Last Day in London.

I can’t believe that I am on the plane back to Toronto.

But, before I forget, I would like to record some of the more important thoughts that have occured to me during my stay in jolly old England.

The Queen must hate that she lives right downtown.

Only a straight British guy can get away with saying he needs to go “Wee Wee”.

It is so much easier to buy a pair of fabulous boots when the numbers say they cost 78.15....pounds...still easier.

In the UK can you buy an Egg Mayo at the M&S right beside the H&M....which is near the V&A. From this I learned that British are a bit lazy with the words...though they love to invent nicknames for everything.

You can fill one hundred days with things to do and still not have seen everything...or learned to fucking look to the right when you are crossing the bloody street. (How I didn’t get smooshed by a LORRY is beyond me)

The painters from olden times really liked to paint Jesus and stuff like that.

If there is an empty corner in London....Scotland as well...they like to plunk down a statue of a guy on a horse....any old guy...I saw a bust of a guy who invented the drainage system...but in his defense, I am sure he changed the smell of London.

The Queen likes to put her initials EVERYWHERE.

Deep, I know.

Yesterday I got up early and went to ... the National Gallery....

I couldn't resist one more picture of Trafalgar Square as I walked into the Gallery.....

I wanted to see that painting of Lady Jane Grey...it is gorgeous and HUGE.

I love that all the museums and galleries in London are free.

I was wandering around looking very swiftly at as many paintings as possible....I turned a corner and saw this....

Now, any person who loves “Sunday in the Park With George” will, I think, be excited to see any of Seurat’s paintings...but I actually gasped.

There was a big bench in front of the formidable sized painting...he liked ‘em big...there were also a number of quite small studies that he did for the “La Grande Jatte” painting.

I sat myself down and just studied it...thinking of all of the times I have seen it in books or heard his work sung about....his technique described.

Then I thought how lucky I was to be introduced to art through musical theatre...art is so...holy crap, I hope I am using this word correctly....symbiotic...I would probably not have know anything about Seurat if not for Sondheim...I began to appreciate art because of that show.

I saw Schindler’s List, then read the book.

I read Of Mice and Men in school and then saw George play Lenny, years later.

I love the song “Starry Starry Night” and Jonnie Monro’s song “Who I Am”...and yesterday as I stood in front of the painting of the sunflowers in the National Gallery...I knew Van Gogh’s story.

Art is symbiotic.

I have looked the word up...I might be using it wrong...but I think you all get what I mean.

And just amazing.

Lord...too fancy.

So, after, I saw a bunch of paintings of Jesus...so MANY...I ran out and went to Covent Garden. I could not find a fucking shoe store for a whole week in London...REALLY??? So, I googled the fuck out of LONDON SHOES SUPERCOOL...and ended up in this wonderful little outdoor mall...there were at least 20 shoestores...I found these on sale...I wanted to buy a pair of boots to celebrate the beginning of my super secret TV series...which starts shooting next Monday...AHH!!!

These boots screamed SPECIAL !

And LONDON!!

And SHARRON!!!

I thought so anyway...so much so that I wore them out of the frigging store.

I then ran down to the London Eye...remember, I have been walking for TWO days straight...so I I stopped at M&S and got an Egg Mayo, which I spilled on my shirt...so I went to H&M and got a sweater...and continued on to the Jubilee Bridge.

This is the view I couldn’t resist on the bridge.

Then I went to the Eye...this is it!

It is huge and has a great view...I was meeting Blair, who is recently arrived in London himself for a 6 month stay...well, the freaking EYE was closed and I could not find Blair...due to no internet or cell phone I thought I might have missed him...so after 20 minutes I started to walk east on the South Bank...a bit of a ways for a gal carrying two pairs of boots...yes, I got another pair...suck it people...

I walked by the National Theatre....

St. Pauls Cathedral...I took this picture not having ANY idea what the place was...I thought it looked boarded up!

Then I realized I had time to only do one thing....the Tate Modern.....

Or Shakespeare’s Globe....

And I decided to go to the Globe.

And there was a good reason.

