Reporting from Chattanooga

On Saturday, June 21, 2008 Rob and I left San Francisco on our summer road-trip to Chattanooga, Tennessee (our new home). Before we left, we said farewell to in^significant others at Pier 39. The show was fantastic. The cast and the band were in top form and it was truly a great show. At the end of the night (after the bows) Jay brought me up on stage to present me with a photo of the entire company signed by everyone (which is sitting across the room from me now in Chattanooga). in^significant others has been a part of my life since early, early 2006 so there were a few tears shed that night, too. Lots of changes will be taking place now in that show as it nears its 100th performance later this month (July 19th, I think it is - check out the website at www.isomusical.com).

By Sunday evening, July 22, we rolled in to Santa Fe and stayed with our friend Alexander Shaia. It was a lovely visit and my first time to Santa Fe. He's got a great place there and we toured a little bit of the town in the day and a half that we were there.

Tuesday we headed off to Denton, Texas - the new home for my parents - and met up with my younger sister, Ida and here youngest daughter, Becky; my parents and my oldest sister, Jenny and her youngest daughter, Gaby. A good time was had by all as we stayed in Denton and Ft. Worth and our other sister, Ruth met up with us the next day. We all got to hang out for a couple of days at my parents' place in Denton and mostly at my sister Ida's pool in Flower Mound. We had a ball, it was great to have a sort of impromptu family reunion.

After Texas, we headed to Memphis for our first Tennessee stop. Our friends Vince and Ray were gracious hosts for another day and a half and we got to see Beale street and some other places of interest in Memphis and where they live outside of Memphis in Olive Branch, Mississippi. We had authentic pork barbecue and even some Rotelle with Velveta. Yum.

Then we were off to Chattanooga! We arrived here on the evening of June 30, safe and sound. Our hosts Jerry and Adam have been so kind and generous. On Wednesday the 2nd we were able to drive up to Nashville to visit with Rob's brother, Billy, his wife Jean and son Justin. That was lots of fun. Billy's barbershop choir was competing in a large competition there and we got to hear them rehearse and spend a good afternoon together.

July 3rd was the star spangled supper at CTC (Chattanooga Theatre Centre) followed by the symphony concert in Coolidge park and the beautiful fireworks over the Tennessee River. What a gorgeous evening. We had the honor of meeting the conductor of the symphony during dinner and the pleasure of listening to them afterwards. The concert, the park, the balloons, the people, the fireworks... everything was idyllic. What a welcome to such a magical little city. Sitting on the banks of the river and watching the boats on the water and the fireworks in the air was really special.

On July 4 we headed down to Blairsville, Georgia with our hosts and a couple of other friends for a relaxing weekend in the mountains before starting in the new job on Monday July 7. We really got to relax there and the locals had some fun fireworks of their own around the lake, too. Plus a lightning show on the 5th that was just as fun as the fireworks.

Now that it is the evening of July 9, I've had three days working as the incoming Producing Director at Chattanooga Theatre Centre and I know I'm going to love it there. Jeffrey Brown (the outgoing Producing Director) has been showing me the ropes and everyone there has been terrific. I keep meeting new people and learning new things every day. Big weekend this weekend with Ken Ludwig's Leading Ladies opening Friday and Pearl Cleage's Bourbon At The Border closing on Saturday. Jeffrey's swan song as director is David Lindsay Abaire's Wonder of the World which will open August 1st. It is all lots of fun and exciting and I'll be posting here often about it once we get all settled.

GQ goes on as Bosie

At last night's performance of Gross Indecency: The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde for theatre Q at the Dragon Theatre in Palo Alto, George Quick (that's me) went on for the ailing Scott Ludwig who plays Bosie (Lord Alfred Douglas). Poor Scott called around 2 in the afternoon saying he was just too ill to even stand up, let alone perform in a play. I called Dale Albright (Dale IS theatre Q) and we flipped a coin (as he says) and decided that I should go on in the role (knowing the blocking, etc. as I do, it seemed to be the most seamless way to go). Rob and I were at the beach when all of this came down so on the way home from the beach, we stopped at RiteAid and I bought some hair dye (no sense having a gray haired Bosie) and then at home I dyed my hair and ran through the script. Drove down to Palo Alto and got there around 6:15; Dressed my hardback copy of the script to look like the rest of the books in the production (there are many books covered in plain paper in this production); wrote out the one letter prop so that I could use it the right way and still have the words; and, read my lines during the speed through with the cast before the show. I wore my black suit with the vest that Scott wears and had to wear my glasses throughout so I could see the text.

