A lovely Christmas.

Christmas Eve was spent with my aunt, her son, my mom, and my stepdad.  We had a terrific ham dinner and opened presents.  I didn't get the laptop.

Christmas Day was spent with mom, my stepdad, and my cousin.  Mom made an awesome prime rib dinner that included my favorite food: mashed potatoes.  Not just any mashed potatoes.  My ( Read more... )

The world is now a better place for Matty.  Well, if I lived in NYC it would be even better, but I'm going to have to start saving my money now so I can be sure to get up there to see one of my favorite pop divas--the marvelous Cyndi Lauper--make her Broadway debut.

Cyndi, who has been previously rumored to replace actresses like Donna Murphy in ( Read more... )

Colored lights or white lights?
As a child, I always INSISTED on the use of colored lights in all Christmas decorations.  However, as I have grown older (considerably), I have discovered the true beauty of the use of white lights.  Now, I would have to say I prefer them.

What is your least favorite thing about the holidays?
This year it has been those ( Read more... )

I have never really liked Once Upon A Mattress.  The first time I ever saw it, in a creaky Broadway revival starring a very miscast Sarah Jessica Parker, I was more underwhelmed with the material being performed than the production itself.  So, perhaps it was silly of me to think that I would enjoy the TV movie adaptation which aired tonight ( Read more... )

Next to each show put one of the following ( Read more... )

Shout for joy!  OSF's Every Christmas Story Ever Told is pure holiday gold!
                                                 By Matthew MacDermid for Talkin' Broadway

The Orlando Shakespeare Festival has done it again, folks, with yet another holiday offering that provides just enough "Bah, humbug!" before spreading a tremendous amount of ( Read more... )

Tonight I am happy...no, let me rephrase that...Tonight I am OVERJOYED because once again the Orlando Shakespeare Festival has put me in the Christmas spirit!  Last season, their production of The Trial of Ebenezer Scrooge was exactly what I needed to get into the holiday giddiness.  Tonight, I had the distinct pleasure of viewing their holiday ( Read more... )

LOVES:

* I will be able to judge at the District 12 Thespian Festival after all.  Beauty and the Beast rehearsals will feature a rotating set of stage managers, where at some rehearsals two will be "on" and two will be "off."  I requested that I be on the "off" set for January 21st, and I am lucky that they said YES!  So, I will get to see some ( Read more... )

I'm going to try not to harp on the fact that tons of friends didn't bother to come see me in Around the World in 80 Days.  I already had a heart-to-heart conversation with Kristen Neander about it on Saturday night, and I think I have vented enough.  It seems that once Sarah French left the show, some of my friends didn't really feel the need to ( Read more... )

In thirteen years as a professional actor (oh my goodness, THIRTEEN?), I have always dreaded double show days.  For some reason, I find it far less excruciating when I'm the director (well, clearly, my work is technically done), and slightly less when I'm working the show as a stage manager (which seems strange since as a stage manager I am there ( Read more... )