The Rosie Cruise




On Dec 11th I got an early Christmas present. I received a call from my friend Michael Lee Scott who asked me to be a dancer for Rosie O’Donnell. I FREAKED OUT! I mean I’ve danced for Rosie before (on the 1000th episode of her talk show) but it has been a while.



Some back story: Rosie was chosen as the Godmother of Norwegian Cruise Line’s newest ship The Pearl. To be asked to be a godmother of a ship is a huge honor! The night before the official christening Rosie was granted access for a one night benefit for her charity FOR ALL KIDS. Norwegian not only agreed but paid for the whole event. VERY GENEROUS!




So Rosie, Bobby Pierce, Michael Lee Scott, Seth Rudetsky and Jodie Moccia put together a Broadway Christmas Extravaganza. Dressed as Christmas Elves to Rosie’s Santa, we sang and danced to a parody of “We Need A Little Christmas” written by Seth which was so much fun …hysterical. There were some amazing Broadway stars that joined us like Nancy Opel, Emily Skinner and Ledisi.



We rehearsed Tuesday and Wednesday then they flew us down to Miami on Thursday. On Friday morning we boarded the ship and we went right into the theater for rehearsal for the Friday night shows. The shows were fantastic and after the shows we all had drinks (which were all free! Thanks, NCL!) I had the time of my life. What an amazing group of people!



The Pearl is beautiful. Among other things it has a bowling alley in the middle of the coolest lounge. I tried to bowl but they wouldn’t let me. I wasn’t wearing socks! I asked them for a some “spares” ( Get it? Bowling. Spares? Nevermind) They didn’t think it was funny either. But I giggled a lot. Again, the drinks were FREE!

Atlantis Resort.. Puerto Vallarta 2006

The boys swimming all day long drinking, laughing, meeting new friends and watching me perform an afternoon wiggle.




Shots at the Tea dance




New Friends I adore at Sunset!




The wind almost stripped me naked! LOL



I adore the resorts and just wanted you to see a few photos... Fun Fun Fun!

My DC Debut

I have to admit I was very nervous about doing shows in Washington DC. I have only played DC before. Once was 16 years ago at The Kennedy Center with the Pacific Northwest Ballet from Seattle. The second time was a few years ago with Lady Bunny in “Absolut Live,” a five city tour for Absolut Vodka. But this would be the first time doing my solo show.



I decided to do two small shows just to test the waters. I performed at the Warehouse Theater and both shows were sold out! I was so happy! All my friends were there and I had the time of my life. The shows went very well.



Afterwards my friends took me out to a fancy restaurant called OYA. WOW, it was beautiful, but RETARDED! I hate over- priced tiny food. I mean I had just wiggled on stage for over an hour and I was hungry!! So we finished our $300 meal and got a slice of pizza!



Over the two nights I was there my friends took me on a tour of the local gay bars. First we went to Be Bar and it was beautiful. But after one drink I had to place my fingers on everyone’s necks to see if they had heartbeats. Then I did it to all the walls of the bar and concluded that the entire place had no soul, just people standing around looking at each other. BORING! Then we went on to Cobalt and had fun except for the fact that the smoking law hasn’t gone into effect yet. I’m going back after January 1. Too late. I think I left with a small tumor. I also went to The Diner and had a blast! Love that bar. It’s a neighborhood restaurant/bar and had the nicest people. Super cute boys and the owner was dream.



Then we got a phone call from some other friends who were at the Eagle. I told my friends I wanted to go. They said, “NO WAY! We are not taking you to the Eagle.” I said, “ Wanna Bet!” LOL We had so much fun at the Eagle. (They don’t normally let ladies in but since I had a full page article about me in the Washington Blade they made an exception.) We drank one dollar beers and laughed a lot! We had a great time. But talk about smoking! OH MY GOD! (This time it was Cigars. I’ve never understood that fetish.) I left with three more tumors.



All in all I had the time of my life and am looking forward to visiting DC again. A special Thank You to all my friends in DC and to my new friends as well. See you soon!

HELP SAVE MOTHER GOOSE!

HELP MOTHER GOOSE!

