Jenny Lee, thanks for sharing your part of this exciting adventure. I plan on typing up mine this Friday when I have off from school and posting it here then. Meanwhile, I got my pictures back and I have them to send via e-mail to anyone who e-mails me at luckymama58@yahoo.com. The people already on my e-mail address book have gotten them already.


:talk: more to come....... ;)

Thank you Luckymama! Those pictures were awesome!!! What an experience!!

Will be tuned in for the story! Thanks for the pics! They were great! Laz was dressed just like Freddie! :) I've seen a pic of Freddie dressed like that! I think I have some of him in that suit! Let me see if I can post one here...

I hope Luckymama doesn't mind me posting them here but I took a couple of her Laz pictures & made up a copy of them where it's him & Freddie in the picture.

Picture #1...

They have matching suits! :)

Picture #2...

Cheryl, I knew I had seen Freddie dressed like that somewhere, but I couldn't remember where! That is from VERY early in his career! The wig Laz was wearing looked more like this hairstyle than the more familiar one from CATM.

Is it just my imagination, or in the second pair of pictures are they wearing the same facial expression?!

Well I might be late for work today, but I had to do this now and post it. Thank you, Cheryl, for the picts. They are great. Yes, Mariposa, it does look like the same expression!


The saga of my trip started 5 months before the show, actually. This nice young man enters all of our lives by posting on the sitcom board, telling us a little about himself and making a request. It seems he had been asking around, looking for tapes of our beloved CATM. I had taped all the shows with Freddie in them, so I decided to offer to make some for him. I was intrigued by the fact that someone who had never met Freddie wanted to play him in a tribute comedy show. Somehow my spirit knew Freddie was driving this young man, and who was I to refuse a request from our Prinze!

On the long Martin Luther King weekend, I held my own Fandimonium weekend marathon, dubbing the tapes for Laz and Tylersmistress (who had also requested the tapes). When I sent them to him, I asked about the show. I am originally from the NYC area, and I thought that I might be able to swing a trip. I had always regretted never having the opportunity to see Freddie doing his standup live. I thought this might be an opportunity to see what it might have been like!

Laz and I started corresponding over the weeks and months. Mariposa and I, who had the good fortune of meeting at her house twice last year, started thinking of how we could pull off a trip to see Laz. We looked at first one possibility and then another, till we finally came up with a plan. By then, the LTG had the info on their site and we booked our reservations. It finally looked as if Mariposa and I would be in for the adventure of our lives.

She had never been to NYC and was a little nervous, especially since our country was still in mourning over the events of 9/11, but I kept assuring her that NYC was a great place to visit and I longed to be back in the big apple myself. So we got on the NYC tourism sites and planned a dream vacation, which would culminate in the show, “The Great Comedians of Color”.

Friday, May 17, 2002
I got up early and took my daughter and her friend to school and bid my teacher friends goodbye as I got ready to depart for Washington, PA to meet Mariposa and her hubby who was taking her half way to meet me. Everyone wished me well and told me to enjoy myself. My best friend at school did tell me to make sure I stayed out of trouble. She said she didn’t want to read about me in the papers or see my face plastered on the 6 o clock news (tee hee). After a three and a half hour drive, I met Mariposa and we loaded her stuff in my van and drove back to my house.

We stopped to pick up more cameras and then had my hubby fix us a nice salmon dinner. After dinner I took her out to see the new property where we are getting ready to build our new house. Back at my house, we watched a movie she had brought with her. Part way through this, I started to get butterflies in my stomach. I could hardly believe we were really going to do this. As I am typing this, I can still feel them. I am sorry to say, I didn’t sleep very well that night in anticipation of our trip!


Saturday, May 18,2002
We got up the next morning and decided to delay the trip till 9:30 to leave, since it was raining in NYC. We hoped it would clear out by the time we arrived. We drove the 5 hours to NYC, talking and listening to music I had burned for Mariposa the night before when I couldn’t go back to sleep. As we approached the Holland Tunnel, Mariposa got her first glimpse of the NY skyline. She immediately whipped our her camera and started taking pictures. I pointed out the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. I had a sobering moment as I beheld my beloved NYC skyline without the WTC towers. I had refused to see any pictures up until this time. It sure made me sad, but I tried not to get too emotional so I could see the road in front of me.

