Everybody Wants To Be Up Front
August 7th, 2008Of course, everyone familiar with Jersey Boys recognizes Nick’s line, and so it is that the Tech-Half has traded places for this post to relate the tale of his birthday celebration in Las Vegas.
Let me begin at the beginning: We started the evening by dining at SushiSamba, a new Japanese, Brazilian, Peruvian fusion restaurant in the Palazzo. Sounds crazy, but it”s great. I did not realize there were so many different types of sake! We had three different kinds, ranging from traditional rich and sweet, to modern dry and clean. We had seen the menu online and were ready to try the Omakase menu, but our waiter told us to trust him and his choices. What we got was one of the most spectacular, flavorful dinners we have ever had. It was all good and the sea bass had a hint of ginger and melted in your mouth.
While we were there, Robin Leach of “Lifestyles of The Rich and Famous,” and Vegas Confidential columnist Norm Clarke from the Las Vegas Review Journal, accompanied by a handful of stunningly beautiful women, sat down and had dinner at a table close to ours. Apparently, they were there to meet with the owner as there was a story about the restaurant in the paper earlier this week.
Maybe I should start my own restaurant! That’s when Susie discovered I did not bring a camera. I asked her a week ago if she wanted to take pictures and she said no.** Of course, she does not remember me asking her, so who’s the asshole? Everyone remembers it how they need to, right?
We had great seats and this was our first late evening performance. Before the show started, we were spotted by JBB International Correspondent Charly O’Clarit! She wished me happy birthday during the intermission and we talked after the show. She says we MUST go to London. If Audrey’s magic bus were only a plane.
Dominic Scaglione, Jr. (on the right in the above photo taken by the Blog-Half…That’s right, we paid $20 for disposable camera in the casino gift shop), was excellent as Frankie Valli! I thought he had a very powerful, clear voice and hit every note perfectly. He shows a wide range of emotions in his scenes, having fun with the group’s rise to success, and his voice actually started to crack a little with his acceptance into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. After the show, it was great to catch up with Michael James Scott. Then, we had a chance to meet Dominic, who is a genuinely cordial young man and we enjoyed talking with him.
Except for not winning the Mega Bucks, this has to rank as one of the best birthdays ever. I told this story to my colleagues at work and the intern said, “Livin’ the dream, Dale.” That’s what sake, sushi, espresso, a camera and the incredible Jersey Boys can do for you in Vegas!
**Blog-Half Note: My hand to God, the Tech-Half didn’t ask me if I wanted to take pictures. Had he asked such a question I would have said, “BRING THE F***’IN CAMERA ALREADY!”
Susie and Dale!!! You two should be a comedy team! I loved this recap and laughed so hard! I must say HAPPY BIRTHDAY to both of you, seems both birthdays slipped by me……now who’s the a**hole!!!! You two are the best and many, many, many thanks for all you do! We have such a wonderful family ALL because of YOU!! Love you both lots and thanks for sharing all your wonderful adventures!!! Wanda
Comment by WANDA — August 8, 2008 @ 8:12 am
I’m so glad you had such a wonderful birthday, Dale. Thanks for sharing your evening with us – in such an eloquent way, I might add. You guys are awesome!!!
Comment by Catherine — August 8, 2008 @ 9:11 am
Susie and Dale,
This was hysterical!!! You guys have a whole new career ahead of you as comedy writers!! Sounds like a fabulous birthday, Dale. Wishing you many more. Great picture of you and Dominic. Maybe the throw away camera was the way to go!Thanks again for all you both do for our JB family. Looking forward to seeing you in September.
XO, Pamela
Comment by Pamela — August 8, 2008 @ 9:27 am
Sounds as if it was a great celebration, Susie and Dale. Glad the “waiter’s choices” worked out. Normally, when I trust the “waiter’s choice”, I get a serving that I need a magnifying glass to see, and a bill of about $7,000, and I always lament about how many White Castle Slyders I could have bought with that money!!
Quite high praise for Dominic too. And Michael James Scott was one of the friendliest to all of the fans for the April opening in Vegas, and was wonderful in his roles!
Love the $20 price for the camera. Vegas must love you guys, since on each visit, its gross revenues must rise drastically.
Susie, with the MegaBucks, you are the only person I know who plans her budget around winning a lottery!!
Comment by Howard — August 8, 2008 @ 12:23 pm
Hi there!
So much for my Birthday Wishes..I ended up sending an EM to Dale inquiring if something might be wrong with our Blog..the BLOB?…unable to access remotely for a brief period while out of town!
Thanks for your response Dale! I am looking forward to meeting both you & Susie in the near future! I do not know what is worse…the inabilty to get on the JB Blog or running out of TP!
Comment by NewJerseyLasagna — August 8, 2008 @ 6:17 pm
Ahhh…first hand coverage, up close and personal. I have to agree- this peek into the Blog couple’s birthday festivities WAS laugh-out-loud funny. Never has an asterisk been so small, yet communicated so much.
Some people want to be up front and some people ARE up front. Thank goodness for the Tech-Half. You deserve a little celebration- given all the behind the scenes glitches and work that professional website management entails. Somehow you always keep us humming along.
And listen… you’re not starting your own restaurant- Robin Leach and beautiful women or not. You cook up plenty of good stuff already and you’ve got plenty of hungry customers.
What a great early birthday present this year when such a talented cast landed right on your Vegas doorstep. No ‘special correspondents’ needed in the Entertainment Capital of the World, as long as the JB Blog duo are on the scene… plus, with high priced cameras.
As far as Charly’s hearty recommendation of the London production… you bring the sake (the traditional, rich and sweet one sounded good), I’ll bring the magic bus and we’ll all tailgate outside the Prince Edward Theatre.
May you enjoy many more JB birthdays, anniversaries, weekends, and holiday get-a-ways of all kinds in the decades ahead!
Comment by Audrey — August 10, 2008 @ 5:03 pm
You are such a wealth of information. Can you tell me about the Palazzo theater format? Are the bad orchestra seats, i.e. row G 3,4. Will we ba ble to see the whole stage. Paid a lot for Chicago tickets and was in 2nd row and only saw 1st 1/3 of stage. Would row U 24,25 be better? I do like to see the facial expressions.
thank you for all your interesting writing. always so informative and entertaining
Comment by Maxine — August 15, 2008 @ 12:35 am
Happy Birthday, Dale!
Okay, this is probably the most belatedly I’ve ever wished anyone a happy birthday, but I was linked back here from the blog entry of 1/26/14 regarding Dominic Scaglione Jr. leaving Jersey Boys. And three and a half years later, it’s still a fun and funny read. Thanks!
Comment by stubbleyou — January 28, 2014 @ 9:01 am