Off The Record - The Final Post

I can report back that the show was great. I laughed, I cried, It was better than Cats.

Some quick thoughts:

• The food in the lobby was very interesting. I had duck for the very first time and I made a couple of trips to the chocolate fountain for dessert, though an astute friend of mine pointed out to me the disconnect of having such high-falootin' food at a fundraiser for a food bank. She's very smart, that astute friend of mine.
• Ken Rice's opening was very very funny. Took potshots at nearly everyone, David Johnson (or more specifically David Johnson's Johnson) included. A couple of Luke jokes in there (Luke's a kid. It's nighttime so no one knows where Luke is now) and so on. He mentioned a few intown blogs (not this one, the sonuvabich). Hat's off to the Angry Drunk Bureaucrat and the Carbolic Smoke Ball for getting mentioned. Rice did call it the "Carbolic Smoke BOMB" though. Hahahaha
• Dan Onorato's pre-show "response" was funny, though not nearly up to Rice's level. He made some Luke jokes, too.
• The show was filled with gags and puns, an on stage birth and a truly disturbing impersonation of Sofie Masloff.
• You haven't lived until you've seen Doug Shields do his "Pirate Bob" impression. That one still has me shivering in me timbers.

Dr. Goddess was there, read what she has to say about the"Dreamgirls" song parody. And I'm not sure, but I think I met Mac Booker last night as well.

Off The Record VII: Blogged To Death

Just another reminder.

If you can, go see Off The Record tonight.

It's at the Byham dahntahn and tickets start at $20 and the proceeds go to the Pittsburgh Food Bank.

As I wrote here, it looks like it's gonna be very funny. Mayor Luke gets skewered, the Pirates get skewered, the local media gets skewered, you know - the usual suspects get skewered.

None of us, as far as I know, get skewered however. As the Python boys once said, the only thing worse than being talked about is not being talked about.

Anyway, there's singing, there's dancing, there's Dennis Roddy singing and dancing - what's not to love?

Off The Record

Here's the P-G's coverage of this year's "Off The Record."

Now in its seventh year, "Off the Record VII" still spoofs the city of Pittsburgh and all that makes us unique. As always, this one-night-only musical extravaganza pokes fun at local politics, politicians and other newsmakers, but this year, it turns its guns on itself. Welcome to "Off the Record VII: Blogged to Death!" a satirical look at local media's attempt to stay afloat on the wave of technology.

And some more info:

Sponsored by the Pittsburgh Newspaper Guild/CWA (mainly writers and artists at the Post-Gazette) and AFTRA (the Pittsburgh chapter of the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists), "Off the Record" has raised $131,000 for the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank, with additional donations going to the two unions' scholarship funds, pediatric AIDS research, Hurricane Katrina victims and the Highmark Caring Place.

Is anyone else planning on going? The tickets start at $20 bucks - that might be a little steep. However (this is from the website):

Your ticket includes the Off The Record VII pre-show (6:30-8pm) and post-show (9:30-10:30) receptions in the Byham lobby. Great food provided by La Prima Expresso, Jenny Lee Bakery, Breadworks, McGinnis Sisters, Legends of the North Shore, Hyeholde, and Whole Foods. There is a cash bar for your enjoyment.

Typical. A cash bar.

See you there!

Off The Record VII - Blogged to Death

How's this for a blog-moment? A local blogger (me) posting a blog entry (the one you're reading right now) about a show ("Off The Record") put on by some local mainstream media types (the writer's guild and AFTRA) about a (fictional) local blogger.

Before I get into any details, here's the basic set-up for the shows themselves. Each year the writer's guild and the the local AFTRA folks put on a show for the Pittsburgh foodbank. It's a good cause. Perhaps the next "hands across the blogosphere" could point some cash in that direction. There's lotsa singing and dancing and they satirize some local politicians. The local politicians then get a chance to rebut.

Here's the website.

Mark, Bram, and Sue have all blogged on it, wondering about the title. Since I got a chance to see tonight's rehearsal and peruse the script for this year's show, I thought I'd take this opportunity to to clear up a few things.

As it's "off the record" there isn't a lot I can tell you right now - all I can say is, it's gonna be good. If you can scrape together the 20 bucks for the ticket, you'll be more than pleasantly surprised at what these folks can do. I do have to say that I was shocked shocked by something I saw tonight - Dennis Roddy has a beard! He looks like a shorter, younger, thinner, less grey (and certainly less suicidal) Ernest Hemmingway. With glasses. And a laptop.

We've all read by now that the title of this year's show is "Blogged to Death" and this has raised the question as to whether any of us bloggers will be satirized. I can't say much about what's in the show (you'll have to go see it for yourselves to find out) but I probably can say what isn't in it: me or even a fictionalized version of me. Or Maria. Or Bram. Or Sue. Or anyone from The Burgh Report or the Carbolic Smokeball. Neither Tunesmith nor Anthony. Or even Ole Froth. No Agent Ska. Or even Mark Rauterkus (sorry, Mark). And no one at all from the Women's Blogging Society. None of us.

The plot revolves around a guy who comes home from college and is faced with the ghost of his dead father who claims to have been murdered by his own brother, the college kid's uncle, who's since married the kid's mother. This ghost cries out for revenge and then the college guy--

No wait, I said I wasn't going to do that - sorry. Here's what gets satirized: local Pittsburgh politics. The singing is good, the satire is sharp and the story is easy to follow without a scorecard.

The show's next Thursday at 8. I'm gonna be there. We should all try to go. It's a good cause and it'll be a good opportunity to meet some old skool media types - and for them to meet us.

I just hope that if Jack Kelly's there, he won't be armed.