Happy Birthday Christine! She turns 33 years old today. Make sure to tweet @yolakin and wish her a happy birthday.
Christine tweeted:
In light of my birthday in a few hours, I thought it appropriate to share an oldie but a goodie
http://t.co/yssFZebv
Such a cute picTweet
There will be two upcoming Worst Auditions Ever shows next month on February 17 and February 18. Christine will be hosting on February 17 with Andy. Details of the official site:
Worst Audition is BACK and what better way than return to our old underground space at Casita Del Campo then celebrate Valentine’s Day with a night of humiliatingly awesome couples stories! Feb 17th is double the pain, double the laughs. From brothers to lovers, this is a new night you don’t want to miss!
Featuring Paul & Peter Vogt, Keile Lefkovitz & Shane Johnson, Nasry Malak & Katherine Donahoe, Megan McNulty & Stuart Ambrose, Henry Dittman & Sarah McElligott and hosts Christine Lakin & Andy Fickman.
Feb 18th rounds out with all new hilarious awful stories from Matt Moy (“2 Broke Girls”), Anne Gregory (“Parks and Recreation”), Ilana Cohn (You Tube’s “The Fun Club”), Tim Coyne (“Hollywood Podcast”), Corey Womack (Troubadour Theater Company), Jack Plotnick (“Strong Choices”), Sam Fickman (Comedy Store) and your host Tom Lenk (“Buffy”)
Tickets on sale NOW! Bring your friends… your family… your loved ones!
Completely Carthatic. Mutually Hilarious.
Visit the official site to buy tickets.
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If you want Christine on Dancing with The Stars, join the facebook group! I think Christine would do amazing on the show Tweet
Christine just tweeted that she will be performining in Falcon Theatre’s stage reading of Charles Evered’s Class with Lary Cedar. It will be directed by Eric Barr. It will be happening on January 18, 2012 at 8pm. Make sure to buy tickets!
Class tells the story of Elliot, a veteran acting teacher in New York City who is visited in his studio by Sarah, a mysterious young actress. In the course of their work together, they learn more about themselves than acting – and in doing so change each others’ lives forever. This production is a one-day staged reading – actors will be moving around the stage but will have scripts in hand; proceeds go to benefit The Actors Fund.
I finally added screencaps of Christine in Gina’s Holiday House!
Gallery Links:
Gina’s Holiday House Part 1 Screencaps
Gina’s Holiday House Part 2 Screencaps
Hope everyone has a happy new year! If you have not seen Christine in New Year’s Eve, today would be an awesome day to do that 
Christine will be returning as Jackie in Season 2 finale of Melissa & Joey. She filmed the episode on Thursday which was the day the season wrapped as well. I have added her behind the scenes twitpics of her day on set!
Gallery Link:
Behind The ScenesTweet
Check out a couple more reviews of A Christmas Westside Story:
From Glendale News Press:
“When you’re a kid, you’re a kid all the way….”
“West Side Story” meets Ralphie and his Red Ryder BB gun in “A Christmas Westside Story,” the latest pop culture mash-up from the deliriously daft Troubadour Theatre Company, running through Jan. 15 at the Falcon Theatre in Burbank.
This anarchic troupe of clowns is known for mining comedic gold from inspired pairings of stage, TV and film classics with classic rock ’n’ roll. “As U2 Like It,” “Fleetwood Macbeth” and “It’s a Stevie Wonderful Life” are examples of past Troubie hilarity.
Here, the company, led by artistic director Matt Walker as “A Christmas Story’s” BB-gun-obsessed fourth-grader Ralphie, approximates a bit of Jerome Robbins’ iconic “West Side Story” choreography with surprising verve and gleefully tailors the equally iconic songs by Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim to fit the 1940s-era holiday classic by humorist Jean Shepherd. Lines from the film are incorporated into the dialogue verbatim.
