Pal Joey Blog Launches!
October 18th, 2008
Many of you have checked it out already, but if you haven’t–we have big news! With Pal Joey–starring Christian Hoff–beginning previews at Studio 54 on November 14, and opening officially on December 11, Catherine Sanneman has created the already-amazing Pal Joey Blog!
We had a chance to chat with Catherine about what inspired her to create the Pal Joey Blog and her exciting plans as blogmaster!
JBB: Congratulations on your Pal Joey Blog, Catherine! It looks marvelous!
CS: Thank you so much! It’s still a work in progress, but it’s been an exciting learning process!
JBB: What inspired you to create the Pal Joey Blog?
CS: Truly my inspiration for the blog has been the Jersey Boys Blog. It opened my eyes to Broadway and all it encompasses…so much different than movies or TV. These are real people making magic right in front of your eyes, night after night after night – and loving every minute of it. The roller coaster of emotions these actors must endure – endless auditions, rejections, shows closing, bad reviews – I can’t imagine what a toll all that must take on one’s ego. And these guys and gals just keep on doing it, and loving it, and working so hard for just that one opportunity to get their name on the marquee.
I’ve met Christian Hoff, and believe him to be, not only a very talented performer, but a truly great guy. When I learned he would be leaving Jersey Boys for Pal Joey, I knew this was his opportunity to prove himself as a leading man on Broadway. So, I did some research on the show, bought the movie starring Frank Sinatra, and thought, what better way to help promote Christian than to promote Pal Joey itself. And what better way to do that than with a blog? The JB Blog is great about following the careers of the actors who have moved on, but I wanted to focus on the entire show, the entire cast, the music – in other words, the whole Pal Joey package.
JBB: Is this your first blog creation?
CS: The project has been a while in the making, since my whole blog experience can be summed up in two words – Jersey Boys. And boy, there’s a lot more to it than chatting – and I don’t even mean coming up with interesting stories and making it look pretty – I mean HTML codes and theme editors, and styles changing for no reason at all….but that’s another story. I’m having a great time with it. With such a diverse and talented cast, I shouldn’t have a problem coming up with interesting stories, past and present.
JBB: What are your plans for the Pal Joey Blog?
CS: Right now, I’m working on getting the word out there about the blog. I appreciate all the Christian Hoff fans who have visited and left comments on the blog. And there are so many Stockard Channing and Martha Plimpton fans out there. Not to mention Jenny Fellner, who was in Wicked, and Robert Clohessy, who has so many TV credits…HBO’s “Oz,” “One Life to Live,” and “New Amsterdam” to name but a few. Now I just need to find these fans and get them to join me on the blog! Pal Joey is a limited run show, so I’m working hard to get things going quickly.
JBB: Are you planning to see Pal Joey on Broadway?
CS: One of the obstacles I have is that I’m pretty far removed from Broadway – about 1,000 miles, to be exact. But to my advantage, I do have Howard Tucker! Howard will be seeing the show on November 14 and will share his experience with the blog. And there are many other CH fans who I’m hoping will be contributing their thoughts along the way. My plan is to see the show the week of December 10 so that I’ll see the final “version.” And who knows, the show may be such a success that they move it to a permanent home and we’ll be blogging together for years to come!
JBB: Any other thoughts you’d like to share about the Pal Joey Blog?
CS: Well, I’d like to thank you and Dale for your great advice and continued support. And thank you for introducing me to the beautiful, talented, funny, awesome people who make up the Broadway world!
JBB: It was our pleasure, Catherine!
All the best to Catherine with the Pal Joey Blog!!
Catherine, you have done an amazing job with the blog. And you couldn’t have found a nicer gentleman than Christian as an inspiration for a blog. I especially enjoy his characterizations on stage, and even his bit on “Ugly Betty” that show-off what a good actor he is…he plays such a con man with so much charm that you like him no matter what! And that is such the antithesis of who he is as a compassionate, family man who happens to be extraordinarily talented. You are so fortunate to have Dale and Susie as your mentors. Wishing you much success, Lulu
Comment by LuluThompson — October 18, 2008 @ 10:28 pm
Catherine, to paraphrase Christian after his Tony win, life isn’t going to be the same for you now that you’ve become a famous Blogmaster. I can just picture Susie at your first conversation, “After reading 8 lines of the Pal Joey Blog, I knew I just had to mentor this genius!”
You have already generated quite an audience of people in high places, Catherine. You were so kind to permit me to guest post an article, and I’ve heard
via e-mail from Christian’s fine publicist, Leslie Penny, and from Rachelle Robert, the manager of the Bachmann-Strauss Dystonia Parkinson Foundation, who noted a benefit “Pal Joey” performance on Dec. 4 (I think that’s the date). Christian is the national spokesperson.
But the ultimate–Catherine–is being interviewed by the Jersey Boys Blog–you’ve hit the big time. Move over, Oprah Winfrey and Katie Couric. Next, I’m expecting you to be on the cover of “People Weekly”.
In all seriousness, I second Lulu’s comment that no one could be a better inspiration than the amazing and ubiquitous Christian Hoff. There will be so many of us together on November 14 (Charly, Vanessa, Lucy, Beverley, Priscilla, Gary, Pam, to name a few), I’m sure you’ll be overwhelmed with text messages during intermission!! Perhaps we can all plan a reunion at the Tony’s this year to root for Christian–waddayathink??
Comment by Howard Tucker — October 18, 2008 @ 11:43 pm
way to go, Cath! I am so proud to present your PalJoey blog to my friends……….this is so much fun to have you in our family
Aunt JoAnn
Comment by jo ashby — October 19, 2008 @ 10:38 am
Cath, this is just so much fun. I do hope my friends will really check it out. especially PalJoey, perfect for our age group.
love you, JOAnn
Comment by jo ashby — November 13, 2008 @ 9:58 am