We drove uptown to the hotel we stayed at on 46th Street between 5th and 6th Avenues. I pointed out all the sites while I dodged taxies and city busses! We arrived at the hotel, got ourselves settled and called home to let the folks know we were safe. We had originally planned to take in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, but since we arrived a little later than we had planned, we decided to just walk around midtown and take in the sites there.

We walked passed Radio City Music Hall. I rummated about how my parents would take us to see the Christmas show there every year. I told Mariposa that the one movie that sticks out in my head that I saw there was “The Little Prince” with Gene Wilder playing the Fox. She didn’t know anyone else who had actually seen that movie too!

We strolled up to Rockerfeller Plaza and saw that Christies, the big auction house, was auctioning off old cars. Many were very classy looking. Mariposa was rapidly clicking her shutter, capturing everything on film. We saw where the ice skating rink is in the winter, there is a restaurant there this time of year, and the golden statue of Prometheus in the center.

We walked up to St. Patrick’s Cathedral and looked around, again capturing it all on film. We decided to stop at the altar of Our Lady of Guadeloupe and light a candle and say a prayer. I prayed for a good weekend and that Laz would not be too nervous with us being there to see his performance.

We decided to walk up 5th Avenue to Central Park, looking at all the stores along the way. We passed FAO Swartz. Finally up at the park, we saw the horse carriages and Mariposa took some pictures for her daughter, who loves horses. We checked out the
prices and decided to split a carriage! Boy was that ever fun. As we huddled under a blanket, it was a bit chilly, we imagined Freddie sitting on the seat opposite us! The driver pointed out interesting sites, like the gazebo where the pigeon lady from “Home Alone 2” was filmed, the set of the season finale of Survivor, the apartment building used in the film, “Ghost Busters” and the Dakota house, where John Lennon lived. When he showed us the Central Park Zoo, both Mariposa and I remembered the joke Freddie told about the lady who would feed the monkeys there! LOL The driver took our picture after it was over.

We did some shopping and went to TGI Fridays for dinner. Since we had been gadding about for several hours, we were tired and decided to go back to the hotel and get a good night’s sleep! The big day was tomorrow!!

Sunday, May 19, 2002
I woke up at 5. My back was hurting for some reason, so I decided to take a hot bath and dream about the night’s performance. Mariposa slept in and then we got ourselves ready. We hit Mc Donald’s for breakfast and then went back to Rockerfeller Center to do some shopping. We strolled around the NBC store and saw a clip from the CATM pilot on a retrospective of NBC on a TV screen in the store. We went past the studio where the Today show is filmed and found a Pokemon store!

We finally went over to St. Patrick’s and went to Mass. After church, we strolled around some more, going into Sax 5th Avenue and gawking at the outrageously priced merchandise! I swear I will never complain about the prices at home ever again!

After completing our souvenir shopping, we walked to Times Square and I showed Mariposa where the ball is dropped at New Year’s Eve. We then decided it was time to get our stuff and the car and ride downtown to find the comedy club. I drove past the UN Building so Mariposa could see that and then I headed over to 24th street. We rode around, looking for parking, and then had our only misadventure. I was so concerned about getting a parking place, I started to turn down 3rd Ave. the WRONG WAY!!! There was an ambulance coming the other way, but in a far lane. I quickly found that no one was behind me, so I backed into the street I had just turned from. WHEW!! Sorry for scaring you, Mariposa!

We found parking and sat in the car, since we were early. We hardly said much to each other, I think we were both very nervous. Then I thought I spotted Laz walking down the sidewalk toward us. I wanted to call out to him, but we were both so nervous I didn’t. He went into the club and then came back out for a smoke. I think he glanced at our car several times, maybe trying to decide if it was us!

After a while I looked out the rear view mirror and saw a lady standing on the sidewalk behind my car. It really looked like Jenny Lee. I remembered her photo on the yahoo club. This time I got out of the car and went up to her and found out it was her. We hugged each other like it was old home week. She introduced her husband and we talked. I found out that they lived where I grew up!! Talk about small world. Her hubby took pictures of the three of us in front of the club and then we went in and got our tickets and sat down.

