My grandma is mad its taken so long----but welcome to PHILLY!!!

Thanks to an INCREDIBLE lack of good wireless internet i am just now chiming in.  That and the last week and a half have been chock full o' crazy!  So, grandma and dad here is what has been happening---other than my dead cellphone.

So sit back, sip a latte, and read on.....

The last thursday in Cleveland we did a cool thing called WHIRLYBALL.  We rode in two parybuses lined with blacklights to the hinterlands of CLEVELAND and embarked into what may be the most fun i have had in the sports realm in a fortnight or six. WHIRLYBALL is a sport that combines hockey/basketball/lacrosse/soccer/.  You are in what looks like an indoor hockey rink, and are riding around in bumpercars.  THATS RIGHT----bumpercars.  You are equipped with a plastic field hockey stick from high school gym class.  On teams of 5, the goal is to hit what looks like a basketball backboard at either end of the court( depending on your teams color). You can also get a massive amount of points by hitting the net behind a small circle cut into the middle of the backboard.  There are also rules about hitting an opposing member with your stick, running over the ball, etc...

You play in 15 minute increments----and i think i may now try to open one in LONG ISLAND CITY.  

( see both videos for more fun).  

That night, after rejoicing from the spectacle, most of us awoke to a beeping.  Then, Rhiannon was screaming and banging our door. THE RESERVE SQUARE WAS ON FIRE!!!!!!  Thats right....but unlike college where most of the fire alarms are fake, smoke was bellowing into the hallways. SO, i gathered what i needed( passport, cellphone, and MAC) and ran outside as quick as i could, past the naysayers that were timidly peering out their doors as SPencer and I reached the speed of sound down 8 flights of stairs.  Surprisingly slowly, people started oozing out of the building.  People in nothing but boxers, people in wheelchairs, and all walks of life appeared--including the fire department.  We tried to make sure everyone could be found, but some were in the other tower clear of harm, and other people simply didn't answer their phones.  As we all froze to the bone, we learned that there had been a fire in the trash compactor chute. It runs the height of the building.  2 hours later we were ushered back in, also after some city buses showed up to house the temporarily frostbitten folk.  In the end, everyone was allright. But, the upper levels reaked of burnt plastic, and some got a little shaken up.  I have never personally be in a fire, so I guess i can now write off one natural disaster i have been apart of.

 The rest of the weekend seems to dwindle in comparison to that event, which is probably why i cant remember anything other than my mom and brother coming to visit. and then there was the intestinal plague....

The night of AROUND THE WORLD, Sara Andreas had to be taken to the hospital due to uncontrollable vomiting. She was given 3 IV's, and then we found out that she had an intestinal disease that has been sweeping through the "Mistake on the Lake"--Cleveland.   Two days later, Courtney got the same thing.  They live together, which is how we think she got it.  She felt like crap, but Leslie got to go on for SERENA.  It was hilarious and brilliant in different ways. But, here is the most mind boggling part.  The disease is passed on through fecal matter. Thats right----the infamous POOP PLAGUE.  It gives the term CLEVELAND STEAMER a little bit of a more ominous tone.

Schenectady, however, was then a horse of a different color.

Upon arrival in the burb of our states capital, we learned that Paul's dad had passed away. We knew that he wasn't well back in BOSTON, but it never makes it easy. So, we prepared for him to be gone all weekend.  Then, after tuesday nights show we learned that our head carpenter had been fired. So, Jason got to step up.  The next night was an interesting journey of slow moving pallets and odd mishaps.  One of these was the pallet moving out of HARVARD VARIATIONS too soon, while BPM was still standing upon it, and it gave him whiplash.  Then, at the end of CHIP, it wasnt out soon enough.  The girls came out and Mamie was stepping on it when it was whisked out from under her.  She flopped on her back hard, and later went to the hospital during the 2nd act---with Leslie throwing on the Mom costume for the REMIX.  This all happened while JENKINS was swung out to watch the show and make sure everything looked good from the house.  WHAT A NIGHT!!!!! That day we also found out that our head props man, Johnny, had his dad die unexpectedly.  2 in the same week---that combined with the head carp going endcapped the bad things in 3's.

First let me say that JAY STREET is adorable in downtown SCHENECTADY. There is an awesome crepe restaurant, a coffeeeeshop/grill called AMBITION, a cool head shop owned by an INDIAN national named ANDY, and a tattoo parlor/recording studio that some of us may have gotten some tats at.

Also, the theatre seems to be haunted.  PROCTOR's ghost is around-some of the girls have felt it. And, they just gave him a name---which also ended up to be his actual name and that of his 2nd wife.  CRAZY!!!  But, its an adorable theatre with a great ARCADE attached with shops and a coffee shop.  

TURKEY DAY proved beautiful. The weather was amazing----most everyone was bussed to a great restaurant called the CENTURY HOUSE.  They have stone fireplaces and is apparently fancy.  Some loved it and some said the service was slow and the food canned---but when you come together as a family for the holidays anything is better than IHOP.

I took Stacey with me to go visit my dads college roommate, who is truly an uncle and my dads doppleganger. He and his family live in QUAKER STREET--its a cute lil' hamlet on the SW side of ALBANY. It used to be a QUAKER colony starting back in the day, but has since gone into a bit of remission. They have a wee organic farm behind their 150 year old farmhouse, that they have had since they moved their in the later 60's.  It was amazing!!!!! And truly, dont know if there was a better way to spend the holiday.  Homemade grape juice and pecan pie?  I call that PARADISE!  A wee walk, and then some took a nap while I finished off the last half of the pecan pie.  What can i say, I am a glutten.  That night, the producers also paid for  a lil party at the great hotel next door to the theatre called the PARKER INN.  It was great, and I dont know the last time I saw everyone so happy.  Paul and Johnny were commiserating in the corner over the loss of their fathers, and it felt truly like a family holiday.  I am tearing up as I write this, and as Johnny walks into the cafe across the room.  I am grateful for all my friends and love the size of our companies heart.  That being said, as I weep quietly for the departure of all the people in my life, lets go to PHILLY.

OH NO-----so Leslie went on for MAMIE til saturday, when she finally came back from back recovery. She was just bruised. Also, Adam was out due to neck injuries, which have apparently been a problem for a bit. AND, Josh Campbell got to go on for Paul all weekend. It is what i like to call SUPER SWING WEEKEND!!!! It felt semi like playing dress up as a kid and doing college theatre where we are playing roles 20 years our elder.  

So after a 6 hour bus ride at 85 miles an hour, and witnessing JENKINS puppy doing a front stall whilst pooping, we arrived in the city of BROTHERLY LOVE.  I love this city, having visited it 4 times in the last two years.  I quickly hit up some of my favorite places, EL VEZ and MONKS, and we were into it.  The company is glad to be back in such a metropolitan town, and i think the trip back to NYC for alot of people was a nice recharge. Also, the crew loaded out and in in record time. SO, the whole switcheroo and Johnny being gone proved how resilient our stagehands are. SNAPS!!!  What the week will bring nobody really knows.....but the weather is brisk and the theatre is dropdead gorgeous.  I love the gas lamps out front.  ANd now, to understudy rehearsal.