Excitement Is A New Album From My Favorite Boy Band, Ever

For those of you who don't care a whit about NKOTB, my obsession with Donnie Wahlberg, or the fact that I'm doing cartwheels because of their new album, you can probably skip this post. However, you are weirdos and I reserve the right to judge you for judging me. 

The New Kids newest album, "10," came out today. I downloaded it on iTunes this morning before the gym, and was waiting (with Brian) outside of Target at 7:45 so I could buy my store exclusive copy (TWO EXTRA TRACKS!!!) when they opened at 8.

Like a true fan-girl, I recorded my reactions as I opened the cd. There may or may not be a love letter for the band at the end as well. Enjoy. 

A Wicked Review: 6 Degrees of Donnie Wahlberg

I mentioned in my last post that I was going to see the travelling Broadway production of Wicked. Many of you have sent texts or tweets inquiring as to how the evening went. It all started with a photo shoot...

This is our "we're normal, we're adorable, look how pretty we are" shot.

This is our "we're giddy, we're overly-excited,
OMG we're going to see Wicked" shot.

...followed by our prompt arrival at the theater. As in, we pulled into our parking space at 5:45. They didn't open the doors to the event until 6:45. And the show didn't start until 7:30. We were the FIRST ones there. Seriously. I'm not joking. Even the parking attendant was amused at our punctuality.


And so, Tina and I stood outside of the theater for over an hour, noses pressed to the glass, peering inside to "see what we could see." We were thrilled to see tables of Playbills nearest to our door. We squealed with glee when we saw the swag table, decked out in t-shirts and coffee mugs and track jackets, all in varying shades of green.


And when the ushers began to appear, all wearing Elphaba-green bow-ties? Well, we may have joined hands and jumped up and down. Maybe.


When they finally opened the doors to the theater, Tina was the FIRST person inside. We enjoyed frosty beverages (daiquiris--both banana and strawberry.) We tried our best to seem nonchalant as we casually browsed the wares for sale. I noticed a large book on one of the tables and realized (with some enthusiasm) that it was the Grimmerie. (For those not familiar with the book or play, the Grimmerie is the book of magic spells used by the Witch.) While there were no spells to be found in the pages of this particular Grimmerie, it was instead a 'behind the scenes' book, all about the characters, music, creators, and design of Wicked.


I flipped open the heavy green cover, and the first page I turned to had a large picture of Fiyero, Elphaba's love interest. I gasped as I instantly recognized the actor as Joey McIntyre.

For those with no clue who Joey McIntyre is, and why I nearly swooned with delight when I realized he'd been the 2nd Fiyero (and voted "Favorite Fiyero" on BestofBroadway.com) on Broadway, let me remind you of the title of this particular blog post. (I'll wait while you scroll back up to read it.) Then, let me point you to exhibit A:

NKOTB....from left to right, Joey McIntyre, Jon Knight,
Donnie Wahlberg, Jordan Knight and Danny Wood.

It's like Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon, except with Donnie Wahlberg. If there really was a yellow brick road, I'm convinced it would lead me to Donnie's house.


ANYhoo...


We left the swag table, Tina listening to me chatter on and on about Joey McIntyre, and headed over to the double doors leading into the theater. We stood there, waiting patiently, until they finally opened them up and let people stampede wander to their seats. Tickets clutched in our hands, we asked the first usher we came to where we might find Row K, Seats 36 and 37.


She pointed her flashlight down toward the stage and said, "Just keep following the stairs until you find Row K on your right. Then, head toward the center until you find your seats."


I followed Tina down the stairs. Each step took us closer to the stage. We found Row K, and Tina led the way down the row. And the closer we got to the center, the more excited she became. She kept looking over her shoulder at me, eyebrows raised in disbelief. And there they were, seats 36 and 37--smack dab in the middle of theater, 10 rows back from the orchestra.


Tina sat down, a huge smile on her face, and said, "Remind me that any time I go to a play, I want YOU to get the tickets. These seats are AMAZING!!!"


She wasn't kidding. This photo was taken from my seat:

We were SO CLOSE, I couldn't even get the dragon AND the stage floor into the same shot.


At 7:30 sharp, the lights went down, the orchestra began to play, and the show started. I won't tell you much about it, in case you ever go to see it yourself. Suffice it to say that I laughed, I cried, I applauded and whooped and hollered. At intermission, Tina and I stayed glued to our seats, never willing to miss a single minute. We talked about every single aspect of the show: from music to actors to costumes to lighting. And when the curtain came down at the end of the second Act, I was absolutely awed. 


I was expecting it to be great. But it was SO much more than I ever anticipated. I get weepy just thinking about it.


I will say this: every single person I talked to who had seen the show previously said that "Defying Gravity" would be the highlight of the live show. I'd seen it on YouTube and on various TV shows, so I knew exactly what was going to happen. But when Elphaba took to the sky on her broom for the first time, I was absolutely awestruck. I had goosebumps. All the little hairs on the back of my neck stood up. And involuntary tears rolled down my cheeks. It. Was. Amazing.


