First day of (five days of) rehearsal! I was so excited to work with Paul Gemignani, I had to take a picture to commemorate the occasion. (Also, Matthew Scott, please focus. Paul’s talking.)
Olli Haaskivi
Everybody’s favorite part of starting a new show! The meeting with the representative from Actors Equity Association!
Olli Haaskivi
In a landslide victory, Margo Seibert is voted the Equity Deputy. Margo’s great and all, but I think it was more a reflection of how much the company didn’t want Jim Stanek to be the deputy. Anybody but that guy.
Olli Haaskivi
It was unbelievably cold at the York this day but that didn’t stop Jared Loftin from competing to be America’s Next Top Model. Nothing will stop him.
Olli Haaskivi
The picture is posed, but Dana Steingold and I were actually this bundled up sitting at rehearsal. I’m not going to say that sweet Dana was treated for symptoms of hypothermia, but I’m also not going to say that she wasn’t.
Olli Haaskivi
There’s nothing too interesting to say about this. Everybody showed up for our company photo, it all went smoothly, nothing to see here…
Olli Haaskivi
Jared LOVED IT when we sang “Happy Birthday” to him. Loved. It.
Olli Haaskivi
The four boys at music stands are our supremely talented gang of youngsters – Matthew Bauman, Jeremy Greenbaum, Jared Loftin and Greg Kamp – and then far left, we have our assistant director Matthew Schneider, forced to leave the comfort of the production table to stand in for some absent actor who was attending an audition or shooting a commercial or lying about their alarm not going off or something.
Olli Haaskivi
Speaking of stand ins, here’s our fantastic stage management team, Marci Skolnick and Shanna Allison, beautifully playing the roles of Gene and Helen. (And Jared Loftin, ready to make his entrance.)
Olli Haaskivi
Since Saturday Night is only a two week job, we’re all ducking out here and there to go to auditions. (And because we love watching Matthew Schneider, Marci Skolnick and Shanna Allison stand in for us.) Here, we see Ben Fankhauser and Margo Seibert preparing intensely for their Side Show appointment. I’d see that production in a heartbeat and you know you would too.
Olli Haaskivi
Speaking of productions you would see in a heartbeat, here’s Dana Steingold’s campaign for a 2015 Musicals in Mufti revival of The Secret Garden. Let’s do this, Jim Morgan. You could probably use the entire Saturday Night cast! Andrew Keenan-Bolger is not too old to play Colin!
Olli Haaskivi
As club patrons in the second act, Dana Steingold and I wear hats to differentiate ourselves from our characters Mildred and Eugene. These hats are such successful disguises, Lindsay “Entrance Applause” Mendez has NO CLUE who we are.
Olli Haaskivi
Show me somebody cooler than Paul Gemignani. Show me. I dare you. Oh, you can’t? That’s what I thought.
Olli Haaskivi
Here we see our amazing director, Stafford Arima. Focused, passionate, sensitive, creative – he’s the real deal and we’ve been so lucky to have him as the captain of our Saturday Night ship. Here we also see assistant director Matthew Schneider lovin’ life back onstage in place of some absent actor.
Olli Haaskivi
If you’re in the neighborhood to see our show (and you should be, I think it’s a fantastic production), I highly recommend checking out Treehaus on 51st and 3rd. Part coffee house, part buffet, part grocery store, part sandwich shop… It’s pretty phenomenal. Best egg and cheese croissant I’ve ever had.
Olli Haaskivi
In the green room at the York on one of our breaks, Matthew Bauman is engrossed in "Scandal." Jeremy Greenbaum seems less impressed.
Olli Haaskivi
Between shows on our first two-show day, here we have Lance Roberts, Matthew Scott, Greg Kamp and Jim Stanek playin’ some poker. You also have Andrew Keenan-Bolger on the left, in his natural habitat, working his magic on Instagram or Twitter or any number of other mobile application whozeewhatsits.
Olli Haaskivi
In Saturday Night: The Stephen Sondheim Spectacular, Ben Fankhauser and I play feuding cousins. We wanted to take this opportunity to show you the contrast between our onstage relationship and our offstage relationship, but apparently there is not much of one.
Olli Haaskivi
I didn’t just take this picture so that I could spend hours practicing everybody’s individual handwriting, commit identity fraud and become a millionaire, I took this picture because I loved Paul Gemignani’s note to us at the bottom. (I confirmed with Mr. Gemignani that it was, in fact, his message to us and not Proctor and Gamble or Peter Gallagher or Patty Griffin or whoever.)
Olli Haaskivi
Opening night party! The faces of myself and Margo Seibert, the fingers of Lance Roberts.
Olli Haaskivi
Did I mention Stephen Sondheim came to see us? Stephen Sondheim came to see us. I cried. Everybody in this picture is just beaming with joy – we can’t believe our luck that we get to be a part of this fantastic show with this unbelievable team. And with that, I sign off. Come see Saturday Night!
Olli Haaskivi
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Saturday Night, with a book by Julius J. Epstein and music and lyrics by Sondheim, is based on the play Front Porch in Flatbush by Julius J. Epstein and Philip G. Epstein.
First day of (five days of) rehearsal! I was so excited to work with Paul Gemignani, I had to take a picture to commemorate the occasion. (Also, Matthew Scott, please focus. Paul’s talking.)
Olli Haaskivi
Everybody’s favorite part of starting a new show! The meeting with the representative from Actors Equity Association!
Olli Haaskivi
In a landslide victory, Margo Seibert is voted the Equity Deputy. Margo’s great and all, but I think it was more a reflection of how much the company didn’t want Jim Stanek to be the deputy. Anybody but that guy.