We sat and talked about all the good times we had on the net the past year. We were so excited to meet each other. Jenny Lee and her husband are the nicest people. I felt like they had been life long friends.

The show started and we all sat enraptured by what we were witnessing. The LTG troupe are a very talented group of actors. When Laz came on playing a brash young comic at first, I knew where the show was going, but I thought, WOW this was sure harsh. I know, though, he would be doing our Prinze soon!

His entrance was sooo cool. The actor who was magically transforming each of the comics was in the back giving Laz an extra dose of his magic, saying that this one was a tough one! I laughed so hard. Then he bounded up on stage as Freddie! Be still my heart!!!! He was soooo funny. The jokes from Freddie’s album came so much more alive seeing it performed. He sounded and acted just like I imagined Freddie would.

When he wasn’t on stage and some of the other actors were performing, I caught Laz glancing in our direction from he table beside the stage. This wasn’t a very big place, so he could see us. I thought he was trying to see if we were enjoying ourselves. Believe me, we were. All the actors did a fantastic job. I never laughed so hard in all my life.

Then Laz came back on to tell the audience about Freddie’s problems and how fame came too fast to this sensitive young comedian. It was very sad, but very well done. He pretended to take the Quaaludes and play with the gun (a fake, thank God) He put it to his head and pretended to shoot, and then laughed like it was a joke. Freddie would do that to his friends near the end, when he was so strung out on drugs. He then explained
that the last time he did that, he forgot to put the safety on. He then broke down and cried, especially because he missed his son! I was in tears myself! OMG is Laz a fabulous actor! I just wanted to run up on stage and hug him and hold him and tell him it would be OK!!!!

When the show was over, Laz came out and introduced himself. He was soooo happy to see us and his friends came and said that they were happy we came too, especially his producer. His producer kept telling me that Laz really appreciated our friendship and help, that apparently he would talk about us all the time to his friends in the troupe! We met on stage for photos and then again outside the club for more pictures.

We decided to go to a diner and catch a bite to eat. Mariposa sat across from Laz and I sat next to her. Jenny Lee sat next to me and her hubby across from her. We talked for almost 2 hours about Freddie and our families. Laz is so personable. I really felt like I had another member of my family with me. It was the same way with Jenny and her hubby. We were one big Freddie family there.

When it was time to go, it was dark and I was afraid I would not find my way out of the city. I asked Laz for directions and he asked if I had time, he would take me out if I could take him home!!! OMG I can’t believe I would have more time to spend with Laz! I agreed and got to see where he lives. It was a good trip. We got to see the NYC skyline at night from the New Jersey side of the Hudson River. It was beautiful. He gave me a kiss on the cheek and thanked me for the ride home. I said “No Problen!” Mariposa wished him a good night in her own way and then we were off for home. Laz had given me directions back to the highway and gave me his cell phone number in case I got lost. We didn’t, but called him when we stopped after we got to PA. He seemed so glad we called him back. I know he was concerned for us. He was soooo sweet!!!

The trip home flew by. 5 hours seemed like minutes, we were both basking in the glow of such a fantastic evening. I didn’t get in till 2:30 in the morning, but I didn’t care. It was worth it.

Monday, May 20, 2002
I only had 3 and a half hours sleep, but I didn’t care. I wrote Laz, thanking him for a wonderful time. I took Mariposa into my school to show her where I worked and then we headed back to Washington PA to meet her hubby. She and I gave each other a big hug and she gave me a CD of music I love to thank me for taking her. I was so glad she wanted to go with me! I arrived back home at 7:30 and went straight to bed. I was exhausted. But I had wonderful dream about our trip that night! :D

What an exciting trip. I can picture myself going to all those wonderful sights with you. :lol:

Cheryl......... You did a terrific job on Freddie's photo with Laz they do look alike!

Thanks, I'm no Dani tho! Sounds like a fun trip! If Freddie were alive, I think he would've adopted him as a 2nd son. :)