We Raised $27,015 In Two Weeks!!!
$27,015 WITH ASTERISK, MORE COOKIES & CHECKS IN THE MAIL!
Wow! This is insane (in a good way). We have managed to sell $27,015 worth of tickets in just two weeks! We are almost half way to our target of $60,000! Actually we ARE* more than halfway there because we are sitting on several checks that have not been applied to the Kick Starter account yet (thank you “Cookie” problem!!). If any of you encounter that infamous "cookie" message and are so inclined, feel free to contact me for 24/7 tech support…I never sleep. Now before we get to our weekly roll call, we have a couple of video treats for you. Our show has a nice mixture of solo and ensemble numbers. Over the coming weeks we’ll be introducing you to the cast members, the characters they play and show you their individual numbers. But let’s start off with some of the ensemble performances.
[The cast of "Hereafter Musical" at our last rehearsal.]
"How Will She Remember Me?" is performed by the spirits and the living and they ponder how they will be remembered by their loved ones.
"Goodbye" is performed by the three women who have come to the group reading with the hope of making contact and finding closure.
"Waiting" is performed by the entire cast. It’s a wistful song about the passage of time; Christmas past and lost opportunities and it sets the wheels in motion for the spirits to finally to act on everyone’s mounting frustrations.
OUR NUMBER ONE FAN!!
Meet Dolly, our number one fan. We know where she got the t-shirt from but we have no idea where that "Hereafter" purse came from...I smell copyright infringement!!!.
ROLL CALL OF THANKS FOR WEEK #2
Angie Adjodha Callahan – Angie and I go all the way back to Kindergarten (St Finbar’s in Bensonhurst!!). We just reconnected after 38 years!!!! I think she was avoiding me! Anyway, she along with Julia Kaleniak-Deptula, Sal Mazzola and Cathy Helk are coming to see the show. This is what they all look like this very day! They haven’t changed a bit since then…I swear!!!
Rich Poggi – Rich is one of the funniest guys I know…and I know a lot of funny guys.
Betsy – I know two Betsy’s…this could be either one of them or a totally unrelated Betsy…Heavens To Betsy please REVEAL yourself!
Susan Zirinsky – Susan is a VERY good friend. She is the EP of one of CBS longest running shows “48 Hours”; she is also the EP of one of the most powerful 9/11 documentaries you will ever see (the one with the Naudet brothers footage)…it will air on CBS on 9/11. Oh and she was the inspiration for the Holly Hunter character in “Broadcast News”! Is there anything she can’t do??!!
Randi Colatrella – Randi is a close friend and a long time supporter of Hereafter….and an amazing baker and she doesn’t even work in a bakery...she’s that good!!!!
Diane Kuri – Diane is a colleague, she’s just down the hall from me but I don’t see her nearly enough (something about a restraining order against me)…but she did come to the last showcase and she’s coming to the next one so she really loves the show in spite of me!
David Kay – Another colleague and a great great guy!
Gale Ciccone – I met Gale at a wake. Not the ideal circumstances but we have her daughter in common (that sounds strange I know…I’ll explain when I get to the daughter).
Susan Schwirck – We don’t know Susan. We hope to meet her at the show. Susan, I’ll be the only one on stage not in costume!
Mark Turits – Mark’s a colleague…a great guy with some pretty talented kids.
Kathy Mcclung – I know Kathy a long time. She is a music aficionado, which makes it all the more impressive that she likes our show!
Anthony Andrianopoulos – Wait…huff huff huff…I’m all out of breath typing Anthony’s name. Oh great, now my spell check is freaking out! A great guy and a HUGE Pearl Jam fan!
Jeffrey Kramer –I know him as Jeffrey but you know him as Deputy Leonard 'Lenny' Hendrick in a little film called “JAWS”!
Ileene Mittleman – One of my closest colleagues. We’ve been to heck and back!
Abe Littenberg – Abe and his family have been long time supporters of our show. Thanks guys!
Rebecca Borden – A colleague at CBS and rumor has it she’s an heir to Borden’s Milk (I just made that up). Thanks’ Rebecca!!!
Carolyn McGuire – A truly dear dear friend, one of my oldest and closest friends. Her heartfelt words after the August showcase last year still echo with us. Thank you Carol, we cannot wait to put on the show for you!
Lexi Ciccone – Ok, remember a few thank “yous” ago when I said I met her mom at a wake and that we had Lexi in common? Well here’s the weird thing, I’ve never met Lexi, yet I know her! I helped her with an internship on the Howard Stern show and now her broadcasting career is skyrocketing…me, I’m hawking tickets to a musical on the Internet. Lexi, you better remember me!
