# 19: Clay Aiken: glorious voice, excellent comic actor, master of character and man in tights!

[zena]

I swear every day I think I couldn't love him more, and then I do.

me too.

"Boundless hope........" thanks for sharing this lovely bit of poetry; Scarlett, it was a perfect fit for my happy hopeful heart tonight.

Aikim, and KarenEh? for your "words" to Clay tonight, and the delight we could all share in the two-way communication that occurred as a result.

And KarenEh? ......Welcome home!!!!!!!!!!

and if you're looking for an April fool, :clay: ................ :pickme:

in the meantime I'll be dividin' my time between (love this one, Couchie, ) and

[Gibby]

OMG.

Mr. Muski just came home from a meeting. I told him about Gibby calling with the NYC proposition.

He said, "Let's do it!"

OMG.

We might end up in bankruptcy, but we'll have had a fun time getting there!

I love my hubby.

(off to use my Amex Rapid Rewards points to buy tickets!)

:nana: :nana: :nana:

Ooooooh, we'll have so much fun, Muski!! I'm all excited to find out which seats you get! Hopefully they'll be close to the ones I got today. Give Mr. Muski a big kiss from me, okay?

Aikim, I'm so happy that Clay quoted you. Your post was beautiful, and I can see why it made him misty. He really, really appreciates all of our support.

What a FANTASTIC day it's been! I didn't get much of anything done today, but I sure had fun! I missed the OFC chat because hubby and I went to the gym - darn it! But there's sooooo much to celebrate and be happy about today. Clay is so good to us!

[Scarlett]

Yikes, I just realized that I was posting exclusive content -- should I edit? would it fly if I claim that I was writing a review? I promise not to post any more.

However, y'all who are interested might want to get to know (*coughPMcough*) my good friend PerusingOne. She's amazing (in a good sense)!!! *wink*

OTOH, can I spell Karen Eh? as "Kareneh" from now on?

Thanks, zena!

[muskifest]

GIbby, they're the same tix I got when we were on the phone! We're in the row behind you guys, a couple of seats closer to the aisle!

Woo Hoo!

I just checked airfares and they made me but

tomorrow is a another day, right Ms Scarlett?

Wait....pm? PerusingOne? Huh? sooperseekrit shit?

Clayintightsclayintightsclayintights.....

OOOOOHHHHHHMMMMMMM.......

g'night, all! :F_05BL17blowkiss:

[cha cha trusty]

You know...our boyfriend really is the best. He posts a press release. He gives good blog. He responds with personal info and a 'love' emoticon about one fan's post in a Spamalot thread, he checks in to his MySpace, and then he joins chat and answers questions about wearing tights.....

sigh.

..............

Jeeez - I go out for the evening and all hell breaks loose!! How can I get tix for this show???

[Gibby]

Scarlett, you better keep posting, girl! I enjoy your posts so much. I doubt that the little bit of 'exclusive content' you posted will get you in trouble.

Woooohooooo, Muski, those are great tickets!! I think we're going to watch the planes fares for awhile, and see what happens with the rates. Hopefully we'll find a good deal at some point. We might book the hotel and plane at the same time, 'cuz you can sometimes get better rates for both that way.

chacha - you can get Spamalot tickets at telecharge.com .

Wheee, I'm on top!!!

[YSRN]

Yikes, I just realized that I was posting exclusive content -- should I edit? would it fly if I claim that I was writing a review? I promise not to post any more.

However, y'all who are interested might want to get to know (*coughPMcough*) my good friend PerusingOne. She's amazing (in a good sense)!!! *wink*

OTOH, can I spell Karen Eh? as "Kareneh" from now on?

Thanks, zena!

Whatchoo talkin' 'bout, Willis?!

[lilyshine]

Right now Spamalot is selling about 80% of its seats and you can get discounted tickets for most weekday performances. I wonder if that will hold true for February or March? I'm tempted to get one full-price ticket and then see if I can't pick up a cheap seat for a second show.

Hotels frequently have weekend specials or great last minute deals in mid-winter. Last year at GMA, room rates dropped by almost 50% the week after I was there.

Sigh, decisions, decisions!

[Couch Tomato]

Right now Spamalot is selling about 80% of its seats and you can get discounted tickets for most weekday performances. I wonder if that will hold true for February or March? I'm tempted to get one full-price ticket and then see if I can't pick up a cheap seat for a second show.

