The Understudy Went On! January 11, 2014 Last week, consumed by self-interest, I reported: Clancy O’Connor is subbing for Michael Urie in Buyer and Cellar, and according to this charming profile, “Clancy O’Connor is about to experience what every understudy dreams of: he gets to go on.” In the six days since, there’s been this terrific New York Times profile of Michael Urie (in tomorrow’s Real Estate section) . . . never mind that the photo caption makes it appear that his partner is a canine . . . and this profile of his understudy (Arts & Leisure): ” . . . with Mr. Urie on vacation this weekend, a perennial dream of New York actors is coming true. The understudy is going on.” And so he did. How did it go? Being an investor, I got a report. Fantastic show tonight for Clancy’s first performance. Really amazing show, he was relaxed and in control. You never would have guessed it was his first performance for a paying audience. Wonderful, supportive house, big laughs right from the start. Lots of big laughs in the prologue, and through the whole opening section. Good laugh for Sharon’s “So what happened in Toontown?” in the Interview scene. Long laugh for “Oh, so Mama wants to play.” They loved both the Fifi and Coupon scenes. Great responses in the Gift Shoppe scene as well. Several gasps at the Yentl joke. A really lovely “I’d be pretty” scene, and a big laugh for “Well now you have your own frozen yogurt machine so fuck him.” Huge response at curtain call, full standing ovation. We’re looking forward to the rest of the weekend. Which means that even if you buy tickets and our star catches cold — God forbid! — you’ll still have a really good time. And as I think of you as my friend, here’s a link to save $48 on each pair of tickets. Though because you’re my friend, don’t you think you should really use this link, to buy premium seats instead? After all these years? Really? MAKE MAIL As if that $48 savings weren’t perk enough for one day, this link takes you to a free (for now) app that my friend Marc Fest has created. I’ve read the description, downloaded it to my iPhone, and have no idea what it does. If you use email to control a blog, Evernote, alarms, IFTTT-controlled setups, or other Internet-connected things, this iPhone / iPad app is for you. Just tap the app and most of the email is already filled in. Enter your code or instructions and you are good to go! But . . . it’s . . . free! (For now.) And . . . I’m . . . old! (So you wouldn’t really expect me to know about IFTTT-controlled setups.) Check it out.