Catch up!

Boy oh boy am I behind! Minneapolis, Chicago, Pittsburg AND Baltimore flew by!

So..let's go back three cities!

Minneapolis was great! Paul rented a car so we had a way to get around which was SO nice!

First adventure was to the Mall of America where we had a press event and then got to ride the rollercoasters for free and run around and shop. I, of course, brought my camera but after one photo the battery died! Can you believe it?!?!? Here is that one glorious photo that we did get!

That night we got discounted tickets to see Jersey Boys and it was fantastic! I love that show! We were in the first row and we were singing along the whole time. I hope the cast didn't hate us. Before the show we had a fantastic dinner at a tapas restaurant called Solera. Paul, Laura and I did the tasting menu and it was just delicious! I really miss all of the restaurants in New York.

The next day was my first day back performing in the show. It was a three show day so I did the first two and LaRaisha (she's our swing) went on for the third show. No use pushing it on my first day back. The theatre was gorgeous (see pic below) and outside our name was on the Marquis! How exciting!















We walked a bit in the skywalk which was really cool. The people of Minnesota really know how to deal with winter weather. All of the building downtown connect via skywalks so that in the bad weather you enver have to go outside. The halls of the skywalk are lined with stores, salons, coffeeshops...everything! We ended up outside again right near a statue of Mary Tyler Moore! Obviously Paul and and I needed to take a pic.
After the third show I got a ride out to St. Paul to go to a sedar at Isa(my godmother)'s friend's house. There were about 30-40 people there which was a ton of fun. The family is Sfardic so it was interesting to hear the different tunes and experience the different traditions. It wasn't outrageously different, but enough to keep it interesting! The food was great and everyone was really nice. I spent the night and took the train back into downtown Minneapolis in the morning.

After the show we got food, hung out, showed Minneapolis how it's done and then got on the bus to sleep on our way to CHICAGO! Our next performance was in Pittsburg, but the drive from MN to PA was too long for Uncle Pete (the busdriver) so we stopped in Chicago for a day off. We walked around ALL day...literally. I can't remember the last time I was tired. We went to the Sear's tower where I had a mini panic attack...I always seem to forget how afraid of heights I am...

Millenium park..


















the Art Institute of Chicago...(the home of the painting that inspired Sunday In the Park with George)

Navy Pier...














A sensible picture in the funny mirror at Navy Pier...


















and Boystown for a sushi dinner!

We then hit up Side Tracks which is a bar in Boystown where they have Musical Theatre Mondays. They have these huge screens and they play scenes from musicals. I don't think the midwesterners knew what to do with us. We were singing and dancing along to ALL of the songs. I think they were annoyed but got over it when we answered their questions about shows and people. What can we say? We;re from New York! Hahaha.

We took a cab back to the hotel and got settled on the bus for the lovely trip to Pittsburg.

We stayed at a Hilton which was undergoing renovations. Our room was a finished room and it was gorgeous. I didn't really get any pics of it...sorry...but believe me, it was nice. We also had a pretty view of a bridge, the river, and the hills across the river.

While in Pittsburg we hit up the Andy Warhol museum. We have seen some great museums so far and this one did not disappoint. I do have to say that it seemed a requirement to be a jerk in order to work there. The woman who we bought admission from, the guy in the cafe and the guy in the museum store were all rude and jerky. Oh well, the art was great. They had pieces that spanned Warhol's career and also some guest installations. There was one by an artists whose name I can't remember who smashes ceramic figurines and uses high speed photography to catch the destruction. It said that he takes thousands of photos before finding the ones that he feels capture the perfect moment where the piece is still complete, but also shattered. They were really cool.

My favorite surprise was from the New York Bank Mellon Collection where they had three prints of Frank Stella's Had Gadya series. I recognized Frank Stella's work immediately and just loved that it was the Had Gadya series since it is Passover now! Coincidence? I think not!
At the museum they had a photo booth where you could take a trip of black and white photos. Inspired by the museum we decided to take a group shot in there. Then we all decided we had to take individual pictures. We then took pictures of all the pictures together. Can you tell that we have just a little too much time on our hands???


Also, inspired by the museum, Laura bought the movie Factory Girl for us to watch before the show. Wow. If you haven't seen it, rent it! I did not know the whole story of Edie Sedgwig and the factory and that other stuff! Yowza!

So...then we had some shows...the theatre was great and we even had our OWN dressing rooms which was a very nice change of pace. I did my first full three show day and the ankle was fine! I have been doing the exercises and every day it feels better. I think all of the walking around has helped a lot too.


















