Final Tour Thoughts

It was a blast. I am glad to be home; and have taken the past day and 1/2 to recuperate. I'm not getting any younger folks! I'm also bummed that it's all over. I loved bonding w/ my fellow castmates as well as Rick, Bill & Dylan. In this entry, other misc. photos from the show. I got one shot of the venue in Coral Springs, and one pic of the "stage door" entrance in Sarasota (have I ever used one of these?) I got no inner shots (other than the dressing rooms) in the Van Wezel.

The workshops w/ the kids were extremely fun, and I found myself enjoying it far more than I ever would have expected. It got my parental instincts brewing. I could see it happening someday. Who knows? Two classrooms; half hour each. We taught them some of the warmup games we play before each show, answered questions, and tried to fend off the bombardment of hugs and hanging. It was quite sweet, in the second classroom, a little girl named Cassie took quite a liking to me, and wouldn't leave my side. Before she left, she asked if we were staying for lunch. We weren't, but had we had the time, I would have been sold on it. By the time we left the room, I had become a human jungle gym; at least three children hanging from me at any one time. Good times! In the second room, the children had drawn pictures and written a little statement about their favorite character. It was no surprise that Colleen (the evil Princess Miserella) was the favorite. Matt as Toad received about 2 notes of favoritism, and I got one.

Other great moments to remember; our final show was the loudest; the kids were insane! But it was great. They clapped along w/ our final number, "Poor Miserella", laughed at absolutely everything. One of the best received gags was the removal of my shirt to be used as a napkin. Each show this stunt resulted in uproarious laughter and in one case; Bill heard a kid say, "Put it back on." Always good for my morale! Hell, it if gets a laugh, I'll do it w/ gusto!

Another heart warmer; as we went to take pictures w/ some of the classes in the audience, most of the kids wanted either Toad or Miserella. I was waiting on a photo, and I heard a "Hasbro!" from behind me. I turned and a little girl was furiously waving @ me. That was great!

We met w/ some of Rick's college chums; including Eliza's mom. Another one of his friends had her son w/ her @ the beach, and we asked them what they liked about the show, etc. I asked, "Did you like me?" His response? "Who were you?" Nice. :)

Our first day @ the Van Wezel; Leslie (I believe the educational director for that space and our contact) came knocking @ the men's dressing room, "Keep it down in there, people are trying to rest in this building." I was horrified, looking to Matt and Steve, wondering, "What the f***?" It was of course a joke, and that was my introduction to Leslie (a gem of a gal!)

Leah did an amazing Ariel from The Little Mermaid. Here's a photo. It's more impressive in the water; as she goes under and jumps up, whipping her head back. I guess you had to be there, but it was one of the most oft-requested bits in our down time.













Great food; particularly the Greek place we visited in Coral Springs. AWESOME food! I definitely want to go back.













I got some good feedback on my script from Jill, who so kindly took it upon herself to read it over the duration of the trip. We also took an evening where everyone else went out and we stayed behind to chill, order pizza and watch The Descent. Relaxing and super needed!













As far as my costume changes and other show details; it was all pretty mellow. I messed up a few words in Fairie Light Brigade (every show), and never once got my first "King" line correct. Whatever! The microphone situation was kind of messed up, and I had to readjust quite frequently. Jill was able to make ear pieces for my mikes to rest on the side of my head. With my shirtless scene, I wasn't able to attach it to my clothing. On top of all of my crazy changes, pies in the face, etc, I also had to deal w/ a delicately placed microphone. Ugh.