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">We received an email from Peggy Taphorn (ASM) that told us that Julie Burdick, the young lady who covered all of the women's roles, had passed away from meningitis.
Julie was one of those people that surprised you with both her talent as well as her great sense of humor. She had been seeing Keith Caggiano (Fluff the soundman) since the tour. Our prayers go with him and her family.
Julie and Susan at the Christmas party.
Alright, I'm back at the theater for more pix postings.
As all of you already know, Jo chops down Mr. Laurence's tree and, when Marmee objects, offers Laurie's services to take the tree to the Hummels. Maureen arranged to have the company "adopt" a family hit by Hurricane Katrina and provide them with a better Christmas than they would've had otherwise.
The looks on the kids faces when they saw everything was priceless.
This is at the Christmas Party. Maureen bracketed by Varela's. I lost that hat in the Mall of America. If anyone's found it, give it back to me.
Katie and Susan.
Me and Katie. Look at the heat.
Patty, Susan and Me.
The story behind this one is that a rehearsal was held in a nearby dance studio and James Darrah found this alluring garb in a closet.
That's the story and nothing more need be said.
Here's me in the Winchester, VA, hospital with a staph infection in my foot. Oscar is in the background fretting over my condition. (not)
San Jose. Autumn is stuck in a glass enclosed kitchen.
Autumn, Renee, and Susan practicing for their Pussycat Dolls audition.
Me and O at Orchard House, where LMA wrote Little Women.
Minarik has a high school friend who is a pilot of the B-2 bomber and, when we were in St. Louis, we drove to the base and got the most amazing tour.
Minarik and his friend. We got to have a look inside the cockpit and everything. Strangely enough: all the instrumentation is in Spanish.
When we were in Ft. Lauderdale, the ladies of the cast had tea together. Gwen, Susan and Autumn in their Victorian best.
Billy Kimbley and Autumn enjoying the parks of Baltimore.
Me, O, and Minarik enjoying the bounty that is the
Cheesecake Factory.
We were sitting in Denny's and, without warning, Oscar attacked! We were able to pull him off, but it was touch and go for Patty.
James found another dress...
A game of hackey sack became a tradition in Dallas. Matt Witten, Patty, Me and Oscar hacked from half hour to the 15 minute call. We were allowed to use O as a racket, as Patty is doing here. Matt Witten is awesome.
Alright, and now the pictures from the White Trash Party:
Gwen, Cary, and Renee. Sassy.
This is backstage at The Maury Povich Show. Tatoos provided by Susan Varela
I will never wear that shirt again. Chubbo...
The Ladies of Little Women.
Squatch and fiancee Janet (wardrobe super) showing us what they'll be wearing for the ceremony. Its non-traditional.
Maureen arrives to great fanfare.
Suzy, and Anne.
Renee and Kevin Duda showing us what love really looks like.
Maureen and Anne on a man hunt. Julie Foldesi is in the back there.
Billy and Autumn in their Dog the Bounty Hunter garb.
James found some pants...
Susan, maureen, and Peggy Taphorn.
Susan and Peggy.
Cary and Susan.
Ok, I gotta go.
Here we are in Portland. The final week. WOW. Seriously, we're all kinda freaked out that we made it and are looking back at this lifetime that we've spent on the road.
Sadly, Katie Fisher has suffered an injury and will be unable to complete the tour. We hope she has a speedy recovery. Katiekoo is a survivor, and there is no doubt that she will return to work stronger than ever. Get well soon!
I'm going to share pix now:
This is us meeting Lynne Cheney and her granddaughters. It was my first VIP meeting and the way the Secret Service scanned the room before she came in was a sight.
Me and Lynne. Note my inablility to look like a normal person.
Katie and Lynne.
Me and Chris Matthews from his eponymous Harball. Tall guy. I don't watch his show, too many interruptions.
Me and Jeffrey Ross. This guy is a comedian and holds the record for the funniest joke I've ever heard. I will not share it (its offcolor) but he was really cool.
I got the impression that Chris Matthews had a crush on Renee. Who wouldn't?
Me giving Maureen the "Mrs. Varela treatment".
She digs me.
