New York City Baby!

Next week is reading week and despite my looming deadlines, I'm taking off to NYC for five days. I was planning to go for my birthday at the end of January but that didn't work out. However...I'm leaving on Saturday--woot! I found out at the last minute that my friends Chris, Jill and Gella are hosting a We're About 9 http://www.circanine.com/ house concert at their apartment in Brooklyn and so I'm going to go to that and then spend the night there with many of my favourite Fruheads. Frucon NYC this year people! Unfortunately I'll be missing Frucon here (if it actually happens) but I can't say I'm all that crushed. If last year is any indication it's probably going to be uneventful to say the least. This is going to be SO much more fun yay!

My most exciting plans are on the 21st though. Anthony Rapp, Mark in the Original Broadway cast of Rent and the Rent Movie, and author of Without You: AMemoir of Love, Loss and the Musical Rent is doing a book signing and apparently will read an excerpt from his book and then sing TWO songs from Rent.-- I gotta tell ya, this is pretty much this little Renthead's dream come true. The book is INCREDIBLE. It's one of the most honest and revealing memoirs I've ever read. At the risk of sounding cliche- It'll make you laugh, it'll make you cry! I found out from my friend Dyan that Anthony is also playing a show after the signing with his band Albino Kid at the Cutting Roomhttp://www.thecuttingroomnyc.com/...SO excited!!! EEEEE!!! But that's not all. Since I've got my final feature due for my magazine class soon I've decided to do a piece on the cultural phenomenon of Rent i.e. Rentheads etc. So, I'm going to inteview some of the people in the line at the signing, maybe some of the people in the Rush line at the Nederlander Theatre, AND I *might* even get to interview Anthony himself! I E-mailed his booking agent and he said that I'll have to ask him for a few minutes when I'm there at the signing because he's too busy for requests in advance. Oy, cross your fingers that I can pull off my professional journalist hat and leave the fangirl one at home=p. I hope it all goes well. It's the perfect time to be doing it--It's the 10th anniversary of Rent on Broadway, the movie comes out on DVD on the 21st and Anthony's just put out his book.

Otherwise I'm probably going to take in a few museums see a few more friends. I want to maybe see Sweeny Todd, and or Stomp and, of course I can't be in New York without seeing Rent. Especially since it's probably not coming to Toronto in May afterall=(. Apparently some genius put the date up on the site without checking to see if the Canon Theatre was free first=p. They're rumored to be shopping around for another venue...I hope so!

Lots of stories and pics when I get back!