Yesterday, in the morning, I opened up my internet before I left the flat, and saw that Peter Donaldson had died. I didn’t know him well, had only met him a few times. But, as a gal who is not huge viewer of shows without songs, I spent a great deal of time listening to Mr. Donaldson speaking the words of Shakespeare...and he always drew me in...I always thought he was a fantastic, gifted and intriguing actor. The real thing. The last show I saw him in was Glengarry Glen Ross...and he was superb.

A number of years ago I saw him play...oh lord, Sharron...Malvolio in Twelth Night...is that right? He stood there in those yellow stockings with the black garters...I remember that. I remember him.

I thought if I had the chance to see Shakespeare’s theatre...that it might be a lovely thing....

It was gorgeous....it has no roof...of course...but it was still surprising.

I know it isn’t the original...but it doesn’t matter...it was there...and the stage was empty...I kept waiting for actors to walk onstage....

This was written, three times, in the stone out front of the visitors entrance.

Here it is....

RIP Peter Donaldson and, not forgeting, Gina Wilkinson and Graham Harley (who I didn’t know BUT LOVED on Slings and Arrows)...may we all live inspired because of you.

I then had the pleasure of running a great distance across the bridge...with my bags of boots...to meet the Blackman sisters, Karen and Gillian...friends and constant supporters of theatre everywhere.

They lived in Toronto and loved to London.

We had dinner, along with Gillian’s fiance Jacob, on a boat on the Thames.

What a lovely time we had...I had been walking around and seeing things for two days by myself...so I had a great deal to say...which, I guess, is no different that usual.

It was just a lovely moment in time...friends see each other in a whole new country.

THEN, after our lovely dinner, I met Blair...I felt horrible not finding him and he came back to Central London AGAIN and we walked around the gay village ( I think it is called something different there) with Blair trying to find a place to drink following his GPS...after a bit of time I stopped the cutest couple, who called me ‘darling’ I asked them where “The Yard” was.

After making our way there Blair and I sat outside and chatted and drank wine...another lovely moment in time...

I had to mind the time...Blair walked me to the train...through a really questionable alley...and I got on the train.

While I rode back to Blackheath I was struck over and over again about how we have to live...to take chances...to live as if we have all the time in the world but no time at all.

There are the Blackman Sisters who decided to move to London...no jobs...Blair who managed to take his job with him....Gina, Peter...

We gotta live.

Hard.

I would like to send my DEEPEST thanks my hosts, Simon, Rob and Chloe...who cared for me like I was family.

I have never felt more welcome.

My whole experiment of depending upon the kindness of strangers really broke my fear of travelling alone.

The people of London were wonderful and helpful...what an amazing city!Though one must be careful and not reckless...we also can’t be afraid to do something alone...the world will take care of us.

Does that sound just lordy and pollyanna-ish?

I don’t care!

It is true.

I have four more hours on this flight.

I am gonna close my eyes and dream of home.

Always the best place to be.

The place to dream of my next adventure.

Thanks for reading all.

And thanks to London and all of it’s fabulous people.

London Sightseeing...the kindness of strangers..and the top of my head...

So, I woke up early...okay...I was tired...I woke at 10:00am and got my shit together!

One of my dear hosts, Rob, had written down a plan for me (based on the things I told him I wanted to see) and a way to execute it...I use the word execute lightly after the things I have seen today.

And Simon, one of my other dear hosts, drove me to the O2...a huge stadium...which also is near the pier for the Thames Clipper...a water bus...a very lovely, fast water bus...that you can drink on....not that I did.

The O2 seems a bit alien to me...

It has a number of quills sticking out of it...the thing I love about it? Musical comedians play there...solo artists....WHAT?!?! LOVES!!!

The Clipper is awesome...it stops everywhere you might wanna go!

And I sat beside a child who had honey on their hands and wanted to touch my hair....WHY DOES THAT HAPPEN TO ME ALL THE TIME?!?!?!

Anyhow...here is where it took off from...very London-ish, I thought!

That sculpture on the left was very interesting I thought...again...it was the beginning of the day...I was excited to take a picture of my croissant...which I deleted.

I was really excited.

I have never been to London before...as I said...and we all know...or some of you do...that I am a history buff and a castle whore...and this place is filled with both...and whores as well....

When this some into view over the bow...oh how my heart beat....

Holy freaking London Bridge...we sang, ad nauseum, when I was a kid about how it was falling down...I never knew why it was falling down...I wanted some answers.

