Hurray!

Universe Man, Universe Man

Those who know me already know that when I take a trip to Orlando, I really only take a trip to Disney World. I had never even seen Downtown Orlando until this last week. And as for the other theme parks, if I have been to Sea World then I remember nothing of it. I have been to Universal Studios but it was probably our my worst theme park trip ever. This was on one of the many family trips to Disney when we decided to take an afternoon and go to Universal. We got there and it was packed. So we got in line at the ET ride, which was the first attraction that we came to, and we proceeded to wait for upwards of 2 hours. Regardless of the fact that I have issues with ET the movie, those who have ridden the ride will know that it is pretty lame especially after waiting for so long. Since we ended up spending so long in line we basically used up all of our time set aside for Universal, and ET was the only attraction that we got to ride there.

Over the years I have gotten over the trauma of the bad Universal experience (the ET issues remain), and Universal has expanded and added several new attractions. So when Jim, Jeremy, and I ended up deciding to go to Universal, I was actually very pleased. They try to have annual passes so that they can go whenever guests are in town so they re upped their passes. It was a good thing because they were then able to get me a discount on my one day pass. We also decided to get the express pass option which is equivalent to fast pass in Disney except that Universal charges for it!

Since we had a limited amount of time before we had to leave to get me to the theatre on time, I decided to defer to their judgement as to which rides were worthwhile. In the end we rode just about all of the rides. In the Universal park proper, I think that my favorite ride was the Mummy Roller Coaster. I did make Jim and Jeremy suffer through the ET ride, and it was just about as lame as I remembered it. I mean come on at the end of the ride where ET says every one's name, he did not even say mine. Really how difficult is Hans!

The new Simpsons attraction was pretty fun. It recently replaced the Back to the Future attraction which was the ride that I really wanted to go on all of those years ago not stupid ET. The Shrek 4D movie was also really fun. I could have done with less bouncing in the seats though. It really just pointed out how much weight I have gained! Stupid Shrek!

Next we made our way over to the Islands of Adventure park. All of the rides that we rode there were fun with the Hulk Roller Coaster being the favorite. I did experience Dippin' Dots for the first time thanks to Jim. They were quite enjoyable although I will probably not get the large cup again.

I could not resist the temptation to take pictures of the signs for the new Harry Potter Wizarding World under construction. I am assuming that the big building under construction will be the Hogwarts Castle? I actually know little about what the attractions will be like, but I do know that will be visiting Universal more frequently in the future now!

A Visit With The Sunshine Boys

So all the way back in April when I was in Fort Myers with The Wedding Singer, my friend Jim came down to visit me on Friday. Sadly though he had to work the next day early in the AM (Jeremy had to work on Friday and did not make the trip down) so he did not stay to see the show. I told him not to be too disappointed as it was just The Wedding Singer, and that I would not take it personally. I did however say that if I came through Orlando with another tour and they did not come see it, I would be personally offended. Fast forward to the present where I was just in Orlando with another tour, and I am glad to say that both Jim and Jeremy were true to their word. Jim came to see Wizard on Tuesday, and Jim and Jeremy both came on Wednesday. In fact Jim was my first acquaintance to come see The Wizard of Oz. They seemed to enjoy the show (even though they witnessed what is probably the worst tragedy that can befall the orchestra on Wednesday night. More on that later!).

After the performance on Tuesday, Jim drove me out to spend the night in their new house. They moved to Orlando from South Bend back in January of 2007 and had been searching for the right home since then. They apparently found it because they bought a home a couple of months ago and are in the process of making it their own. I am proud to have been one of if not their first guest in their new home. I of course could not resist the temptation to get out the camera and snap a few shots for their friends back north and out west. They were still in the process of painting many of the rooms so I only took a few pictures. I will just have to come back when it is done!

Yes Scott your paintings made it to the new house and will have a place of prominence. They even found matching pillows!

The blue glass collection has also made the move.

This is one of the rooms that was mostly finished. As you can see Juniper is still around tormenting anything made of leather!

Unfortunately the most important feature of their home is not completed yet. Their pool is really a big concrete hole in the ground. But from what I understand it is going to be spectacular. They hired a fancy schmancy pool designer and everything. Maybe if I start dieting now I can even get in the pool the next time I come visit!

So then after quite a bit of indecisiveness (some things will never change!) we decided to go to Universal Studios on Wednesday before they came to see the show. The results will comprise the next post.

