Well, dear readers, the rains came, and it’s really been coming down very hard all day. I do believe it kept quite a few people from attending the Robby Awards last night. It was still a fun audience and they applauded and laughed loudly. The show began ten or fifteen minutes late and ran a bit over two hours, sans intermission. Bruce Vilanch and Sharon McNight were the co-hosts, and they were fun. Musical selections were sometimes a bit wonky but aren’t they always. The opening number was the song Billy Barnes wrote for the Robbys – we love Billy. Some awards were presented, then the second song was The Impossible Dream and I was up after that. I came to the stage and said how exciting it was to be at the second annual final last time ever Robbys. I then said I was going to sing The Impossible Dream. Kidding, of course. I then set up the song I was going to sing by saying I’d just finished Barbra Streisand’s new over 900-page tome and that I found one thing very interesting – that with all her awards she’s not an official EGOT winner because while she has a special Tony, in order to be an EGOT you have to win a competitive Tony. So, I said sorry, you have to take away the T but that still makes her an EGO winner. Then I said that she talks about having Sondheim write special lyrics just for her. I said but what’s not in the book is that before he passed away, she had Bob Merrill write a special lyric to her signature song because with all the accolades and successes she’s had, her one great disappointment in life was that she’d never won a Robby Award, which is a small bus – she was never even nominated. Then I said I was going to sing this special lyric that no one has ever heard. At which point I sang to the tune of People:
Robbys
People who win Robbys
Are the luckiest people in the room
The losers
There’s so many losers
They go home and they scream and cuss
They didn’t get a bus
Acting more like losers than losers
Winners
Winners who’ve won Robbys
Are the luckiest winners here tonight
With their Robby
Their very special Robby
Oh sure, a Scenie is fun
But there’s no bus when you’ve won
No, a Robby’s the thing
I’m just gonna sing it for the Robbys
People who win Robbys
Are the luckiest people in the world.
It went over really well, and then I handed out two awards. Sadly, Alby Potts, who was with me, did not win. Brad Ellis did for the one-night concert staging of Follies over at Musical Theatre Guild. Sandy Bainum was there because a play she produced and acted in was up for several awards – in a tie, she and another actress from a different show split Best Actress in a drama. I hadn’t seen her in quite some time, and her hubby was there, too, and he was very sweet to me.
As soon as the show was done, Alby and I went to Bob’s Big Boy. I made a huge error in judgement and ordered their new Super Bob’s Big Boy combo – two ounces more beef in each patty and double cheese. It was horrible. I should have had the normal version. I had to eat it with a fork and knife, and it was just too much of everything. I was quite nauseous after. The fries and salad with ranch were great, though. Lesson learned. After that, I came home to the news that Greg Finlay had passed away. He was the last of the four actors who played the backers in The First Nudie Musical. He was around my age, maybe a bit older. A wonderfully nice gent – he also played the guy in drag who clocks Alan Abelew (George Brenner in the movie).
Earlier, I got about seven hours of sleep, got up, answered e-mails, had a small modern major miracle, showed Muse Margaret the cover font choices and for once she and I and Doug are all in agreement about the obvious choice. As soon as Doug sends me a hi-rez PDF of the cover, I’ll share it with you. I didn’t eat anything at all. I shaved and showered and got ready, then Alby came over, we chatted for a bit, and then we were on our way to the theater. The streets were pretty empty and there was a lot of puddles of water on the streets, some pretty significant. We got to the theater and found street parking easily – that was our first clue that the theater would be half empty. I said hello to everyone I knew. JoAnne Worley and I had a fun conversation – I do adore her, and I think she feels the same. I didn’t really have time to talk to Sharon or Bruce V. The Group Rep won a single award for best ensemble in a play for The Laramie Project, so that was nice. It’s a shame Robby didn’t see 70, Girls, 70 – he was coming to a matinee but slipped in the shower. I think he really would have liked it. Ah well, no nominations for us.
Today, I’ll be up by ten, I’ll do banking, then come home and I should have proofer one’s stuff, so I’ll start going through that. That should take up quite a bit of time, and then I’ll do some writing on the project with David Wechter. I also have to do a smog check on my motor car but can’t do it when it’s pouring like this. So, that may have to wait until Tuesday and that’s best because she of the Evil Eye is now coming on Tuesdays. At some point, I’ll watch, listen, and relax.
The rest of the week is more of the same – entering the fixes and then writing.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, be up by ten, do banking, enter fixes, write, eat, and then watch, listen, and relax. Today’s topic of discussion: What are your least favorite fast-food restaurants and why? Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland, where I shall listen to the rain on the roof go pit-pitty-pat.