Birthday surprise variety show and benefit!

B was going to turn 32 in mid-September. He generally throws himself big birthday bashes - the man rented a full house for his 30th and had people from all over his life come into town for the bash. It was a month before we kissed, so I missed out on that party, but I knew he liked a fun celebration. And dancing, always dancing! :)

We had trips to New York/New Jersey and Burning Man during the last month and a half. That and work was keeping B and me very busy. We started talking about his birthday in late July (I love birthdays and Halloween, I get excited early) and he mentioned not having enough time to put something together. I mentioned the idea of putting on a variety show and party (I have one planned for February, but thought his birthday was a reason ripe for such an event). He said there was no way I would be able to put that together with the short amount of time and all the trips we had planned.

"No way" might have felt like a dare, who knows. But the idea planted itself inside my brain and grew. I decided to tell him I would take over the plans for his birthday and throw him a surprise. The day I received confirmation from Open Circle Theatre, I fibbed through my teeth that "the original surprise plan fell through and to not get his hopes high." I continued the "surprise is no big deal" scheme to the very end.

Then I shot out an email to friends of mine who are performers to see who was available to bring their talents for my show. I decided to make it a fundraiser, too, for Alzheimer's Research. While I was surprised not to hear back from a few friends, the amount of talent who said yes and got on board was amazing. A few lunches, facebook message exchanges, emails and phone calls later, the show started shaping up.

One of the beauties of producing a variety show is that you're not a director in any way. With a few general guidelines set up (basic lighting/sound, minimal set/props, time limits), I left it to the acts themselves to create what they wanted to provide for the show. And what a show it was!

Since the night wouldn't really begin until after 10pm, I didn't want Brandon spending ALL his b'day gearing up expecting something big. So I helped arrange a surprise at dinner that B thought was the full and actual surprise. Our table was well positioned around a corner too, so people as they arrived continued to surprise B by being there. He leaned in to me at one point and said "I feel like it's a slot machine and every time I come up a winner" in reference to the faces that came around the corner through the night.

((On a side note, one of the performers from the show, who had driven up from portland for the event with her boyfriend, walked by Mama's when we were waiting for our table. B saw them and said "That was Ashia who just walked by!" I ran after them and made exclamations of "what are you doing in town" (while whispering "B saw you, play along") - they ended up joining us for dinner. I continued to keep our show secret by leaning in to B at one point and saying "It's a surprise birthday for us both, how great is it they are here?!"

A group of 16 of us met at Mama's Mexican Kitchen for dinner. The staff was great and super receptive when I slipped to the front to let them know a singing telegram would be coming at some point in the evening. They happily agreed to cut the music in the place for the time she was there, too! What luck!

The talented and oh-so-creative Billie Wildrick (5th Avenue Theatre/ACT star and since-college friend/summer roommate) was so generous to provide her skills to give Brandon a special singing telegram! She even brought a friend to play live guitar instead of having piped music. The real deal. With a little guidance from me (and song request), Billie appeared in a lovely trench coat, tiara with her gorgeous blonde hair done up around it. She said "I hear there's a birthday boy here ...who happens to be a fan of Aladdin?"

She did a fabulous bit introducing herself as "Jasmine's aryan cousin, Sandalwood" and proceeded to sing an amazing rendition of (slightly rewritten lyrics) A Whole New World as she took off the trench coat to show off her "Sandalwood" -inspired outfit. She even brought a cupcake, put the candle in and lit it during her number. Brandon was beaming and laughing and the whole table (well area of the restaurant really) was so delighted!! It was a blast! After she and her guitarist left, the table was buzzing about her - many of our friends had seen her perform on stage before and were huge fans, but regardless, everyone was impressed by the ease and fabulousness of her execution. The b'day boy was thoroughly impressed with the surprise of the evening and gave me many big thank yous and kisses.

A few margaritas and pacificos later, we walked to Rendezvous for a few more rounds of drinks. I "got a call" at 9:25, "telling me that the present we were expecting to be delivered got held up and I had to go get it." I took off with Erin and Angel (but not before Brandon, suspicious, asked Mark what he thought was going on. Mark said he thought it was about the cake and Brandon bet him a dollar it wasn't. Mark had to take a fake bet and was immediately out a dollar. :)

We ran to the Open Circle Theatre (running only because of the short lived downpour of rain) and welcomed the performers as they arrived. Ron and Aaron were amazing, helping us do set up and sound check with the band, taking all the lights and sound queues and more. Angel was my liaison between tech and me and Erin helped me keep my cool and connect with the performers as she got into costume. Jill and Tom stepped in to run the box office and Open Circle Theatre provided the bar staff to really make it a party.

Though we were oversold, the house had a full but not too full turnout (near 70 people) with last minute no-shows. The actors were ready, the tech folks were ready. DJ Socross had been playing great pre-show music. We were ready to begin.