My Vacation in Orlando (oh yeah with a little show every night)

So I knew that my week in Orlando with The Wizard of Oz would be crazy, and it did not disappoint. To begin with my friends Jim and Jeremy live in Orlando, and have just recently moved into a new house. My cousin Cathy and her husband Keith also live in Orlando. Before I even knew what my tour schedule would be, Mom and Dad planned a trip to Orlando with Jamie and the kids for this week since it was their fall break. And it turned out that Uncle Glenn had a produce conference in Orlando over the weekend. Oh and did I mention that there is this little place called Walt Disney World that I enjoy visiting?

Needless to say all of this plus 8 performances of Wizard made for a full week. So I rented a car and began my adventure on Monday of last week.

Playing Catch Up: Tampa (the town)

Having never been to Tampa before I was not sure what to expect. There really is not much to downtown Tampa. The Performing Arts Center is beautiful, and sits right on the river. Our hotel was right across the street from the PAC, but as I have indicated below I had issues with the hotel. Especially the night that all three elevators did not work, and I had to climb fourteen flights of stairs. I only climb stairs at the gym!

In terms of activities, there were really only a handful of fun things to do that were close enough to walk to. The one day a bunch of us headed to what we thought was a cinema and turned out to be a small entertainment complex called Channelside. We ended up skipping the movie and going to the Florida Aquarium instead. It was a nice Aquarium somewhere in between Dallas and Houston. We did get to see a presentation with the river otters, and one with the penguins. I was going to ask at what age penguins begin tap dancing and singing Boogie Wonderland, but I refrained.

I was going to go to the Tampa Museum of Art, but they have a new temporary space outside of downtown while they build their new building. The Tampa Zoo was not within walking distance. There was always Ybor City. Ybor City is a historic part of Tampa that is basically now just a shopping and nightclub center for Tampa. I did not really go to Ybor, but the hotel shuttle drove us through it on the way to the laundromat. That was enough really.

Also performing in the Tampa Bay PAC was a production of The Rocky Horror Show so on Friday a bunch of us got tickets and went to the 11pm show. This was full out audience participation Rocky and it was insane. At times the audience was so loud that you could not understand the actors. It was fantastic! Sadly my participation was quite rusty, and I found that the lines I knew were different from what other people were yelling. So I had a few awkward moments of me yelling something when nobody else was. Oops! The cast was really good, and the band was fine except that they did not use a reed player! The most fun part though was seeing the looks on the faces of those in our group who had never experienced the Rocky Horror Show in all of its glory before. Priceless!

I did do quite a bit of walking though. Now that I have a phone with GPS, I can find the places that I need much easier. One day I decided to walk to the Target that was about 4 miles away. Except for the fact that it was disgustingly hot outside, it was a pleasant walk. As it turns out unknowingly I also ended up right down the street from the Tampa Bay Buccaneer's football stadium. I opted not to walk to it though. Imagine that!

I also keep noticing these interesting looking metal rooftops right on the other side of the river from the PAC. So one day I walked towards them to check them out. It turns out that they are a part of a building in The University of Tampa. From what I could make out the building was formerly a hotel designed by someone who may or may not have been famous. I guess the university has since taken over use of the building. So it was a bit of an anticlimax, but the building was pretty cool.

So after a week of no internet and very little to do, we packed our bags for the trip up to Orlando.

Playing Catch Up: Tampa (the show)

Ryan and Taylor

Bruce and Pat (Wicked Witch)

Ryan and Joey

Ryan and Brian

Ryan and Bobby

Our first performance in Tampa was our third performance overall, and it was also the opening night for the tour. All things considered, it went pretty well. The production is really pretty big, and there are still some technical issues being worked out to this day. Thankfully we had an opening night party. It was a fun event held on the rooftop bar of a restaurant called Fly. It was nice to finally be able to meet and talk to the other company members. Since I had a cold in Gainsville, I had been trying to keep myself sequestered. One of the best parts of playing the show in Tampa was that I could actually see most of the stage. I could not ever see the stage during The Wedding Singer because I was too close to the edge of the stage.

It is like we are living in the stone age!

Okay so if anybody is still reading my blog they have probably noticed an absence of posts this last week. We that is not due to a lack of activity on my part, but mostly due to the crappy Internet service here at the Howard Johnson Plaza hotel. I have not even been able to connect to the Internet let alone have an actual web page load up on my computer! It is ridiculous. Especially since my roommate has been sitting in the room watching YouTube videos on his computer. I don't know why this would make a difference, but those who have Macs (I am not one of them) seem to have more luck.

So I am sitting here at the hotel lobby computer typing. But I don't exactly want to load my pictures into the lobby computer so I am posting a short explanatory message until I can get back to civilization. Here are some short highlights of the week:

Opening Night for the tour and its subsequent party
Going to the Florida Aquarium with some of the band
Seeing The Rocky Horror Show tonight at the Performing Arts Center
Just in general being sweaty and gross in the Florida Sun

If you are lucky you might actually get to hear about all of these things!

