Newark, NJ and NYC

HI, JOE!!!!!

We rolled up into Newark, NJ on Tuesday night. Some of you know that I have two "big brothers" from Newark: Joe and Bruce. Joe was my RA my sophomore year of college, and Bruce is his friend from...gosh...grade school? They've known each other for a long time. And they are my big brothers. It's complicated, but I'll just leave it at that.

Joe likes my blog. And, gosh, that makes me super happy :). So this entry is dedicated to Joe.

Bruce was in Vienna, Austria when I was in Newark, so we couldn't have a full big brothers/little sister reunion, but Joe and I had a great time at a local diner. Did you know diners serve margeritas? And GOOD ones!

Jow (that's not a typo) and me at the diner.

The next day we had a day off. I went with Caitlin into NYC to meet up with her friend, Gina, who is getting married in July. Caitlin is the maid of honor, and today was all about veil shopping!

But first, Barry had a little bit of adventure in NY...

Barry loves New York's finest. Especially the cute ones in Times Square! Oh wait...maybe that's ME...

Barry loves his NY pizza.

Here are Caitlin and her friend, Gina. In Gina's hand is the perfect veil! But I won't say anything about what it looks like, cause Dustin's a sneaky guy and he'll probably find this site!!!!

Yesterday we left our Newark hotel at 7:30am to make it to our Staten Island venue by 8:30...we rolled up about 8:45. Damn that morning NY rush hour. This morning was a special show, because Emily came to see it! If you wanna know about Emily, click on the September (or maybe it's August) archive. Emily and I go way back. Back to ballet class. Back to snowmen in our yards facing each other. Back to over-alls and yellow boots. Way back.

Emily and me after the show on the Staten Island Ferry.

Emily gave me beautiful Freesia flowers, and they have been brightening up the van in the cup holder :).

Last night we stayed somewhere in NJ...Leisure Park? Lakewood? Something. We got in at 11:30pm, after being up at 6:45am...wow. This morning we got up and headed to the theater at 8:15am. It was beautiful outside...so I had to immediately FREE THE TOES! Right in the breakfast nook of the hotel.

Get them off! Free the toes!

I. was. exhausted.

Can you believe I ran into Joe on my way to the breakfast nook...DOING HIS LAUNDRY!? Can you even believe it??? What a silly head.

After the show today....loading it out. Get it OUTTA HERE. 3 shows left.

Concord, NH...ONE WEEK LEFT

We have ONE WEEK LEFT!!!! And that's cause for celebration!!!

Ashley and I wanted to make a special "one week left" video. Weeeell, it was a little more of a challenge than we thought it would be. JJP should keep his theater job, and stay out of film (just kidding!).

Check it out.

Blooper One
http://youtube.com/watch?v=qJpg5MSSOBU

Blooper Two

http://youtube.com/watch?v=ITVG3yz-PQ4

Final Take

http://youtube.com/watch?v=lUu9e_Dodlw


Also, here are some things that happen when it's the end of tour and you are bored out of your mind and ready to go home.

You might be in the last week of your 7 month tour IF...

You let Santi do your hair for the show...

You wear two completely different socks to the theater because you were too tired to look for a matching pair that morning.

You get Patty McFatty to corn-row you hair. woah.

Today we are in Vermont, performing in a bordering New Hampshire city tomorrow. We will be in NY tomorrow night. Wha???

New Haven, CT

Hi, folks! First off...I want to thank everyone who has sent me emails and messages regarding the headshots and which ones you like. I will post the final product when they are retouched and cropped!

I find myself now in New Haven, CT...home of Yale University, and (more importantly) Kelly...my best friend from college! We have spent more time together in the past three days than we have in the last 9 months, and I'm a happy clam! You might have heard things like, "Let me get my MONOCLE out and see what you have there!" or "Rrrrrrusty Scupper....ARGH!" if you were a fly on the wall around Kelly and me. Here are some photos from the lovely visit.

