As everyone knows, it’s really tough to impress teenagers. It’s particularly tough for a middle-aged dad to impress teenage daughters.
But Bruce has managed it! And along the way, he impressed the hell out of me, too.
This past weekend, Bruce appeared in a musical production in Gettysburg. The show is called Battlecry, and the very neat thing is, this show had never been staged anywhere before this production. The author/producer stood on the stage Friday night and thanked the audience for being “a part of history.” He hopes to do more with the show, including taking it on tour and would love for it to land on Broadway. To that end, the cast is primarily made up of young, hungry New York actors who agreed to come down to Pennsylvania to be part of the production. The director was a highly acclaimed Broadway professional, the composer a Grammy-winner who has done orchestrations for a number of Oscar-nominated movies, including Chicago and Dreamgirls. The cast included stage actors, soap actors, stars of touring productions and off-Broadway shows.
And Bruce.
You see, because there are four parts in the show (non-singing parts, Bruce doesn’t sing) for middle-aged men to play the Generals, the producers decided to try to cast local actors rather than paying any more pros. (Not so many middle-aged, hungry actors who’d come down for NYC for those kind of wages, I guess. ) Anyway, they held an open casting call, Bruce tried out, and was offered the role of General Longstreet.
The reviews are in…he was GREAT! Of course, we met doing community theater, but it has been more than twenty years since Bruce has acted. I knew he’d be good, but the girls really weren’t so sure. They were truly blown away. He not only held his own with the pros, he really stood out among the four generals. (I think what impressed them just as much were the cute boy actors they met at the post-show premiere cocktail party…plus talking to the director and learning he directed Idina Menzel & Taye Diggs in a show a few years ago! Swoon for theater girls, lemme tell you!)
Wish I could share pictures, but unfortunately they are being really strict on the no-photos rule. I’ll ask him to sneak a camera backstage to take some of him in his tres cool costume.
If you’re interested, here’s a link to the musical’s website. (Check out the biographies, especially the composer’s!) The show itself is incredibly good–the performances are spectacular, the music is breathtaking and the staging superb. I (the writer) had some big problems with some of the lyrics, dialogue and the storyline, but the music was enough to make me overlook it.
Congrats again, Bruce–you were great!
PS: I am guest-blogging today over at Access Romance–talking about sex. (Always a fun subject) Stop by if you have time!
Leslie Kelly used to say she wanted to be a doctor when she grew up, but then she discovered Nancy Drew books. Being a flashlight-under-the-covers-nose-in-book reader throughout her childhood, she couldn’t think of anything else she’d rather do as an adult than continue to lose herself in fictional stories. Her real life marriage of 20 years to the man of her dreams is a constant reinforcement that happily-ever-afters really can happen…and that they’re worth writing about. Living in Maryland, Leslie spends her non-writing time laughing a lot with the above-mentioned romance hero and their three daughters. Though an author of more than thirty sexy, contemporary comedies, she has recently branched out to write dark romantic suspense under the pseudonym Leslie Parrish.
ANOTHER WILD WEDDING NIGHT
Hard to Hold
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Wild For Him
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How cool! WTG Bruce. Some people just have that natural talent and charisma, and it sounds like your husband definitely has it. And to get to work with a bunch of professional actors had to have been fun. Does he plan on doing more auditions?
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I am still working on Hubby to take a weekend and go see it. I figure Gettysburgh has to be a draw for him, the history major. Two for one!!
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Leslie I will jog on over to Access Romance to check out your blog, got to be careful since I am at a work computer. lol.
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Yay Bruce!!!! It sounds wonderful and I hope you had a good time doing this. I always figured you guys met during college or something. How fun to know the true story of your meeting!
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Yey to Bruce….BTW, Leslie, do you have a compilation book coming out (I was on Eharlequin yesterday and did a search and one popped up).
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Hooray for Bruce! What a great guy!
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Ev that would be so cool! If you talk him into it, let me know when so I can be sure to go!