It’s a pretty gutsy effort. But pratfalls, somersaults and all manner of acrobatic physicality are part of the company’s signature style, and the actors prove up for choreographer Molly Alvarez’s crisp, Robbins-inspired, high-jumping, shoulder-hunching, finger-snapping, skirt-flapping dance numbers. The cast’s strong vocals are another plus. (At one point, sly ringmaster Walker, who also directs the show, does a wickedly spot-on Aaron Neville impression.)
The show, despite being a parody, would be far less successful without the cast’s serious commitment to this song-and-dance framework, and without the muscular, expert on-stage band (musical director Eric Heinly on drums, Kevin Stewart on bass, Linda Taylor on guitar and Brian Baker and Cameron Graves on keyboards).
It’s a hoot when Leah Sprecher as Ralphie’s mom sings “A Toy Like This (would shoot your eye out)” to the tune of “A Boy Like That,” her voice throbbing with passion, while mood lighting by veteran designer Jeremy Pivnick — who contributes mightily to the proceedings — enhances the melodrama.
Another highlight among many: When Ralphie’s friend Flick (Joseph Keane) is “triple dog dared” to touch his tongue to a winter-iced flag pole, it’s to the accompaniment of the cast’s rendition of “Boy, boy, crazy boy/Get cool, boy,” sung with insinuating menace.
Giving away all of the wacky connections made between one of theater’s greatest musicals and the beloved novelty holiday film would be unfair, however. A good part of the zany ride, after all, is the surprise factor in how “West Side Story” songs are adapted for “A Christmas Story” characters and situations.
What romantic duet will Ralphie and his very lovely fantasy personification of the Red Ryder Air Rifle (Katherine Malak) sing together? What anticipatory theme will Dad, aka the Old Man (Rick Batalla), belt out when he finally wins a sweepstakes contest?
And when that sweepstakes prize — the wildly inappropriate lamp shaped like a woman’s leg in a fishnet stocking — is embodied by gorgeous Monica Schneider, what self-reverential tune will she croon?
The mash-ups don’t stop there. Troubadour shows tend to be crafted as something of a play-within-a-play and peppered with headline news one-liners. Expect references to Obamacare, the Occupy Movement, Michele Bachmann, Herman Cain, Rod Blagojevich, among others.
Actors step out of character to razz the audience and each other: Why did Mom marry Dad, wonders Beth Kennedy as little brother Randy, when he’s bound to adlib “and add 20 minutes to the second act?” Sprecher to Walker’s dejected Ralphie: “Why don’t you go deliver an aside? That always makes you feel better.”
Brandon Breault as Ralphie’s nemesis Farkus and his sidekick Toady (Christine Lakin), meanwhile, stop the action to sit on the edge of the stage and address the audience, decrying bullying and smoking, respectively, in “The More You Know”-style public service announcements.
There are clunkers. Longtime Troubie ensemble member Kennedy has some slogging bits as Randy, while hyperkinetic Batalla’s adlibs are a laugh-out-loud hit and a groaning miss. What he does with a pair of stuck-on bushy eyebrows falls in the former category. His humorous impression of Marlon Brando as the Godfather wears out its welcome and lands in the latter.
But when jokes fall flat, the actors are unfazed. Because they not only plan for it, they clearly build it into the show. If applause is too tepid, or a random appearance by a giggling Tickle Me Elmo doll gets one of the biggest laughs of the night, they rush to highlight the failure and assign blame.
And beware: The Troubies love audience latecomers. Enter after the show has started and you may find yourself in the spotlight, stopping the show as you’re subjected to a group sing-along based on an aptly chosen 1970s pop song.
Kudos to costume designer Naomi Yoshida for Schneider’s sexy “Lampy” ensemble and her wardrobe re-creation of the film’s 1940s American wintertime setting, including Ralphie’s pink bunny pajamas and colorful housewife skirts and aprons. Mike Jespersen’s economic set design provides for band, group numbers and Santa slide, and sound designer Robert Arturo Ramirez’s well-timed audio miscues add to the sublime silliness.
From Variety:
A Falcon Theater presentation of a Troubadour Theater Company production of a musical in two acts by the Company. Directed by Matt Walker. Choreography, Molly Alvarez. Musical director, Eric Heinly.