It really is gorgeous. And all gold on top...I became obsessed about getting it in every picture...

Oh ya...this is a good place to tell you I had two themes for my SOLO ADVENTURE today....

1. Depend on the kindness of strangers...I would keep my map in my purse and ask people where everything was.

2. Take pictures of myself with everything...don't ask someone to do it for me...see if I can do it myself...as the yin to #1's yang.

It took me 8 tries to get this picture.

The London Bridge just happens to be beside my number one destination in London....ready...drum roll bitches....

The Tower of London...the imprisoning...the torturing...the executing...the Lion's in the moat ( I swear to god! In olden times the kings kept lions around the moat...oh ya, there was a freaking moat (which now has a skating rink in it...not very olden day-ie)...the CROWN JEWELS....I could never GET ENOUGH about it when I was young...I took picture books out of the Library about it...I studied it...yes, I was a strange child...are you surprised?

I was freaking out that I was actually here...this was my first view....

I was too fucking impatient to wait for the Beefeater/Yeoman Guard to come and give the tour so I bought a audio tour ( I got lost 4 times...it is really quite huge). First of all, let me say...there isn't just one tower...there are one million...

I went on the "Execution and Imprisonment" Tour first...surprised...here are some pictorial highlights.

Traitors Gate...where a barge could fit through the archway...and the Traitors were dragged up the stairs off of the barges...to their imprisonment or exectution.

This is Beauchamp (pronouced Beecham) tower...this is where many prisoners were kept...for years and years...there was one window...that looked over the courtyard where people got executed. There were very intricate carvings in the rooms where people were kept...I didn't get a picture of them...I was quite moved by the beauty of them...some people were kept there waiting daily...for years...for their execution. Rudolf hess even spent time in the Tower.

The courtyard they could see is below....

If you were lucky enough to have the honour of being executed in the courtyard and not out on Tower Hill, (outside of the Tower) where thousands of people would come to witness your death, your body would be taken to the Chapel right behind the tree....Anne Boleyn is buried there...among many others.

It is a gorgeous chapel.

I was moved by two stories...

The story of the two princes, sons of Edward lV, who went missing and were allegedly smothered to death...I remembered the story from when I saw Richard lll at Stratford.

In the early 1660's the bodies of two boys were found under the stairs in the White Tower.

Here.

The second was of Jane Grey...Queen for 9 days...her family made it happen...she was beheaded...she was 16 years old. She is not even recognized as a queen by the line.

There was a copy of this painting in the tower where she was kept...I loved it.

So, this is going on...but here are some of my other fave pics from the Tower of London...

THEN I quickly...SO quickly....because I spent A LOT of time at the SCARY tower...where I also saw the CROWN JEWELS!!! There were shiny...and a bit gaudy...a bit show-off-ie....

I ran to Big Ben....

House of Parliment...

Westminster Abbey...

Downing Street...

The Arches.....

That leads to Buckin'ham Palace!!!!

The RITZ!!!

AND PICA-FREAKIN-DILLY Circus!!!

Oh my lord....I AM SO TIRED!!!!

Tomorrow is MORE!!!

Are you sick of my sightseeing yet???

Happy Effing New Years!!!! LAST DAY OF WORLD DOMINATION!!! OFFICIAL SONG OF 2010.

So, here I sit...I am sick...I really am...fucking fucking fucker.

My hair has been in braids for four days...I actually had a bath yesterday...when I woke this morning George called our doctor and got me in right away...now, I love my doctor...but sometimes...she can be in a bit of a bad mood...but she is a bit in love with George (though, in case she reads this, she is happily married...wow...this isn’t going to make her like me anymore...c’est la vie...as the french say) ...so, when I need something I usually bring him with me...he had to stay in the car with the dogs...because they wanted me there in 20 minutes...AND he got me there.

When I had my blood pressure taken (above average, thank you very much spin class) I asked the nurse if she was in a good mood...the doctor, that is...oh how the nurse laughed...chills one to the bone.

The doctor came in and looked at me...and smiled...huh...asked about my FABULOUS KOBO...which George got me for Christmas...she was so lovely...then we talked about my Super Secret TV program.

She was very excited for me...I have been going to her since I arrived in Toronto, so, for 20 years....holy fuck...20 years.

