BWW Blog: Josh Grisetti of PETER AND THE STARCATCHER - Finding Prawn Part 2

I think the first week of April is the worst week of the year for New Yorkers. It's like an extended April Fool's joke; there's a false hope that Spring has arrived although it hasn't. Winter desperately clings to its last few days of chilly life as the pollen count mysterious begins to rise even though there are no noticeable flowers. And so my throat is now in the death-grip of Mother Nature's annual allergy assault. I should start by thanking the good people at Mucinex, Zyrtec, Chloraseptic, Ricola, Grether's Pastilles, Halls and Starbucks for trying (in vain) to comfort and conceal my pain. There is some consolation in that several of my fellow cast mates at Peter and the Starcatcher are sharing similar symptoms this week. If I'm going down, I prefer to watch others go down with me.

The good news is that unlike most shows I've been involved with over the years (musicals, for the most part), PETER is a play (for the most part) and therefore I can manipulate my voice, lean into the microphone and accommodate an allergy attack without calling out. Granted, my "Grempkin" and "Fighting Prawn" are about a half-octave lower than usual, with about 45% less vocal energy, but better that than abandoning my post completely. I know what you're thinking. "OMG, the guy playing Fighting Prawn in PATSC post-Broadway is having vocal issues? I have to come back and see it immediately, regardless of the cost or time restraints!" You're not alone, this is a common response. Well, best order multiple tickets now, while you're near the computer. We only have 499 seats down here in the basement at New World Plaza, and we can't add any more because if we did, we'd be a Broadway house. True story.

In other news, we had our first understudies go on this weekend for the roles of "Boy/Peter" and "Captain Scott." I'd tell you to rush to the theatre to see these fine performers playing their parts with expert precision, but by the time you read this blog Jason Ralph ("Boy") will be back from shooting his fancy-pants HBO pilot and Alex Hernandez ("Captian Scott") will be back from his HANGOVER-style Vegas throw down. (I have no idea why Alex is out of the show this weekend, but I like to imagine he's in Las Vegas. Fingers crossed.) So you'll just have to come see the show with the regular cast, I suppose. Bravo to Jordan Geiger and Graham Stevens for their seamless performances this weekend!

Stay tuned for next week's blog when I detail how I completely lost my voice by underestimating an early allergy season and self-medicating with nearly expired steroids. (I'm kidding, I hope.)

Follow Josh on Twitter @JoshGrisetti.

PS - For any of you GAME OF THRONES fans, Andrew Mueller (who plays "Prentiss" in PATSC) totally geeked-out this week and made a Coat-of-Arms for every character in the play on some fan site. I'm attaching a copy of these brilliantly designed banners so that you too can revel in our nerd-tastic backstage camaraderie! Of course, if you don't know PATSC very well, this brilliance may be somewhat lost on you. Winter is Coming... er... I mean, Spring!