Is that a tomato in your pocket or are you just glad to see me...

Like Frankie says, “Relax.” Well, sort of. After months of rehearsals (granted, only a couple of times a week), The Wedding Singer finally opened Friday night. Truth be told, I’m relieved to finally get the show up and running. I haven’t taken the lead - choreography and co-directing - in a big, dance-heavy show like this since Millie years ago and my old, rickety bones and fat ass weren’t exactly an asset in this particular instance.

With all the press, the color pic in this Sunday’s New York Times NJ section and a visit from local boy Matt Sklar (who happens to be the show’s composer!), I think we’re on our way to another big seller for the CDC. I smell a Tony - LOL. And yes, I will take a moment to pat myself on the back, since the last two critical and box office hits at the theatre have also been Pineda productions - last year’s High School Musical and Oklahoma! a couple years back.

The crowds have been wild and vocal (in a good way) and ticket sales are chugging along briskly. It’s nice to see the cast finally relax into their roles and find their timing with a live audience. For better or worse, the f-bomb doesn’t seem to offend much anymore and the sex seems almost quaint nowadays. The reaction that caught me off guard is the huge ovation that greets the first act gay marriage proposal (on both nights). It’s funny how topical that moment is now even though the show was written years before Prop 8 or any of the recent gay marriage debate. And already, several audience members have confided to me that their favorite number in the show is “Single.” Really? I mean, the men certainly sell the sh*t out of it and it’s a great number, but a show favorite? - unexpected. Just goes to show that audiences connect with characters and not difficult dance moves.

On the cast gossip front, I hear (since it spanned well past this old man’s bedtime) that the Saturday night cast party took a turn into college dorm territory with an interesting game of “Truth or Dare,” emphasis on the “Truth.” Hmmm, I might have to take a power nap before next week’s party so I can stay up with the kids and listen in.

And while we're on the subject of not sleeping, I'll soon head into opera territory with Val and the opera company's Young Artist's production of Elixir of Love in a week or so, playing keyboards and helping out with some set painting. From there, we figure out how to build (and store!) a freakin' trolley backstage for the Conservatory's summer production of Meet Me in St. Louis. Vacations are for pussies!

And for those of you in the know, my Big Boy and German Johnson are doing just fine despite the cold weather, thank you very much.