ANNOUNCMENT!

Curtain Up Cookies is taking a hiatus from cookie creating to focus on outside endeavors.

Please check out the NEW Curtain Up Crafts etsy store to see what we're up to over there!

Wednesday, December 28, 2011

CLOSING COOKIES: White Christmas at Paper Mill Playhouse


I've spent the last two months getting into the holiday spirit backstage at


This is the largest musical I've ever been a part of, a real Broadway-scale show (it was actually a re-mount of the Broadway production), and I had an absolute blast! The show is both charming and amazing (how about an 8-minute tap number at the top of the second act!), and I loved watching from the wings each night.

This was also my first venture in Child Wrangling. I was the guardian for two ten-year-old girls who alternated the role of Susan, the General's granddaughter who whips out a show-stopping number towards the end of the show.

All in all, a GREAT experience. NOW ON TO THE COOKIES!

Nearing the holiday season, I always get excited to make Christmas cookies, so to have a Christmas show closing on Christmas Eve was just perfect!

I took inspiration from the logo above, and made my signature Christmas Gingerbread cookies (secret family recipe).

My favorite/the most difficult was the White Christmas lettering.

Then came ALL the snowflakes, BIG and small.




And then, of course, the snowglobes!



I made enough for the entire cast, crew, and band! 
It kept me up all week, but not one was left by the end of the show!


I hope you all had a wonderful holiday!



Holiday Christmas cookies coming soon!


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Friday, December 2, 2011

RUN AND SEE: Bonnie & Clyde


Bonnie &  Clyde is a new musical that opened on Broadway last night. I was able to catch it last Monday when a friend and I decided to get rush tickets on a whim (partial view, but you don't miss much of importance).

Now, if you're still taking Mr. Brantley's opinion into consideration (sorry for the snark, but if he can dish it, he can take it), please do yourself a favor and disregard his review of this show. Quite honestly I'm shocked at how negatively he reviewed it (I literally sat there at intermission imagining the good reviews they were going to get).

Like I said, my friend and I went to the show on a whim. It was on my "To See" list, but not very high up. They just happened to be one of the few shows running on a Monday (their schedule has changed since opening). So, I was interested in seeing it, but my expectations were a little indifferent. 

Well, let me tell you, this is the best musical I have seen this season. Ok, it might actually be the first new musical I've seen this season, but that doesn't mean that the statement holds no weight. I left the theater thinking it a strong contender for Best Musical, and pretty adamant that Laura Osnes (Bonnie) and Jeremy Jordan (Clyde) should win in the Best Actress and Actor categories

As with any show, it has its faults, but I honestly can barely pinpoint them because the good outweighs any problems I had with the show. We all know the story of Bonnie and Clyde, but the world that this show created was so enjoyable to get lost in that I found myself excited to see how they were going to tell their story. Laura and Jordan are simply stunning in both their portrayal of the madly-in-love gangsters (their chemistry is HOT) and in each song they sang (either on their own, or even better, the duets!) of the charming 1930's Frank Wildhorn score. Both of their voices are to die for (so many unintentional puns...), and I don't want to ruin anything, but the end of the show was just about perfect.

The best part is that the show continued to grow on me once I left the theater, and for days after. I have a few telltale signs that I enjoyed a show, and this one passed with flying colors. I left the theater humming the songs, I cried (more than once), and I even found myself wanting to go see it again (which was rather unexpected to be honest). I even Wikipedia'd (is that a word?) the real Bonnie and Clyde because I was so taken with their story on stage, and to my delight, found that the costumes in the show were based on real pictures of them, and reproduced to a T.

I wouldn't put Bonnie and Clyde in my "All Time Favorite Musicals" pile, but for some reason it really grabbed me and is holding on tight. And that reason is, IT'S GOOD. RUN AND SEE IT!

Here's a sneak peek:

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Tuesday, November 15, 2011

CLOSING COOKIES: Love's Labor's Lost


"The cuckoo then, on every tree,
     Mocks married men; for thus sings he, Cuckoo"
  
"nightly sings the staring owl, Tu-whit;
  Tu-who, a merry note"    
~ Love's Labor's Lost


The Public LAB's production of Love's Labor's Lost was short, but sweet. 
Closing night cookies were a hit!