She has seen me through some very hard times, career wise...the ups and downs...the sideways...so frustrating, the sideways moves.

Anyhow...if I had known that it would take getting a TV show to get the nice treatment I woulda tried harder...isn’t that always the way...you get so many more perks from the TV.

Anyhow...she put me on the HORSE PILLS of antitbiotics so that I would be ready to fly on Monday....and I got a Netipot...it is sitting on the table...it scares me...it intrigues me...I wonder if it will make me puke.

So, I am at home...feeling a bit under...

BUT it is the last day of World Domination 2010.

I was thinking that the theme of next year would continue to be World Domination...but that just seems like a cop out...I got to be able to come up with something better than that...I feel a bit of pressure...I have also tried coming up with a song that really encapsulates all of 2010....also hard...

I must go and think...

I am open to ideas...I will say though, that the show that will travel to London and Scotland this year will be called....

Sharron Matthews Superstar: Jesus Thinks I’m Funny.

Oddly enough, I have my Auntie Pat to thank for that...story to be inserted in SHOW!!!

But what will the theme of my year be....WHAT??!?!?

Okay....to the song...now...I have figured out a song...not that I want to focus on the negative...but there is a lifetime of negative that we have to overcome in realizing a dream...am I wrong? When we make grand plans all the crappy things that people have told us...all the gold stealers out there...all the things that make us feel ‘less than’ come running through our heads...but we can win...we can do it...so here is my song for the year...because it is catchy, because it makes me laugh and because it is irreverant...to the Nth degree....and it is by Cee Lo....give it a watch...and watch it all the way!!! What a fucking fabulous video....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pc0mxOXbWIU

So, now that I have figured out a song for last year...I need a theme for this year??? I only have 7 hours...HELP!!!!!

And may I take this moment to wish you ALL a Happy New Years...wherever in the world you may be...and may you come up with your own theme for 2011 and your own song to encapsulate 2010!!!

WHY NOT!!!

George just asked, WHAT IF...he called 2011 the Year of the Perpetual Tan...I told him he might wanna reach higher...but who am I to say?

Hungry? Intervention.

Short.

Sweet.

To the point.

Mmmm... sweet.

How the fuck can I be hungry, huh? How? Huh?

On another note...nothing says the holidays like an all day marathon of Intervention. POOR TASTE A & E...speaking of taste...HUNGRY! HOW!?!?! HUH?!?!?! HOW!?!?

(Like people aren't bummed enough at Christmas....watch Katie steal money from her Gramma and drink it, snort it or shoot it between her toes...I just puked and passed out.)

True Grit and Social Network ...and George is sleeping....

Well, he isn't really sleeping...I just think he is a tiny bit over me putting every little thing he does on the interweb...he hasn't really said as much...but we have been together for 19 years....holy fuck.
We are celebrating our 19th Christmas....how grand.
And for the first time in one million years George and I had the luxury of waking up Christmas morning in our own bed....once, early on in our Christmas-relationship-career, we slept at a relatives on a pile of couch cushions...I swore... never again.
So we woke in our bed and promptly went back to sleep...
YAAAAAY!
We had planned to see as many movies as we could...sometimes movies make George sleepy...we bought tickets to see "True Grit"....when we walked into the theatre the most god awful feedback started screeching out of the speakers and people started to pour out and mill around...we didn't even stop and think...we found a movie that started 5 minutes later....Social Network.
We are possibly the only humans in Toronto to not have seen this movie yet...and I had heard so many awesome things about it that I was afraid it would not live up...
Huh.
I liked it fine.
I thought it was good...but I didn't love it...near the end both George and I were checking the time, although George professed to have loved it a lot.
It is hard watching something where you are searching...as we tend to do...for a person with a redeeming quality....and I could only find one...Eduardo...
That Mark Zuckerberg seems to be a douche...only second to the douchieness of Sean Parker, as played by my ever loved...suck it if you judge me...Justin Timberlake...he was a bit too trite and then a bit too over-the-top...don't tell him I said so...the actor who played Zuckerberg...I am too tired to go to another page and google it...was awesome...he did a fabulous job.
Loved the dude who played two dudes.
NOW!
Maybe someone can tell me...I don't quite understand and am TRULY looking for an answer here....how can they get away with using names, companies and private relationships on the screen? Some of the character portrayals are damning...after all....Sean Parker...maybe he doesn't give a crap....
HOW, you guys?
How?
Anyhow....rating for Social Network? B. I know some of you will freak out that it isn't an A but I stand by my rating.