I’ve been back from the lovely, sleepy, historic New Hope, Pennsylvania for over a week now and I am still upset at the retarded behavior of some of the residents.

It all started with an invitation to visit a friend who lives there for a nice relaxing 24 hour vacation. It’s not often that I get to vacation with out also doing a show. I was very much looking forward it.

After arriving and getting caught up and having an afternoon cocktail we decided to head into town. I’ve been to New Hope before many years ago but it’s a charming as ever. I have only one question. WHERE DID ALL THE GAY BOYS GO? I remember it being much gayer!

After walking around and shopping on the main street we make our way to the river and the cute little water fall. While on the bridge we hear a goose making a lot of noise. A big beautiful white goose is flapping his wings and making quite a fuss in the water below. We notice he is limping and flailing and it’s very obvious to us he’s in a lot of pain. So we run around to see what’s up and we notice right away that there is a four-inch bright orange fishing lure in his calf. (Do geese have calves?) He makes his way into the parking lot of the Bucks County Playhouse where the Music Man is playing. We run to the box office and notice that the show has just started. We ask the lady at the window to call the local police (not 911) to let them know that a beautiful goose is injured and needs help. She was so not interested in our rescue efforts. We begged for her to call and she answered with “I can’t use the phone here” But it was in her hand…… HELLO! LIAR!! We all decided to leave our cel phones at home so that we could just relax and enjoy each other. Big mistake! What a day to leave our cel phones home. So now we are reliant on hospitality. So we run to the art gallery next to the theater/barn. The lady is less than enthusiastic to help us but eventually does. She doesn’t even care to look at the goose but does help us with the phone book and lets us use the phone. We get the run around from everyone and finally the police say ‘well meet you there.’ We wait and wait and wait for them and decide while we wait we should decide where to go eat to be more time efficient. I ask everyone what they want to eat and they all respond with “ GOOSE” Very funny! Don’t worry! This little passion pack of friends are all vegetarians!

While waiting for the police the manager of the Bucks County Playhouse comes out to look at the goose. He’s an odd looking man with a pot belly. He’s saying horrible things like “ I HATE GEESE” We try to convince him to help the goose but he tells us what an annoyance they are and how they scare people going into the theater ( barn) blah blah blah… Sorry I personally think that if you open a theater in the country then you have a responsibility to blend into their world and not the other way around! He says “ I Hate geese and I hate trees” Not really sure where that came from but without missing a beat Jamie says “I bet you like Cheeseburgers” The teenage parking lot attendant for the theater also comes over and starts complaining about the goose and says he should kill it… and he wants to kill all geese. And all I can think is that this theater is full of rotten people… Obviously not the actors… they were working and probably singing an appropriate song at that moment.. “ We got trouble, right here in river city”. The behind the scenes staff people we met were CRAZY and evil…. I’m not sure what’s going on at this glorified high school theater but the fish is starting to rot at the head.

We waited a long time and called back the police back to find out they aren’t coming. They then tell us they have had three phone calls in the last 24 hours and have calls out to the proper authorities. We are also told to things like “if you can catch it we’ll help it” and “just let the lure rust its way out!” Have you ever? We even meet a friend of our hosts who happens to be a vet. He couldn’t have cared less. “We can’t help wildlife,” he said. “It will probably get infected and the goose will die.” At this point we were all at our wits end.

Our hosts aren’t surprised: “What do you expect? We’re in the state Pennsyl-tucky”.

There is a brighter side. After dinner we went to the Raven for drinks and had a wonderful time. We end up meeting the cutest boy in the bar named Ron and it turns out that his friend is a volunteer/employee (not sure) at AARC.It feels like magic! What are the odds that we meet someone as passionate as we and with the right connections. He makes a call to save the goose. He then called us the next day and said the guy is going today to get the goose…

It’s been a week now and we haven’t heard anything. HELP MOTHER GOOSE!

"GET OFF THE BEACH!"

I recently performed at PARDISE in Asbury Park, NJ. I love it there! It’s a fabulous club in a 50’s styled hotel called THE EMPRESS. Shep Pettibone (of Madonna fame) bought this amazing space and made it a gay mecca.