The play ends with a song about the cuckoo bird in the Spring and the owl in the Winter.


In our production, the letters that the men sent to their lovers were brightly colored, so I made icing to match.

AND along with my usual sugar cookies, I tried a new recipe for Cocoa cookies that are DELICIOUS!




NEXT UP: White Christmas at The Paper Mill Playhouse in New Jersey. I will be child wrangling my first show! We're in tech right now and start previews on Thursday! So far so good!

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Saturday, September 17, 2011

My First Commission: A Starcraft II Birthday Surprise!

My friend Stephanie, who I met working on Shafrika the White Girl at JARADOA Theater Company, contacted me last week to make cookies for her boyfriend's birthday. My very first commission!

She sent me an e-mail saying "He loves the game Starcraft II, Wings of Liberty and this past weekend he was really excited to be promoted to the Silver League. When he plays Starcraft II he plays Terran." All of this went right over my head, but she attached pictures, so I felt a little better.

 Starcraft II logo:
This is the message he got when he moved up to the Silver League:
 Terran logo:

The pictures were helpful, but also caused a bit of panic to set in. How was I supposed to duplicate such intricate designs and fonts onto a cookie?? But I was up for the challenge, and with a little arts & crafts, some handmade stencils and food markers helped me create video game art.

The Silver League badge seemed like it would be pretty easy, so I started there.

 

Then I tackled the Terran Logo. There was no way I'd be able to draw that thing free-hand, so I printed it out, made a stencil and traced it onto each cookie with yellow food marker. It took some time and patience, but the tracing method definitely made it easier, and I'm pretty proud of how they came out! Especially since at first glace I thought it would be impossible.


The last hurdle was the Starcraft Logo. How on earth was I going to replicate that font and fancy computer-generated shading effect?? I went out on a crazy limb and back to the arts & crafts table. I printed out the logo, poked holes in the corners of each letter with a pin, and when the cookie came out of the oven, I poked through each hole onto the cookie with a toothpick, so that when the cookie cooled, I could connect the dots. When I poked the holes into the cookie, it got all crumbly and I thought I was done for, but after it cooled and I calmed down a bit, the holes were a helpful guide and it actually worked!

    
So, that's my adventure with the first order of Curtain Up Cookies! 
And a Happy 29th Birthday to Stephanie's boyfriend, Luis!




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Wednesday, September 14, 2011

WHAT I'M UP TO: Love's Labor's Lost



Next up I'm heading back to the Public!

I did a PublicLab show there a year and a half ago (Juan & John by Roger Guenveur Smith), and I'm back for more. This time I'll be the Production Assistant on Love's Labor's Lost! My first Shakespeare play! I'm very excited. The Public is known for their Shakespeare productions, so this is going to be a good time. It's only playing for a short time (October 18 - November 6) and tickets are cheap ($15!), so no excuses! Get 'em while they're available!

My favorite part:

Love’s Labor’s Won: The Public Celebrates Marriage Equality! 
To celebrate the passing of New York State’s Marriage Equality Act, The Public Theater is offering a free pair of tickets to its upcoming production of Love's Labor's Lost to any couple (gay or straight) married in New York State between July 24 and October 18, 2011.
To redeem this offer, please visit our box office at 425 Lafayette Street with a copy of your marriage certificate and photo ID. For more information, please call (212) 967-7555. 






Related Links:
Playbill.com Announcement -
http://www.playbill.com/news/article/154514-Hoon-Lee-and-Renee-Elise-Goldsberry-Set-for-Loves-Labors-Lost-at-the-Public
Official Website - http://www.publictheater.org/component/option,com_shows/task,view/Itemid,141/id,1039
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Tuesday, September 6, 2011

CLOSING COOKIES: Herman Kline's Midlife Crisis

Another one comes to a close. Saturday marked the end of the run of Herman Kline's Midlife Crisis, and I happily had enough time to make closing cookies!
*Apologies for the weird coloring. I broke my camera and had to use my phone :( *






Proud Papa Playwright Josh Koenigsberg enjoying his cookie at the closing party.
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Monday, August 15, 2011

WHAT I'M UP TO: Actors' Equity & Herman Kline's Midlife Crisis

After THREE extensions, Unnatural Acts closed at the end of July.