We Made It

Tonight was our first preview of Wizard. In fact it was our first performance before an audience at all. Considering the size and scope of this production, it was a good first performance. There were a few boo boos from all across the board, but no major catastrophes. The audience seemed to love it, and they started standing before the lights came up on the bows. Since it was the first preview, I am not sure how much of the audience was connected with the show. I guess that we will find out on Sunday when we have our next performance.

I am excited for people to see this production. Aside from the fact that the orchestrations are flute heavy, the orchestra sounds great, and the production is pretty spectacular. We have just about every imaginable effect in this show from projections to pyro (and a few more that I will leave as surprises). The sets and costumes are really fun also.

There has been one downside to this week. I ended up catching a cold. Unfortunately I am that person who goes to Florida and gets sick. I am keeping my fingers crossed though that I do not make anyone else sick. What a great first impression on a new group of people. I'm that guy who gave everyone a cold!

Two Long Days in the Emerald City

I have just finished my second day of rehearsal for The Wizard of Oz. The good news is that the show sounds really good. I have only rehearsed with the orchestra so far, but tomorrow we add the cast. So far the guys in the orchestra seem really fun. We have not had much time to do anything except to go out for drinks after rehearsal. Although if I was going to be in a place and not have much time, I am glad that it is Gainsville. The town itself seems a bit dumpy. (At least where we are staying) I have not had much time to explore the campus. Perhaps in the next couple of days I will have more than just a dinner break to walk around.

I am starting to catch up on sleep after the craziness of last week, but I am pretty sure that this hotel does not agree with my allergies. I have been sneezing like a maniac, and today I woke up with a sinus sore throat. Thankfully we are only here until Sunday.

How I Spent My Break, or I Am NEVER Moving Again!

So as is typical of me when I have a stretch of time, I make grand plans. Only rarely does reality actually come close to what I envision. Here is the story of my break between tours:

So to begin with, I knew that I was going to be moving. I am hoping to continue touring as long as there is work or I grow sick of it. The thought of paying rent on a place that I was not living in was not very appealing so I consulted with Mom and Dad who agreed to let me move my stuff back to their house. Jamie too had a spare bedroom in which I could store some things.

Jeremy had kindly agreed to let me play for the first two weeks of Kiss Me Kate at the Round Barn. I was grateful for the chance because it was nice to have work, and I like the show. I had also hoped to be able to go see a few shows in Chicago. I made plans to meet up with a high school friend who discovered me on Faceboook. I also wanted to take a quick trip to Bloomington to see the Sweeney Todd tour which has several former members of The Wedding Singer company.

I was going to get on my bike and go for a ride every day, and I planned to get to the gym as often as possible. In other words, I was going to have a restful yet productive month off. Here is what really happened:




I did get into Chicago to meet my friend Jerry for dinner. She is one of the few people from high school who I have any desire to reestablish contact with. So we agreed to meet for dinner on a Wednesday so that I could kill two birds with one stone and see a show in the afternoon. I ended up seeing Jersey Boys from the limited view rush seats. The show was fine. I personally do not see what the big fuss is about, but then I am also not a huge fan of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons. Dinner with Jerry was fun. It was a lot of, "Can you believe that was 15 years ago. That seems so long ago." Okay that part of it was a bit depressing! She also was remembering more names of people and stories than I was. I kept wishing I had brought along a yearbook!

I was also able to get in a repeat visit to Wicked in Chicago. I had wanted to see the show again because I thought it would be fun to see right before going out on tour with The Wizard of Oz. I also wanted to actually win the lottery if for no other reason than a matter pride. Amazingly I did win. It only took 4 tries.

I then drove back to Nappanee in time to catch the last performance of Carousel at the Round Barn. I was actually pleasantly surprised by the production. The orchestra sounded fantastic. It was a combination of instruments that I frequently like to play with: piano, violin, cello, and flute. There was also a tuba player playing the string bass book. To Jim's credit, he pulled it off. Only rarely did his tuba sound like a tuba and not a bass. Afterwards I went to Mancino's with Earle and Sara, my two favorite cello players.

