Preview night tonight!!!

Lovelies - it's Preview night of Sisters of Swing tonight!  I'm so excited!  Last night we did a full dress rehearsal and it was fantastic!  I really loved being back doing the show with Sissy S. and Sissy P.  They are both such fun to play with onstage!  And the folks here at Riverside theatre are just so wonderful!  Such kind, helpful and positive people in the tech area and also in the administration!  I'm so lucky to be working here!

I do miss New York, though.  I miss seeing the Englishman everyday and I am THRILLED that he is coming down to Vero Beach TOMORROW! 

Today I couldn't sleep in, so I went to the little hot tub in our condo complex- and Sissy P. was there!  We had a nice chat and the I came home, took a shower and got ready for the day! 

Then I did a target run and got all sorts of fun things to put in a beach bucket for the Tall Englishman!  I just wanted to have some fun stuff for him to play with - beach toys, some snacks, a couple beach balls and some gum and his favorite gum and soap! 

And tomorrow at this time he'll be here!  I can't wait to hug him!  And it will be opening night tomorrow!  I hope we get as good of reviews as we got in Minnesota... but I hope even more that that audiences will like the show as much as we enjoy performing the show!

Fancy dinners and long rehearsals!

Lovelies, we had the fancy tech dinner on Saturday night at a lovely couples home in beautiful Vero Beach.  The entire cast & crew was invited, as well as the production staff.  And lovelies - it was BEAUTIFUL!!!  This was the view from their second story of their 5,000 square foot home:

And they were just sweet as pie - the Mrs. was such a gracious hostess!  The theatre is lucky to have them as patrons & board members! 

The tech rehearsal ran smoothly on Saturday as well  - we took some silly pics in our costumes!  Here's my "Mama Rose" pic a la Gypsy. 

We also had a great day at the beach and the pool at our little villa on Sunday (our much needed day off!)  I love that I get to work in PARADISE!   We piled in the car and went to South Beach  - of Vero Beach, lovelies.  Not south beach in Miami...  but maybe on a future day off we'll do South Beach in Miami!

Here's the view into our courtyard at our little villa!  I love living with Sissy S.  She's really quite cool and easy to get along with!  I can't believe that we open the show in TWO DAYS!  AND the Tall Englishman will be there for OPENING NIGHT!!!  I miss him so much, lovelies....  I can't wait to see him!

Tech, Tech, Tech...

Lovelies, it's that time again - Tech time.  For those of you theatre lovin' folk, Tech is the time when the lights, sound and costumes are all set up for the show - and the actors have to walk through the whole show while they figure out the right combo of lights, sound cues, etc to make the show perfect.  It's called Cue-To-Cue and it takes a full 10 hours with a 2 hour dinner break - add that and it's 12 hours all together.  I wish we were doing a 10am to 10pm, but here in florida they do a 12am to 12pm.  Which adds up for a LONG day.  Especially when they do it two days in a row. 

I remember doing the cue-to-cue at the Guthrie and being so SO excited about it.  And also in college, and even during my first few professional shows - because this is the time when the show truly comes together.  But I hear so many people hemming and hawing about Tech that it has seeped into my blood and now, like most actors, I scowl a little when I hear that word. 

BUT that said - we had a pertty smooth tech yesterday and it was actually a little enjoyable!  Today we're back at it again and tonight we get to go a a board memeber's house for a home cooked Tech dinner!  (so nice of the theatre to do that for us!  Will be great!) 

My body has decided to wake me up at 8am, so I'm going to try and go back to bed, lovelies.  Hopefully I can sleep until 11 or so before we have another long and productive 12 hour rehearsal.

On, a happy note - check out this awesome pic Sissy S. took of me at the beach yesterday!  After seeing this I didn't feel quite so bad about gaining 10 lbs. since January....  Le sigh.  On another happy note - the englishman is coming to see me in a mere 6 days!  Hooray!

Vero BEACH!!!!