Pittsburg was a great city, but I was looking forward to getting to Baltimore to have some crab cakes and go to the aquarium. Then I remembered that it was still passover and I would have to wait to get a crabcake so I thought to myself "this aquarium better be great because it has to make up for the lack of crabcake eating." So we went to the Harbor, had lunch and went to the aquarium. Here are a couple of my favorite pictures from the afternoon...













So...I just realized that I forgot to get pictures on the marquis and the theatre in Baltimore! My sincerest apologies to you, my faithful readers, I have failed you and promise not to do it again. We had three shows on Saturday and two on sunday. I guess I just got caught up in everything. It was a beautiful theatre, not unlike the one in Pittsburg.

After the second show on Sunday I ran and got a crab cake since Passover was over. It was worth the weight. 1/2lb of lump crab meat. No fillers, just crab, need I say more? We then loaded up on the bus...all 5 of us. The rest of the cast decided to either go back to NYC or visit friends in other places since we have 2 days off before our next show. I took the bus up to Albany and will spend my days off in Saratoga! I'm so excited! I'm going to teach a Pilates mat class there because my teacher is going to be out of town and needed someone to substitute. I'm also going to take some dance classes, hang out with friends and eat like an animal. If you are in the area, feel free to come join me!

Great! I'm caught up now! I will try not to let that happen again!

Ciao!

Audience Participation

Dear Viewers,

I would like to encourage you to participate in this blog. I promise, it's not difficult. When you enjoy an entry, or have something funny, witty, interesting, uninteresting to add please feel free to comment on said entry. I would love to hear what you think. Is there something you would like to see more of? I am not as funny as I like to think I am? Let me know! All comments and suggestions will be reviewed and are greatly appreciated.

Have a great day,
Management

Appleton WI + Sioux Falls = big adventure!

Many apologies for the delay. I know you have been holding your breath waiting for the latest news of my exciting life on the road. Haha. Well, it's been...a week...to say the least.

At the beginning it seemed that Appleton was going to be the best stop of the tour so far. I mean, look at this theatre!

"Don't cry for my Argentina!"

Things changed during Tweedily Dee at Sunday's performance. I was going a sensible pony step after dancing with Tasha when I rolled my ankle and sprained it. There was a gimpy egg on stage for a hot second, but luckily I was able to crank out a few more step touches and finish the show.
As you can see, I was not a happy camper. We travelled overnight to Sioux Falls, SD (where Creighton is from) and luckily I was able to get an appointment with an Orthopedist there. Dr. Craig M. Smith (I've been calling him McSteamy) was great! I sprained a small ligament on the outside of my foot by my ankle bone/heel. Dr. McSteamy assured me that if I were going to sprain something, this is the sprain I would want. I was sentenced to 4-5 out of the show and an ankle brace for when I start performing again. The Physical Therapists at the Orthopedic Institute gave me some exercises to do to help speed along the process. I already feel a LOT better and everyone has been really supportive.
See what I mean?! This is Sally Howe, by the way, she's head of wardrobe and our bff. This pic was taken on our way to the pizza party that Creighton's family had at the Pizza Ranch for us! His family is so nice and his Dad made the BEST chocolate chip cookies for us!

So...at the Pizza ranch there is also an arcade. I haven't been to an arcade in...I hvae no IDEA how long! We had so much fun and played games. I'm not going to lie, it got pretty intense at times...
And not as intense at other times...
Paul looks drunk, but I promise we just had pizza and cookies. And yes, I am wearing crocs. Hate me if you want to, but it was the only thing that fit confortable over the ankle brace. I'm sorry.

Moving on!

Sioux falls is adorable. It kind of looks like Saratoga Springs, NY meets Red Bank, NJ. I just loved it! The weather was gorgeous so Paul and I walked around with Sally and got this keepsake of a photo.
There is an event every year in Sioux Falls (I learned this from the cab driver who drove me to the doctor) where local artists make sculptures and display them on the streets downtown. They are auctioned off and at the end of the year (May-May I think) the person who bought the statue takes it and the next set is displayed. Pretty cool, huh?

Then, of course, there were...the falls. I was expecting something like this...
but what we really got was this...
Just a little bit different!

After a lovely day of walking around we went to the theatre, the Washington Pavillion. It was beautiful and it was hard not performing there. This is the view from center stage.

The show looks GREAT from the audience. The costumes and sets are so impressive. I was surprised I didn't see more kids who had had accidents.