Kelly and I ran into this HUGE sign for Alexander while walking around New Haven.

The next day, I went to the spa to use a gift certificate Kelly gave me for Christmas. Caitlin came, too, and we explored Bridgeport a little after our appointments. Here we are at Bridgeport park. The camera is on a shoe, and right before this picture snapped, the wind picked up and the camera started to teeter. Hence, the huge smiles and laughter.

That night, Kelly and Caitlin and I went out for some Connecticut seafood. This is Kelly struggling to reach the drive-up ATM. "Can't they make ATMs for normal cars! Something in between the SUV and the sedan at least!!!"

At Lenny's...Lenny's only accepts cash. Hmmm...interesting.

Firehouse 12. Kelly and Caitlin.

Firehazard, I mean Firehouse 12...Me and Kelly.

After my show the next day. I love Kelly! She's so cute in her scrubs!!!

I simply can't keep up with the blog with the speed we are taking on the country. We just performed at UConn in Storrs, CT...and now we are in Concord, NH. Yikes! All this in 2 days. 8 DAYS LEFT.

New Headshots...not quite "finished"...what do you think?

I got some new headshots taken in Chicago by a good friend of a good friend. Here's are a couple of the ones I picked...they haven't been retouched or cropped yet (for those of you who don't know...the photographer will retouch the picture with photoshop...clean up stuff, under eyes, hair, blah blah) What do you think? Anyone have a favorite? Go ahead and leave a comment and let me know...

Strep, Cont'd.

I am all better! But here are some pictures from when I had just received my diagnosis, and I met up with my buddy Eric from Willy Wonka! And then we ran into Matt at Ray's Pizza!

Me and my push-pop...makes my sore throat feel better!

Eric stuck around even though I was contageous...what a friend!

Matt and I worked it out at Ray's Pizza. Check out Matt's Willy Wonka blog at www.gogloop.blogspot.com We are the tour bloggers!!!

Right now we are in Buffalo, NY...One show tomorrow and then we drive 450 miles BACK TO CONNECTICUT. They are trying to kill us.

Alexandria, LA (this is from a little while ago)

These pictures are slightly old, and this entry is overdue...but I left my camera at home the night in question, so I had to get these pictures from Miss Moria!

So, we had to create our own experience for Mardi Gras, but there was another Louisiana cultural experience that we found was ever-present. CRAWFISH.

Pictures say it all:

The restaurant we went to has some interesting specials. Take a close look :).

Caitlin...it's not nice to play with your food...

I was a little scared, but I dug right in!

This is what your fingers look like when you're eatin' Crawfish.

Up close and personal with the Crawfish.

We finished 3 pounds.

Thank you, Moria, for taking pictures!

I am alive! Barely...

Hey everybody...I am sitting in my best friend's Brooklyn apartment. Awake at 6am due to the persistant pain that continues to plague my throat. Yes, folks, that's right, I have been diagnosed with Strep...yeeee haw!

I flew to New York on Monday planning to hit a bunch of auditions while I was hear, but that didn't happen after the sore throat I had had during two of the past shows just kept getting worse and worse, and the amount of Motrin I took didn't seem to put a dent in the pain.

But the best part of the story is that I was in Times Square, suffering, and thought to myself "There ain't no way in HELL that I'm going to get in to see a doctor today." Well, would you believe that I did. Walked right in, with NO wait!? Pat told me about a little clinic in the Duane Read drugstore On 51st and Broadway that he gets his flu shots at...aparently, since it was a super nice day outside, no one wanted to take the time to go to the doctor, and I was seen immediately! My doc (a nurse practitioner--go Kelly!) was awesome, very friendly, and gave me the name of a great ENT in New York to see about maybe getting these troublesome tonsils taken out. Hey, as long as I get to eat ice cream, I'm all for it! :)

So, I don't have my camera connection with me, but I promise to update the blog as soon as I get back to my own computer. As for now, I can tell you briefly about my experience in Chicago, which was awesome. What a great city! Too bad it gets so cold in the winter. Gosh, I just don't know if I could handle that!