People tell me it went fairly well. The audience was kind, the other actors were kind and I think I was mostly in the right place at the right time. My memory of the entire thing is like a memory of a dream, very surreal and in strange kind of time lapse. "The Show Must Go On" was certainly what we did last night. It was quite a night. Hopefully, Scott will be feeling well enough to go on tonight, but if he doesn't... I'm ready to go through it all again tonight.

The photo here is one of John Aney, who plays Oscar Wilde in the play. The pose looks like it might be when he found out I was going on!

a kqed blog review of the show by Ben Marks who saw a preview before opening

new play opens and we're off to chattanooga!

gross indecency: the three trials of oscar wilde
opens May 31 (previews start May 29) for theatre Q at the dragon theatre in palo alto, ca. this has been an exciting and fulfilling project to direct and i am particularly proud of this nine-member ensemble: john aney, scott ludwig, michael moerman, kevin copps, fred goris, kevin hsieh, thomas azar, matthew lowe and patrick hilt; as well as the design team of niel satterland (lights) and ron gasperinetti (set) and our wonderful stage manager erin milligan. the production only runs thru june 22, so don't miss it. www.theatreq.org

so rob and i are moving to chattanooga, tennessee! who'd a thunk it, huh?... back in february of this year, i found a listing for the position of producing director at the chattanooga theatre centre in the theatre communications group's artsearch online job listing. the chattanooga theatre centre (www.theatrecentre.com) intrigued me because of its fantastic facility, 85 year track record and the statement in its job posting that their programs were "built around a philosophy of the arts as vehicle for self examination" seemed to resonate with me. sometime in april, i had a terrific phone interview with jo coke (a board ctc member and search committee member) and then a week later, i was invited to chattanooga to interview with the search committee, staff and board as well as volunteers at the theatre centre. while there, i met so many wonderful people and got a first-hand experience of the place and really fell in love with the theatre centre and with chattanooga itself. a week or so after i got back to san francisco, i was offered the job and have accepted. i'll start in early july (overlapping with jeffrey brown, the current producing director who is leaving at the end of July). we've already met some great new friends in chattanooga and will be renting a cute little nineteen-twenties bungalow in the brainard area of town... more news about this move and our cross country trek to follow. we'll be sad to leave san francisco and california on june 22, but this new adventure is very exciting indeed.

Two New Shows in the Works

So here it is the second half of April 2008 already. The time is flying. Insignificant Others is still playing at Pier 39. The show goes well and audiences are enjoying it. We're getting about 100 people a show and the theatre seats 274, so hopefully business will start to grow some more soon. The show was extended through February of 2009 and group sales are starting to pick up. All of the signs are encouraging. We'll be changing cast members, too. After this initial contract period is up on July 31, we'll be losing most of the cast who opened the show at Theatre 39 (some of these were with the show at Zeum last summer, too, like Sarah Kathleen Farrell - Margaret, Jason Hoover-Jordan, Alex Rodriguez-Luke and Kevin Maldarelli-Andrew). Jenn Graham-Kristen and Omi Fernandez-Jeannine will be leaving, too. Mike Triolo, who was playing Erik had to bow out last month and Scott Gessford has successfully taken over that role. Bobby Bryce is currently starring in Altar Boyz at the Willows Theatre. Joven Calloway took over for Bobby for awhile, but Joven has also moved on and Douglas Buel has joined the company as Barista One and Dance Captain. Mikey Tongko is a stalwart cast member who is really blossoming in the show as a Barista Boy and all around great guy! We're grateful that Mikey is staying with the show in August. New cast members who'll be stepping in come August include Jade Shojaee who played Jo in my recent production of Little Women down at Palo Alto Players. It'll be great to have Jade playing Kristen in the show. Kate Cooper who has been a stellar understudy for K10 and J9 so far will be stepping in to the lead role of Margaret starting in August. Luke Anthony Maresh who has been covering for Jordan and Luke, is now a swing Barista Boy and will take over the role of Jordan in July. A newcomer to us is Megan Barrow who will start in the role of J9 in August. It will be sad to see Sarah, Alex, Jason and Kevin go after all this time (its been well over a year since we started working together on this for Zeum and for Theatre 39) and to say good-bye so soon to Jenn and Omi. We wish them all so much success. A very talented band of performers. We're blessed that we've been able to find such talented people to continue on in the show. We're still looking for men to play Luke and Andrew and Barista Boys and understudy Erik and the other male roles, so if you know of anyone...

