Who are you?
So glad you asked. I’m a college student majoring in computer science. In case you couldn't tell, theater is one of my passions. I enjoy almost every show I see (why pay $50 or more to have a bad time?), but I've only fallen in love with a few, including Jane Eyre, Parade, Songs for a New World, Once on This Island, Les Misérables, and Ragtime. Likewise, there are many performers whose work I admire, but only a few whose talent truly astounds me: Marla Schaffel (obviously), James Barbour, Audra McDonald, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Marin Mazzie (would someone just give the woman a Tony already?), Carolee Carmello, Rebecca Luker, Sally Mayes, and LaChanze. If you want to learn more about my musical tastes, a list of the theater-related CDs I own is available here.

When I'm not doing homework, going to plays, cleaning my room, or working on my websites, I can usually be found reading, playing piano, proofreading anything in sight, trying to convince everyone to use serial commas (or else!), taking pictures with my nifty SLR camera, studying languages (Spanish, Hebrew, and Italian), making fun of bad movies, singing along with my CDs (only in my car), watching reruns of M*A*S*H and Sports Night, or fondly recalling my glory days as coeditor of my high-school yearbook.

The technical details.
I created this website with Microsoft Internet Explorer 5, Microsoft Notepad 1998, Microsoft WordPad 1998, Microsoft Paint 1998, a trial version of PaintShop Pro 7, and lots of time that I should have spent doing homework. Most of the JavaScript was adapted from The JavaScript Source and Webmonkey, with considerable help from The JavaScript Bible by Danny Goodman.

The fine print.
This site is completely, utterly, and totally unofficial. I created it because of my respect for and admiration of Marla's many talents. I don't have any inside information. The content on this site was gleaned from the internet and various publications. I have credited the original creators wherever possible. If you feel credit has not been properly given, please notify me and I will amend the situation immediately. I have not received, nor will I receive, any financial benefit from the content on this site.

The acknowledgements.
First and foremost, I'd like to thank Marla for her dedication to musical theater and for not making me take this site down. Thanks are also due to Faith, FreakyMartian, Melissa, Michelle, Farin, Karen, Lyn, Cheryl, Seth, and Lulu for their moral and technical support of this endeavor. Paul Gordon and John Caird deserve extra-special mention for writing the incredible musical that first brought Marla (and James, and Mary, and so many other talented performers) to my attention.

Finally, I want to acknowledge three wonderful people who have encouraged my love for the theater throughout my life. First, I thank my grandpa for taking me to The King and I when I was 5, to The Phantom of the Opera when I was 12, and to Broadway itself when I was 17 and 20. A more generous man or a more enthusiastic theater-goer I know I'll never meet. Second, I confess the vast impact my dad has had on my musical tastes. After all, it was his CD collection and compulsive car-singing that introduced me to Fiddler on the Roof, Godspell, and The Music Man, not to mention Billy Joel and John Rutter. Third but certainly not least on my list of Very Important Theater Influences is my mom, who just can't say no to the people who call to sell her season tickets to local theaters. If it weren't for her (and a very persuasive sales rep from the La Jolla Playhouse), I never would have seen Jane Eyre in the first place. And thus the madness began...

My sister Wendy, blogger extraordinaire and Ragtime fan nonpareil, insists that she deserves to be mentioned here as well. I guess it makes her feel special or something. (Seriously, though, sis, you're my best friend and I love ya!)

Anything else?
As C.J. on The West Wing would say: That's it, that's the whole it.