WHAT? Ford Expedition?! Don’t you guys drive Sprinter vans?
Let me explain:
After Myrtle Beach, we had some very fun shows in Wilkesboro and Winston-Salem, NC. Great kids, beautiful theaters, excellent crews, super-high energy performances, but hard shows. We got a little out of shape stamina-wise during our time in Myrtle and were really tired at the end of each day. So, we were very much looking forward to our travel day up to PA. You see, we needed to make up that three-show day that got snowed out in February (I reference the “SNOW DAY!!!” entry), and this was our opportunity. So, we spent a day heading north and landed ourselves in Chester, PA, at our Days Inn. Which is where the excitement started.
First, Leah reported that she couldn’t get our passenger van door to stay shut. Then Michelle informed us that she too was having issues. The door’s ability to close fully has been a consistent problem on this tour, and the mechanism has been looked at by Dodge dealerships up and down the east coast, none of whom could resolve the issue. Then, when Ben and Lydia were out grabbing food, the door went flying open while on the road. Lydia managed to bungee the door (sorta) shut and Ben drove slowly for the rest of the ride. The lock, it seemed, jammed shut, and the door was sliding around anytime it was on the road:
The next day, we were traveling by taxi caravan.
(Quick note about the hotel: a heroin spoon and pipe were found in one of the rooms’ ventilation systems. Sally-Swims-a-Lot will cover this topic, as well as the door, in more extensive detail, as she has additional knowledge on and video footage of each. A link will be posted when her entry goes up.)
We arrived at our venue and discovered that the stage was a three-quarter stage, meaning audience was on three of four sides of the stage. Our show is blocked and set for a proscenium environment. Suddenly, when you’ve got kiddies to the left and right (and, in my case, you are about a foot taller than the leads), the whole show changes. Blocking opened up, the WHOLE show moved back on the stage and you become super-conscious of who can see you (or, in my case, everyone shorter than me). A challenge, yes, but we all know this show so well that it’s nearly impossible to throw us. And, as I think I have said before, it’s these oddities that happen onstage that get me going and keep me engaged.
We lunched at Perkins, where the hats came out and everyone sang CHA-CHING! as we noted our two hours of meal invasion. Emileena called the taxis, which were to take us back to the hotel for some serious R&R before our evening performance, and we hunkered down on the benches outside the restaurant. After about a half hour, the Perkins manager came out to shoo us away, assuming we were loiterers from the local high school. Another half-hour passed. No cabs. Another half-hour passed, and I was fed up. We were within walking distance of our venue, so I left the cast, snuck back into the theater, curled up backstage behind a drape and crashed for an hour and a half. Sleep that I really, really, REALLY needed.
We gave a great evening show (the audience clapped along with the finale!) and headed back to the hotel, ready to crash. My body was angry at me for putting it through three shows, and I was out almost immediately after my head hit the pillow. This morning, Lydia and Emileena delivered our passenger van to a dealership and then picked our Expedition at Avis. We’ve got a nice little sit-down in Wilmington, NC, and they we start heading towards Upstate New York for a few shows, at which point we will be reunited with our van. I hope it makes it through.
Kid quote of the day: During the curtain call, a little girl shouted, “Bravo, Ruby!! Bravo!!”
Call tomorrow: 11am, Days Inn parking lot, Wilmington, NC. Nothing like afternoon shows!!
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