Then we loaded back onto the buses to head to Cedar Falls, IA. OH! I finally got a pic with our bus driver Pete. We call him Uncle Pete and he makes sure we get everywhere safetly and on time! He's awesomeWell...that's all we have kids. Stay tuned for further updates and you stay classy San Diego!

blog buffet

So...here are the pics from Flint that I know you have been waiting for!
The view from center stage, the scary locker rooms that smelled like feet and a pic of the ice between the plywood!









I forgot to tell y'all that while in Flint we decided to film a horror movie. The venue was so creepy and there were all of these hallways and rooms that look like they haven't been used in forever. We were so creeped out and someone said "this could be from a horror movie" and the rest is history. We filmed the movie during a break between rehearsal and the show and we are about to begin editing. I'm thinking it will probably premier at the Sundance Film Festival in Utah, but we may wait until the next TriBeCa Film Festival, it all depends. I will keep you posted.

So, we are now in Appleton, WI. They have a lovely mall here that even has a Cinnabon (clearly, I called my mom to report that to her). Last night we went downtown to one of the bars to get a feel for local life. All I have to say is there was karaoke there! I was in heaven. Laura and I sang "I Love Rock and Roll" and we gave the C.U. Saloon an equity performance at the very least!
sing it!

There were many things to love about the C.U. Saloon including, but not limited to...

there was also a poster nearby that said "I like big butts and I cannot lie..." outstanding

We have a show tonight at 7. I've heard that this theatre is beautiful. I will post pics for you soon. We have our first 3 show day tomorrow 11, 2 and 5. I hope we all survive.
Ciao!

FLINT, MI cont.

so it's not that i reached the quota, it's that it's been crazy. I'll get you the pics ASAP. Thanks for reading!

FLINT, MI

Hold on boys and girls! This is going to be a long one! Lots of pics and plenty of fabulous info!

People had warned us that there is NOTHING to do in Flint and that it was going to be super boring. I have to say that I have loved my time here (we leave after the show tomorrow) and would be happy to come back again (although probably not for more than 3 or 4 days).

Upon arrival to our Holiday Inn Express, I received a gorgeous bouquet of silk flowers (how perfectly practical for tour life) from my mom and dad as a happy belated birthday! There was, of course, a happy face balloon in them! It was almost like being home for my bday (but still not as good).



Our first adventure in Flint was to the mall. Not too disappointed, but not too much to write home about. I mention it only because I got a really cute pair of shoes at Aldo, on sale, and I"m super psyched about them. Mine are clearly the little ones, the others are Jarvis' new kicks.

Also at the mall, Paul and I decided to try some sens
ible hats at Macy's. Nothing special, you know. Just something to wear around the hotel room and bus.


While here in Flint we celebrated the 21st birthday of our youngest cast member Walter! We celebrated by going to the Olive Garden for some dinner and drinks. Then back to the hotel for more wine and craziness. Here are some highlights of the evening...

A pic with the birthday boy!


A funny face group shot!

And what party would be complete without a motorboat face? Paul did the honors!



Amazing.

So...that was last night. Needless to say it was a little rough waking up at 8:30am this morning, but we did it! Creighton, Paul and I went down to the gym here in the hotel and Jillian Michaels (affectionately known as Jills) kicksed our butts yet again. Look at her, aren't you a little scared already?


Fierce. And we are all going to look like her in no time flat!

So...a great start to the day. From there was went to the Flint Institute of Art where there was a great M.C. Escher exhibit. It was fascinating and inspiring. I haven't been to an art museum in a while. Here are my 3 faves and I think they are good representations of Escher's versatility. I love the geometric tricks that his works play, but I was enlightened with his realism. I have only ever seen his optical illusions and mathematically based works. In the first pic, isn't it awesome how based on which window the bird is in, the landscape outside is different? Horizon, looking down and looking up...so cool. The 2nd, I am fascinated with the detail in the reflection in the center sphere, also how easily you can differentiate the material of each sphere...so cool! The 3rd, I'm amazing that by simply changing the size and length of the black and white lines, he shows dimension, texture, etc...so cool! Ok enough, if you're still reading...I love you!





























We're getting there people, I promise!

There was another exhibit of an artists whose name I can't remember at the moment, but is awesome! Each painting's subject is a famous artist. He recreates one of their defining works (beatifully done) and then paints a portrait of said artist in the foreground. SOOOOO cool. My personal fave was the painting of Chagall. The painting that he recreated was his called "Birthday." I had never seen it before and I'm in love. The scene is (according to the caption next to the painting)...the man has returned home to his fiancee as she prepares to celebrate his birthday. They are depicted floating to reflect their love and how he feels knowing that she is working to make his day special. I LOVE IT!

have you had enough of the art history review? I have! Moving on!