It’s normally very easy for me to jaunt around the country doing my shows. But recently it’s a bit more difficult. No it’s not the old hip joints from years and years of fan kicks! It’s the Chihuahua!

I have a new baby Chihuahua and thought it would be cute to take him with me for two days.. We’d be together and I could walk him on the beach. It would be perfect! He’s never traveled before so everything was new for him from the carrier to the train to the hotel to the carpet to the sand!

Our second day there I took him to the beach. It’s very hot out so we head to the shoreline. As soon as we get to the water this lifeguard start yelling at me, “GET OFF THE BEACH!” I say “what?” GET OFF THE BEACH? “why?” GET OFF THE BEACH! Once again "WHY?" He says “ NO DOGS ON THE BEACH, GET OFF THE BEACH!" I say “No dogs on the beach? That’s the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard!“ Have you ever heard of such a ridiculous law? And then he said I would have to leave too. I gasped with horror! I mean come on. It might not have been in my prettiest swmisuit but to say I was a dog was crossing the line. Then he barks (oh the word play) "Everyone needs a permit to be on the beach and that I could go to the trailer on the boardwalk to purchase one."

I have to say I was dumbfounded. It all seemed like a bad TV reality prank. BUT NO! In fact you do need a permit to enter 90% of NJ beaches. YOU HAVE TO PAY TO GO TO A NEW JERSEY BEACH!

I wanted to say “Can I at least ask the fecal count in the water today?“ But a true lady would never. She would just wait and write it for the world to see!


The thought of paying to go to a flat, dirty, waveless beach is hysterical! That’s OK I will go to one of the many millions of other beaches I can go to for free. And where they allow dogs.

And people want to know why New Yorkers seem a little tense or edgy….. It’s because for us New Yorkers …….the light at the end of the tunnel…. Is JERSEY!

LOL!!! That was fun! Ranting and Raving! I’ll have to do that again sometime!


P.S. I Love Jersey!

OH MY GOD …. IT’S MADONNA!

At our last Saturday matinee of the THREE PENNY OPERA as I am standing in the back of the house “ushering” -- not truly seating people; it’s just the word we would use when the cast mingled with the audience 15 minutes before the “places” call. We’d stand around in our ghoulish Punk/Goth/Issac Mizrahi costumes making the audience uncomfortable. It was actually a lot of fun!

So I’m at the matinee still recouping from Friday night out with Alan Cumming and and Thursday night til 6AM celebrating Cyndi Lauper’s birthday! As I am looking around the theater my eyes spot a small posse of people coming in as the crowd clears. Sure enough walking into the theater is Madonna escorted with two people and a body guard. My director Scott Elliot is by her side chatting with her. As they all walk by me she looks at me and says, “ Do you pay them to look like this?” Scott responds, “ Yes I do!” So they walk on and I am naturally freaking out that Madonna walked by me a foot away. As soon as I am able to poke Hattie Hathaway, a fellow actor in the show, to let him know that Madonna just walked by she walked by again obviously not able to find her seat.


She had on a cute sweat suit with a baseball cap and sunglasses she took off while inside. She took her seat and ate a little sandwich before the show started. She looked amazing!! She is tiny; she can’t weigh more than 100 lbs.


After the show she came back stage to see Carlos Leon (Lourdes’ father and the sweetest man you will ever meet!) She paid her respects to Alan Cumming, Cyndi Lauper, Jim Dale, and Nellie McKay. All the principals! I was in the hallway hoping to meet her. I have never been someone to chase anyone down for a hello or a autograph. But I did want to meet her. I was even holding my baby Chihuahua Tobi hoping she might say… ‘Awww, how cute. ’ But NO! She just walked by and I didn’t say anything. BAD EDIE!


I forgave her because she had a show in Connecticut in less than 3 hours. But I wasn’t the only one she ignored.


Flotilla DeBarge, another actor in the show, sporting a “Madonna Live” tank top asked, “Can I have a picture with you? Without missing a beat or even looking up, Madonna flatted said “NO,” said goodbye to Scott and Carlos and disappeared down the stairs and out the stage door. It was very funny!