Three days later I went into tech for my next show, Herman Kline's Midlife Crisis!

 
One week and four previews later we were at Opening Night!

Needless to say, I've been busy. But the best kind of busy. I am constantly in awe of all of the amazing people I get to work with and the incredible projects I get to be a part of.

Herman Kline's Midlife Crisis is an especially important project to me, as it is my first show as a member of Actors' Equity Association. As the Assistant Stage Manager (Movin' on up!), I was given the chance to join the union for actors and stage managers, and now I'm the real deal!

As for the show, it looks like it's the real deal, too. Check out these reviews!

http://theater.nytimes.com/2011/08/16/theater/reviews/herman-klines-midlife-crisis-by-josh-koenigsberg-review.html

http://nytheatre.com/showpage.aspx?s=herm13171

http://www.theatermania.com/new-york/reviews/08-2011/herman-klines-midlife-crisis_39717.html


Now to figure out what kind of cookies represent Midlife Crisis...

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Monday, July 4, 2011

Happy 4th!



Just a little something I threw together for the holiday.







 Have a Fun & Safe Holiday!


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Friday, July 1, 2011

WHAT I'M UP TO: Unnatural Acts


I am currently the Production Assistant on an incredibly moving play at Classic Stage Company about Harvard's expulsion of gay students in 1920, called Unnatural Acts.

We opened on June 23rd, and we've been getting such great buzz from critics and audience members, we've just extended for another week!

"Unnatural Acts is inspired by events that occurred at Harvard University in the spring of 1920, when a student's suicide sparked a campus-wide investigation by a panel of administrators who convened to investigate, expose and ultimately expel a group of homosexual students. Both intimate and epic, Unnatural Acts explores themes of fear and societal intolerance that are as relevant today as they were 91 years ago."

There is a great article in Playbill right now about the show: http://www.playbill.com/features/article/151825-Unnatural-Acts-in-Hallowed-Halls

You can also learn more about the creation of the show on its website: http://www.unnaturalactstheplay.com


This is such an important piece of theater, and it's so beautifully done with an incredibly talented cast, you CANNOT miss it!


You can get tickets on CSC's website at https://www.ovationtix.com/trs/pr/825395
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Monday, May 2, 2011

RUN AND SEE: War Horse


Last Wednesday I saw War Horse at Lincoln Center's Vivian Beaumont Theater. It was an absolutely stunning production that left me in tears (what doesn't, really? - Speaking of, also go see The Normal Heart on Broadway). The Beaumont is such an incredible space, and it was perfect for this grandiose piece of theater.

War Horse tells the story of a boy in Devon, England befriending a horse who is then sold into the Army during World War I. The boy enlists in the Army to find his horse and bring him home to safety. Told through breathtaking staging by a 35-member cast, haunting song and endearingly realistic puppetry, including two life-sized horses controlled by three-person puppeteer teams, and actually ridden on by the actors, the play is just epic.

This is one of the most beautiful and moving productions I have seen this season, if not ever, and anyone who is looking to sit in pure awe and wonder for 2 hours and 45 minutes should SEE THIS NOW! It's pretty hard to get a ticket (I paid full price and it was WORTH IT), but they have just made their limited run open-ended, so get your tickets now!  


Seth Numrich, Photo by Paul Kolnik (Playbill.com)

There are also some incredible photos and videos on the show's website if you want to know more about the show, but I loved going into it not knowing what I was going to see.
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Monday, March 28, 2011

OPENING NIGHT COOKIES: The Dream of the Burning Boy

Wednesday night was Opening Night for The Dream of the Burning Boy, the show I'm currently working on at the Roundabout Underground!


I decided to switch it up a bit and make cookies for the opening of this show rather than the closing.




The top ones are self-explanatory, but the other two are references to the play, so you'll have to come see it to understand ;) And we've extended to May 15th, so you have an extra week to check it out!


The cows are my favorite.


Since it was Opening Night, I wanted to make the gifts a little more personal. First time I've packaged my cookies!





If you're interested, REVIEWS ARE IN!


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