The casts of Grey's Anatomy and Private Practice finally unveiled Good Medicine last night. And what good medicine it was. Not only was EVERYBODY there, minus Patrick & Kate, who were stuck promoting in foreign countries, but some of the actors, producers, and more who weren't involved in the show...were sitting in the crowd. I walked right next to Betsy Beers, our favorite co-podcaster and producer. I sat about 10 chairs away from Sarah Utterback, who plays the either love-her-or-hate-her Nurse Olivia. And I walked right past Joe the Bartender (who is very tall!). Kristin from E! Online, our most beloved TV scoop gal, sat only two rows in front of me. And I sat probably less than 50 feet away from the stage, where this all took place.

The show started soon after 8:00, with a video message from Patrick Dempsey, which was quite hilarious. He discussed that he was in Japan, promoting Enchanted. Katherine Hiegl then walked out on stage, looking fabulous in a red dress. Honestly, she looked like a beautiful doll. She began to explain why we were here (to support the strike) and what some of the crew positions were, like script supervisior and gaffer, etc. It was absolutely hilarious, and that nervous Katherine Hiegl you saw at the Oscars? She wasn't anywhere to be seen at Good Medicine. Katherine then introduced Sara Ramirez, who came on stage and sang probably the most amazing song in the world, which was probably only so because Sara has such an amazing voice. AMAZING. Like, Shonda needs to give her a chance to sing on the show because you just don't even know amazing. She was the first singer, and she got a standing ovation. From EVERYONE. That's how amazing she is (no one else got a standing ovation). After Sara's song, out came the always magnificent Ellen Pompeo. She was wearing the black dress with the boots you always see her in and had wavy hair. She looked awesome. She continued discussing some of the positions of the crew, explaining what they do. She also introduced the recurring theme of "What is a best boy?" It was very Meredith-esque, and very funny. And very cute.
She was followed by TR Knight, who's just an amazing person all in his own. And who knew he could sing? He sang a combination of two really hilarious songs, and he was good. Following him came Eric Dane and Brooke Smith - who was dressed up in a way you'd never see Dr. Hahn dressed up - who both talked about being the newer cast members on the block. They introduced Chandra Wilson, who with her amazing voice sang the song she sang to her son in season three "Staring at the Sun." Then out came Amy Brenneman, who among first glance looked like a freakishly thin Kate Walsh. Amy looked good. Really thin, but good. She wore different from everybody else - a knee-length layered dress and what looked like ballet slippers. She introduced Paul Adelstein, who came out and actually sang. And, man, he was actually good too! Who knew?! He sang "Slip Slidin' Away," and then he was followed by Chandra Wilson. This was the first glance at our real entertainment. Chandra read the first of three fan letters. She talked about how Shonda recieves freaky letters, and the fans can be creepy, and then she read an absolutely hilarious letter in which somebody called "MerDer473" (or something like that) threatened to stop watching the show if Meredith and Derek were not put together - and NOW. Then Eric Dane came out and read a hilarious letter where somebody wrote in saying that the show needs more shirtless McSteamy scenes. They even offered up a scenario, where the OR's air conditioning could break down and McSteamy decides to operate shirtless. Or give him a spin-off where he goes and lives on a nudist colony. Eric said that this letter was by...Eric Dane.
Paul Adelstein followed Eric Dane out with a letter to Shonda via Private Practice. The person talked about how all of the relationships on the show were wrong, and then offered up solutions. The truly funny part though? ...The writer of the letter was "I Hate Cooper."
These fan letters were followed by Chyler Leigh and Justin Chambers. Justin, who just got out of the hospital for exhaustion, looked good. He was on top of his game. He was really funny. Chyler played the dumb girl part as they continued to discuss crew positions and then introduced Audra McDonald, who sang a very short, but quite entertaining song. And Audra McDonald? She's an amazing singer too. And she looks way better in person than she does on TV. She's, like, really pretty.