Lovelies I'm having the most delightful time in Vero Beach, AKA - God's waiting room...  Yes, the main population is sprouting grey and white hair, but it's really a delightful and beautiful town!  And SO clean (compared to NYC).  And the Target here is just beautiful! 

Sunday night I flew into Orlando and I was supposed to drive to Vero BY MYSELF at 10:30 at night in the rain.  Well, that just wasn't going to happen.  So I called my girlfriend Lo whom I stayed with last year when I went to a friends wedding at Disney and she said I could stay the night!  Hooray!  So I stayed, saw her new house - which is Beaoooo-tiful!  The next morning, I did a HUGE target run and $300 later I had a case of the guilties.  To add to my guilt I got a McDonalds.... 

A Quarter Pounder with Cheese Meal.  I don't care what anyone says - it's worth the 18 points on Weight Watchers.  You just have to eat greens the rest of the day!

We have a lovely condo that we're staying in.  Sissy S. and I are roomies and Sissy P. and Litch (the man in our show) are staying in the condo building next door!  I really loved spending time with Sissy S. last night!  We chatted until late in the evening and I've so enjoyed having my HUGE bedroom with en suite bathroom!  (and a WALK  -IN closet!)  And I've so loved having a fountain right outside our window - plus the awesome balcony that looks out onto it! 

We're off to the beach in a bit...  Here's hoping that I can still squeeze into my bikini without becoming "that girl".  (You know, that girl on the beach that's wearing a bikini which she so obviously shouldn't be wearing and you say to your friend "OHMYGOD - look at THAT GIRL!!" and then you judge her...)

Yeah, I don't want to be that girl.  I'll ask Sissy S. if I should ban the bikini today - she'll give me an honest answer... 

Here's to a beautiful MONTH in God's Waiting Room.... eerrr... Vero!

Don't Cry for Me, and other updates...

Oh, lovelies, how rotton I've been about blogging!  So sorry for that...  but in other news...  Hawaii was a BLAST with the tall Englishman!  He is truly delightful and I am thankful for everyday that we are together.  For those of you who might be interested in checking out our hawaii blog:

http://www.oahuhawaiiadventure.blogspot.com/

and I think that you'll be pleased with what you'll find!  We really did have a wonderful time and I'm so lucky to have made so many memories with him so quickly!

Also - and I know, I know the Englishman and I have only been dating two months - but we've told each other that we want to spend the rest of our lives together.  Isn't that great?!? 

Some people have given me a little greif on this issue, but most people say "When you know, you just know".  And lovelies - I KNOW he's the one for me!  And the best part is that it's all real.  It's not in my head - he loves me, I love him and we're going to spend our life making each other happy!  (oh, dear - I just re-read that and I sound like a total cheezeball...)

Anywho - I recently came home to Cake Eater, MN to rehearse for a week for Sisters of Swing.  The theatre that I worked for in December is bringing the show to an awesome theatre in Vero Beach, Florida!  (I get paid to play on the beach!  Sweet job, no??)  We're doing the show from April 29th until May 16th in Florida - with two weeks of rehearsing in florida prior to opening! 

So when I was home I decided to make an audition happen! Yes, lovelies, I took matters into my own hands and e-mailed the Minneapolis director requesting a private audition, as I was going to be out of  town during the regular auditions.  And the show was (drumroll, please) EVITA!!!  

Lovelies, it was like a homecoming for me!  Singing those songs again after not playing Eva for 8 years - what a treat!  And a trip down memory lane...  I got to sing Don't Cry for Me Argentina AND the end of Rainbow High (which has the Buenos Aires reprise).  I did the best that I could - and considering that it was 10am and then end of Rainbow high is a high belting thing...  I rocked it! 

It would be such fun to play it!  But one step at a time, right my lovelies??  I got the audition (an appointment audition at that).  I rocked the audition AND now I just get to sit back in awesome Florida and do an amazing show (sisters of swing) with a brilliant cast and my tall handsome Ginger-haired boyfriend is visiting me here for my opening night in 9 days!  So grateful for such an awesome life!