I was decked out in a red and black burlesque-y-circus-y-master-of-ceremonies-y number, complete with a mini sparkly red top hat. With all the preparation needed, I wisely had decided not to do an act myself but instead presented the introductions the acts created for me and flew by the seat of my pants for the rest of the in-between-acts-bits. The audience was alive and excited and B was just starting to come out of his shock-coma that had lasted at least 15 full minutes when he arrived and sat in his seat. I asked him early on what he thought and, shell-shocked, he replied quietly "I'm not really sure what's going on."

Scarlet Room opened the show. Since the space was so intimate, the regular 4 person band was stripped to just the two gals, Eloise on drums and Aleksandra on keys and vocals. Visit their website to get a taste of their music. Their 3-4 song set was amazing, sexy and electrifying. I feel so lucky to have Aleksandra as a coworker and to have been introduced to her music through myspace, a random encounter at a speak easy last winter and then later at The Triple Door. They are a local act and are not to be missed!

After their set, a brief intermission was needed to break down the band and set up for the first of the variety acts. When I announced it would be a brief intermission and left the stage, I noticed that no one was moving, so popped back on stage to say "That means you have to get out of your seats and mingle, people! You're only allowed to stay seated if you're injured or pregnant." It got people laughing and moving. The cheeky, bossy MC character seemed to take form. We'll see if she pops up again in future shows when 80% of the house is no longer friends of mine!

Next up was the cast of LEASE: The Seattle Rock Opera with their opening number and multipled improvised scenes and songs!! It's amazing to see a group of people improvise music together. This group is so talented, a lot of the audience didn't pick up on my introduction that ALL the songs beyond the opening number were fully improvised and created on the spot. If you didn't see them at HUT, definitely stay tuned to find out when they book their next show and space. I'll be sure to post info here.

I'd seen them perform the full two act version of the show twice before, and they continue to get better and better. It was a great set and people were laughing out loud throughout the piece.

Next up was the beautiful and whimsical, Ashia Grzesik. Ashia played cello, guitar and sang for years in Cirque du Soleil's O, and now is a part of Portland's rousing and amusingly creative gypsy-esque band, Vagabond Opera. Her haunting cello music and beautiful operatic voice called out to the audience from the dark. This was the darker set that would later be juxtaposed at the end of the evening.

Then it was a quick switch to Jen Seaman, local comedian and host of The Big Bully Show (Fremont, Sundays, 6pm, free). Her definitely-not-PG humor had the house laughing again.

Down The Rabbit Hole took the stage before intermission. Tinka Jonakova and Beth Hersh had previously created and performed a delightful burlesque duo act and remounted it for this production. What happens when Dorothy of OZ meets Alice of Wonderland? Lots of TROUBLE!! This extended burlesque number, to the music of White Rabbit and Aerosmith, was a true crowd pleaser!

Intermission - many hit the bar for refreshments and then it was back to the show!

Anvil Esquire (a rapper, but not a MC, as he was introduced) made his debut with genius lyrics for a piece written for this production on getting older. He followed that by one of my favorite rhymes, written for her girl, Tinka, our saucy performer from the previous act. He had the house wrapped around his rhymes with his laid back delivery and clever words.

Back to burlesque, with the return of Betty Nebraska, a sleuth who gets up to trouble and is on the hunt for a run away mouse. A close friend to B, Betty was a crowd favorite when her name was announced and delivered a solid, charming performance!

The show closed with a beautifully crafted three song set. The first song (I have to find the title...clever love song with lyrics like "you be the tailpipe, I'll be the exhaust") was darling, lovely and charming. All the work that had gone into the evening was worth it in a single moment during this song, when I looked across the house and caught eyes with B and saw them full of love for me. I sent a hand heart to him from across the way. I will edit this when I find out the title to that song.
She then followed that number with the title song off her CD, Pay To Be Loved. Haunting, beautiful, with an upbeat pickup that is not expected but perfectly placed, this song really shows off her vocal and instrumental talents. Lastly, she introduced the last song as a lullaby for all of those in love and dedicated it to Brandon and me. We were laughing and delighted to hear her play the song that was the first we ever heard. Ashia was part of The Moisture Festival this last year in Seattle - we fell in love with her over the comedic talent of this song and I got her contact info
from a mutual acquaintance before our trip to Portland to find out if she had any gigs while we were there. She didn't, but offered to show us around her town. It was a true delight to start to get to know this wonderful spirit and we were thrilled to see her again when she came back to town to play with Vagabond Opera at The Triple Door (a show Scarlet Room opened for). I can't describe my happiness to have her in my production.

What a night! We raised money for a great cause, had a beautiful showcase of talent, introduced artists to new audiences and followed all that up with a fabulous dance party on the theatre floor to the mixings of DJ Socross.

Thanks to all my amazing performers and backstage talent who made last night's surprise birthday and benefit variety show so incredible! Also, thank you to all of B's friends who came out to support and join us!

But most of all, thanks to B for being the inspiration behind it all.

XO