...Then came intermission. Or break time. Whatever you want to call it. This is when I noticed Kristin Dos Santos, our beloved E! reporter, was sitting two rows in front of me, as she stood up and began mingling with everybody. It was exciting. I got up and went outside and met up with my friend who was there, and we watched as Joe the Bartender (sorry, but his name escapes me) and Betsy Beers carried on a conversation, discussing whether or not we should go say "hi." We opted not to, and them they rang some chimes, signaling us to go back in. So we go back in, and guess who is blocking our seats? Kristin at E! and Betsy Beers. So we watch. And wait. And they go away and we sit down for Act Two. It was introduced with a video by Kate Walsh. In this video, she was laying on a massage table in front of an Australian backdrop, as she explained how she had to be in Australia to promote Private Practice and ABC was working her "so hard." She also discussed how she wouldn't be where she was today without the "little people." It was so Addison.
Taye Diggs came on stage to introduce Loretta Devine, who sang a song. She's got quite a voice too! Then out came Tim Daly and Chris Lowell, who introduced themselves and Paul Adelstein and Amy Brenneman, who all teamed up for a rendition of "California Stars," in which Chris Lowell got to show off his AMAZING harmonica talents, and Tim Daly's awesome guitar talents. You could see how they were all enjoying it, as they were all laughing with each other.
Then Jim Pickens, Jr. comes out. All decked out. In the sparkles. And the open shirt. And he begins lip-synching "I Feel Good." It was HILARIOUS. But then Loretta Devine comes out and interrupts, saying how we didn't pay $85 to see him lip synch. So, he pulls off his toupe and introduces his real-life wife, who sings. She's got an amazing voice as well.
This was the great part. Sara Ramirez, Justin Chambers, Eric Dane, and Sandra Oh come out on stage. TR Knight explains how some people write the way they think the show should go themselves are called "fanfics," short for "fanfiction." I swear to God. He said that. Then he said how some were really good, and some were really...scary. So they started actually reading one. The best part about it? It was a shamfic! It involved werewolves and all that jazz, but the best part was when Sandra Oh had her first line. No one saw it coming and she did it TOTALLY channeling Cristina and she NAILED it. And it was possibly the single funniest moment of the night. They left, and Katherine Hiegl and TR Knight come on stage and start reading this alternate universe fanfic where George is like a prince or something and Katie is a maid or something like that, and they are falling in love. It was great. Then they were supposed to kiss, and then Katie burst out saying she remembered what a best boy was, and TR is all "you ruined it." So, they have a pretend fight and walk off stage pretending to be mad at each other. Then Sandra Oh came on and introduced the Grey's Anatomy best boy, explaining what it was and the origins of the term. Audra McDonald then came on and sang another song, which she said reminded her Addison, which I could see, but only losely.
Then came the moment I was most looking forward to. Shonda Rhimes. She comes on stage, in an overly sparkly dress (as promised), and she looks really nervous. She looks awesome and great, but nervous. She thanks everybody for coming and says that since she has no talent besides writing, she really shouldn't be on stage, and she introduces the "special mystery musical guest." Then she leaves. It was really disappointing, but it was still awesome to see my hero.
The special mystery musical guest? It was Patty Griffin, who sang "Up to the Mountain," which was in the last episode of Grey's, Lay Your Hands on Me. To be honest, I wasn't that interested. Then both of the casts - all of them - came on stage and thanked us for coming and said goodnight. Sara Ramirez sang one more song, which was amazing (because Sara is AMAZING), but it wasn't as great as her first song. ...And then it was over.
So we go outside to see if we can see any of them. We see Sara Utterback trying to escape before she's devoured by the crazy fans, and she gets roped into one picture before taking off. Then out comes Brooke Smith, ducking down thinking no one can see her, looking for a way out. She walked thisclose to me. I could've tripped her. But I didn't. Obviously.
So, we waited and waited and waited, and no one else came so I left, and my friend stayed and she got pictures with them all (and so now I will hate her for eternity, obviously).
So, there was no news on what's going to happen on the show now. No hints or spoilers or anything. If that's what you came looking for, well, then you are out of luck. It doesn't matter anyways, because this was for a good cause. A very good one. However, Kate Walsh's return to Grey's this spring was certainly the most-talked about thing at the event, and I overheard someone say it will be a great way to relaunch Private Practice in the fall.
So, the medicine. It was good. It was amazing. Possibly the most amazing night of my life. EVER. And I will never forget it. It was an amazing event, and well worth the expensive and long trip out to LA. I hope you all enjoyed the recap, and if you have any questions or anything else you want to know, please, just post a talk back on this post. I'll be happy to answer. Anyways, this thing will probably get edited a few more times.
After seeing this dose of Good Medicine though, I'm hoping those age-old rumors of a musical episode of Grey's Anatomy finally comes true, because with these sets of pipes, there's no way it could go wrong.

FULL LIST OF PRESENTERS & SONGS, IN ORDER OF APPEARANCE
ACT ONE
- Video Message: Patrick Dempsey
- Katherine Heigl
- Sara Ramirez, Meadowlark
- Ellen Pompeo
- TR Knight, Losing My Mind/You Could Drive a Person Crazy
- Brooke Smith & Eric Dane
- Chandra Wilson, God Bless the Child
- Amy Brenneman
- Paul Adelstein, Slip Slidin' Away
- Chandra Wilson, Paul Adelstein, & Eric Dane
- Chyler Leigh & Justin Chambers
- Audra McDonald, Somedays
ACT TWO
- Video Message: Kate Walsh
- Taye Diggs
- Loretta Devine, I Believe in You & Me
- Tim Daly & Chris Lowell
- Tim Daly, Chris Lowell, Paul Adelstein, & Amy Brenneman, California Stars
- James Pickens, Jr. & Loretta Devine
- Gina Taylor-Pickens, Dr. Feelgood
- TR Knight, Sara Ramirez, Justin Chambers, Eric Dane, Sandra Oh, & Katherine Heigl
- Audra McDonald, It's the Christian Thing to Do
- Shonda Rhimes
- Patty Griffin, Up to the Mountain
- Ensemble
- Sara Ramirez, Grateful
* taken directly from pamphlet handed out at event