Let's Make This Snappy

It is 10:30pm on Tuesday evening, and I'm on my couch watching Conan and wishing I was already asleep, but of course, I did promise to keep up with this blog this time, so here we go!

Yesterday was the travel day I've been dreading ever since I started touring. Nothing, just nothing was going our way. I finally headed to bed about 4am with Father of the Bride Part II in the background. I laid down just as it was starting, and it was a daunting thought that by the end of the movie, I would need to be at the airport! After about an hour of sleep, I woke up, showered, grabbed my bags, and headed outside to catch a cab. You know what I found out there? SNOW. WTF New York. Ugh, I'm so over it.

The airport was packed, which was super annoying see how it was 6:15am. Where are these people going? By the hoards of ski bags that were blocking everyone's way to the ticket counter, it appeared to be a very big ski weekend. In any case, after finally checking my bags and getting through security, I hopped on my plane that was scheduled to leave right on time.

I settled into my super squished in window seat on our packed plane, and the pilot said it would just be a quick 10-15 min while they de-iced the plane. Great. Well, flash forward to a quick 1.5 hours later, and we are still. at. the. gate. Miserable. But, finally, we took off and arrived uneventfully in Chicago.

I ran to my connecting gate to watch my plane pull away. Awesome. Thankfully, I had thought this might happen, so I had booked another seat on a later flight while we were lining up to get off the first plane. Just for fun, I walked over to the flight between the one I missed and the one I was booked on, only to be told there were 88 people ahead of me. Apparently, most people would like to travel to Minneapolis in a gigantic blizzard.

No matter, there was a Chili's right in the terminal, and you know I love my chain restaurants, so I had some lunch and spent some quality time with my brand new amazing Kindle.

Finally, it was time to board my second flight, which also, was leaving right on time. After a quick de-icing. SERIOUSLY??? A "quick" 2 hours later, we were a full plane of hot, miserable, overly-tired passengers (or at least I was. Also the baby in the back row of the plane). About this time, I started receiving emails and phone calls from 4 other company members who had all been stranded in Chicago upon their arrivals as well.

What happened next? Did we arrive in Minneapolis? Am I still stranded in Chicago? Stay tuned!

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.

Anger Management

Last night, my brother-in-law brought this into my house:

It contains this game:

And I know understand how this happens:

I honestly cannot remember the last time a game made me so angry!! I was like a person possessed last night. I finally came to my senses and was like I HAVE to turn this off right now! Then I was so tense that it took me forever to calm down. Maybe it's a sign that I can be a little too competitive... though, I like to think of it as a sign that if I was ever forced to swordfight my way into a castle, I would be well-prepared!

In any case, I'm now suffering from a pretty horrific case of Wii-arm. And I still can't pass level 9 of the swordfighting. Good thing that I have a birthday party following ROA today, or I fear it would have been a repeat of last night.

Thank you so much dear brother-in-law for inspiring such rage in me... I'm only glad that the worst part of it happened after you and Em went home last night!!

Oh, Greg Berlanti. You know me so well...

I mean, I know I'm a crier and all, but seriously Greg Berlanti... how much longer are you going to tug at my heartstrings. I used to sit in my apartment on the Upper East Side sobbing my hear out to Everwood and I'm now repeating that episode here in Astoria watching Brothers and Sisters.

Note: I wrote this a million years ago, but it's still pertinent today. Greg Berlanti owns my heart. End of story. And. I heart him.

Growing Family!

Best wishes and lots of love to my cousin Richard and his wife Jamie who gave birth to a healthy baby boy this morning in Chicago. I'm anxious to see pictures of this sure-to-be-adorable addition to the Evans Family Crew. Congratulations to you both!

Ah ha! I found you!

What? Where have you been blog? I've been sitting here with all sorts of entertaining and hilarious stories, and you are nowhere to be found!

Anyway, all is forgiven blog of mine, since we are reunited at last.

What all has happened since we last checked in?

• I moved to my own apartment
• My sister got married and I gained a brother-in-law
• I celebrated one year on Rock of Ages (my does time fly)
• Finally finished my 2008 taxes. (a good 36 hours before the extension deadline, thank you very much)
• I learned how to cook four dinner meals that don't involve cereal or Domino's (related to this: discovering that 1 cup of rice is A LOT of rice)
• I got fun NYC visits from my cousins David, Meredith, Pat, and my cute goddaughter Kate
• Ran my 100th mile on Nike + (go me!)
• bought a vacuum cleaner (v grown up)
• Had many rooftop parties
• Headed back to choir (yay singing)
• Got my ATPAM apprenticeship and three months (+ a year and a half) later FINALLY got my insurance card
• Drank an unmeasurable amount of wine
• Found a love of running on the treadmill at the gym, Glee, apple cider, the Q66 bus that goes right to Starbucks, Michael's and Home Depot
  
• And finally spent countless hours sharing stories, laughter, and wine with my wonderful friends and family.

