So my friend Jen is helping produce a HUGE event next Monday at the Gershwin… I’m going, and I think you should too… so check it out. Oh, and I heard that even Al Sharpton will be there – you don’t want to miss this!

What: Defying Inequality: The Broadway Concert. A star studded event featuring stars from Broadway, television, fashion, music and film coming together to stand up for marriage equality.

When: Monday, February 23 at 8:00pm

Where: The Gershwin Theatre – currently home to the Broadway production of Wicked – 51st street between Broadway and 8th Avenue

Who: Hosted by the cast of Wicked, scheduled to appear: Marc Shaiman (Broadway debut of Prop 8: The Musical), Stephen Schwartz (composer of Wicked), David Hyde Pierce (Frasier), Cyndi Lauper, Harvey Fierstein (Hairspray), Carson Kressley (Queer Eye), Tamara Braun and Cameron Mathison (All My Children), Rue McClanahan (Golden Girls), Lynda Carter (Wonder Woman), Mark Indelicato and Michael Urie (Ugly Betty). Performances by Broadway stars including Nathan Lane, Jonathan Groff, Shoshana Bean, Stephanie J. Block, Adrian Lenox. Performances by casts of at least 10 Broadway shows including Wicked, Spring Awakening, Hair and The Little Mermaid.

Why: There are over 1100 federal rights, benefits, and privileges given to married couples in this country. Unmarried couples, as it stands now, are not entitled to those same rights and benefits. It is our belief that EVERYONE should be entitled to equal protections under the law. We are raising money to benefit organizations that are working to promote and protect equal rights for the gay and lesbian community. Some of the rights and benefits provided to married couples only: income tax deductions and credits, family visitation rights, right to inheritance of property, Medicaid benefits, next-of-kin status, permission to make funeral arrangements.

Beneficiaries: Family Equality Council, Empire State Pride Agenda, Equality California, Garden State Equality, The Vermont Freedom to Marry Task Force. 100% of the proceeds of this event will go directly to these organizations.

How to purchase tickets: Ticketmaster or our website www.defyinginequality.com

So for those of you on facebook, you have probably seen the 25 random things phenomenon going around. Anyways I got together some random facts about me and smashed ‘em thogether… so take a look!

One of the most influential people in my life is a former hockey coach, Bill Naucke. He taught me what it means to play every shift like it’s the last time I’ll ever skate. I am eternally in debt to this man. I believe in LOVE, positive thought, and action. I aim to live the hell out of every single day. I love to travel, but I hate being labeled as a tourist. A goal of mine is to become fluent in multiple languages. I have learned more since I graduated college than I did in the combined 17 years of schooling prior to that. A busy day is infinitely better than a day spent doing nothing. Smoking cigarettes is the single most unattractive quality a person can have. I was such a picky eater as a kid, my mom had to institute a 5 minute “complaining time” before every meal where my brother and I would tell her how disgusting her cooking looked. My motto is “keeping it real”. Ask me what I think it means. I was scared of Goofy as a kid. Unfortunately, I had Disney bed sheets. Every night, I would try to hide from the multiple Goofys on my sheets. I pride myself on my ability to compose and take amazing pictures. (On other peoples’ cameras, of course, because I don’t own my own, and frankly, I think sometimes we can get so caught up in getting a picture we forget to have the experience.) People in authority positions that do not understand leadership is about building people up piss me off. I am a people person, I dine on constant exposure to awesome people and I go crazy if I’ve spent all day by myself. My lucky number comes from Brendan Shanahan, my favorite Blues player as a kid, who wore # 19. I am a creative genius and I am an artist; therefore I choose faith over fear. I LOVE what I do. I feel sorry for people whose work is actually a job. Ice hockey is my weakness. I love the sport more than anything. I have a couple awesome scars to prove it, too. A goal of mine is to write a paper using only famous quotes and song lyrics. I have no idea what this paper will be about. Suggestions? I’m incredibly romantic for the right person. And I’m picky as shit. I run a 4.5 40. Odds are I’ll smoke you in a foot race. I am currently boycotting Stella Artois – can you guess why? I can drive a mean stick shift and I secretly love the old Disney movie musicals. I would much rather talk to someone than read a bunch of random things about them.

don't be offended

“What’s that?” you say… apparently it’s in the dictionary right between popsuckle and prehysterical, but more importantly *POSITIVITY* is a mind set; a way of seeing things that makes life breeze by allowing us to live every moment of our lives to the fullest. I’m a huge advocate of this type of thinking. – it will revolutionize your life… no joke -

Anyways we can never have enough positoovity (or is that positivity… now I’m confusing myself) in our lives. So I don’t know about you, but I’m going to kill it with positivity. Don’t ask me what I’m killing… life maybe… now I sound morbid, which was not the point of this post. I digress… but check my friend Rachel’s site.  We went to school together… she rocks, AND will give you a free daily pep talk! Oh, and also I’ll give a quick shout out to the book The Art of Possibility. Check it out at your local bookstore, and by check it out, I mean buy the book and read it! This way your are putting money into our shitty (read: AWESOME) economy and bettering yourself (read: becoming cooler) all at once.

Peace!

Oh! Check all the new media – I updated it a few days ago. Some of the pics up there go way back…

What an amazing time this is to be living in! – as I reflect on Obama’s message throughout his remarkable journey to become our 44th President, a phrase from his speech yesterday comes to mind: “We choose hope over fear.” What a simple yet profound choice of words…

One of the many reasons I like Barack Obama is the message he preaches does not stop with our government. He takes life lessons, drawing from the cannon of his experiences, and translates these teachings  into his politics. In this way, he is connecting to us on a more basic, human level. I believe Barack chooses hope over fear, and I would hope that as human beings, we have the strength to embrace this message wholeheartedly. I don’t doubt for a second that we have elected a great leader; and it is my hope that we continue to choose hope over fear not only in our politics, but also in our lives – THAT, my friends, is keeping it real!

‘nough said…PEACE

I totally forgot to officially announce the big news.  Last March, I ventured into Amish country and originated the role of  Jim Hawkins in the world premiere of the musical Treasure Island by my friends Marc Robin and Curt Dale Clark. I had an absolute blast at the Fulton Opera working on this killer project.

Fortunately, our wonderful show has been picked up and is being produced again in Indianapolis at Beef and Boards Dinner Theatre. I’ll be returning to play Jim, along with some of the original creatives. We open April 9 in Indy and run through May 17. Check out our schedule here. If you are in the area, hopefully you can make it out to the show!

More details to follow! Peace!