Last night David and I were able to attend the Friday night performance of Rock of Ages on Broadway, which was our second time seeing the show …. to see the Broadway debut of my good friend Tom Lenk! Broadway veteran Kerry Butler (who I LOVED in Xanadu: the Musical) also joined the show last night in the lead role of Sherrie! I can’t even express how much more amazing Rock of Ages is now that Tom and Kerry have joined the cast:

It was so cool seeing Tom’s name in the Playbill … seeing him on stage was just fantastic. He kills as Franz and I cannot recommend enough that all y’all should see this show NOW! The show was fantastic the last time I saw it, it’s even better now. After the jump, check out some of the photos that I was able to take with some of the castmembers on the show stage after the show was finished last night …

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Amazing news for fans of the Buffyverse and Broadway … the best of both worlds are finally coming together! Tom Lenk, who portrayed the amazingly hilarious villain-turned-goodie Andrew Wells on Buffy the Vampire Slayer (and briefly on Angel), is joining the cast of the rock musical Rock of Ages on Broadway! According to one of Tom’s latest tweets, today is his first day of rehearsals with the cast … he tweets:

I have my first rehearsal for Rock of Ages today! So excited! Moved into my new place on Saturday, I can’t believe I live in NYC now!

Tom had to keep this news tight-lipped (not even his friends knew about this) and was not, apparently, able to talk about this new gig until today … as Entertainment Weekly claims the scoopage on his move to Broadway:

Tom Lenk, who starred as Andrew on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, will make his Broadway debut as Franz in the Tony-nominated musical Rock of Ages on Sept. 14. Lenk originated the supporting role, the son of a German developer who wants to demolish the Sunset Strip (including LA’s favorite rock club), in Los Angeles and Las Vegas productions. He phoned EW to give us the scoop and the often hilarious backstory. A UCLA theater grad with formal voice training, Lenk went to college with Rock of Ages‘ Tony-nominated director Kristin Hanggi. They’ve worked together before — on a production of Ann E. Wrecksick, an Annie spoof about bulimic orphans, in the basement of a Mexican restaurant in Silver Lake, Calif. the summer after his first season on Buffy. She knew he was also friends with Rock of Ages writer Chris D’Arienzo, and phoned Lenk to tell him that D’Arienzo had a role that might suit him. “In Ann E. Wrecksick, I had done a character of a German fashion designer. I’d also been doing this sketch for years about a German character who’s obsessed with Star Trek and Melrose Place, based on my time having been invited to appear as a random Buffy person at a Star Trek convention in Germany and a friend’s Hungarian husband who was obsessed with Melrose Place,” he says. “So they knew I did this German thing, and it happened to be perfect for the show.” Franz’s big moment, the song “Hit Me With Your Best Shot,” comes when he starts a relationship with Regina, who works in the Mayor’s office and protests his and his father’s plans. “I’m a little nervous. The way I performed it in LA and Vegas is not nearly as exhaustive as the version that’s happening now on stage. I would stand and sing, and then do some dancing. But now it’s dancing while I’m singing, so I have two weeks to become Beyoncé,” he says … He begins rehearsals today, but he won’t actually get to perform with the actors he’ll share the stage with until the afternoon before his evening debut. “Which makes me want to have a complete heart attack/throw up,” he admits. “I know I should be prepared for this. I do have a theater degree. I do theater all the time [at LA's Upright Cabaret]. I did a tour of Grease in Germany like 10 years ago, but I was an understudy for Doody and Eugene and I never went on. So I never got my big put-in rehearsal.” Clarification: He could have gone on once as Doody, but he’d booked a German Audi commercial that was coincidentally shooting in Austria on that same evening. During that commercial audition, Lenk, who speaks passable German and will use a thick accent in Rock of Ages, was asked if he skied. He lied and said yes. “I get to the set, and I’d missed something in the translation — it was ski-jumping. They let me freak out for awhile until they revealed that I had a stunt double,” he says. “I only booked the commercial because ski jumpers are like jockeys, they have to be tiny and lightweight. They already had the costume, and they needed somebody to fit it. I was too big even. It was crazy. I missed my big show, Grease das Musical, which is fine.”

This is ABSOLUTELY amazing news. Tom is one of my good friends and I couldn’t be more happy, more proud of him. I’ve seen his live performances a few times and I’m telling you, Broadway is in for a treat. I understand that Tom’s first performance with Rock of Ages is on September 14 and, as luck would have it, I will be in NYC that whole week. You can bet your buns I’m gonna be there. Altho I got to see the show earlier this year, I can’t wait to see it again … and with Tom Lenk in a featured role? All I can say is, Woot!!!!! Much, much love and congrats goes out to Tom on this amazing news today … I’m sure he’ll be working his ass off for the next couple of weeks … and I can’t wait to see the fruits of his labor.

