“PRESENT LAUGHTER,” ALONGSIDE THE SILK ROAD IN THE CITY

Here I am again, right on schedule, as promised, and home in LA after a nice break back east.  Last week while in NYC, I went to see the Roundabout Theatre Company’s production of “Present Laughter,” a Noël Coward play starring Victor Garber, known by most for his role on “Alias,” as the father of Jennifer Garner.  Harriet Harris, whom you might recognize from “Desperate Housewives,” also appears. They were both fantastic, and I really enjoyed the play overall.  It consists of three acts, with two intermissions, which make the running time longer than most, but the cast kept the story, action and comedy moving well.  The elegant and elaborate art deco set, was quite appealing to the eye from all angles.

The play revolves around Garry Essendine, an egotistical actor, played by Garber, who is about to celebrate his birthday with a trip to Africa.  In the opening of the show, a pretty, young girl, Daphne Stilllington, played sweetly by Holley Fain, visits him after she has “lost her latch key,” a running joke throughout the play.  During this time we meet all three of Garry’s assistants: his secretary, Monica Reed, played by Harriet Harris; his butler, Fred, played by James Joseph O’Neil, and his German maid, Miss Erickson, played by Nancy E. Carroll.  Garry is still very much in contact with and close to his ex-wife, Liz Essendine, played by the well established Lisa Banes, who enters the plot when she suspects an affair between Garry’s manager, Morris Dixon, played by Marc Vietor, and the wife of his producer, Harry Lyppiatt’s, played by Richard Poe.  The wife, Joanna, played by Pamela Jane Gray, sports a stunning, eye-catching, elegant, empire-waisted, long, flowing, black and white dress in the first act, which I so much wanted for myself!  During Liz’s expression of her suspicion to Gary, the overly flamboyant Roland Maule, played perfectly, with no shortage of laughs, by Brooks Ashmanskas, visits him and wants his play critiqued by Garry.  As the plot develops, we see the interaction between all the characters, along with a little blackmail, seduction and an assortment of escapades.  So, if you find yourself in Manhattan, I highly recommend this show and feel the comedy will bring some refreshing laughs into your life.

While in the city, I also took in “The Silk Road Exhibit,” on the upper west side, at the American Museum of Natural History, and met up with my very good and extremely talented friend and fellow actor Chris Chalk, for dinner at Scaletta Ristorante, which was delish!  During this time, I realized that one of the things I do miss, living in LA, is the opportunity to go to Broadway shows and see a variety of good theatre, especially musicals, all packed with the true talent NYC holds.  I think I got spoiled living in the city, after college, and having the ability to walk to shows at every turn.  Also, I’ve been fortunate growing up so close to the city and having extraordinary parents who believe in the arts and took us to musicals, plays, exhibits and more, from a very young age on.

All in all, 2010 has been a great year, even though it has just begun, and I feel good about it while looking forward to all it has to offer!  I hope it is playing out positively for you as well, and, if not, remember that you are in control of your own adventure in life, so you have to make it happen, something my marvelous mother often encouragingly reminds me.  ‘Til next time, try to enjoy your own adventure, and I’ll do the same!

“The biggest adventure you can take is to live the life of your dreams.” – Oprah Winfrey

 

NEW YEAR, NEW BLOG

Let me start by wishing everyone a Happy New Year, 2010!!!  I cannot believe that a decade ago I was in one of my favorite countries, Australia, in the middle of the crystal, cyan blue waters of the Great Barrier Reef, ringing in the Millennium with my fabulous family, marking some of my best memories to date.  Ten years later, we found ourselves all together, yet again, but this time in our Nation’s capital with a slightly bigger family consisting of two adorable nephews and a another brother-in-law.

With that said, I realize I have been away from FIB and all of my loyal and supportive blog readers for some time, far too much time in fact, and for that, I sincerely apologize!  Please know that I thought about you often and have truly missed my days blogging with you.  So, along with my new year’s resolution to drink more water, I also plan to pick up where I left off and continue my weekly Wednesday blogs, so get ready!

In addition, I want to thank each of you for your continued support while on my journey as an actor and through life, as well as all of your sweet comments and thoughtful messages, even when I was nowhere to be found in blog land!  I continue to be amazed and touched by those of you who have shown interest in me, my blogs and/or acting career.  Recently, I was at an event and approached by someone who asked if I was the Liesl who blogged with Film Industry Bloggers.  After confirming that I was, he graciously proceeded to tell me that he really enjoyed reading my blogs, especially the one written on Carla Laemmle, and even recalled part of what I had written, which meant more to me than he could possibly know.

What have I been up to exactly, you might be asking.  Well, this quick 6-month wrap up, since my last blog, should help catch you up to speed…

Love entered my life unexpectedly and the adventure has been wonderful, I went on a wine tasting weekend in Paso Robles, I attended an Angels vs. Yankee game, toured the Getty Villa in Malibu, my younger sister got married in beautiful Santa Barbara, in what was a lovely fall wedding, I gained a brother-in-law who fits in with our family perfectly, I attended Carla Laemmle’s 100th birthday and got to meet the gracious Sara Karloff, daughter of Boris Karloff, who paid me a lovely compliment about my acting in “Kreating Karloff” and said she was excited to meet me, yes, little me, I dressed up for Halloween for the first time in years, picnicked on the beach in Laguna, continued work on “Rock of Ages” with Telsey Casting and the fabulous Rachel Hoffman, where I also reunited with talented actor David Tom, with whom I acted in my first TV role, “Holy Joe” on CBS, I threw my 6th annual holiday par-tay, visited Disneyland while it was decorated for Christmas, good friends got engaged while others had babies, I celebrated the holiday in NJ with my entire family, traveled back to my beloved New York City, a place I miss more as each year passes, rang in the 2010 in the Nation’s capital, and just as the year came to a close, I booked the voice and face of a video game character, which is something different for me, but that I am excited about and which presents a new, fun experience.

Other than that, I’m still looking forward to fully enjoying my 30’s, which I had just entered when I last updated you in August, and, so far, I am simply loving it!  I still plan to concentrate on the commercial avenue of my career and hosting/personality type jobs, which will hopefully lead to a platform for my own children’s charity foundation, my ultimate goal!  ‘Till next time, which will be sooner this time, I hope you all enjoy the start of 2010 and the pictures below that capture some of what I was up to while away from you the past 6 months in descending order starting in September 2009 and ending in January 2010.

“Year’s end is neither an end nor a beginning but a going on, with all the wisdom that experience can instill in us.” - Hal Borland

Photo Credit: Meghan Aileen Photography (wedding pictures below)