Baby New Year

Week 5: Washington, D.C.

First, let me express a great big thank you to the lovely audience members here in D.C. who found my web address in my program bio and took the time to contact me and pay me such generous compliments! I am delighted that you are enjoying my performance and the production. It is especially great to hear these things since I have only just finished my second week of performances. Please feel free to email me at james@jamesbeaman.com. I do get the comments posted to my blog and have published some of them.

Well, it's New Year's Eve again, and we will be doing a festive 7PM performance of "Spamalot" tonight. The company is throwing us a little New Year's party after the show. It's an odd thing to see out the old year surrounded by all new people. But I think it's appropriate. D.C. launched my journey with this great show, and 2008 will be a full year of touring with this company. New Year's Eve has always been a time of introspection for me, taking stock of the year that is passing, and creating a vision for the one that is unfolding.

2007 was an amazing and exciting year for me personally and professionally. It started with a five month repertory season at Alabama Shakespeare Festival performing the rarely produced John Barton/Peter Hall adaptation of Shakespeare's "Wars of the Roses." A wonderful immersion in renaissance theatre and the chance to develop four great characters amongst a wildly talented company of actors. From there, fate swept me into an unexpected opportunity, coming in at the last minute to play the incredible role of Albin in "La Cage Aux Folles" for Ogunquit Playhouse's Diamond Jubilee. Not only is Albin one of the great roles in musical theatre (right up there with Dolly and Mame in my book), but I got to play it opposite the charming Maxwell Caulfield as Georges, and was directed by BT McNicholl, who is now the Associate Director on "Spamalot." Following the Ogunquit run, I returned to New York and played the title role in "Macbeth" in a modern dress production with ShakespeareNYC at the Beckett Theatre. Jumping out of sequins and into combat boots was such a great time, and scaling this monumental role of 700 lines was an incredible, invigorating challenge. And, just as I was headed to Denver to do another "La Cage," the offer came to join the tour of "Spamalot." What a thrilling year this has been!! I only feel deep gratitude for the gift of being able to spend nearly a whole year employed in my profession. And through all the challenges and changes in my life, my steadfast friends, family, colleagues, counselors and of course my terrific agent have encouraged me, bucked me up, listened to me, lent a shoulder to cry on and in general believed in me. I am blessed.

I wish for you a year full of adventure, fulfillment, love, connection, and peace. Keep your vision strong. Believe. Anything is possible and the Universe is holding out to you everything you want and dream of. You just have to let it in. Feel good, keep your energy high and your thoughts in a positive place. And know that you are never, ever alone. Happy New Year!!

And yes, that baby is me! Thanks, Mom, for that picture.