Then we went to see True Grit.
I wasn't too excited...I didn' t really feel into a western...BUT what I forgot was that is was a Coen Brothers film....I fucking love those guys...they really and truly embrace a film style.
I fucking loved this movie.
Everything about it.
The kid, Jeff Bridges (with an accent that I almost could not figure out), Matt Damon all precious, Josh Brolin, Barry Pepper...so great...every character.
I could have watched it forever...and there was a dude in front of us who kept commenting on everything..."You are in trouble now little girl!", "He drank too much whiskey....", "What are you gonna do now?"...this man also put his feet up right in front of us with no shoes on....STINKY. But he was amusing.
It was like the one time I saw a movie in Brooklyn.
There was the dialogue on the screen and the UNENDING dialogue in the audience...amazing.
Again, True Grit...Rating? A+ BITCHES!!!
George is, right now, trying to get the Turkey together.
He was supposed to cook it for me last night....he thought it was cook from frozen...it wasn't...Chinese food it was...then he put it the fridge to defrost over night...NOT DEFROSTED!...
So, we are putting the turkey in and dropping in at a friends' house.....
I hope all of your Christmas' have been wonderful so far...
I have to go get ready to go to my friends house!!!
ALL THE BEST!!!
I will be eating turkey at 2:00am.
I love Christmas. I love time off with George. I love all of you supporters and readers....may I wish you a Happy Holidays.

Number One in NY, White Christmas and Andrea Martin

SO!

I woke today filled with the happiness of going to my friend Thom’s house last night and experiencing our yearly viewing of “White Christmas”...I was looking forward to it so much that my very sick husband insisted that I still go even though he was staying home.

Though I love George...I went....I love it.

Oh my freaking lord I love that movie...I am a total lord...and I love watching it with Thom!

Look at those two...draggin' it up....

I always learn something new about it every year...

This year I learned that Vera Ellen always wore something to cover her neck and arms because she was so skinny and bony that they needed to put her in turtle necks...who knew? Made me a bit sad.

I learned that Danny Kaye’s part was originally supposed to be played by Fred Astaire and then Donald O’Connor...can you imagine ANYONE ELSE playing that part? And he always looks a bit in love with Bing...which I adore.

So many things...and when ever I see the actors and singers from White Christmas in other movies I feel weird...I feel a bit dirty....they will always exist for me in this time and place.

See?

Lordy.

LOVE IT!!!

As a side bar...we saw the guy who played Bernardo from West Side Story, who does a scene with Rosemary Clooney ( he is a dancer in “Love You Didn’t Do Right By Me”) in the special features part of the DVD and he was so pulled and dyed that we had to stop the video and just look....lord...what the fuck....people do that plastic surgery way too much. They also showed Kathryn Crosby, Bing’s widow...and she WAS ALSO SO PULLED...actually even more than Bernardo...one of her eyes is wider than the other and opens and closes like one of those dolls...with the blinking eyes...it was terrifying.

Thank you THOM!

And this morning...after my still sick hubby went off to work I checked my email and read this...( I have shortened the entry below...to uh....to um....oh let us be honest....to get right to my part...)

From Andrew Martin of NiteLifeExchange.com on WPAT Radio 930 AM, 2/21/10, 2:15-2:25 AM

Hello, Michael, Hello, John, and thank you both so much for having me back this week. I'm Andrew Martin, and you can always find my column and my reviews on NiteLifeExchange.com (that's "n-i-t-e," like "bite" or "kite").