Thus began the packing and moving portion of my break. My plan was to be sensible, and try to eliminate as many things as I could. Jan and John decided to have another garage sale, and Mom and Dad were also planning on having one. I had lived in that apartment for 8 years, and for the normal person that is more than enough time to accumulate a bunch of junk. For a hyper obsessive person like me, that was enough time to accumulate several large mountains of junk.
My master plan was to take advantage of technology to get rid of a bunch of different things. I had planned to transfer as many old video tapes to DVD as possible. But of course I wanted to organize everything as I did it so that all of the performances from Ragtime would all be on one disc while all of the episodes of The Charlie Brown and Snoopy show were on another, and so on. I also wanted to scan and save to my computer as many of the copies of Reed books from shows that I have played in the past. One never knows when one might need the Reed I book from Anne of Green Gables for instance. I also had a bunch of old cassette tapes of shows that I wanted to digitize in my computer.

So what did I accomplish? Well I was able to eliminate over 50 video tapes. I did scan a few Reed books, but not nearly as many as I had hoped to. And well I just did not even touch the cassette tapes. All of these things take time, and as I discovered that was something I did not have enough of!

One mistake that I made was to assume that playing Kiss Me Kate was not going to impede my moving. After playing shows for 10 years, I have become a bit blase about starting a new show. Every once in a while though a show comes along and kicks my butt. That happened with Thoroughly Modern Millie a couple of years ago, and sadly it happened with Kiss Me Kate. It is a hard show. I actually had to practice it just to do a passable job. In a way it was really frustrating because I did not have enough time to learn Kate properly because I was also having to find time to practice Wizard while still making headway in the packing and moving.

Thankfully I did have help in moving. Tanya came over a couple of times to help. Mom and Dad drove out once with the pickup, and again with the pickup and a trailer to move the big items. I myself made several trips between Nappanee and Cedar Lake. Unfortunately the garage sale that Jan and John were going to have was pushed back to this last weekend so I was stuck with several big items that I had hoped to sell. But I kept chipping away, and that took me up to my last week before flying out to start the tour.

In my ideal vision of what my last week would be like, I had envisioned a leisurely trip to Bloomington to see my Sweeney Todd friends on Tuesday and then spending the night and hanging out with them on Wednesday during the day. Maybe even contacting my old flute professor Kate to try to meet up with her. I was going to be down to just my instruments, and an air mattress left at the apartment. I was going to finally have that birthday dinner with Heather and Jamie at Sushi Samba, and Jamie and I were going to go see Amadeus at Chicago Shakespeare Theatre.

That is not how it turned out. I did get my trip to Bloomington to see Sweeney Todd.

It turned out to be exactly what I needed. By this point I was on the verge of having a nervous breakdown because of the way things were going. I always love going back to Bloomington, but I do prefer to have time to wander around the campus, walk down Kirkwood, go to the Mall, and see all of the old sights. As it was I just barely made it in time for the show, and I was only able to stay for lunch the next day because I ended up having to play for Kiss Me Kate. I had a great visit though despite the time constraints. The show was good. Cimma was fantastic as Mrs. Lovett, and she even threw in the "fist shaking CLAUS" gesture during the curtain call. We all went to Kilroy's after the show for drinks. I love how in my picture with Cimma she appears to be removing the cap to my beer with her teeth! The next day we had lunch at The Trojan Horse. Merritt of all people had never had saganaki. Needless to say I introduced him to the pleasures of flaming cheese! I was glad that I had the chance to go visit my old Wedding Singer friends, but then I had to go back and face reality again.

I ended up playing for Kate on Wednesday and Thursday afternoon because no replacement had been found for me. Ultimately that was my downfall. That was time when I really should have been finishing up my packing and starting on the painting. My goal was to out by Friday night, but it soon became apparent that was not going to happen.

On Friday, we had arranged to have lunch with some of the old timers from the Round Barn. It was a good time, and thankfully not too sad and maudlin like it could have been. Also sadly it was in the new Mexican restaurant in Nappanee which just opened up since I started touring. The food was really good. Why couldn't it have been open for the last 10 years! Oh well that is the story of my life.

So then I had my final push to finish moving. I spent the rest of Friday practicing and painting. On Saturday instead of seeing a show like we planned, Jamie came to Nappanee to get a load of stuff. I then finished painting, said goodbye to Scott, squared up with Jan and John, and started filling my car with the last load. Unfortunately I had about two times the amount of stuff than would fit in my car.

After having one last nervous breakdown, I called to make sure someone could come out and pick up the rest of my things, and left Nappanee at 9:30pm.

The moral of this sad story? As grateful as I am to everyone who helped me move, I should have just bunged everything into a storage unit last week, and dealt with it when I have the time. Oh well!

I flew out this morning at 7am, and I am sitting in the hotel in Gainsville. I start rehearsal tomorrow, and thus begins The Wizard of Oz blog. (I am sorry to see that the weird formating issues continue even in green!)