My Broadway Debut!!

My Broadway Debut!!

I can’t even express how over them moon I am about getting my first Broadway show. It’s incredibly magical to be doing the Three Penny Opera at Studio 54 with an amazing cast. I am having so much fun !
It all started back in October 2004 when I got a phone call to audition to be in the ensemble of the Broadway reading. My 15 minute audition turned into two hours! I auditioned for Wallace Shawn (Adaptation and Mr Peachum), Scott Elliot ( Director) and Kevin Stites (Musical Director). To my surprise and delight I walked away with the role of Lucy Brown. What is so weird is that I have never gotten a job before NOT dancing. That’s what makes it extra special. The reading was amazing and I didn’t know what it would turn into but I made some new friends and got to work with Alan Cumming, Christine Baranski, Wallace Shawn, Edie Falco, Nellie McKay, and a slew of super talented actors.

After that I didn’t hear anything for a year. But then I got a phone call from Scott Elliott. He explained to me that the reading went so well that the Kurt Weill (Music) Estate and the Bertolt Brect (Book and Lyrics) Estate thought that this new rendition was so crazy that a new song Lucy’s Aria would finally work in Three Penny Opera. The problem is that I’m not a high soprano. So they would have to find another person who could sing it. I felt disappointed of course but quickly said “ I would be happy to play any part, I would just love to do it”. Scott said “ I was hoping you would say that. Consider yourself in”! I will admit I cried a lot!!!

We started rehearsals on Feb 7th and opened on April 20th. I think it’s an amazing show. It’s edgy and in your face. It’s tough and funny. I still get goosebumps at certain times in the show.

Some of the original actors that did the reading with me are not in the production. Some got other work and in the case of Edie Falco I told her “ There can only be one Edie in this production!” So she backed out!!! LOL As If…

Ana Gasteryer took over for Christine Baranski. Cyndi Lauper took over for Edie Falco. Jim Dale took over for Wallace Shawn. Alan Cumming and Nellie McKay stayed and they are Genious!! The rest of the cast is amazing too. I have made some wonderful friends and I am just riding the wave right now cause I know it’ll all come to an end. I am trying to absorb it all and learn from these great people!!

STOP WEARING FUR! I can’t handle it!!!

I’m sitting at home doing some work and getting ready for my first day at my new job tomorrow in Roundabout Theater’s THREEPENNY OPERA. I’m very excited and nervous as it’s my Broadway debut. I’m in the bedroom/office half listening to the TV in the living room. I’ve had on CNN for a while and they’ve repeated today’s top stories many times. I was just getting ready to change the channel when a new segment came on…. Fashion Week! I Love it! But my excitement quickly turns to anger.
I am so sick of fashion designers using fur and fur trims. We all know how it’s raised, treated and killed and yet we still glorify it. I hate preaching. But why don’t people think? feel? love? or care about these animals? It rips my soul out. I hate it so much. And I sometime hate the people who use it in their designs. The look of fur is fabulous. But a designer who uses it…is not! If you need to use fur to make your garments fabulous then you’re not a good designer. Give me a Stella McCartney any day!

It takes 50 to 80 animals to make 1 fur coat! Think about it.

Fur trims on skirts or scarves or jeans serves no purpose at all and animals were killed for no reason.

I know I’m hypersensitive about this, but I come from the Pacific Northwest where the love of earth and animals was a huge part of my upbringing. People don’t wear fur as much in the west and they do here in the East. I wish people would just stop for one second and think about it. I have many friends who say, “I don’t want to know.” And that’s sad.
I recently had a male friend come up to me in a huge fur coat yelling “Edie, Hi Girl” My usual joy to see him turned to horror when I saw his ghastly coat. I would normally greet him with a big hug and kiss. But I couldn’t even go near him, much less touch him for fear I would come in contact with his hideous coat.
Please think about it. We don’t need to wear it. It’s not fabulous. It’s TORTURE! PERIOD!
Sorry to preach but I can’t hold my tongue any longer. (though it is fun to hold your tongue and say APPLE!)
Much Love
EDIE