(here is where I shortened)

From there we jump to cabaret. Since the end of the year is upon us, I thought it only right if I gave a rundown of what I've considered the top fifteen cabaret acts of the year 2010. I'm not going to take up a lot of time by providing reviews of each, because I've already done that on NiteLifeExchange.com. What I'd like to do instead is simply provide you with the name of the performer and the venue in which they appeared, and hope that you'll all be on the lookout for all of them if and when they make new appearances in 2011. They are:

15) Cynthia Crane, Don't Tell Mama

14) Joshua Warr, Laurie Beechman Theatre

13) Gretchen Reinhagen, Metropolitan Room

12) Corinna Sowers-Adler, The Duplex

11) Mary Testa, Laurie Beechman Theatre

10) Anthony Cochran, Metropolitan Room

9) Lois Sage, Laurie Beechman Theatre

8) Emily Bergl, Metropolitan Room

7) Michael Garin and Mardie Millit, Metropolitan Room

6) Carole Demas, Laurie Beechman Theatre

5) Kara Johnstad, Metropolitan Room

4) Barb Jungr, Metropolitan Room

3) Sarah Rice, Laurie Beechman Theatre

2) Lillias White, Iridium Jazz Club

1) Sharron Matthews, Joe's Pub

That's all the time I have for now, and remember, you can always find my reviews and my column on NiteLifeExchange.com. For WPAT, 930 on your AM dial, I'm Andrew Martin.

HOLY FUCKING CRAP!

I kept reading down the list...I thought...why did he send me this?

And then I got to the fucking number one spot...HOLY FUCKING CRAP!!!

yay.

Thank you, Andrew...what a great honour.

I already felt pretty good about my trip to NY....but this...holy crap....can I stop saying it...I DON’T Think SO!

So, in the spirit of that I have decided to embrace the idea....the truth as it were...of being an admitted social media whore and campaign for something.

You may think it is gross...you may judge me...but the Hollywood fancies have someone that they hire to get their hands dirty...but it is just me here, people...I gotta do my own admin.

I have been nominated by Broadwayworld.com for an award for “Best Theatrical Event” in 2010....I was just going to let it go and not really talk about it...I feel very honoured and am in absolutely fabulous company...Andrea Martin, Seth Rudetsky, Marc Kimmelman’s show...I wanted to let nature take it’s course...but I am in 4rth place people...

on Twitter today...in my first bid to campaign...to test the waters...I said this.....

SharronMatthews So...I am up for Best Theatrical Special Event on Broadwayworld.com...why not vote for me? Andrea is a star and Seth lives in NY! They don't need it! VOTE HERE!!!! http://toronto.broadwayworld.com/vote2010toronto.cfm Best Theatrical Special Event, people!!!

Two minutes later this came up....

iamandreamartin @SharronMatthews , stars like votes too, miss sharron. But you have MINE!

And then....

SharronMatthews @iamandreamartin uh oh.

Twitter pause.....

SharronMatthews @iamandreamartin See. This is what happens when you are a true social media whore. I love you ANDREA!!!! You do have a Tony, though....

I hope she understands.... I VOTED FOR HER FOR BEST ACTRESS IN A PLAY!!! I DID!!! Please understand, Andrea.

Please.

Wow.

That went very badly.

Anyhow...I couldn’t even imagine asking you to vote for me....

But if you have a moment.....WHY THE FUCK NOT?!?!?!?

http://toronto.broadwayworld.com/vote2010toronto.cfm

Good day ALL!!!

I LOVE YOU, ANDREA!!!

You do have a Tony....and an Emmy....



End of the year of WD...and Gloria.

