Yes we are all still alive and yes we still love our tossers. No we did not get so fancy pants what with the new website and all that we've forgotten everything. Truth is we are busy beavers building a dam made out of Drama Desk Awards and tos bway prep. Lots to do folks!

We have been in the tos factory working a lot on prepping to host the Drama Desk Awards. You might have been not heard and if not, what the hell, but little ole [tos] is gonna be fancy this Sunday night 9pm May 18th and host them awards. My guess is there were 12 to 13 folks to turn it all down before they got to us, but at least it's in our hands now and it's super cool. Not too many spoiler alerts, but there may be a fancy opening number and plenty of comedy jokes. For you die hards we will be on XM radio and streaming live on theatermania.com too. We'll post some details when we get any, but that might be a fun thing to do. Order a pizza and gather round the comp to see tiny grainy footage of us introducing her! Good times.

Also on Monday we filmed some banner ads for the upcoming Broadway production of [title of show]. I just wanted to type that to see if it felt real and it sort of does and makes me pee my pants and sort of seems still somewhat crazy. And amazing. A wise man on a webisode once said the word cramazing. Anyhoo, check out this sneak preview shot people. Totally top secret so shhhhh. For tossers eyes only. It was such a fun and cool and fun day. Just to be in a room with my pals putting on them tos clothes and getting to do that was mind blowing. Adventures. It's happening people. You ready?

It's that time of year when I completely dork out and hit Central Park as often as I can to do what? Birdwatch. That's right tossers, many of you know this about me and many of you are discovering it just this second, but I am indeed an avid birder. And right now is prime time to birdwatch in the northeast because the colorful passerines are migrating north to their summer breeding grounds. Then, around the time [tos] is in it's 5th week of the Broadway run, the little songsters will start making their way south for the winter, but their plumage won't be as bright and their songs won't sound so sweet as they are now 'cause the males are currently trying to impress the ladies. After a summer of parenting, they'll be tired and tattered. But I'll still go in and look for them in September too.

A "life bird" (or "lifer") is what birders refer to as an avian species that they've never seen before. The older you get, the less and less you are likely to gain lifers because off all the birdwatching you clock. HOWEVER, today I had a life bird in Central Park -- as did many others. A Dickcissel, which is a fairly common midwestern bird, somehow found it's way to Central Park last night and the crowds were intense as onlookers gathered to catch a glimpse.

Wake up!

Holy roarin' tappin' musicals I'm excited to see this! And so proud of our fearless leader Michael B!

Get your tix people. I think this is gonna rock so hard!

Yay!

I just wanted to give my little summary of what was a really spectacularly sparkly night.

I got to the cocktail reception before the ceremony and met up with my Meet John Doe posse. It was great to see those peeps again. We had a drink and headed over to the Warner Theatre. (Here's where I started getting nervous.) We thought we would all be sitting together, but when we got our tickets out, they were in row U and I was in row D on the aisle. Let the poo-making begin! The one fake-out was that I saw one of my fellow nominees sitting kinda close to me, so I then thought it was anybody's game, but I was still so nervous. I was caught in the middle of trying to let it go and trying to be prepared for what could be coming. This made for a very long evening, especially since my award wasn't given for about an hour and half into the ceremony. JEEZE!

When my category finally came up, that weird slow-motion/fast forward phenomenon kicked in and I tried so hard to hang on to the moment, but it was challenging. My heart was racing and then the pretty lady at the podium called my name and I got up to the stage somehow, and then there I was, blinded by a spotlight, and suddenly struck completely dumb. Thank god I had written down some names on a tiny card (just in case). I looked down and just started talking. I have no idea what I sounded like. I heard some laughs from the crowd, so I guess I wasn't totally bombing... I thanked most of the people on my card, but I forgot a few because I wasn't wearing my contacts and, seriously people, that moment is CRAZY. I forgot my parents. Thanks Mom and Dad! You did a really good job. And perhaps even more egregiously left out, was my costar, Jim Moye. I love you, Jimmy, and I wouldn't have wanted to share that stage with anyone else. From start to finish, I loved every second of that experience with you, and next time I accept an award, even if you have nothing to do with it, I promise I'll give you props.

So after I said words, I was ushered off stage where my new trophy was immediately swiped from my grasp. (It was a dummy statue that everyone was trading all night. Tricksters... I guess I'll get mine in the mail? Nobody told me nuthin'.) A stage manager lead me quickly to an usher who then took me back to the lobby and he asked me if I could find my way back to my seat. I said yes and then I just stood still, all alone in the lobby of the Warner Theater. That's when the slow-motion/fast forward phenomenon stopped and I could take a breath. I couldn't believe it. I know it's not the biggest deal in the universe, but I am super proud and even more grateful to have gotten that thing. I'll say it again, it is so great to be acknowledged for the work we do. The nomination was more than enough, and the win was more than I could have asked for.

Hunter said the other day that it feels like things are changing. I agree. I cannot express how thankful I am to be riding this ride. For all it's ups and downs. It's feasts and famines. I wouldn't change anything. I stood there in that red-carpeted lobby, in my black gown and my Manolo Blahniks, and I finally took it in. It was awesome. And quiet, which was nice.