Susan and I. I love my coat. I shall miss it. I'm keeping the pocketwatch tho, I bought it. Its Thomas The Tank Engine.
Renee, Autumn and Patty at the Christmas Party. Autumn had some knee probs during the run but she pulled through.
Susan with Squatch (flyman). Yes, he is wearing a leather kilt.
I'll post more later. Sorry for the hodgepodge, but internet here is spotty and you gotta get what you can.
Sorry I haven't posted in a while, I don't care for excuses so I will offer none. D.C. was a great city to hang out in, although it is, I am sure, a single mile from the Sun. We didn't get much walking done because it was incredibly hot for almost the entire month we were there. I'm a big politics junkie so getting to the monuments and all that was a "must do" for me.
Cary Michelle Miller, using her Congressman Ike Skelton (D-MO), got us into the Capitol for a great tour. We even got to sit in the House chamber when it was full of our reps. I had a good time picking out the ones that I knew. Our guides said that if you could name 5 member of the House, then you know more than most Americans.
This is Me at the Capitol. Man, it was so incredibly hot that we could only stay out here for a few moments before we all ran back in for the AC. It was really busy and there were all kinds of press conferences taking place with SWAT teams all over. There was a copy of the Magna Carta there as well as statues from every state representing important folk from across America. There is also a mini subway tram that goes from the Capitol to the huge Congressional offices across the street. It looks like the highest in late '60's technology. I half expected to see Sean Connery's 007 shooting it out with a bad guy as it started moving.
I managed to get us hooked up with a tour of the White House! Thas right, I said it. Deb Fiddelke, who is a Legislative liason, offered to take some of us on an after hours tour of the West Wing.
Lets see, who do we got here from left to right: Brenda, Katie, Renee, Susan, Me, Robin, Autumn, Cary, James, Gwen, with Kevin Duda down in front. Again it was hot and security was considerable.
Here is Me and the Missus by the Rose Garden. The Prez makes lots of announcements and ceremonial hoohahs from the stairs just behind us on the right and the Oval Office is right behind that with the glass doors.
Here's a closer shot of the Oval Office doors. And us. The President was in Russia so he was unable to say hello.
Did I mention that I'm totally psyched that I figured out how to post pix?
The gang at the door where the muckety-mucks get into the White House. FYI: if the President is here, there would be a Marine at this door.
Stephen and Robin Patterson.
When we got to the Press Room, I was asked to give an impromptu press conference about the situation in Latin America. I didn't have my slides but I think I laid out a compelling case for saving the Puffin.
Stephen Patterson hates the Puffin. Passionately.
As I mentioned before, I'm a political junkie and thus I am a regular watcher of Special Report with Brit Hume. I figured that I should at least try to invite Brit to the show but I had no illusions that he would actually come. Well, not only did he come, he came backstage, met my family and then invited me to come sit in on a taping of his show the following week. I was flabbergashted. and delighted.
Man, I am smiling like I've been kicked by a horse. Really, I think he thinks I'm a complete dork.
Susan and Oscar were there that night so we all got in the pic. The woman with him is his wife, Kim Hume, who is a biggie at the division. I am still smiling like I've got no sense at all.
I took this photo. Oscar chased this duck for a half an hour.
Susan and Kim Hume during our visit to Fox News.
Flora Balog is Brit's assistant and she is the one who arranged for the Hume's to come to the show as well as for my subsequent visit to their offices. She gave us out tour and is a complete sweetheart. Thank you, Flora. It was the experience that made my time in DC.
She even let me sit at Brit's desk. I touched nothing.
Me and Brit. He asked me to read some news but I couldn't. I'm still smiling like a dweeb.
I'm also a big fan of Fox News Sunday. They let me sit in on the Panel when we discussed Puffins. Left to right: Paul Gigot of the Wall Street Journal, Maura Liasson of NPR, Bill Kristol of the Weekly Standard, Juan Williams of NPR and, of course, The Brit Master.
I gotta go, I'll post some more later.
We're here in D.C. for a month so we can put down some roots for a while and feel like we're not living out of a suitcase for once. After almost a year on tour, that means alot.