Olli Haaskivi
It was unbelievably cold at the York this day but that didn’t stop Jared Loftin from competing to be America’s Next Top Model. Nothing will stop him.
Olli Haaskivi
The picture is posed, but Dana Steingold and I were actually this bundled up sitting at rehearsal. I’m not going to say that sweet Dana was treated for symptoms of hypothermia, but I’m also not going to say that she wasn’t.
Olli Haaskivi
There’s nothing too interesting to say about this. Everybody showed up for our company photo, it all went smoothly, nothing to see here…
Olli Haaskivi
Jared LOVED IT when we sang “Happy Birthday” to him. Loved. It.
Olli Haaskivi
The four boys at music stands are our supremely talented gang of youngsters – Matthew Bauman, Jeremy Greenbaum, Jared Loftin and Greg Kamp – and then far left, we have our assistant director Matthew Schneider, forced to leave the comfort of the production table to stand in for some absent actor who was attending an audition or shooting a commercial or lying about their alarm not going off or something.
Olli Haaskivi
Speaking of stand ins, here’s our fantastic stage management team, Marci Skolnick and Shanna Allison, beautifully playing the roles of Gene and Helen. (And Jared Loftin, ready to make his entrance.)
Olli Haaskivi
Since Saturday Night is only a two week job, we’re all ducking out here and there to go to auditions. (And because we love watching Matthew Schneider, Marci Skolnick and Shanna Allison stand in for us.) Here, we see Ben Fankhauser and Margo Seibert preparing intensely for their Side Show appointment. I’d see that production in a heartbeat and you know you would too.
Olli Haaskivi
Speaking of productions you would see in a heartbeat, here’s Dana Steingold’s campaign for a 2015 Musicals in Mufti revival of The Secret Garden. Let’s do this, Jim Morgan. You could probably use the entire Saturday Night cast! Andrew Keenan-Bolger is not too old to play Colin!
Olli Haaskivi
As club patrons in the second act, Dana Steingold and I wear hats to differentiate ourselves from our characters Mildred and Eugene. These hats are such successful disguises, Lindsay “Entrance Applause” Mendez has NO CLUE who we are.
Olli Haaskivi
Show me somebody cooler than Paul Gemignani. Show me. I dare you. Oh, you can’t? That’s what I thought.
Olli Haaskivi
Here we see our amazing director, Stafford Arima. Focused, passionate, sensitive, creative – he’s the real deal and we’ve been so lucky to have him as the captain of our Saturday Night ship. Here we also see assistant director Matthew Schneider lovin’ life back onstage in place of some absent actor.
Olli Haaskivi
If you’re in the neighborhood to see our show (and you should be, I think it’s a fantastic production), I highly recommend checking out Treehaus on 51st and 3rd. Part coffee house, part buffet, part grocery store, part sandwich shop… It’s pretty phenomenal. Best egg and cheese croissant I’ve ever had.
Olli Haaskivi
In the green room at the York on one of our breaks, Matthew Bauman is engrossed in "Scandal." Jeremy Greenbaum seems less impressed.
Olli Haaskivi
Between shows on our first two-show day, here we have Lance Roberts, Matthew Scott, Greg Kamp and Jim Stanek playin’ some poker. You also have Andrew Keenan-Bolger on the left, in his natural habitat, working his magic on Instagram or Twitter or any number of other mobile application whozeewhatsits.
Olli Haaskivi
In Saturday Night: The Stephen Sondheim Spectacular, Ben Fankhauser and I play feuding cousins. We wanted to take this opportunity to show you the contrast between our onstage relationship and our offstage relationship, but apparently there is not much of one.
Olli Haaskivi
I didn’t just take this picture so that I could spend hours practicing everybody’s individual handwriting, commit identity fraud and become a millionaire, I took this picture because I loved Paul Gemignani’s note to us at the bottom. (I confirmed with Mr. Gemignani that it was, in fact, his message to us and not Proctor and Gamble or Peter Gallagher or Patty Griffin or whoever.)
Olli Haaskivi
Opening night party! The faces of myself and Margo Seibert, the fingers of Lance Roberts.
Olli Haaskivi
Did I mention Stephen Sondheim came to see us? Stephen Sondheim came to see us. I cried. Everybody in this picture is just beaming with joy – we can’t believe our luck that we get to be a part of this fantastic show with this unbelievable team. And with that, I sign off. Come see Saturday Night!
Olli Haaskivi
Directed by Stafford Arima, with music supervision by Paul Gemignani, the 15-member cast features Matthew Bauman, Andrew Keenan-Bolger, Ben Fankhauser, Jeremy Greenbaum, Olli Haaskivi, Michael Thomas Holmes, Greg Kamp, Jared Loftin, Lindsay Mendez, Kenita Miller, Lance Roberts, Matthew Scott, Margo Seibert, Jim Stanek and Dana Steingold.
"Gene isn't satisfied with life in Brooklyn - no, he's meant for bigger things," according to press notes. "After crashing a party and meeting a fabulous southern dame (also a crasher) he comes up with a scheme to get rich quick on the market, and this plan can't fail...can it?"
The creative team also includes Brian Nason (lighting) and Geoff Josselson (casting director).
Tickets are priced at $45 and are available online at yorktheatre.org, by calling (212) 935-5820, or in person at the box office at the York Theatre Company at Saint Peter’s (entrance on East 54th Street, just east of Lexington Avenue).
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The Fall 2014 Musicals in Mufti Series will conclude with My Favorite Year, which has a book by Joseph Dougherty, lyrics by Lynn Ahrens and music by Stephen Flaherty, Dec. 5-7.