Hotels frequently have weekend specials or great last minute deals in mid-winter. Last year at GMA, room rates dropped by almost 50% the week after I was there.

Sigh, decisions, decisions!

Yep...I had the same thought lilyshine. I've always gotten my broadway tickets from 1/2 off ticket line. And I've never had a bad seat. So I"ll probably do the same..buy one guaranteed seat and go the other route for any other shows I want to see.

OMG NYC..I get to go to Carmines! I dream about Carmines sometimes heee.

[lilyshine]

And for all the years I was in school in NYC, I never left the balcony! I saw some great shows from Ethel Merman to Laurence Olivier and never minded that I didn't have the best seats in the house.

My only excuse is that I can't see as well as I did then.

[jmh123]

Scarlett, you've had that Barlow siggy awhile, haven't you?

Some people won't even be able to go one show, and there won't be the kind of clack and cellcerts we have for concerts. Really hard. So I feel really fortunate. And yay, Muski, who doesn't even get one Christmas show--you'll get to see Clay soon after all.

Lilyshine, you have lots of time to make plans. There will be good tickets available for those with a flexible schedule--good ones, and times when NY is cheaper than others. No hurry.

What a day!

[YSRN]

Taken by MrDancermom tonight of the Shubert:

I'm trying not to have a panic attack for not having tickets or a firm plan or any Christmas shows or my old standby tour partner to do the planning with... Ohhhmmmm. Thanks jmh... that feels a little better. There are a shitload of dates; I'll just have to not worry and let it play out and see how winter goes. It's that beginning of a tour feeling when I'm all scattered trying to figure it out all at once. But, for this many shows... I don't have to. Yeah. I don't have to. Phew.

Today was a blast! I got NOTHING else done... so I'm working tonight to make up for it in case anything happens by the time I wake up tomorrow. Hee.

He's so cute!

KarenEh?... I'm really enjoying your little "travelogue". Fantastic photos... I'd love to see your house, if you happen to see this.

aikim... Congrats again on your little misty lovenote. How cute is that?!? It was a great post. I'm glad you could share that with him.

God, I can't wait to see him being his "silly, stupid self". LOL!

[Scarlett]

Muski, YSRN, we're only allowed to re-post stuff from the public page of the OFC. Since people pay extra for access to the blogs, audio & video downloads, pictures, chat room, etc. those shouldn't be copied out to another board or site, except for "fair use" (eg. comment & criticism, parody, etc).

lilyshine, Just MHO, the halfprice outlets would probably be great for a weekday show, not a weekend one while Clay is there. If you have some vacation days available it would be a great strategy. I'd be concerned only if you're hoping for a great view during a weekend show. If you really love the show itself, it doesn't matter where in the theatre you are -- it holds about 1500. However, if the reason you'll be seeing it twice is to see someone -- weekdays may be the way to go.

So proud of OCB (not so happy for our checkbooks) but.... in a span of about 5 hours today (from noon to mid-afternoon) the scope of the Premium seats changed. Seats that were available for $120 at noon were suddenly $250. Solo called me at noon and we bought our Jan 18th weekend tickets then (well, I insisted), planning to chat later in the evening about other dates. At that time, I was still able to get front row side for the evening of the 19th at standard prices. Tonight, the tickets for the rows toward the front that are normally not considered "good" Broadway seats were disappearing fast, and they were already marked as "Premium". Not that I'm blaming anyone; it's supply-and-demand. I saw the show just this April & I had a "good Broadway seat". Next time, I'm not going over there to look at the sets, despite Tim Hatley's Tony nomination for them. (Anyway I'm more partial to the work of John Napier, who supposedly worked on the original Splash Mountain interiors in Disney World).

jmh123, I only started using this as a siggy today -- the current siggy appears on all posts, even past ones. I'm so glad you like it.

ETA: YSRN, should be asleep too! I've been so tired these past few days. But at least my typing fingers are still ok -- some nights my copy-and-paste attempts just go berserk.

[YSRN]

Hee. Silly girl. I didn't know you were talking about OFC sekrits and stuff.

