We began the show right on time.
After the show, I hung out with some folks and yakked a bit, then I headed home, stopping at Ralph’s as I needed something to eat. I got a turkey wrap, a bit of potato salad, and some sweet corn (in a bowl from the hot bar), then came home and ate about half the corn, which was actually really good. Grant was still next door working on his book so I gave him half the wrap since he was hungry. I ate my half and the potato salad and that was that.
Today, I have a lot of stuff to catch up on and will have to deal with some merde and hopefully I can have it not be too terrible, Grant and I are going to one of the few remaining Numero Unos for lunch, I’ll pick up some packages, and then work at the piano.
Tomorrow I think I have a meeting at one, which I’ll have to leave no later than 1:45 as I have a two-thirty haircut with Mrs. Geissman. The rest of the week is meetings and meals and I’ll see an adjusted sequence in the video to make sure I’m okay with it, then that will be put to bed. I also have a work session for the Kritzerland show, and then I’m not sure what’s happening on the weekend.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, catch up on stuff, deal with merde, have lunch, hopefully pick up packages, work at the piano, and relax. Today’s topic of discussion: We talked about the new cast albums, so now what are your favorite cast albums of the Golden Age, say through 1970? Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland, so happy that The Robby Awards went so smoothly and so well and that it was a grand night for singing and awards-giving.