It’s funny, my monster-in-law is visiting right now. (Ugh) She brought some pictures with her that I had never seen, of the first time Bruce brought me to meet his parents. That was 24 years ago this weekend!
Damn, I was skinny and hot! What in the name of God happened?
PS: Katie, yes, I have a novella collection coming out with Stephanie Bond and Lori Wilde. It’s called Sun, Sand, Seduction. Cover is gorgeous, isn’t it???
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As to what happened to you, Leslie? LIFE!
I came across some old wedding pictures this week. It will be #26 for us in August. I’ll never see that size 3 wedding dress again. (Well…it disappeared in my mother’s estate and we won’t mention the evil SiL and what she probably did with it) but I won’t see Size 3 again either. Ever. 
Wish we had time coming or going to RWA to stop in Gettysburg. Would love to see Bruce as Longstreet.
Hey everyone, just in case you might have forgotten, Leslie’s evil twin, Parrish, has a new book coming out–FADE TO BLACK!
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Yes, the cover is wonderful. When it popped up (actually it was on an ad), I thought, “why hasn’t Leslie mentioned it?”. It immediately went into my “Friday’ cart (I buy books on Friday).
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Thanks for ordering it, Katie!
Honestly, I hadn’t realized I hadn’t mentioned it here. I blogged about it over on the Blaze blog just forgot to on Plotmonkeys! It is a super great cover.
Hope you like it!
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WTG Bruce!!
How exciting!
Have NO idea who these people are…sorry.
Have a wonderful day all,
Cher
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Idina whatsit and Taye….
Cher
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lolol Cher…yeah, it’s a show-nut thing.
Idina & Taye were both in the original cast of Rent, and both played the same roles in the movie version. (Maureen & Benny)
She also originated the role of Elphaba in the show Wicked. And she was in the Disney movie Enchanted (she played McDreamy’s girlfriend before he met the princcess.) Last week on PBS she starred in the “Chess In Concert” show.
He starred in How Stella Got Her Groove Back, and currently stars in the show Private Practice.
Bruce and the girls actually got to meet & talk with Idina after we saw Wicked, and Taye was standing there patiently waiting for her. They didn’t even realize it was him until after they walked away!
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Congratulations to Bruce!
So…what acting gig is next?
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Awesome! So glad Bruce got to shine for his girls.
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WAY TO GO, BRUCE!!!
Pat Cochran
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Aren’t Idina and Taye married and expecting a baby pretty soon? Seems I read it somewhere. I loved them in Rent. Have the dvd and cd and listen to the soundtrack on my ipod all the time.
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Thank you my love. And what do you mean you WERE skinny and hot?!
Thanks everyone, I appreciate it. The cast and crew are incredibly talented and are all really nice people and have been a ball to work with. It has been a great experience, even more so once we moved into the theater last week and were all in one place at the same time. It’s amazing how at home I feel in a theater.
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Leslie your other half was in Border’s today.
I got my copy hot of the shelf. I can’t wait to get started. 
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Wtg bruce. Leslie called b and n to order Fade to BLack.
Young man that answered said he sure had a lot of orders for
It. Thought I’d make your day. Hugs
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Oh, Ardie, it’s in stores? YAYYYY! My first store sighting!!!
Thanks so much for telling me!! (Maybe I’ll go see if they’re in local stores because I *need* some copies and haven’t gotten my own author copies yet!)
And Jeanne–uh, I think you just made my WEEK! Thank you thank you thank you!
Bruce…you so sweet…
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And Liza–yes, Idina and Taye are married & expecting.
I loved Rent when I saw it on Broadway. Not with the original cast, but still so good! The movie was pretty good too.
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I do know who Taye Diggs is but did not know who Idina is. Now, I will have to check that out. I like him on Private Practice.
Sorry to say I did not know that Fade to Black was out already. Next time I am in Santa Rosa at Border’s I’ll see if they have it.
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Wtg, Bruce!
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How exciting, Bruce. Will this be your 2nd career?
Patricia
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Way to go Bruce!
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Belated congratulations to Bruce for his stellar performing! How wonderful, Leslie!