The rest of the night was a whirlwind. We went to a party that celebrated the nominees and recipients and I had a drink or two, took some pictures, gave an interview, and saw some lovely friends that I hadn't seen in a while. There were some [tos]sers there too. I love you guys. I signed a program that a girl had saved from the first run at The Vineyard. Amazing. I talked to two cute gays who wanted to know the secrets behind the 1776 joke. (I told them the truth about how that joke came about...) I posed with people for their cell phone cameras and generally felt a little like Cinderella.

When my feet could take no more, I said my goodbyes and my Prince Charming boyfriend took me home. It was truly a wonderful night. I'm a lucky girl.

I just thought this felt right for you all to start your tos weekend.

Enjoy.

So, Claudio Mascolo super swiss tosser tossing it up in Switzerland writes...

"First swiss [title of show] sing along party was held yesterday in zurich. 9 people showed up, 4 of them as light orange envelope, 5 as larry. We had such a great time! Please make it a 10 year run at the lyceum, so I can come see it with my sisters children one day!"

I would like to say that this sounds so tosome it hurts.

Claudio if there are any pics please email them to us pronto. Only 9 people but that is just the beginning...we predict this next year so plan accordingly.

Also we plan to run for 100 years so your sisters kids and their kids and their kids and their kids will be just fine!

A gigantic congrats to [title of show] superstar HEIDI BLICKENSTAFF who took home the Best Lead Actress in a Musical Helen Hayes Award for her turn in Meet John Doe at the Ford Theatre! We're supes proud!

Also our rock star set designer NEIL PATEL took home the Helen Hayes for Outstanding Set Design for his work on Dead Man's Cell Phone.

So happy to get back into the creative arena of [tos] with these 2 amazing people! Wheeeeeee!

Super fan Audra passed this along to celebrate [tos] tix going on sale. Enjoy...

[tos]sers- so, like Heidi's affair with The Little Mermaid, I too have been cheating on our little show that could (and WILL- starting July 5th at the Lyceum- get your tickets now) and been dating a big, splashy musical. Mine is called Cry-Baby and it opened last night at the Marriott Marquis. Also, like Heidi, I got injured in my big, splashy musical. So, after creating the role of Hatchet-Face, the ugliest girl on Broadway, I was unable to take part in all of the exciting aspects of opening a musical on Broadway. The good news is, also like Heidi, my injury is much improved and I am almost back to fighting strength. The bad news is: not getting to be up on that stage last night with my cast- rockin' it 50s style was tough and made tears fall out of my eyeballs. "What did you do to cheer yourself up?".... you are probably asking....well, my incredible friend Todd organized a game night for me at Hunter and Larry's pad (at 123 America Street). This evening was complete with good friends, Benjamin-made cupcakes, candy galore and some wine (with a screwoff top...I thought only crappy wine had a screwoff top, but alas, this juice did the trick). It was a perfect "You missed Opening Night on Broadway" night. Later, Heidi texted me and told me she was eating pizza. We were eating pizza too. I think the moral of this blog is: Heidi and I have a lot in common.

I wanted to toot the tooter of my friend, Michael Lippert. I've known Michael since I was 16ish years old. Michael is one of my Dayton people who nurtured me during my creative adolescence. When I was in high school, he taught me what the word 'genre' meant.

For the past 12 years, Michael has been rocking the 'arts integration'. He taught me what that meant, too. But don't take our word for it: Let's Wikipedia that shit, Heidi!:

Arts integration is a term applied to an approach to teaching and learning that uses the fine and performing arts as primary pathways to learning. Arts integration differs from traditional arts education by its inclusion of both an arts discipline and a traditional subject as part of learning (e.g. using improvisational drama skills to learn about conflict in writing.) The goal of arts integration is to increase knowledge of a general subject area while concurrently fostering a greater understanding and appreciation of the fine and performing arts.

Thanks, Wiki!

Michael's conducted arts integration residencies for classroom teachers, after-school specialists, university students studying in the School of Education, Masters In Education students, as well as treatment centers for convicted teen-aged felons. He's worked with students from Pre-School to College Level, but now focuses mainly on K through 6th grade.

Whenever I am in Ohio, Michael and I have dinner and he tells me about the cramazing stuff he's doing with these squiddles. Of course lots of nutty things happen: costume malfunctions, falls from (near) deadly school risers, writing text with a rhyme scheme and asking for words that rhyme with "art". But the most wonderful moments are when a student is seen as "successful" by his teachers, peers and community for the very first time.

I'm familiar with that feeling, Michael Lippert...

Michael recently shared this video* with me. I found it very inspiring to know this is happening in the world. I also found it interesting that the costume budget at St. Bernard Elementary School is 4 times that of [title of show]**.

*Special thanks to Lauren Hess for making and sharing this video!

**Michael told me that actually all those costumes are made by St. Bernard's amazing art teacher, Cindy Dover. Great work, Cindy! He also told me that in 2007, due to budget cuts, St. Bernard's was in danger of losing this arts integration program. Instead of going down without a fight, they held a Walk for the Arts and raised $6000 in one day! Take that, vampires!!