Ok, the ticketing is bizarre. On a particular weeknight... Row C, seat 109 is NOT a premium seat and therefore is 111.50. But Row B, seat 109 IS a premium seat and is 250. Dayum. I best be careful shopping!!

I've been up since 5:30am. Why am I not tired?!?

[jmh123]

Which is about the time it is for me here, and I'm not in bed yet. Why am I not tired? And why am I in love with this emoticon today?

[Kareneh]

Karen Eh?, what is this interesting looking building?

This is the Maiden's Tower...built by a Dad for his daughter in the 12th century when the Caspian actually lapped at its base. Could she have been the original Rapunzel? It sits near the entrance of the Old City and has 15 foot thick walls. I climbed the tower to get a panorama of the city (left my memory card stuck in the side of the laptop back at the hotel). The stairs spiral in a tube up the middle of the tower, they are narrow, very low overhead (you have to bend over quite a bit) and made of worn stone blocks.

It's in Fountain Square but don't know anything else. I can look it up when I get some time, though.

Fascinating:

There was more than one of these bronze plaques at the statue of the last president who was the leader following the Soviet time until just a few years ago. I was told he was so popular that when he died in the US after unsuccessful cancer treatment, they kept his body here so that the people wouldn't know he was dead until they figured out what was going to happen. Some say he was over here for a few months already gone.

Pizza Hat???

Yep, Pizza Hat!

He answered Karen Eh?'s question -- "said'" her name!

(varied questions -- what did he eat at the fair? will he grow his hair out for Spamalot or wear a wig? Any interesting gifts lately? )

* waves to goldarngirl! *

Did she ask him if he was going to be touring in Baku???

No, I wasn't quick enough on the uptake. I almost didn't toss the question into the pile that I did....it was the one about the audition....but I am so glad I did! He typed my name and I can still feel those gentle little pecks a few hours later. I've been QWERTED!!!! BWAH!

And that rhymes with....quoted. akim, that was an awesome post and I can easily see why Clay was affected by it and quoted you.

YOu know... the voice is what draws me to Clay. But if it were just the voice I'd just go out and buy the albums and go see a show. What keeps me HERE? In this crazy ass fandom? It's because he always suprrises me. ALWAYS. We don't know the man. We can't figure out the man. That's why he can still just blow me away with something new. It's never dull.... sometimes it's painful... but on days like this it's so worth it.

And Couchie, can I just say "a unit of language upon which sentences are built" to your entire post?

I've decided that my Mom really wants a trip to NYC as a Christmas gift so I'm going to do two trips from Halifax one with her and one without. Tonight I got seats in Row C center at the same price I paid this afternoon for the A's and B I got.

I hope I get some things accomplished tomorrow because all I did was type credit card numbers into little narrow boxes. I shouldn't be all that proud that I didn't have to once remove a credit card from my purse to do so......Do you think I learned those numbers by heart from calling to make payments or check available credit?

[laughn]

126 Google news articles out there this morning. What a rush to see Clay's name along side Mike Nichols and Eric Idle's. I am so stoked for this.

aikim... for a wonderful post. It touched me and you know it touched Clay...and yes, I think you were cyber kissed and I think you deserved it

Karen Eh...when your name rolled by last night , and Clay was answering your question, chat was scrolling so fast and I was trying to concentrate, I just kept thinking 'that name looked familiar but I don't know why.'

[luckiest1]

I've been QWERTED!!!! BWAH!

Hee! I'm sorry I missed the chat, but that was waaaay past my bedtime. Is there a transcript posted somewhere on the OFC?

ETA: Answering my own question, yes there is. Link

I hope I get some things accomplished tomorrow because all I did was type credit card numbers into little narrow boxes.

I hear ya. At one point I think I had five windows open, trying to figure out how to buy some close orchestra seats on the cheap, and my boss pulled a chair up and plunked herself down. OMG, I had a first row pair up on the screen! So I had to minimize and plaster a fake smile on my face and listen to about GIS reports for 15 minutes. And then I had to start all over again. But I still ended up with 2nd row! So today I'm going to try to be good, and make up for all the work I didn't do yesterday. If I don't arrive and find a pink slip on my desk this morning, that is.

