Clay Attends "Idol The Musical" on Friday Night

According to iluvmusic2 at The Clayboard, Stripedshirt at Clayversity was lucky enough to go see "Idol The Musical" on Friday night, and Clay and his entourage showed up there on the same night! What are the chances of that happening?

Here is the report from Stripedshirt:

reporting from striped.... at CV:

I cannot believe my luck tonight.

I went to see IDOL THE MUSICAL.....and guess who shows up? CLAY!!! He brought the posse w/ him - Angela, Quiana, Mary, Jerome, Jamie, plus the girl who we lovingly dub 'Sweater Girl' & an unidentified male (I think it's Sweater Girl's date) I cannot believe of all nights I wound buying a tkt to the show, that he would come finally come & see it for himself.

And guess what? he liked it! Even though parts of the show were so cheesy & ridiculous, he liked it!

He did not boo, hiss or hurl things on the stage. When the show ended, he was the first to stand up & give a standing ovation, which the kids up there REALLY appreciated. The kids were on their full A Game tonight & acted very well, I was so proud of them. I don't know how many of you here have seen the musical - so you may not connect immediately to what I'm trying to say, especially the scenes I'm describing - but this is the best I can as far as connecting those moments to the looks on Clay's face.

Here are what I can gather:

Clay arrived quietly w/ his crew into the theatre around 8:20 - and there were some gasps in the audience when they realize he was inside - and I had a perfect view of him from where I sat, which was off the side, diagonal. Clay was sandwiched btwn Mary & Sweater Chick, Jamie sat w/ Jerome who took an aisle seat. Jerome was so big, his legs stuck out on the sides. I could've tapped him if I wanted but I kept quiet & observed Clay. Quiana & Angela sat one row behind them.

The minute they all seated, the lights dimmed & the 1st no. 'Idolize' started. The actors attacked it w/ so vigor & verocity that it was overwhelming to watch w/ Clay in the audience, & I had a difficult time trying to figure out who to keep my eyes on - him or the actors who were ripping into the no. My eyes were flipping backm & forth..... And Clay's reactions to this were priceless!!! Oh my god - it killed me not to be able to take a photo of his facial expressions when he was watching the 1st no. - he had the program book open, and up against his face, covering his mouth and nose - and when the Flat Clay was unveiled, he jerked in his seat, sending the program flying onto Mary's lap, which he quickly retrieved. Part of the time he was bending to whisper something into either Mary's ear or Sweater Girl's ear. The other times he watched w/ his finger to his lips, taking it all in, or cringing from some of the nos. making his chin disappear into his neck. Everyone around him were choking, they were laughing so hard, & it was real funny watching Jerome wipe his eyes. At one point Clay even yelped 'oh god!'

I can only remember bits & pieces of what I saw of Clay because there were moments I was watching the musical, which has improved some since the first time I saw it the first wk it opened; alot of subtle edits have been done, as well as additions. One of them, was the 'armrest' bit - the cowboy had his feet on the armrest of the couch, prompting the girl Alex, the grease faced gas station attendant, to shout "Get your foot off my armrest!" I missed Clay's reaction on that one, I don't know if audience caught that one, but I'm sure he must've snickered. I did not miss his reaction to the "I'm NOT Kelly Ripa" bit - he nodded his head & clapped his hands for that one.

And the far funniest moments was during the "Burning Hunk of Clay"/Claygasm no. when the actress was making out w/ the Clay bust, then started to remove her cardigan, skirt & pulled out the whip, screaming, "Oh Clay, OH CLAY" his eyes got so big I thought they were going to pop. Mary was shaking all over laughing.

The actors all had their eyes on the left side of the house where Clay sat during the finale, & when they all took a bow one by one, it was almost as if they were saluting Clay. It was a cool moment.

Later, Todd Ellis the producer came towards Clay as the audience filed out, & asked him to stick around so the actors could meet him. The doors closed shut as I stepped outside, but I sat on a stool & waited. Waiting w/ me were 2 others who knows the cast, so they were hanging around to get their loved ones. Behind the door, I could laugh applause, then laughter, then clapping, then Clay talking rapidly; I couldn't make out a word he said, it was too far & somewhat muffled. But they were all having a good time inside, & I felt so glad he made this musical; it turned out Todd went to the Syracuse concert just last wk. & his wife got to talk to Clay for a bit about coming to see the show. That paid off tonight when Clay brought his troop in.

10 minutes later, the doors swung open, & out walked Jerome, Quiana, Sweater Girl & then Clay - they all walked out, & there was a yellow cab outside which Jerome got Clay into. Clay didn't stop for pics or autographs & there were a small group of fans who stood out there. The cab sped West, towards Jersey. I'm willing to bet tomorrow night there may or may not be some mention about Idol The Musical at the Newark concert, but we'll see; if he does, it'd be a great plug for the show.

Now -- this is where I need help from anyone out there who can do a SENDIT link, because I don't know how. I have video, just 19 seconds of Clay exiting the theatre after his pep talk w/ the kids. It's not much, but I know you all want to see it & I'm glad I got it. Can someone here help me?

ClaysMyMidlifeCrises also reports the following from Stripeshirt:

More reporting from stripedshirts at CV....

I'm actually quite calm as a matter of fact I've done my screaming & creaming at the theatre, believe me.

I was walking around Times Square tonight after the show, grinning like a fool, people were looking at me wondering what the hell was wrong w/ me. They have no idea.....

Clay wore a white button down shirt, baggy canvas shorts, dark flip flops. In the dark, he looked like a glow worm! Mary, Jamie, Sweater girl all work dark colors, as did Jerome; Sweater girl's male companion had a white shirt also, so he also stuck out a little. Clay's hair....I think was the same...but yes, he looked really good.

Angela & Quiana wore jeans & Angela had some nice bling on & a nice printed top.

i also remembered watching Clay during the slower nos. He couldn't stop rubbing his hands & curling & intertwining his fingers together. That, and coupled w/ his serious, pensive expression was enough to send me over the edge because I found that so hot.

And, he whooped a 'WHOO!' when the musical finished. That was his stamp of approval!

These actors will be putting their last show this Sunday; next week, a new cast replaces the old one as those kids pack up & return to Syracuse. (w/ exception for one, a guy who plays stripper/Chippendale J.D.) I'll miss this crew, these kids did a great job.

The New York Times, Village Voice & others will come the 2nd wk of August to do a review, & it'd be interesting to read the critic's take on this show; so it's building quite a bit of momentum & w/ Clay having been there, I'm sure he's helped Todd Ellis raise a lot of interest for the musical!!

Now that we know Clay approves of the musical, I'll bet Clay fans will be attending it in record numbers! Let's hope that he will mention something about the musical at his New Jersey concert on Saturday night.