I titled this blog "Two New Shows in the Works" and they are Gross Indecency: The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde at Theatre Q in Palo Alto and Peter and the Pirate at Theatre 39 in San Francisco at Pier 39.


One show is Gross Indecency: The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde at Theatre Q in Palo Alto. We started rehearsals this past week and it is going very well. We're very fortunate in that we have a terrific cast of nine men for this Moises Kaufman treatment of the cataclysmic events that ended the life and art of one of the greatest writers in the English speaking world. Each of the Actors (Thomas Azar, Kevin Copps, Frederik Goris, Kevin Hsieh, Patrick Hilt, Scott Ludwig, Matthew Lowe and Michael Moerman) gets to play several roles in this one, while John Aney portrays Oscar Wilde himself. It's very exciting! The show starts performances May 29 at the Dragon Theatre in Palo Alto (on Alma across the street from the train station).

The other show, Peter and the Pirate, is a new musical for kids that came out of a discussion Jay Kuo, David Garcia and I had at a morning meeting a few months ago. Since our show is already in Theatre 39 and the set is kind of "there" and the place (Pier 39) is crawling with families during the day, we thought it would make sense if we put together a fun new show for the whole family and Peter and the Pirate was born. It is a little show about a kid (Peter) whose mom works at some restaurant or shop at the Pier and he's got this great imagination and sets off to buy lunch and is waylayed by a fortune teller and a software pirate. A friendly sea lion saves Peter from Alcatraz before it is all over and a good time will be had by all. Seth Anderson (who played Luke in the NCTC production of Insignificant Others will play the pirate and we're still auditioning the other two actors (Peter and his mother). The actors playing the pirate and mom will also play the "yahoo from google" the fortune teller "Charlotte Anne, the Seer at the PIer" and "Saline D. Ion" Peter's sea lion friend who's bark will go on. This show will start performances at the Pier mid June and run daytimes on weekends until it catches fire and the look out! It'll be playing every day for kids and families who visit SF from all over the world!

Happy St. Patrick's Day - An Update at last!

WOW! This blog has not been updated in a very long time. So much has happened.
After the holidays (and my 50th birthday!), we got back in to rehearsals for in^Significant Others (ISO) right away. Previews for ISO started on Feb 1st and when we opened on Feb 15, we were in great shape. It was a real exciting opening (you can see the outside of Theatre 39 in this photograph – Theatre 39 has a jumbo-tron kind of video screen in the outdoor foyer under the marquee. Raymond Hong, our videographer for ISO, has created a documentary comprised of intereviews with Jay Kuo, David Garcia and me mixed with rehearsal footage. It’s a fun video, but sort of weird to see one’s face 10 feet tall on a screen as you walk up to the theatre). The show is doing well – we haven’t broken even yet, but we’re getting close and the cast is terrific. We've had understudies and swings go on lately and they're doing a great job. Ticket sales are growing each week and there’s a big promo event coming up this weekend (March 22). Don't miss this show. Take your out-of-town guests for a truly "only in San Francisco" experience - now through July 31st 2008.


