Stage Manager Update

My stage manager has now landed in Minneapolis, shockingly, right on time. I mean on time for her flight we had to rebook last night when Expedia switched her itinerary from New York > Milwaukee > Minneapolis to Milwaukee > Minneapolis > next day > New York > Milwaukee. I mean, seriously, how did that happen? It took three of us almost an hour and a half of being on the phone with various entities involved in this flight booking to correct that situation.

I love being back on the road!!

On the other hand, here on Crescent Street - complete chaos!!

I promise it's all CLEAN laundry. Note: how yellow does my room look here? Insanity.

I'm currently remedying this situation with the help of my friends Pandora and Merlot. Thanks good buddies. My flight is at 7am tomorrow. Wish me luck that I don't miss my 4 alarms + car pickup at 5:30. Whew. It's going to be a long night.

Konnichiwa Tokyo

Hey Blog Fans - anyone? anyone? Doubtful, since it's been, oh, I don't know, a YEAR since I updated this blog. No matter, I'm back and ready to blog my latest adventure which has me and a traveling company of 54 headed to Tokyo next Sunday. Then, once we arrive, or company will take on a Japanese children's chorus of 42, making this almost 100 person company about 4 times larger than any company I've ever managed before. Rock on! Thankfully, I have my trusty ACM Katie to make sure I don't screw up too much.

My quick 2011 recap has Rock of Ages closing on January 9th. Rest assured rock fans, it will reopen at the Helen Hayes in March, but Tracy and I are both off to new company management adventures. She has moved over to the very fancy, very Broadway company of the Addams Family, and I am heading to the Ordway Theatre in St. Paul tomorrow morning where my gigantic company of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat will be starting rehearsal on Tuesday.

Oh, if we can all get through this mess...

thanks weather.com for the image - and the logistical nightmare

Um, yes, that bright purple spot on the map is directly where nine of my company members are headed at various times over the next 24 hours. Including me, with all their contracts and passports. So, say a travel prayer for all of us. It looks like it could get a little messy. Also is making packing a nightmare. Thanks nature.

In any case, our advance choreographer is already gearing up for the first children's rehearsal tomorrow, and my stage manager, is at least at the start of her trip. She's been delayed for about 2 hours, and I'm just praying that's as bad as it gets. 

So, stay tuned, where I promise, at least for the next 3 weeks to stay current with my blog, including many pictures of how I will be the tallest person in Tokyo.

Lady Antebellum

Lady Antebellum debuted their new video for "American Honey" on Oprah.com this morning. I ADORE this song, and this video makes me want to hop on the next plane out of NYC bound for the sunny South. Which, of course, is the point of the video. Well played Lady Antebellum.

Anyway, check it out and let me know your thoughts.

Lady Antebellum - "American Honey"

Wordless Wednesday

My favorite picture of my grandparents Mary and Dick Evans. So classy.

Joyeuse saint Valentin (un peu en retard)

Ok, I know it's a little past Valentine's Day, but I just simply cannot resist. Please enjoy this video of the adorable Capucine. My favorite French girl in the world. Note the eyes around :14.

My Valentine from Capucha on Vimeo.

Capucine's Valentine has blond hair, is cute and has a nice name. They met in a train in the courtyard. But some girls attack him just because they want to kiss him. Whatever. Happy Valentine's Day! :)

I have a soft spot in my heart for France and Valentine's Day, as it was on that day 10 years ago that I arrived first at Charles de Gaulle Airport, then at the Gare de Dijon for my 6 month long French adventure. I really need to dig up some of those photos and scan them in. I can't believe it's been that long!!

Grace has Bob's dead wife's heart!

That's right folks, two days in a row. It's a miracle! Anyway, I'm lounging around enjoying this beautiful President's Day morning. I have to go into the theatre tonight, but having two days in a row off when you work in theatre seems like an eternity!! I've been doing the theatrical schedule for so long now, that I really don't mind having just one day off. Though, I must admit that now that there are two of us CMs, the fact that we can switch off so we each get a weekend day AND Wednesdays off, I feel like I'm living the company manager glamour life.

Anyway, this morning found me enjoying the last of my almond coffee (thanks Mom!) and watching the end of Cheaper by the Dozen. A movie, that without fail, I cry at the end of every. single. time. I mean, come on! Steve Martin - a family favorite. And Bonnie Hunt. I fully believe that if you turned any woman in my family into a movie star, that movie star would be Bonnie Hunt. I've never seen a movie of hers that I didn't enjoy. Ok, maybe Jumanji. But seriously, love. her. Anyway, that reminded me of one of those wonderful days off that I happened upon her talk show. She had some random dr. life your best life guy on, but before she introduced him, she shared this story:

I'll give you a moment to compose yourself! Is that not the GREATEST story ever? I wanted to call Bonnie Hunt and tell her that I literally could not stop myself from crying OR from wanting to be her best friend. After my dad passed away (also suddenly. also from a heart attack.) Mom, Em, and I watched Return to Me approximately 30,000 times. It's such a sweet movie, with the funny Chicago/Midwest/Irish humor that helped us get through the difficult times. We loved the quote that she mentioned in the video "It's the character that's the strongest that God gives the most challenges to. Now you can take that as a compliment." Genius. We watched it again this Christmas with Nick's family, post-second robbery. And almost 10 years later, it STILL helps cheer us up!

Anyway, just felt like I should share that with the masses. I have found myself telling people similar stories about a greater power pulling the strings of my life, especially around that time. Sometimes, it's just a good reminder.

Happy Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day readers! We'll just ignore the previous three holidays I missed and settle right into what inspired this post.

Let's talk about music for just a second. A reoccurring theme, I know, but just go with me here. So, I'm spending the morning cleaning the house, watching the Olympics, catching up on some reading. I have my iTunes doing one of those fancy "Genius Mixes" to Taylor Swift's "Fearless." I didn't really pay attention to the songs it brought up, I just set it and started the dishes in the sink. And then, "Cowboy Take Me Away" by The Dixie Chicks came on, and I was instantly transported back to College Station, TX and the beginning of my junior year at Texas A&M. If I remember correctly (and Amazon confirms) that cd was released right around Labor Day that year, just a few short weeks after my dad passed away.

I poured my life into school and spent the majority of my days in the West Campus library trying my best to wrap my head around Finance 341. I had my trusty cd player and would bury myself in a study carrel for hours on end with this cd on repeat. It's amazing how you can just hear the first few notes of a song, and the resulting images that pop up in your head. So, though the only thing I remember from that class is that if I ever win the lottery, I should take the lump sum payment that they offer at the beginning, not the payment plan, I am thankful to The Dixie Chicks for getting me through that semester, which was obviously about so much more than learning how to use a finance calculator.