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!
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