BWW Blog: Christopher Vo of ON THE TOWN - Getting 'Snipered'

Things are moving along so quickly as the first preview performance of On The Town (September 20) approaches. We have completed teching almost half of our show. One of my favorite songs in the show is 'Lonely Town', performed by Tony Yazbeck (as the sailor Gabey). Tony's voice is hauntingly gorgeous, and the accompanying duet danced by Kristine Covillo and Stephen Hanna is stunning. On The Town is such a comedic show, so it is a refreshing change of pace when we get to the 'Lonely Town' number. I dressed up my dogs, Hugo and Banjo, in sailor outfits and took pictures of them. Enjoy. I imagine them howling out this tune while they are home alone.

Speaking of dogs, Hugo and Banjo are Havanese. Havanese are known for being hypoallergenic. They also have a curly plume of a tail and are very apartment friendly. It's a very popular breed among our cast. Kristine Covillo's Havanese is named Bruno, and Mikey Winslow's is named Winnie. Winnie just completed her puppy shots, and we plan to have a Havanese get-together soon!

Confession time -- I am the epitome of clumsiness. We were teching 'Miss Turnstiles' and I have a bit where I dance alongside Megan Fairchild and Jess Le Protto. Both are amazing dancers, so naturally, in the middle of the number, Josh Bergasse choreographed a turn sequence to please the gods. So, I was trying to execute four pirouettes into a layout, and before I knew it I was on the floor. Being the clumsy one, I thought that I had heard all of the terms for slipping and falling onstage. Let me list them for you: wiped out, bit the dust, star-fished, ate sh*t, face planted, and the list goes on. But Megan introduced me to a new one while i was still star-fished. Sweet little Megan comes over and asks, "Did you just get snipered?" I was rolling on the floor and laughing so hard. She then explained that the folks at New York City Ballet say it all the time. I can only imagine a sniper hanging out up in the balcony trying to get as many swans as he can. As each swan goes down, tutus and pointe shoes go flying out from under them, legs and arms akimbo. It's terrible and delicious at the same time. As performers, we hate going down because it puts us in a spiral of shame for the duration of the show. But audiences love that sort of thing. It reminds them that we're human and gives them a sense that they witnessed something other audiences didn't get to see. Or at least that's what I keep telling myself when I get snipered.

This production of On The Town truly is a Helluva Musical. Don't miss it!!!