I’m writing a local theater blog for Huffington Post Local thanks to my friend Rachel Tepper. I’m not sure how I can keep it up, especially at the expense of my own site. I am the world’s most inconsistent blogger. Here are my first two posts for Huff:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/charlie-fink/september-is-for-dc-theat_b_965073.html

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/charlie-fink/two-to-see-in-dc-before-t_b_1030633.html

Although it’s true, as I said in my Huffo, that I was seeing all these shows in NYC, I did see three fantastic musicals in NYC last week that each has, coincidentally, a DC connection.

First, there’s Sondheim’s Follies. <sigh> Hallucenogenic. Disjointed. Melodramaric. Dated. Excessive. Insightful. Lush. Cliche. Sublime. Ok, maybe I should not have gone there directly form the NAMT reception. Still. Wow. I feel like I would have to see it 10 times to begin to have an opinion about it. Of course, Bernadete Peters is a marvel. And Schaffer made sure it got the full showgirl treatment, with 35 people on stage doing a buzby berkeley to a 24 piece orchestra. Eric Shaeffer did an amazing job with it, maybe his best work. I’m sorry I missed the original production at the Kennedy Center. From the sublime to…

The Fatiste, by Charlie Schulman, tells the musical story of Albert Pujols, once one of Paris’ most popular entertainers, whose unusual instrument was his anus (not a typo). The show won Best Musical in NY Fringe a few years back. The producers found the perfect venue to bring back this cabaret-type show in the theater district downstairs at at Sofia’s Downstairs Theater, 221 West 46th Street. The odor of success hangs over this delightful can-can romp – pun filled fun for the whole family! Downstairs at Sophie’s in the theater district. DC Connection: Charlie lives in DC much of the year because his wife is a prof at AU.

Finally, I think the highlight of the NAMT festival for me was seeing Adam Gwon’s new show “Bernice Bobs Her Hair”, based on the F. Scott Fitzgerald short story of the same name. One of the national non-profits who was there with me last week will pick this up. DC Connection: Adam’s other new musical “The Boy Detective Fails” was developed by Signature Theater in Arlington.

Reading of Baghdaddy tentatively scheduled at Joe’s Pub on Weds Jan 18 at 7:30!

Mandy Hackett, Associate Artistic Director of The Public Theater in New York, made the pilgrimage to DC in August to see Who’s Your Baghdaddy or How I Started the Iraq War and loved it. We are meeting with her in the next two weeks to talk about a reading of the show in their cabaret, Joe’s Pub.

At the request or suggestion of my friend Rachel Tepper, I’ve started blogging on theater for Huffington Post local. Click here to read my first entry.

I can’t keep up with this, my New Musical Foundation blog. I’m not sure how I’m going to keep the Huff Po blog going. When you come right down to, I don’t see as much DC Theater as I’d like.

I’m on my way to NYC for the NY New Musical Festival. This will the 6th year in a row of attending more than 10 new musicals in the span of a 3 days. I love this festival. On my list for this year: Man of Rock, F—ing Hipsters, Cyclops, Kiki Baby, Outlaws, Enino, Madame X, Les Enfants de Paris, The Brain that Wouldn’t Die in 3D, and Jane Austen. This is followed by the exclusive NAMT (National Association of Musical Theaters, of which we are a proud member) new musical reading festival, which is for insiders (NAMT member). I love Oct in NY! Next year, NYMF is in July. A totally different deal. Working with Mike Ogborn on bringing his Barrymore (Philadelphia Tonys) winning Baby Case to the festival next summer.

I’m going to have plenty of theater to talk about this month, but all in NY. Sorry, DC!