So, that's what I've been up to in a nutshell. I'm posting this before my blog gets another wise idea of running away. (PS Speaking of running, I'm up to 3.5 miles!)

UPDATE

Of course, my sister walked into the apartment, repaired the sink, vacuumed all our rugs, finished the dishes, did a load of laundry, and finished sending RSVP lists to my mom, all within 15 minutes of being at home. Just reason number 412 of why I have an appointment to view the apartment across the street from her tomorrow. If you can't beat them - join them!

So You Think You're Handy?

Just a quick anecdote for you readers to entertain your Wednesday nights, and also give you some insight into my mother/daughter relationship with Mom.

When I spoke to Mom this evening, she was just returning from meeting my friend Amber's mom for dinner at Pappadeaux. Apparently, there is a large storm approaching Arlington, so Amber's mom received about 50 phone calls as to her safety during said storm. My mom received zero and a brief, "Oh, I think someone mentioned that on Facebook" from me as I poured my second glass of wine. Needless to say, she will be taking cover at Mo's from now on if any threat of nature should dare to take over our beloved suburb again.

Anyway, as I was talking to her, I was trying to quick clean my apartment for the arrival of my cousin Susan. Thank god her flight is like three hours late, so I was able to have time to finish watching "So You Think You Can Dance" in between dishes and folding laundry. Anyway, as I was attempting to clean the sink while on the phone, the top of the sink plunger-thing spun off. In my attempt to "repair it" by spinning it back on, the entire plunger thing DISAPPEARED! I said to my mom, "Oh no, I broke my sink! How do I fix this?!" And I kid you not readers, she said to me, "Well, look under your sink for the... you know what, you should just wait for Emily to fix it." I paused for a second super offended that my mom would totally breeze over my ability to be handy,then took one look under my sink, poured my third glass of wine and texted Em to come home ASAP to fix the broken sink.

Seriously, if the shoe fits...

In case you were worried

Sims 3 is now loading on to my beloved MacBook. Sometimes, you just can't beat living in New York!

While I am waiting, there is a commercial on about free root beer float night at Sonic on June 3 from 8pm to midnight. There are also times where you can't beat living in the South! All my Texas friends, take advantage, and have one for me too please!!

Midnight at the Mac Store

Good evening everyone! It's about 11:04pm, and I'm on my way home from a fun night at the Brooks Atkinson hosting none other than Paris Hilton. True Story! See photo at left! It started out as just another random day on the Broadway, but obviously, fancy people can't stay away! I have to admit, I was definitely on the naysayer side of "will she or won't she" come to the show, but she definitely arrived in style and stayed fro the whole show. No cutting out at intermission for this classy lady enjoying her first Broadway musical (what!!).

Anyway, in between settling the box office and overseeing photo shoots (ok, I didn't oversee, but Tracy did, and since we're Team Management, it's almost the same), the kick ass team from ROA gathered next door at our usual Trecolori haunt to catch up. This meeting of the all-star team included choerographers Kelly and Robert (looking totally AWESOME having just rolled in from the Astaire Awards), press agents extraordiaire Leslie and Matt, and let's face it, the most awesome co mgmt team on Broadway (Tracy, Caitlin, and Me). Can I just say, maybe other Broadway shows have the same thing going on, but I just have so much FUN when this group of people gets a chance to hang out. Anyway, much laughing, story-telling, and wine occured, then we all headed back to the theatre to catch the end of "Don't Stop" where we all proceeded to do the choerography in the back of the house. What can I say, I mean it when I say we're the coolest management and creative team around!

So, after watching the paparazi totally swarm the exit of our theatre waiting for Paris to make an appearance, I went were any other kick-ass company manager heads - my favorite place on earth, open 24 hours/day so people like me always have a place to feel at home - yes, that's right, the Apple Store! The same store that brought this ridiculous story to life! There are many things I enjoy about the Apple store. Mostly I love that it's 11:41pm and this store is totally crowded. I like feeling that I'm not the only one who likes to aimlessly wander the aisles and think, "Hm, maybe I do need another case for my iPod..." I mean, for real, I love that there is a place for people who are like, "Um, I need to buy a printer NOW!" Also, I love their free wi-fi and copious amounts of workspace for people who may or may not be waiting for midnight for a release of a certain upgrade of a time-addictive computer game. Don't judge. However, it is indeed 12 minutes before midnight, and I'm seeing no movement on any of the shelves around here. I mean, the Sims had an entire billboard up in Times Square for a month announcing its arrival. I would think it would warrant a little shelf space opening up.

In any case, it's giving me a little time to rock out here at my desk listening to the KICK ASS Original Cast Recording of Rock of Ages (available TODAY on iTunes). It's awesome. I'm on "High Enough" right now, and it's taking a lot for me not to burst out into song. (Wait, that's ALWAYS true).