With: Rick Batalla, Brandon Breault, Kristin D’Andrea Condon, Joseph Keane, Beth Kennedy, Christine Lakin, Katherine Malak, Suzanne Jolie Narbonne, Robert Petrarca, Monica Schneider Leah Sprecher, Lisa Valenzuela, Matt Walker.
When the Troubadours, LA’s resident vaudeville ensemble at Burbank’s Falcon, blend the right source material with the right songbook, their alchemy can’t be beat for sheer zaniness. There’s no earthly reason why the 1983 cult classic “A Christmas Story” should comfortably converge with Robert Wise’s Best Picture tuner of 1961, but go figure: “A Christmas Westside Story” is one of the cleverest efforts in their 10-year history. Helmer Matt Walker (who also essays Ralphie, excellently) cranks out a new Yuletide attraction annually, but this one has enough piney scent to establish itself as an evergreen perennial.If you know either the Jean Shepherd-inspired pic or the Jets/Sharks tuner – and everybody right down to the late Osama Bin Laden probably falls into one of those two categories – references will be easy to grasp. No memory of Darren McGavin is necessary to appreciate Rick Batalla’s inspired harrumphery as Ralphie’s Old Man; you need never have enjoyed Natalie Wood’s “I Feel Pretty” to howl as Monica Schneider’s female-gam lamp (here called “Lampy”) becomes pretty and witty and bright.
As it happens, little Ralphie’s pining for a Daisy BB rifle offers a darn good analogue to Tony’s longing for Maria. So the Troubies slay you when Ralphie’s mom (winning Leah Sprecher) warns “A toy like that/Will shoot your eye out.” And when the gun comes alive in the fetching form of Katherine Malak, Walker croons a love song to the tune of “Maria” and slays you all over again.
Wittily inserting Jerome Robbins moves, choreographer Molly Alvarez translates “Cool” into a scorching hot “Triple Dog Dare Ya” routine leading up to the legendary moment when boy tongue meets metal flagpole (Joseph Keane’s Flick is immensely appealing). Only the takeoff on “Gee, Officer Krupke” falls flat, because no one’s really established a reason for it to be sung.
Through it all, musical director Eric Heinly performs a Christmas miracle in bringing not just Leonard Bernstein’s melodies, but also echoes of the famous orchestrations, to the Falcon’s stage.
Because the narrative is so tight, the company can afford to put story occasionally on hold to taunt latecomers, provide lap dances to customers and generally mock its own Hellzapoppin aesthetic. They even find time for the fabulous Christine Lakin to wax rueful on how underused she is this time around (which, alas, she is).
Meanwhile, translating kid brother Randy into an Aspergerian genius allows Beth Kennedy to silkily, effortlessly walk off with every scene she’s in. The absence of her “Winter Warlock” character, a mainstay of numerous Troubie shows, is felt (if memory serves, he even showed up at “The First Jo-El,” when Billy Joel met Bethlehem). But as Shepherd himself knew well, Santa never brings you everything you wish for.
Sets, Mike Jespersen; costumes, Naomi Yoshida; lighting, Jeremy Pivnick; sound, Robert Arturo Ramirez; stage manager, Corey Womack. Opened Dec. 9, 2011. Reviewed Dec. 15. Runs through Jan. 15, 2012. Running time: 1 HOUR, 50 MINS.
Check out part 1 and part 2 of Gina’s Holiday House.
I am back from my trip. I will have screencaps of Christine in them on the site tomorrow!Tweet
Looks like there is a new Gina House short in the works. Christine tweeted:
“@leeleepitts: Rumor is a drag show is doing Gina’s House starring @ilanainla @yolakin and me. Immortalized by drag queens// true & amazing
Dec 13@leeleepitts @ilanainla @liamshow still dying at the “ralphie” monologue….
39 minutes agoFilming more Gina’s House sketches today – out next week!
33 minutes ago
Check out her behind the scenes twitpics for it:
Gallery Link:
Behind The Scenes
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