Wicked was the topic of conversation for the rest of Tina's visit. We listened to the soundtrack over and over, talked about our favorite parts over and over, quoted from the show over and over. When she left Saturday afternoon, she gave me a big hug and thanked me for the memory we'd created together. And then my Wicked Weekend came to an end.


I can't wait for the opportunity to go and see the show again. And I will. Believe you me.


But for now, I'm going to ride the Wicked high I'm still on.


And I'm going to figure out the 6 degrees of separation between Donnie Wahlberg and Kevin Bacon. 


What? I really think I could do it...


*EDIT* Thanks to friend, reader, and fellow book clubber, Rachel, who figured out the 6 degrees between Donnie Wahlberg and Kevin Bacon. If you're curious, here it goes:  Kevin Bacon was in JFK with Gary Oldman who is married to Uma Thurman who was in "The Accidental Husband" with Ajay Naidu who was in "Office Space" with Ron Livingston who was in "Band of Brothers" with Donnie Wahlberg!

And The Obsession Continues to Grow...

If you've been a reader of Abby Gabs for more than, well, a week, then it's fairly obvious that I carry a torch for one Donald Edmond Wahlberg, Jr.


That's Donnie Wahlberg, in case you didn't know. And if the name still doesn't ring a bell, he is the Wahlberg of New Kids on the Block fame. He's also well-known for his acting career, and has gifted us with such roles as Vincent Grey in The Sixth Sense, Sergeant Lipton in Band of Brothers, and most recently as Danny Reagan in the hit TV series, Blue Bloods.


In case none of that rings a bell, either, here's a picture, for visual reference.

*Swoon.*

Since I started blogging here on Abby Gabs, I've told you all about how I twitter stalk Mr. Wahlberg. You've heard the story about how he wished me happy birthday back in June. And you'll recall the many different Donnie Wahlberg gifts I've received in the past year...from my Donnie Pinata:

Coolest Birthday Gift, EVER.

To the collection of pins I was given by my aunt this summer:

That's right. Not one, but TWO Donnie pins, with a group shot thrown in for good luck.

It is safe to say, dear readers, that my Donnie collection is steadily growing. In fact, just this past Saturday, I received ANOTHER gift, this one from a faithful reader. Angie, a friend of Brian's from high school, scored an awesome Donnie Wahlberg doll action figure from her local flea market. Knowing of my obsession for the New Kid, she immediately thought of me. With Brian's help, she secretly shipped me the doll action figure to add to my collection.

To say I was excited was an understatement.

When I wrote her to say thank you for my awesome early Christmas gift, her reply was in typical Donnie-Fan-Girl fashion: 

"What's a little Donnie love between Cover Girls?"

It's so true. We're a gaggle of gal pals, us NKOTB fans. We are grown women with full-time jobs and families and obligations who, in our our free time, enjoy hanging out with our inner tween. Thanks, Angie, for making my whole weekend! I will cherish my Donnie doll action figure forever and ever and ever!


Now....to collect all five...


Hey, Brian. When do I get my very own Donnie Wahlberg shelf??

Now I just need more stuff to fill it. Ebay, here I come!!

The Sound Track Of My Life

I recently had an encounter with a customer who's first name is "Cleavon."

No I'm not making it up. And he was a really nice guy.

However, anytime his name comes up--in conversation, in paperwork, in person--I immediately hear Steven Tyler in my head.

Except, instead of "Dream on, Dream on" he's wailing "Clea-von, Clea-von..."


I can't for sure how often this has happened, but I noticed myself humming "Dream On" again this morning as I placed a stamp on Cleavon's monthly invoice. It's probably happened every single time I've ever encountered the guy, but today, my brain clicked in place (it's a rarity) and I thought, "Huh. I wonder how often I do that with other stuff."


So I sat down and thought about it. And chuckled as more examples of what I'll call "sound track" songs popped into my head. Songs that I'm reminded of in the most obscure, usually unrelated ways.


For instance, anytime I hear a harmonica in ANY context, I will hum Stevie Wonder's "Isn't She Lovely" for the next 12 days, guaranteed.





And once this song is in my head, it's going to stay there for a very, very, VERY long time.


I'm also assuming that any other people from my generation automatically think "Collaborate and listen," anytime someone says the word, "Stop!"





If you were alive in 1990, and you had a radio, you know all the words to this song. Or most of them. Or at least the first verse.


Now, as a cat-mom, I know that cats make lots of different noises. "Waow," and "meeeh" and "rawr" are those I hear most often. But every once in awhile, I'll hear that perfectly enunciated "meow" and this pops into my head:





And as I'm walking around the house singing the little ditty, my cats (and husband) look at me as though I've developed some sort of mental disorder.


Out of all of these songs, though, the one I sing every day is prompted by an item listed in my Google Chrome Favorite's Bar. Every time I open up my browser, I see this:

...and start singing this:





Except in my head it goes: "My favorite blogs....woooaaah, they're my favorite blogs. (deep voice) Don't You Know..." 


And to answer your question before you even ask it....yes, sometimes I even do the dance moves.