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Alyson Hannigan, her burgeoning baby bump and her Buffy the Vampire Slayer ex-costar and all around BFF Tom Lenk stepped out for a little Xmas shopping together at The Grove shopping center here in LA yesterday afternoon. Here are cute pics of the pals mugging for the cameras:

I swear, Angels in heaven must sing in joyous unison whenever ex-BtVS castmates hang out together. It is always an amazing thing to see any one of the Buffy alums out and about but it’s an even more special sight to see them hanging out together. I understand that Aly and Tom were happy to talk and take photos with fans who they ran into … which prolly made for a very fun afternoon at The Grove. Alyson’s baby bump hasn’t grown that significantly since the the last time we saw it out and about but it shant be long now until she starts getting noticeably bigger. Wee! I am just so excited for Alyson to become a mom. Her baby can’t get here soon enough for me :)

[Photo credit: Splash News]

Actor Tom Lenk, who some of y’all may know from his stint as Andrew Wells on both Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel, has come out of the closet in the new issue of The Advocate magazine. After a failed attempt to come out publicly on the recently canceled FOX series Do Not Disturb, Tom is talking to The Advocate about his coming out. Here are a few pics of Tom in the mag and a report on his coming out from After Elton:

The latest issue of The Advocate features icon Harvey Milk on the cover, but a minor icon of geekdom, Tom Lenk (who played Andrew on Buffy the Vampire Slayer), also makes news by officially coming out in the issue … It probably doesn’t come as that big of a shock to fans of Buffy that Tom is gay, which probably isn’t fair, as no doubt Lenk is capable of playing a wide-range of characters. Nonetheless, Lenk pinged quite a few gaydars including Buffy creator Joss Whedon, who told The Advocate that Andrew hadn’t been planned as gay, but when Lenk auditioned they decided to take the character that way since “Tom has a bit of a fey thing going on in his persona that, you know, you can’t really deny.” … Lenk says his coming out now was supposed to be timed to coincide with his first television same-sex kiss. The Buffy alum had been cast as the boyfriend of Jesse Tyler Ferguson’s character on Fox’s Do Not Disturb. Alas for Lenk, DNR didn’t make it past its second episode before Fox showed mercy on us all and canceled the sitcom. Lenk also discusses his less-than-pleasant childhood growing up in Camarillo, California, a town north of Los Angeles, where he was “constantly tormented”, how theater was his escape, and how, post-Buffy, he learned his own management company was mocking him behind his back for being less than butch. Despite the setbacks, Lenk stays optimistic about his future. And as Whedon says about Lenk, “He’s very, very f**king talented.” Here is hoping Lenk finds the right vehicle to express that talent.

I have actually been very fortunate enough to know Tom for a couple of years now. We met casually just before I moved to LA and got to know each other very well since that time. He is seriously one of the funniest people I know. While I am very proud of him for stepping forward and coming out so publicly in this way, I’m not at all surprised that he decided to make this announcement in this way. It cannot be easy to consider that coming out as a gay person could greatly impact your livelihood but Tom is a resilient man and I am confident that his talent will outshine the simple matter of his sexuality. Folks who have been reading by blog for years may recall that I have talked at length about how much I love Tom’s Buffy character Andrew. I still contend that Andrew and Anya (Emma Caufield) are the absolute funniest characters on BtVS. Much props and respect goes out to Tom Lenk for making this brave step out of the closet. I never thought it would be possible to care for my friend more … I guess I was wrong :)

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Julie Benz, Tom Lenk and Clare Kramer were among the guests at Universal Studios last Friday night for the 2008 Eyegore Awards. The Eyegores celebrate the best in Horror films and this year helped kick off Universal Studios‘ Halloween Horror Nights. Here is a supercute pic of Tom (who played Andrew of the Evil Trio), Julie (who played vampire Darla) and Clare (who played Hell God Glory) from Buffy the Vampire Slayer on the red carpet together:

To kick off Universal Studios L.A.’s Halloween Horror Nights, press was invited to attend the sixth annual Eyegore Awards, where the best of horror movies gather together and recognize the hottest horror stars around. The event took place at 7:30 on October 3 at Universal Studios. The sixth annual Eyegore Awards was hosted by Corey Feldman (Lost Boys 2: The Tribe, Lost Boys, and the Friday the 13th films), a very wise choice for master of ceremonies. Past recipients of the Eyegore Awards include Patricia Arquette, Rob Zombie, and more.

Julie was on hand to accept an award for her contribution to horror films (she stars in Saw V and on Showtime’s amazing series Dexter, as y’all know) and Tom and Clare tagged along for the fun. I must admit, nothing warms my heart like a reunion of Buffyverse alums … and these alum chums are so the cutest ever! How amazing do they all look, y’all? Love it!!

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Woot! We are well into Day 2 of the Pink is the new Blog relaunch and things have been coming along so smoothly I can barely believe it. I am so happy with the way the site looks and has been functioning. Thanks to a few comments from readers, little tweaks and changes have already been implemented. I still have a bit of a learning curve to get over as I work with Word Press but I’m sure I’ll get into the swing of things in no time. David has been amazing about helping me with every little question I have. I thank the Gods that he’s been here with me this week.

So, Jamalia David, who goes by and will henceforth be referred to as Jazzy, was the lucky winner in the Pink is the new Blog Relaunch Party contest (sponsored by Nestea and Nikon COOLPIX) … she took a bunch of great pics on her new Nikon COOLPIX camera and has already blogged about her experience here in LA and at my party Wednesday night. Head on over to PinkVIPblogger.com to check out the page where her blogpost will be uploaded some time today. Here are a few of Jazzy’s fun party pics:

Additionally … I have a couple pics of some of the Pink readers who came out to my party as well as a bunch of kickass professional photos (courtesy of Wireimage) from the party …

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