As the end of the year quickly approaches...holy shit...it really doth approach (look Grampa -Steve Ross - I got all Shakespearean)...the end of the year always gets me to thinking...
I know you all might be sick of hearing me be thankful for all of the support that I received for, and during, my year of World Domination...that started the afternoon of January 1st...the day I sat in front of my computer in my pajama pants, a tshirt that I got in a swag bag that says “fabulous” across the bosom, my green hoodie with a bleach spot on the left arm, my fave socks...the socks that I have worn so much the heal is gone on one of them...and a scrunchie...suck it...so what...I have on scrunchie left over from the 90’s...was it the 90’s?...what the eff was I saying....oh ya...the day I sat in front of the computer and said to myself and George...and Tyson and Cassie... “How the fuck will I do this???”
I never dreamed that so many people would be so very supportive, positive, excited, helpful, kind and generous to me and my family...and my project. There were so many people and so many things that they did to help....here are a few that spring into my mind....
The anonymous person who donated $500.00 after they came to see “Love, Loss and What I Wore”....I had a number of anonymous donors...intriguing.
The ladies...Trixie, Roxie, Vixen....Julia...I don’t know Julia’s special name...who, when I told them I was trying to brainstorm ways to raise the cash, they called me on a conference call ( I have never been on a conference call) and helped me figure out the fund raiser with silent auction...and then brought one million people who bid on all the merchandise...and drank...how they drank.
Michael Hughes...who, among other things, just drove around in the car with me one day so I could run one thousand errands and not have to park the car...he also minded the dogs who were in the back seat.
Donald Schafer...my PR guy in New York...who ferried me around for a whole week and probably spent twice as much money on me ( drinks, cabs...you name it) as I paid him to promote me....just because he said he believed in me...I had never met him before I went down to do Joe’s Pub.
Michael Rubinoff....who after we opened “Love, Loss and What I Wore”, expressed how much he wanted George to see me in the show (George was in New Brunswick)...and sent George and email asking if he could fly him back to Toronto to see the show...and pay the costs.
Wayne Gwillim, who did both trips with me...and did if for next to nothing...and busked with me on the streets of Edinburgh...who stayed up till 3:00am so he could play “Bohemian Rhapsody” for me on a tricked out piano... we were on right after a dude did naked magic...he was an amazing companion on this journey.
Derrick Chua who, among other things...many other things...such as co-producing the tour....made sure that I ate, drank and was fueled up to go in Scotland...he cooked dinner almost every night...and if he was out he would leave something for Wayne and I on the stove. Who ran up to me, the same night of the naked magic dude, waving the weekly revue sheet ‘Broadway Baby’ with my picture and 5 Star revue on the front with GLEE in his eyes.
The people at the Half Price Hut in Scotland who would wave to me in the crowd...I was in among hundreds of people...to let me know that I had sold my quota of tickets.
Rob Harris from England, who I met in Scotland, who I would stand with in the line ups and we would hand out our fliers...who took a handful from of mine from me...and when people didn’t want to see his show...would tell them about mine...he came to my show 5 times.
The woman who came to both my shows in New York...who I had never met.
The teenagers...and the 50 somethings...who came to my show numerous times in Scotland...and brought new people with them every time.
Brian Goldenberg, who on the last day of fund raising...the day I raised $5000.00, called me at the end and asked how much money I still needed to reach my goal...and then gave it to me.
Joan Mathers...she knows why.
My lawyer, Mark Davis, who helped me....oh, how he helped me...who, when he first met me...said, “I watched your videos...your show is a bit...racuous.” He was one of my knights in shining armor.
There is so much...so many things and so many people to be thankful for.
I didn’t know how to do it...and again, as I sat in the audience of Alan Cumming’s show the first night in Scotland and cried....I couldn’t believe I did it.
Or as I stood under the lights at Joe’s Pub that first night...the night I could do NOTHING wrong...it was so very magical and one of the best of my life...I just was in the moment...I felt so very grateful that night.
Lastly, I would like to thank my dearest love George, who gave me one million pep talks, ideas, kleenex, hugs, kisses, stern talking to’s...who stood out in the Scottish winds for HOURS handing out my flyers and talking about me...who never doubted that I could do it...and when I told him I didn’t think I could, told me that it was too late to turn back...and that it was unfair to him and everyone, who had already invested so much in me. He is my partner...my team mate...my greatest champion and my absolute best friend...and never thinks my ideas are cockamamie... ( I am sure I spelled that wrong) and always thinks it is best to follow one’s dreams...damn the cost.
Yup, damn the cost.
This started out as what I thought was gonna be an amusing tale of some sort....huh....I guess it is kinda like my year really, and a recipe for most of the things I do...I usually start something knowing what I want it to be...then it turns into something totally different...and I do my very best to stay open...
I thought I knew what this year was going to be...but it was harder...a great deal harder than I expected...I thought it would be rewarding...it surely was, and most of the rewards are beyond words and some were totally opposite of what I hoped...it was larger....it was smaller....it was thrilling...it was painful...it was an eye opener...it hurt my feelings...it built my confidence...it was fucked up....it was perfect....just perfect.
I will end this tale of thanks by telling you a little story about my last show of the year...it happened last night.
I was backstage with John Hughes, who played my show in Oakville last night....he is just about the best dude and player...no one knows Bway like him... and the tech guy, Andrew, came into the dressing room holding an orchid...I never get flowers out of town...I was touched and excited...who the eff were they from?
When I opened the card I saw they were from my dear friend...who I haven’t seen in years...Gloria.
When I was in “Beauty and the Beast” in 1997 I was going through a hard time and sometimes it was more than I could bear. Gloria was my dresser. She would see me begin to become incredibly upset and she would do everything in her power to help me through and would help me make sure that no one ever saw that I was having a hard time.
She would talk me down.
She would hug me while I cried.
She would just sit with me...
Then there was one day when she brought me a journal...she said that I always seemed to feel better when I wrote...and I began to write...really write...and it was my oar...you know?... The oar for my fucking floundering boat...
Last night, I talked about her in my show and asked her to stand.
After the show she came to me...she is so tiny I could fit her in my pocket...and she said that she thought I looked so great...and that she knew that I was doing what I was supposed to be doing.
I don’t think I would have done nearly as well in that show if she hadn’t been there...and I think she was one of the universe’s instruments that helped me start to write in earnest...she is an angel.
And she was there to witness that I had made it through.
And I wasn’t nervous for one blessed second last night.
Thank you all.
Thank you Gloria.
Thank you....and Merry Christmas....lordy as I am.
God I looked hot in that fucking outfit....