Casting is almost complete for Gross Indecency: The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde, the Moises Kaufman play that I am directing for Theatre Q
in Palo Alto. Currently, Theatre Q has a terrific production of Paula Vogel’s And Baby Makes Seven at the Dragon Theatre in Palo Alto, CA. Rebecca Longworth has deftly directed Annamarie MacLeod, Katie Anderson and Matthew Lowe on Ron Gasparinetti’s terrific set, lighted exceptionally well by Cy Eaton (count how many lighting instruments you see up in the ceiling and then see the magic he makes with less than 2 dozen lights!). Rebecca’s soundscape for the play is quite good, too. I highly recommend this production playing Thur – Sat @ 8 pm and Sun @ 2 pm through April 6. We’ll start rehearsals for Gross Indecency… a couple of weeks after …Baby… closes. Then, we open Gross Indecency: The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde on May 29! It will play only through June 22 so make sure you don't miss it.


My friend Judy Wexler has released a new jazz cd - dreams & shadows, and it is even better than her debut album (which was fantastic). Judy has blossomed as a singer and continues to grow and expand her musicality and jazz skills. Judy’s voice is so wonderful to listen to, so natural so perfectly articulated. The musicality is top notch, the playfulness is delightful and she’s got a calm self-assurance that makes you feel so good listening to her. Great song selection (a couple of favorites Photograph and Pent Up House - but they're really all gems) - and the musicians playing with Judy on this album are all at the top of their game (Joe LaBarbera, Bob Sheppard – woodwinds, Gilbert Castellanos – trumpet, Darek Oles - bass instrument, Tollak Ollestad – harmonica, Stefanie Fife – cello, Steve Hass – drums, Jeff Colella, also (of course) Alan Pasqua). I highly recommend this album. You should get it today at Amazon or wherever you buy your music!

christmas in the city

preparations for in^significant others (opening in february at pier 39) are getting more and more intense and exciting. we had a photo shoot last night and it was so great to see the members of the cast new and old working together and having fun. this is my third incarnation of this show, each time it grows, each time it is sad to see some of the kids go and exciting to meet and work with such talented new kids. jay’s song christmas in the city is going to get some airplay this holiday season in san Francisco (it is a great song) and several members of the cast are going caroling in the castro this weekend – singing some new lyrics jay has set to some traditional carols – should be pretty hilarious. raymond hong put together a great video of the tree lighting event at pier 39 where several members of the cast sang christmas in the city down at pier 39. the video is really great. we had a great kick off party at the hard rock café at pier 39 to promote the show for group sales leaders – we debuted the new wigs and gowns for our drag dreemgurlz (bobby and alex worked the room before the performances of a few numbers from the show). all of this is very exciting – we have a great new set design, costumes, etc. and everything is getting kicked up a notch for this great new run at pier 39.

My latest show LITTLE WOMEN

Little Women, the Broadway Musical opened at Palo Alto Players in Palo Alto this past weekend. It is a must see for this cast alone. I had a great time directing the show and it is absolutely charming. The photo is of Marmee and the girls. 10 Actors and an orchestra of the same size perform the show in Mary Craven's costumes on Kuo-Hao Lo's fantastic set under Jim Gross's beautiful lights. Stage Manager Allison Stamm runs a tight ship and the show is just delightful, if I do say so myself. But don't just take it from me. Check out these reviews! The cast is terrific.
San Mateo Daily News
Milpitas Post
It is really a beautiful show, eveyone did a fantastic job. Check out the Palo Alto Players website www.paplayers.org to get more info and buy tickets!

Jenny Giocomo Visits in September

My sister, Jenny, came for a visit to see Insignificant Others, to play a bit of tourist and have fun. We had a ball. We saw the show at Zeum a couple of times, we got 4th row center tickets to see Sweeney Todd and that was a great experience. Had dinner one at at John's Grill (the Dashiel Hammet/Maltese Falcon place).
We had brunch with our friend, Alvin, at one of our favorite spots - the Clement Street Bar and Grill and we had a little intimate soiree of just us four at Alvin's later that evening and we got Jenny to sing and Alvin and I played some really funny schlocky piano duets.
A good time was had by all. Jenny's hoping to make this an annual visit and we say here here to that! (or is it hear hear?) Enjoy these fun photos of us around town in San Francisco.


There we are at Alvin's Jenny, Rob and I flopped on Alvin's couch!