Tuesday, June 04, 2002


What a day it has been--it is my day off, so I'm trying to rest up, because my throat has been bothering me. I do eight shows a week, so any variation from routine can really through a wrench into my vocal cords, and I'm afraid that between interviews, rushing about and social engagements I have maxed out my body. Doing a professional run in a solo show is a bit like being a marathoner, and I find that I spend most of my day off, every week, simply recuperating and readying myself for the next week.

Reviews are starting to come in for the book, which I will take a similarly agnostic attitude toward as I did with the theatrical reviews--it is more acceptable for authors to comment on reviews, so long as they don't say anything crude, but I think I'd rather avoid the whole situation. I will note that the book was reviewed at Slashdot today, where it received a great review, only to then get a weird mixture of incredibly informed followed by incredibly venomous responses. Amazon has always been a red-button topic for some people, so there's some risk in being in the cultural crosshairs.

This weekend I actually made it out to New Jersey for my friend Kathleen's wedding. Her family lives in Englewood, this posh suburb just over the George Washington Bridge, and that's where the celebration was held. We had a 5pm matinee show, so it was quite a logistical challenge to get all the way there, do a 2pm wedding and then get all the way back to Greenwich Village in time to do a show. We managed, though I suspect the stress of this has something to do with my tiredness now, four days later.

I wouldn't have missed it for the world. Kathleen and I have been friends since college, where we did theater together, and all Kathleen's friends, who are my friends too, were at the wedding: Miranda, Julie, Betsy...okay, I know most people reading this have no idea who these people are, but they are really cool people.

Anyway, Jean-Michele and I got to go hang out in the bridal suite, which rocked--having gotten married already, let me tell you that the women have a much cooler time up in their pre-wedding rituals. They do their hair in intricate, hairspray-laden routines, everyone writes their names on the soles of the bride's shoes to see whose will be rubbed off first--it's a cornucopia of history-making moments, and it was fun to be there. Kathleen's dad is Charles Osgood, of CBS radio and television fame, and it was trippy to have him walking around in a cool, old-fashioned gray tuxedo saying friendly things in a stenotarian voice I normally associate with broadcast journalism, and not a man giving away his oldest daughter.

For me the best parts of weddings are the unexpected-outdoor weddings are good for that, especially ones held at a person's house ,however ornate or large. I loved it when the trumpeters slightly warbled in the bridal procession, and you could see everyone WILLING THEM to hit the next note. I loved it when the family Dalmatian, Cleo, came trotting out and had to be corralled by the groomsmen and taken back inside. And just as Kathleen was holding back tears and saying her vows, an enormous bee flew onto the back of the head of the woman standing near us...she noticed this immediately, saw the bee, made a muffled shrieking sound and struck her head repeatedly with her wedding program. She then went completely still, all in a matter of moments, because she was very aware she had abruptly become the focus of the wedding.

I laughed and laughed, quietly, and all of Kathleen's friends around me laughed too, some through tears, as she said her vows and found herself married. The sun was shining, the flowers were blooming and the dog stood at the door, licking the window, waiting to be let out into the party. I hope her marriage finds all the humor and beauty her ceremony did, because if it does it will be a beautiful thing.