I got some new headshots in Chicago, taken by a friend of a friend, and they turned out great! When I pick the final shot, and it is cropped and retouched, I'll be sure to put it on here.

My friend, Joe, from DC joined me in Chicago Saturday evening. We had a drink at the John Hancock building, dined on Chicago "Stuffed" Pizza (Soooooooo deliscious), and saw a performance by The Second City comedy troupe. The performance was entitled "Iraqtile Disfunction", and although it had many political references (what sketch comedy doesn't?) it wasn't completely focused on it. I was suprised at how funny it was...I don't think I've laughed so hard in a long long time. It's like a Saturday Night Live type review show, except so much better because they can be over the top eccentric and crazy since they don't have to appeal to a standard television audience. Really really good.

The view in the evening from the 96th floor of the John Hancock building.

This sign hangs in Giordano's Pizza, where we dined on Chicago style pizza...mmmm...

Second City is amazing!

Alright, folks...stay tuned, I promise more updates later. And say a little prayer, or whatever you say that this sore throat goes away PRONTO!

Jordan and Miss Laquita...live.

This is my first attempt to add a video to the blog. If it works, I will definitely be adding more! I haven't had any luck with "embedding" a video, so you'll just have to follow this link. Trust me, it's worth it :).

www.youtube.com/watch?v=evlVj2aoBQg

Orange, TX--HOME COOKIN' and Alexandria, LA--MARDI GRAS!!!

Orange, TX

Apparently, Orange, TX is on the map when it comes to children's tours. Is it because of the superior stage quality? The acoustics of the theater? The fabulously luxurious dressing rooms? None of the above. It's because of the volunteer ushers, a group of local retirees, that create a bangin' home cooked pot luck lunch for the casts that come through their theater. Since children's shows are typically performed during the day, they make this lunch a ritual for all the hungry actors that perform on their stage. To a touring actor, this is Nirvana.

The food. A table full of delectible entrees prepared by Orange locals.

That's one happy cast and crew!

I was quickly becoming part of the clean plate club (numbers 1, 2, and 3!).

After lunch, the gentlemen helped with load out. Bless their hearts!

While Miss Laquita taught a few of us some dance moves!

Miss Laquita was the bomb.

MARDI GRAS!!!
After we gorged ourselves on food, we hit the road for Louisiana. How amazing, we would be in Lousiana for Mardi Gras!, we thought. Weeeeell, it seems that most of festivities in parts of Louisiana other than New Orleans take place on the weekend before, since it's the middle of the week and folks have to get to work and what not. This did not, I repeat DID NOT hinder our fun. Our motto? Create your own fun!

Jordan, Santi and I started the night out with an Irish Car Bomb. Good idea, right?

Mmmm...so tasty. :)

Something happened, I'm not exactly sure. Something about Caitlin daring Santi to kiss her...gosh, I'm not completely sure. But he got up and attacked her.

1. Caitlin is caught off guard.

2. The attack.

3. The elbow to the gut.

Next, there was some discussion of cup size. No, not cups of beer.

The following pictures depict the old adage: you can grab your friends, you can grab your boob, but you can't grab your friends boob...

Let the games begin...

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"The end."

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Alexandria, LA

After that fabulous night on the town, Caitlin and I were motivated enough to go out and explore Alexandria in the light of day. Just like the empty bar on 3rd street, most of the town seemed empty as well. When we stopped at a local coffee show, the man who fixed our lattes said "Shops? Oh, no, there aren't any shops. We're working on that. There are plans. Come back in 5 years!" He gaveus a big smile. Cute. We had a couple of delicious sandwiches and then walked along the Red River in the beautiful 75 degree sun...ahhhh....

This cutie guy was on the side of a building...not sure why.

Historical sights! YAY!

Caitlin makes a phone call at the phone booth. Except...she has to use her own cell phone, these phone booths had been gutted.

Big ups to Lousiana. At least the weather's nice.