Catch-up

When last we met, I had just arrived in Glen Allen, Virgina, a suburb of Richmond. Well, hell, now I'm in Baraboo, Wisconsin! How did that happen? The hotel in Glen Allen was swank, and the theater... hmm, they're all starting to run together, let me check my notes...

OK, a lot has happened, so let me just hit you with the highlights.

1) Three of our cast members got violently ill on the overnight drive from Jacksonville to Richmond. (The Professor was so ill, he couldn't make the performance that night, and our brilliant swing Chris stepped in to save the day. It was weird, but we made it work!) The culprit seems to be bad cream from a coffee shop, but it's still unclear if it could have been a 24-hour bug, skunked beer, or debauched living (just kidding, kids!). I didn't realize it at first, but I also got sick, in a different way. The second day we were in Richmond, I spent the morning on the couch, drinking tea and eating toast like I was a kid home sick from school. There was mucous involved (isn't that always the way with singers?). Not keen on taking any OTC cold medications that could make me miss a show, I headed to the nearby mall to scavenge the GNC for natural respiratory easers, and picked up some licorice root, peppermint oil (for steaming), Emergen-C, ground flax seed (because I like it) and some deeply discounted CoQ10. I feel much better now!

2) At that mall, I also picked up a copy of The Power of Intention by Dr. Wayne Dyer at that mall, and it's changed my whole perspective on this tour. I feel much freer and happier and less caught up in ego and what everyone else is doing! I highly recommend the book! I also had a Chick-Fil-A sandwich for the first time in a decade. Yum-my!

3) The Glen Allen Cultural Arts Center is the only facility in the area with visual and performing arts. They don't have a regular wardrobe staff, but the dresser they called in, Sharon, was amazing. She was so thoughtful and went out of her way to get us things we needed, and even gave me a little travel spray bottle for my wig (Shaquanda)! I love meeting the new dressers (Katie & Crystal in Sugar Loaf, Roberta in Clearwater, Danielle and Connie in Ft. Pierce, Gail in Jacksonville, Sharon in Glen Allen and Sonja at Interlochen, so far), and I think it's more amazing that they pick up a new show every night than that we do the same show in a different space every night!

4) Since I was sick in Virginia, I didn't go running. I swam around the pool a bit, but that was all. Things have changed now! We had an overnight drive from Glen Allen to Norwalk, OH, (near Sandusky), where we had a day stop (All American Inn & Suites) to shower, nap, whatever, so our driver (Rusty) could sleep. I spent the day at the pool, first swimming laps, then reading. When we got to Traverse City, I made sure to get to the pool before we checked out at midnight (the pool was open until 11:30 pm!) to swim some more and hit the spa. Then today, as some of the gang went into town to check out the Circus World Museum, I hit the treadmill for 40 minutes, lifted some weights, then returned to the steamy goodness of the whirlpool. Now that we're in cold weather country (it was snowing up a storm when we got to Traverse City!), running outdoors is off the menu. Thankfully, most hotels have a fitness room and an indoor pool and spa. I am worried my hair will turn green, though!

5) Our hotel in Traverse City (Fairfield Inn Marriott) was right behind a Cracker Barrel. Oh, happy day! Just the night before, I was talking to Gilligan, and we were wishing we could cook. I said, "Well, let's think very hard and put all our energy toward there being some good home cooking where we are next." And, voila! There it was. The Cracker Barrel evokes home to me. When I was younger, my parents would always make us stop there on road trips between Tennessee and Cincinnati, when all I wanted was McDonald's. But I grew to love it. My mother's home reminded me of a Cracker Barrel because of all the knick-knacks and old doo-dads she had hung up all over her cabin in the woods. and, of course, I was a Par 1 server at the old CB in Sweetwater during the summer after my sophomore year of college. I was so happy to be going there for lunch, I could've cried. I was also feeling blessed that five of my cast mates chose to go with me, which made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. I had the Chicken N Dumplins with Green Beans and Carrots and Biscuits and Sweet Tea. What else does a person need in life? It turns out, a small blackberry cobbler, which they did not have any of. However, I was not put out, but merely took my go plate happily, and bought a yo-yo on my way out.