Oh, I see ladders/shelf looking things coming out. What could this mean? Sims 3 coming out of storage!!! I thought I saw the grenish tint of my beloved Sims box shining at me from the closet behing the register.

WHAT! These guys are just changing light bulbs. UGH! There are SO MANY lights on in here. I think you can spare a few more people to give the thousands (ok, 2) people here that are hoping you are about to spend the next 6 minutes stocking the shelves with addictive time wasters.

Where was I? Oh yes, cast recording. How cool is that!! For a girl whose music collection is about 98% original cast recordings, to finally have my name attached to one (those W-4s didn't fill themselves out). Pretty much, it's amazing!!!

*More people going into the back room here. COME ON!*

Oh wait! What is happening! In the thirty seconds since I just typed that, people from all random corners of the store have begun forming a LINE! There's a line now! Is this for the game! I love this! It's like all these closet Sim fans coming out of their shells! Far be it from me not to get involved. I'll see you on the other side!!!

Good Evening, Mr. President

Seriously, is there a show I love more than this? Thank God for repeated reruns on Bravo.

My favorite episode is on right now. "Game on boyfriend!"

Taking it to the Streets

Alright blogfans. Are you in NYC today? If so, take time after your brunches, laundry loads, spring cleaning, TiVo catching up to stop by what is sure to be an amazing event today at 6th Ave and 45th Street at 5pm. This is a unique opportunity to gather with your fellow New Yorkers and rally in support of the Marriage Equality Act which will be going before the New York State Senate during this current session which ends at the end of June. Both Governor Patterson and Mayor Bloomberg will be attending the rally, as well as many wonderful people from the Broadway community. Look for me and my Rock of Ages peeps!

It's important to keep in mind that though this act has many supporters in the Senate, it will eventually end up in the hands of 4-6 Senators who are still undecided about the issue. Check out Broadway Impact for the simple ways you can make sure your voice is heard. Literally, 5 minutes of your time can make the difference. Doesn't that make you feel powerful!!

See you all at the rally! xo

Sing. Sing a Song.

Yes, yes, yes, I have a million things to write about and I'm behind in pretty much every facet of my life, but this isn't what this entry is about. This entry is about a discovery I've made on the interweb that I cannot believe I haven't discovered before.

Now, it will come as no surprise to any of you that I love music. I mean, I packed up my suitcase and moved to NYC basically because I fell in love with my cd of Kiss Me Kate. And though I always loved music, my love came via a very long history with playing in concert bands, full orchestras, marching bands, and basically hours of my father teaching me all about Tchaikovsky while en route to see the Houston Symphony and Ballet perform The Nutcracker.

And though I loved every second of being in band, once I left college, there wasn't much of a place that an oboist (yes, I know, I played the oboe, get over it.) could escape to her musical oasis.

So, one day, in seeking out the need to be surrounded by music of some sort, I stumbled upon my choir at St. Ignatius, and my love affair with choral music began. I know I'm a late bloomer, so I have to rely on things such as the NY Chorale's Summer Sing series- where they gather a bunch of music nerds like myself and sing through the scores of the more famous literature for choirs. For me, it is an excellent education in what I should be familiar with, and also with "kill or be killed" sightsinging, because shockingly, most of this genre of music was never familiar to me. Yes, I was fully aware of "Capriccio Espagnol" and "The Great Gate of Kiev" and "Incantation and Dance" (who's with me there?), but most choral pieces slipped right past my consciousness.

Anyway, so, I'm still in my baby steps of discovery, and the other morning, on an episode of my beloved West Wing, I heard in the background a beautiful piece, and thanks to the fact that there are bigger nerds out there in the world than I am, I was able to Google a few quick words and learned it was Vivaldi's "Gloria," which is now one of my very favorite music pieces ever. Seriously, it was going to take a lot to kick Next to Normal off the rotation on the iPod, but this piece has kicked out "Superboy and the Invisible Girl" for my top played song this week.

However, that's not even the best discovery! While I was searching for more information on the piece (namely, the sheet music so I can follow along), I found YouTube video that plays the recording in the background while showing the SATB music two lines at a time! What! It's like a sheet music teleprompter. I know Mr. Cote, my 7th grade band director would cringe at the fact that you can't read ahead in the music to know what's coming, but for just a cursory look at the parts, it was a pretty brilliant discovery. Don't worry, I've posted it below in case anyone is curious:


And for those of you who are harboring a secret love of choral music as well, this piece is indeed part of the NY Chorale's Summer Sings on July 22 along with Faure's Requiem.

So, now that I may have just proven that I am nerdier than you ever expected. I'm off to bed, for I have a conference call for my Tony nominated show at 10am tomorrow. Brutal for this Broadway baby.

Finally, A Part of It All

Exhausted, hungry, stressed, maybe a little cranky.

Happy, exhilarated, excited, nervous, overemotional, proud.

Today, I land on Broadway.