[FromClaygary]

I'm trying not to have a panic attack for not having tickets or a firm plan or any Christmas shows or my old standby tour partner to do the planning with... Ohhhmmmm. Thanks jmh... that feels a little better. There are a shitload of dates; I'll just have to not worry and let it play out and see how winter goes. It's that beginning of a tour feeling when I'm all scattered trying to figure it out all at once. But, for this many shows... I don't have to. Yeah. I don't have to. Phew.

aikim... Congrats again on your little misty lovenote. How cute is that?!? It was a great post. I'm glad you could share that with him.

God, I can't wait to see him being his "silly, stupid self". LOL!

Yeah...all that! I've used up all vacation time this year, imagine that?!! I SO want to go, but would need a roomie for sure, and my dates will be limited to weekends...ack! I'm skeered I can't do it.

Aikim, thanks so much for verbalizing what so many of us were thinking, and getting it to Clay! I'm so thrilled he saw your post, and extra thrilled he let you know he did, and that he loved it!

I've decided I'm never going to bed again, just in case something happens. I'm so glad they were able to post a transcript of the chat. What a lot of work that must have been!

[merryclay]

Another great day in the neighborhood. that picture of Quiana from AI2 is just darling. She looks so young and just adorable. I love the interaction Clay had with his fans, last night He seems so proud and happy and wants to share that with us. It's a real shot in the arm for the fandom. I hope we all get some work done today. Heee!!

ETA- I see you down ther aikim. Honey, that was a great post. Aren't you happy?

[aikim]

Good Morning All,

Thanks to everyone for your kind words...best day in the fandom for me! I actually did sleep last night but had a smile on my face all night and it will probably be there for days to come!

Karen Eh Lovely pictures!

9 Days until Clay is Live at Lincoln Center!

15 Days until Clay is on AYSTAFG!

20 Days until Clay Tapes The Skating Special!

40 Days until The Christmas Tour Starts!

66 Days untl Christmas in Merrillville!

69 Days until The Skating Special Airs!

82 Days until The BAF Golf Outing!

93 Days until Clay is on Broadway!

Everyone have a great day!

Kim

[Claygasm]

Yikes, I just realized that I was posting exclusive content -- should I edit? would it fly if I claim that I was writing a review? I promise not to post any more.

However, y'all who are interested might want to get to know (*coughPMcough*) my good friend PerusingOne. She's amazing (in a good sense)!!! *wink*

OTOH, can I spell Karen Eh? as "Kareneh" from now on?

Thanks, zena!

Whatchoo talkin' 'bout, Willis?!

Hee. Silly girl. I didn't know you were talking about OFC sekrits and stuff.

Ok, the ticketing is bizarre. On a particular weeknight... Row C, seat 109 is NOT a premium seat and therefore is 111.50. But Row B, seat 109 IS a premium seat and is 250. Dayum. I best be careful shopping!!

I've been up since 5:30am. Why am I not tired?!?

You know, what was considered premium at night was not considered premium at the matinees either. That's yet another reason going to the matinees worked best for me.

Unfortunately, midweek doesn't work for me, but the half-price ticket line USUALLY works well for midweek shows. I don't know how it works for weekend matinees. But weekend evenings its a huge risk. If it were me and I was traveling far, I would want guaranteed seats.

I also think if you want to see the play, sitting a bit further back is preferable. Now, my 8th row seats are probably better for seeing the play, but my first row seats are probably better for looking up Clay's tunic!

Now I must get to work. Wonder what will happen today while I'm working!!

[bottlecap]

Wonder what will happen today while I'm working!!

Would it be wrong of me to say I hope "Not much"? Yesterday was very exciting but, whew, it was almost too much for one day! I need to actually, you know, do work and junk today...

[merrieeee]

Oh bottle I so agree with you. Even though I couldn't go online, I didn't feel like doing much...too excited!

I love the fact that 99.9% are so happy right now. There will always be those that are negative Nellies.

I had a new countertop this week so I get to go in late cos I have to wait for the plumber! So instead of cleaning up I am doing something really useful...like surfing!

Today I am one happy camper.

Oh goody I just found out it is going to be 92 degrees tomorrow.

[Carolina Clay]

Good Morning, FCA! :F_05BL17blowkiss:

Kudos to Aikim and everyone who talked with Clay in Chat. I am looking for the transcript now. I can't believe I have to teach from 1 - 6:30. I would much rather be keeping up with all the excitement.

Have an awesome day, all!

Caro