Only 12 days....let the parodies begin...

I know that the basis of the 12 days of Christmas is not actually the 12 days before Christmas...it is some weird idea that I don't actually care enough about to even Google...now if that isn't effing lazy, I don't know what is....BUT it is now 12 days TILL Christmas...
I cannot fucking believe it.
We don't even have a Christmas tree....
George usually starts talking about it in November....whoops, I mean Mo-vember....
THANK GOD THAT IS OVER!!!
Let me be clear here...I am very supportive of the money raised, the effort to grow facial hair and the time taken for Mo-vember...but how many dudes are you seeing again, now, in December and thinking
"OH MY GOD...that moustache is ON PURPOSE!"
Anyhow....George usually starts talking about the tree in November...but we still don't have one!
Maybe tomorrow.
Anyhow!!!
I have already heard ONE MILLION...I know it is hard to believe but....ONE MILLION versions and parodies of the 12 days of Christmas...
I just heard a jazzy and all "minor key" version that made my hair stand on end...and not in the good way...in the "Really?? You are trying too hard." kinda way.
I like the original.
I know this is coming from a gal who has....does calling myself a gal make me sound old?...fuck it...I don't care....this is coming from a GAL who has made a living...barely...of changing arrangements to songs...but I LIKE the original.
There.
I said it.
Anway...this message it two fold.
One.
To remind you to be on guard for pretenders of the "12 Days of Christmas."
Two.
(The following is a true story.)
I have been busily working on next year...and after I go to London....ENGLAND, people!!!...in January, for a whole week, to look for venues and meet with my producer....YES....I am booked till pretty much the end of October...all outside of the country or on the TV!
YES!!!
I said it!!!
THE TV!!!
I start shooting the SECRET TV show, that I can't tell you the title of, on Jan 17th for two months people...then I have gigs all around Canada...then to Europe...then back to Europe.
That is the plan...an exciting plan.
It is a daunting and awesome plan.
A plan that I thank all of my World Domination donors and supporters for helping to plant the seeds of...does that make grammatical sense....did I spell 'grammatical' right?
Any-freakin'-way!
THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH for your support, words, donations, emails and general positive thoughts this past year....I can't believe what a year it has been...
I will not be doing a show in Toronto till...at least...I shit you not....till October next year....IF THAT!!!
CAN YOU FREAKIN' Believe it?!?!?!?
So, this week I will revisit two of my fave shows...

"Sharron's Holiday Party" at the Toronto Centre on Thursday the 16th with Bravura opening ths show! www.tocentre.com

OR come on over to the Oakville Centre for the Arts on Saturday the 18th to see "Sharron's Big Broadway Show"! All musical theatre!! All the time! http://www.oakvillecentre.ca/

I would love to see you...to chat with you...to sell you my CD for all of your Christmas stockings...to give you a hug...to tell you a dirty joke...to sing you a funny song...
Because it will be too long till next time!
I hope you are all enjoying the Holidays...that you are well...that you aren't freezing your bits off....
Come on down!!!