Heather Huttes – A real believer in Hereafter and an awesome first name that almost reads as “Hereafter” if you’ve had a few drinks! Thanks Heather!!!
Eric Bernstein – Eric is AWESOME. He invited Frankie and I to the school he was principle at to talk about mounting a production of our show!!! How cool is that?!
Kerry Moran – A close family friend and another long time supporter of the show!
Apoloniad Productions – We LOVE LOVE Apoloniad Productions…especially its namesake Apolonia. She was our angel when we did our last showcase. She’s super talented and doing amazing work in the theater.
Deborah Marcus Auslander – Now I know Deborah Marcus…the Auslander part is new to me. She is only three floors below me. I really need to get out more…when did this happen???
Timothy Crawford – We don’t know Timothy or Crawford? He is one of the growing number of folks buying tickets that we don’t know…awesome…a new friend to annoy!
Grace A. Cassese – We know Grace, we love Grace. And she really lives up to her name (the Grace part!). Thanks Grace!
Kelly Kahl – Now how Kool is that name? Kelly and his wife Kim (these names just keep on getting better don’t they) are long time friends and perhaps the Koolest Kouple at KBS (I mean CBS…I Kan’t stop with the letter K!!!!
Chris Schukei – An old friend who left the hustle and bustle of NY with his beautiful wife years ago. Now we keep up with Christmas cards! Thanks to the miracle of “Hereafter” I’ll get to see them in person!
Ron Kristan – Ron and Connie are very very good friends. They have been with our show from the beginning (and still stuck around!). Thanks guys.
Julie Mainelli – Julie’s name sounds sooo familiar. She’s not on our mailing list so I don’t think we know her…but I guess now we do and boy are we lucky for it!
Lisa Orban – We certainly know Lisa. She was with us in the very beginning. She sang on many of the early demos. She has an amazing voice that is only matched by her heart! She’d still be with the show if we didn’t kill off her character (true story!!!). Apparently fictional characters can die in real life....who knew? We love Lisa and someday we will share with the world her many contributions to our show.
Julia Kaleniak-Deptula – Another friend from kindergarten (see photo above). Thanks Julia!
Robert Maffia – Let's go from from kindergarten to the 9th grade. That’s where I met Robert when we both went to: William E. Grady Vocational High School (I know, I know I went to a TRADE school…it’s a long story that I’ll share with those of you who pledge for a phone call or lunch!!!). He’s an awesome guy with a last name that scares the hell out of me.
Annie Hauck – She is truly a new BFF. One of the most colorful and interesting people I know. She can carry a conversation on ANY topic without sounding like a know–it-all and she recently told me and I quote “One should never pay for manure”. And she meant it!
Jeremy McKay Coleman – A great guy who actually gave me a radio show on WNEW-FM called “Couch Potatoes”. We did two shows and then the station switched formats!!! He’s one of the best programmers out there and Sirius is lucky to have him
Robert Penney – Dr. Bob and his family are long, long time supporters of our show. He loves us so much that he actually got into a shower stall and let me record him singing one of my songs…true story (we we’re both fully dressed…well he least he was).
Jennifer Althen – Jennifer is my beautiful niece and the grand daughter of one of the main characters in the show. She is super talented in everything she does. Consider yourself lucky if she’s there on the same night that you’re attending. And if you’re nice I’ll introduce you to her.
Sarah Douglis – Sarah is another new BFF who strangely feels the same way about manure that Annie (above) does. She is so green that she makes Al Gore look like a gas guzzler (it’s a horribly written analogy but you know what I mean!).
Matt Lacalamito – Matt is an awesome guy! Super talented and super sweet. One of the nicest guys I know.
Heather Tobin - We just met Heather (aka “Mystical Heather”) but something tells me we go back several lifetimes together. She not only hosts an awesome show on all things paranormal but she is a GREAT singer songwriter. I have a feeling you will be hearing some music from her very soon (stay tuned).
Antoinette Roca – Antoinette and Anthony are close friends. Anthony is one of the famous Roca brothers of Bensonhurst! They are like the Italian Osmonds (wait that would make them the Di Franco family!).
Pat Farmer – Pat is a long time friend and colleague. You know him from the Late Show (he reads the Oprah Transcripts!!!!).
Margorie Baker – A long time colleague at CBS and an awesome producer. Thanks Marjorie!
David Pack – He is not only the lead singer of one of the seminal bands from the 70’s (Ambrosia) but he also sang a gorgeous version of “Talk To Me” (one of the songs from our show. Wait a second; we should be giving him money! David’s music is timeless. He’s working on lots of exciting projects. You can get the latest info on David here.
