You Can Always Go, Downtown

Having never been to Los Angeles before, I was not sure how I would enjoy spending three weeks there.  From what I had heard about LA, I actually assumed that I would hate it.  To make matters worse, our hotel was in downtown LA, and one only hears horrible things about downtown.  Well I am pleased to say that I had a great three weeks there, and I actually enjoyed being downtown.  Here are some of my pictures of downtown:

 

Opening Night (Without The Orchestra)

When I first saw Los Angeles on our schedule, my first thought was, "Well I won't be playing there."  Ultimately my initial reaction turned out to be true, but I never dreamed the extent to which our musicians would be laid off.  None of our musicians including Carolyn, our musical director, was allowed to play.  Carolyn was the touring musician allowed in LA, and she was not allowed to play just conduct.  Because of this unusual situation, we were required to stay in Los Angeles for the full three weeks.  Needless to say I made the most of the time!

Since we were all in Los Angeles, all of us touring musicians could not pass up the opportunity to attend the first performance to judge our replacements.  To heighten the experience, we met for a pre-show party at the apartment that Gregg rented.  Above is his view of downtown LA.

Third in a series!

So what was the verdict?  As the saying goes, if you can't say something nice...  The orchestra aside, I have to say that I left the theatre having never felt more proud of our production!

 

Ryan Claus You Just Landed In Los Angeles. What Are You Doing Next?

It was inevitable that with 3 weeks in Los Angeles I would end up at Disneyland at least once.  Well I ended up going four times so be prepared for an onslaught of pictures from Disneyland!  The first day that I went was my first full day in Los Angeles.  I mean no sense in delaying the inevitable!