6) Yes, you read that right, kids, I am back on the yo-yo. This is interesting, because this good quality Duncan yo-yo is nonetheless a wooden axle yo-yo, which is not my yo of choice. However, I am finding it very responsive and a good sleeper. I googled "yo-yo tricks" and found some videos by Yomega (my preferred yo brand) of the regular tricks (even Split the Atom!) and got back into it pretty quickly. Now I just have to make sure not to break anything, or anyone, while I practice!

7) Because, I am a terrible klutz. Currently, I am a mass of garden variety Alexia-style injuries. I have a burn on my right hand where I was scalded by the steam from a hotel coffee maker. I have an angry looking scab on my left hand where I got too close to the rough hotel room wall. I have 6 bruises on my left arm and 2 on my right, and a similar number on my respective legs (mostly show related - who knew Mrs. Howell was such a physical role?). Not to mention the bruises I'm sure I have all over my head from where I've wanged it against the the bus's cargo bay doors on multiple occasions. It's been a while since I've pulled this many "Alexia"s in a short time period. I can only hope I can get control over my flailing ways to come home in one piece. The upside is, Mrs. Howell doesn't show skin, otherwise it would look as if Mr. Howell was a mean drunk!

8) I had Vernors! Yay Ohio!

9) Interlochen made no impression on me. I though that since Crazy Camille had gone there and talked about it so much, I would have some kind of feeling about it, but I guess it's just a sign, that I've really just moved so far past that part of my life. Yay Alexia!

10) Sleeping in the top bunk of a moving bus is strange. On one hand, I sleep pretty well, but a couple of times last night I woke up, feeling that the bus was moving VERY fast, and fearing that we would wreck. What would you do if you wrecked in that position? Would you even have a chance? It was very scary, so I told myself that there was nothing I could do about it, so I'd better just forget it and go back to sleep. In any case, my hotel roommate is a bit of a snorer, so I enjoy a quieter sleep on the bus. Not everyone shares my viewpoint!

11) Hotels are different than they were last year. I know that sounds weird, but I think the last time I was in a hotel was last year, and they weren't like this. Just about every hotel or motel we've been too has offered free wireless internet access, a refrigerator and a microwave. Not just suites, all of them. It's very fancy. And helpful!

12) Baraboo, where I am now, is home to the Circus World Museum. We're performing at the Al. Ringling Theatre, which "has been proclaimed America's Prettiest Playhouse." Apparently, according to the Skipper, it may be haunted. That, I'm looking forward to. In a couple of days, we'll visit the home of the World's Largest Ketchup Bottle, but more on that later.

13) Oh, you want to know about the show, huh? Well, it gets tighter in some places, looser in others. Different audiences respond differently, and what gets a laugh one night gets a yawn the next. I have one line I'm constantly tweaking to try and get a laugh out of. Most of my lines are now finally getting their due chuckles, but this one eludes me. Hopefully, I'll have it down by Glendora, CA when the writers will be in the audience! The dancing remains a challenge, especially last night, where the stage was so slippery, I didn't dare give my all in the waltz section. I can kind of play it off that my character is old (just like me!), but I really want to be able to hit all my steps just right, so I can possibly go on to dance in another production, and feel confident. The singing feels great. In our second act duet, "I'll Spend My Time With You", I'm told I bring the Julie Andrews vibe to the stage, and that's all right with me! I can't really speak to how everyone else is doing, but I think we all continue to improve and find our grooves in the show. I'm so happy we have so many performances to do. And Toccoa, GA is back in! guess, I'll have to update my Google Map...

12) By the way... Barry Williams is in our show. That's what we named the Tiki Head! Unfortunately, most of the press around is implying (or outright stating) that the actual actor Barry Williams is in this tour, which he is not. Neither is Dawn Wells, the original Mary Ann, who played Mrs. Howell in the 2006 Barry Williams tour. It's quite disturbing!

OK, that should be enough for a while. I've been blogging for hours! Catch you after Karaoke at Bonzo's tomorrow night! It's the Skipper's birthday!