Heading North

It's been a fun few days with Reba-Lynn (our delightful van's new name) and the company of Duck for President.  After our day of three shows (see below), we had a weekend off and then began our trek northward.  A fun performance in Westchester County, followed by a double-header at a school on the Upper East Side (and let's not start on the joys of parking an oversized Sprinter van at a one-hour meter in New York City while performing a one-hour-plus show a block away!) and then a trip to Turin, NY, a lovely small town that I played way back on Max & Ruby I.  Certainly enough time for us to fall into the "groove" with the show, get the load-out down to a cool 40 minutes (with allowances for elevators and other excitements) and begin to gel as a company.  All of which are important.  And has allowed me a moment to reflect on the show.

Y'all, this one is hard.

I'm not sure I've been clear on this fact, but we tell the tale of six different storybooks, plus an opening and closing number, in the span of a little over an hour.  Not a single tour I have done with Theatreworks comes close the number of costume changes or activity that this show does.  See, I just got off of Click Clack Moo, where I had a 20-minute coffee break in the middle of the show while the cows sang, and I still got the final bow.  Now, sure, Max and Ruby had some quick changes and A Christmas Carol is littered with different characters, but try flying through six costume changes in the first 10 minutes of the show (each with a different characterization and dance break) and then, in the changeover, remembering that you have five more stories left to go.  It ain't pretty.  In fact, here is some pre-show/post-show evidence of me in my basic "greys":

Yeah.  This one is hard work.  But, as far as we can tell, it's going very well.  Danny, our assistant director, came to see one of the shows in Manhattan, and seemed very pleased.  His biggest note for us was to maintain our strong character choices in those moments when we are playing to the kids, instead of giving in to them entirely.  Which is, admittedly, a challenge, because they respond so well that you want nothing more than to break.  We get audible cheers from the girls the moment we reveal that we will be doing "Fancy Nancy" and serious laughter when I introduce "Pirate's Don't Change Diapers."  On the East Side, our second audience was so excited to see us that they would barely stay quiet for the show, which was its own challenge as well.

It is also interesting to note some preparation differences.  It is abundantly clear to me when our audiences have read the stories, and when they are experiencing them for the first time with us.  Perhaps the most notable is "Babymouse: The Musical," a graphic novel meant for the older of our age ranges.  The third graders we met in Manhattan were clearly savvy to the characters and concept, and played along with more appreciation for the jokes than for the story.  However, today's performance in Turin, NY, a sort-of southern Adirondack town, drew intent stares and complete silence as our older audience members hung on every story detail.  Although, no matter how prepped they are, everybody laughs as the urine jokes in "I Have To Go" and Fancy Nancy's ice cream-covered crash in her tale.  I guess schtik sells!

And then there's the cast bonding.  We're doing great.  After a rough trip to our hotel in Amsterdam, NY (where Google Maps was convinced our hotel was in a cornfield, and only David's stage manager intuition got us to our Super 8 before 10pm).  Tonight, in Canton, NY, the cast headed to a great local food cafe and split two bottles of wine.  At the end, Courtney and Kristen observed, "We're really glad we've got you guys on this tour."  And their completely right.  As a group, we've hit that sense of ease and comfort with each other really fast, and all is well.  I couldn't ask for anything more.

Me (l.), Kristen, Courtney, Jonathan, Nic.  (Photo of David coming soon!)

Call tomorrow: 6:45am, Comfort Suites, Canton, NY.  Two shows in Ogdensburg, NY (right on the US-Canadian border).

Kid Quote of the Day: As Andrew was preparing to head offstage to "go" in "I Have To Go," a little boy shouted: "He's gonna try."  I was the only person left onstage after this, and, while staring into the wings, had to keep it together as the rest my castmates laughing hysterically offstage.