“Celebration Roundup and Barbecue Show” Commercial Shoot at Disneyland
Hey, I had a great time doing a commercial shoot at Disneyland this week. One of my fellow musical performers was Raeleen Juliano, who sings beautifully and is a mistress of ceremonies extraordinaire. With no apparent effort, she makes every audience fall in love with her, like, instantly. I’ve never seen anyone take the stage with more poise and genuine warmth. She’s a treasure. Denny Moynahan was our guitarist, and he’s great too -- excellent good-ol’-boy player and singer. Along with the musical skill, he brings non-stop good cheer and humor to a show. He’s always making up goofball lyrics about audience members, strolling through the crowd from target to target. It’s impossible not to smile while he’s doing his thing.
Also onstage with us, live and in person: Jessie the yodelin’ cowgirl, Sheriff Woody and his fearless steed, Bullseye. For the shoot we all worked together to present excerpts from the Celebration Roundup and Barbecue Show at Big Thunder Ranch.
It was a gorgeous morning -- sunny, cool and clear. As far as I could tell, the filming went smoothly. We had a production crew of about 20 and at least as many Disney entertainment personnel on hand. Disney staffers helped expedite the process overall and ensured that the performers were well taken care of. They continually saw to it that each of us was comfortable, happy, hydrated and in the right place at the right time.
It’s really fun to be the “talent” on a shoot. A lot goes on that makes you feel important. Disney people were especially attentive to the needs of the characters -- Woody, Jessie and Bullseye during the whole thing. Their roles are extremely demanding. Easy to forget, as they make it all look so easy. The characters get very, very hot. Hooray once again for the lovely weather -- no heat wave to complicate matters.
Unexpected coolness: I had a surprise reunion with a member of the film crew. About halfway through the shoot there was this guy doing something near the piano, where I was seated. He was close enough for me to read the “visitor” sticker that showed his full name, Denny Tedesco, which rang a loud bell…I immediately thought, “How many Denny Tedescos can there be?” Then I recognized the face -- now more mature, but definitely my friend from the eighties. I introduced myself (just in case I may have aged also -- ha ha) and he tripped out. Not a lot of time to chat but we did manage a brief, meaningful reunion -- and spoke of our mutual friend, Sharen Davis, who is now a film costumer at the top of her profession. Sharen, Denny and I were a trio who hung out, way back when.
The shoot ended mid-day and I stuck around for awhile to enjoy the catered lunch backstage -- a big affair that fed not only cast and crew, but a large number of kids and adults who played audience members for the shoot, plus the kids’ on-set tutors. Usually I’m in a hurry to get out of the park and on the road when I’m done working at Disneyland, just because it’s time to go - I have miles to travel to another destination by a particular time. On this occasion I slowed down. I had plenty of time before evening shows at The Second City, back in Hollywood. I decided to enjoy the food, the company, and say a few goodbyes before taking off.
A Disney cast member was kind enough to take a bunch of pictures for me during this event. A lot of them are “me, me, me” because of course he assumed that these pix would be for my mom, right? Anyway, he took really nice photos and here’s a slideshow for you, following this article. If you want, see all the pictures at flickr.com.
To underscore the slideshow I played ”You’ve Got A Friend in Me,” by the great Randy Newman, from Disney’s Toy Story.
