I’m giving it my best shot at winning the “Mad Men Casting Call” contest – and a walk-on role on the show. But, with the winner picked from the top finalists in an online vote, the whole thing has been marred by cheaters who were clearly using underhanded, software-based techniques to rack up unbelievable vote counts. As someone who entered in good faith, and even made a video to promote my quest, it was frustrating and discouraging. But now the playing field seems to have been levelled out at last. AMC posted a message yesterday to the site:

“In our commitment to keeping the contest fair for all, we have removed the small percentage of contestants who have not observed all the terms and conditions of the contest. We will continue to monitor and evaluate submissions and voting through September 17th. Best of luck!“

That means that your votes are more important than ever! But even more important… is the exponential power of sharing. Please pass along my funny, one-minute video – the link is http://bit.ly/AdamsMadMenVideo – and keep voting for me using this short link: http://bit.ly/VoteForAdam .

If you voted for me already, THANK YOU! Please click here to vote for me again right now. Thanks!

Voting ends on September 17, so there’s more than two weeks left to help me win. But I can’t do it without my friends and the mighty power of “the crowd”. Anything you can do is much appreciated!

On the first Friday of every month, the Holy Trinity Ukrainian Orthodox Cathedral holds a Perogy Night. For $12 you get an authentic home-cooked perogy meal. It’s been written up in many local papers and there’s always a big lineup – it’s supposed to be quite the event.

Christine and I are going tomorrow, and would be thrilled if you would join us!

The event goes from 5 to 8. The church is located at 154 E. 10th Ave. – right near Main and Broadway. We’re aiming to get there at 5:30. We may also have a movie at our place afterward if there’s interest.

Hope to see you there!

My friend Sara Zacharias (we met when performing in an APPLAUSE! Musicals in Concert show) is currently running a “Glee” workshop for teens – and she’s now adding after school/work sessions for adults too. I’ve had a peek at the performance of one of her groups and it was truly impressive – these folks went from ‘no experience required’ to eight songs fully arranged and choreographed in just 10 2-hour sessions!

For the full deets, just check out www.GleeCamp.ca. And get your Gleek on!

I was fortunate enough to attend last night’s opening of Neil Simon’s “Brighton Beach Memoirs” at the Metro Theatre, and I can happily report that it’s a charming, funny – and surprisingly moving – evening of theatre.

I hadn’t seen the play or the movie before, but knew it was based on Simon’s life as a teenager in 1930′s Brooklyn. That had to mean a quirky and colourful Jewish family, and as a “member of the tribe” I was both eager and, I confess, a little wary. The Metro is certainly branching out well beyond British drawing-room fare, but this was a particular cultural dish they were cooking up – they may have Simon’s recipe, but would they achieve that authentic flavour?

I can safely say that for the most part they did, from the Menorah on the dining-room sideboard to the mostly-consistent New Yawk accents, to the loving but somewhat neurotic characters. And with those qualities in place, the comedy – and later the emotional drama – of the piece was able to shine through.

The entire troupe does a fine job here, but I must specifically point out the young cast members, starting with Cormac O’Dwyer as Eugene Jerome. He has great presence, naturalism and timing, and easily holds his own in a demanding role as the anchor of the piece.

Josh Zumstien was also a standout as Jerome’s older brother, Stanley. His bravado, his anxieties, and his conflicted but always caring relationship with his younger brother felt completely authentic.

Elizabeth Holliday and Paige Dean were also memorable as Eugene’s cousins Laurie and Nora.

The adults also were appealing and engaging. While one doesn’t want to see actors edge into caricature, I sometimes felt during the first half that the strong personalities of the characters weren’t coming through as much as I’d hoped; but as the story became more serious and emotional, they seemed to settle more strongly into their characters. By the final part of the play I was completely riveted and more than a little surprised to find tears rolling down my cheeks!

So in short, this is a fine production with many strengths, lots of laughs and an emotional undertone that makes for a very satisfying evening of theatre. By all means check it out if you can!

Brighton Beach Memoirs runs Thursday-Saturday through September 25. More info and tickets at the Metro Theatre website.

My friend Lyda Shioya passes along this offer:

“I have a teak veneer trundle bed I would like to give someone.  It is a single bed, the lower drawer can be used for storage or it can be pulled up to become another single bed.  I can also provide a mattress.  I’d like to get it out of my garage by September 11.”

Interested? Email Lynda at l_shioya@shaw.ca!