After the art museum, we took a trip to the local farmer's market and had a fabulous lunch at this cafe there where all of the food fresh, delicious, and actually healthy! It was awesome! Then to the venue for rehearsal before the show. Let's just say, it's a long way from Broadway. The "dressing rooms" are, again, converted locker rooms which smell REAL weird. The stage is on top of plywood which is covering the ice rink. Yes, it's true. Between the planks of plywood you can see the ice. It's crazy. Here are the final pics for this evenings epic blog entry...in he next blog because they won't let me add any more. I think I reached the quota. I knew this blog entry was epic, but jeez louise!

West Lafayette, IN

So we have some catching up to do...we're going back tot his weekend on thePerdue Campus in IN. (p.s. I love college!) We returned form an epic adventure trying to find Subway, which apparently does not exist in west lafayette. Some student gave us directions to go get some food, but led us on a crazy goose chase! There was one upside. Paul thought he pooped his pants which definitely thickened the plot, but it turned out to be a false alarm...bummer.

As in every theatre I will include a pic from center stage and one of the dressing room. So far, all of these shots have been pretty nice, but from what I hear they will get interesting soon enough! This theatre was an enormous auditorium, maybe 4,000 people. I'm tell ya the babies LOVE the Backyardigans! The dressing rooms were a little high school chorus room-like, but hey, you can't have everything! Plus, Laura and Kandace are giving me FACE!















So...I got a little bored in the dressing room and decided to make some funny faces and see how they look. I like this one best!!!

I'd really like to know what all y'all think!

We wandered campus a little bit and it was very pretty, but totally deserted since it was a Sunday afternoon. It was a beautiful afternoon and we didn't do too much because of time.
So...that was really it in Indiana. I'm going to post this and then start a Flint, MI blog. I figure if I keep them seperate it will be less confusing. I could be wrong.

BIRTHDAY!!!

so...this year's birthday was just FULL of excitement. I have a lot to say and a lot of pics for you!

I want to start, though, by thanking all of you for the thoughtful, sweet and funny birthday wishes! It really helped make this birthday away from home special. hugs and kisses to all of you!

Also, I have received a lot of concerned e mails in regard to the #2 situation on the rock star bus. Let me clear the air here. We are



Notice the 2 mezzanines. The house was packed for all 3 shows! It was awesome.

So...I mentioned in my last entry how green the grass was so I made sure to get a pic of it before I left. Tell me this isn't some of the greenest grass you've seen in a while (especially those of you in NYC)...
not to go #2 on the bus, but if we need to go and can't wait, we simply ask "uncle pete" (our bus driver) to make a stop and he will gladly do so. We all try to make the magic happen before we start a long trip, but things happen.

So...Paducah, KY. The theatre was gorgeous. Here are pics of our dressing room and the view from center stage!











Right? Right.

So...back to the birthday report. After the show last night we all trooped down to a restaurant called O'Charley's for some drinks and food. Since there was any birthday cake on the menu, Laura took the intiative to buy me a birthday cake shot!

Dad, have you ever been so proud?

Shortly after that we started taking what Paul calls "motor boat" photos. It's when you blow raspberries with your mouth while shaking your head side to side and someone else takes the pics. Here's my favorite. It's Laura, Paul, Sally and me!

I LOVE pics like that? Everyone should try it!

So...after that we all went back to the hotel and called it a night since today was a 2 show day: 11am and 2pm. I didn't even get to sleep in on my bday! But that's ok because before the show started everyone sang happy birthday to Walter and I (Walter will be 21 on Monday) and we had cupcakes. Plus a couple of the castmembers gave me cards and thoughtful little gifts so I felt pretty darn special!

After the show was over we took some pictures on an old train that was outside the theatre and then went and got some free Dippin' Dots from the Concessions people. being "in the cast" sho does have a lot of perks!Just an example of what we actors do when left on our own. It's always a production!

So...after the shenanegans and our fill of Dippin' Dots we loaded onto the bus for the 5 hour drive to West Lafayette, IN. We're here for about half a day before heading back up to Michigan, Flint this time, for a couple of days. I have a sore throat and am trying to avoid getting a full blown cold so that kinda put a damper on birthday festivities. I'm not upset though. I still had a great day and I feel very loved: thanks to all y'all.

Clueless is on TBS now so I'm as happy as a clam! Please keep the e mails coming (alissa.alter@gmail.com) and thanks again for stopping by! I'm outtie!