Opening night at the Kennedy Center is really quite a thrill. The hallways around our theater are these capacious marble and flag-festooned passages that look like something out of the original Superman movie. The theater is reminiscent of the Metropolitan Opera House in NYC: deep red walls and huge chandeliers. We've already had some VIP's come to the show (The Vice President's wife, Lynne Cheney, was here and she brought her granddaughters who are cute and love chocolate) and we're expecting some more to come see the show throughout our run here.
At the opening night party, Chris Matthews, host of MSNBC's Hardball, was there and graciously agreed to pose for photos with many of the cast members. Jeffery Ross, a comedian who has my record for the funniest off-color joke I've ever heard, was there, as well as Joe Pantoliano, who is much taller than I had envisioned him.
D.C. is very civilized (recent crime spree notwithstanding). Riding the Metro here, you will see a courteousness that is sorely lacking on the NYC subways. I've hypothesized that it has to do with the presence of so many military personnel, who have strict codes of personal conduct, that raises the bar on everyone's behavior. It makes me think of all the young DC men who have the benefit of good examples around them on a daily basis and how in NYC I've seen small boys witnessing men behaving in the most deplorable fashion. I'm a big fan of military people and all that they do for us. Be good to them, they deserve it.
We took a tour of the Capitol building, courtesy of Congressman Ike Skelton via our own Cary Michelle Miller. It was really amazing to sit in the House of Representatives and see all of your reps doing that thing that they do. The Capitol is really an amazing place and if you every get a chance to have a look at it, it will take your breath away. Next week, we go on a tour of the White House! I'll let you know how it goes.
My offer of backstage tours has been quite a success. I've given a bunch of tours to all of you lovely people who managed to get out here and I look forwad to a bunch more.
Just came back from my first "Garbage Party". Its a great tradition whereby people on tour about to move on to the next city, bring all of their uneaten food and we throw together whatever ingredients to make food for a party. I've never been to one, but I had a great time (I was going to write "I had a blast" but I'm over 35 and that would just be pathetic) and Eleanor Norton (no nickname to date), Orlando, and I took a dozen eggs, a pound of cheeses (plural), pounds of vegetables, and a hint of cinnamon (Orlando's suggestion) and made a frittatta. If you don't know what that is, its a big omlette that you bake.
At first I was worried that the egg hadn't cooked enough and that I would risk salmonella if I ate it (everyone else did, I didn't share my fears. Lesson: don't eat anything the cook won't eat) but it was delicious and, so far, without health repercussions. Found out that Renee doesn't understand the sun dried tomato, it upsets her like an eclipse upset the Aztecs.
Our musicians are leaving us. Here are their names, I know I'm going to miss someone and if I get your instrument wrong, don't complain: I didn't have to even mention you.
Chris Miele-reeds
Sheila Abate-French horn
Claudia Chopek-violin
Orlando WonTwentyDollarsFromMeAtPoker (found out he was half Puerto Rican tonite, explains the cinnamon)-Viola
Kevin McManus-trombone
Stephen I'mFromVirginiaButIDontWantPeopleToThinkI'mAHick
SoISayI'mFromDC-I forgot what he plays but he used to cause trouble with Eleanor, who plays the cello on that side of the pit, so I'm going to say woodwinds.
You all were great, you know that. The musicians on our tour add a great energy to whatever we were doing and we will truly miss them that are leaving.
The one's that are staying, well, they're nothing but trouble...
Alright then,
Its clear that this show has enough devoted fans (who come on this site) and the group is, shall we say, exclusive enough that if any of you out there are in a position to see the show again (fyi, DC from 6/26-7/24) you will get a PERSONAL backstage tour from me and a chance to meet Ms. McGovern (who is an actual angel) and all that nonsense. Heck, I'll throw in dinner after whatever performance you happen to see!
To reiterate: If you post on this site, and you can make it to a show, I will attempt to arrange all of those glittering experiences for you. So write to the webmaster at LittleWomenonBroadway.com and he'll forward your email to my address.
I guess I need to put the disclaimer in there that if anyone, in my opinion, turns out to be crazy, or if someone who knows about these things advises me that this is an unsafe idea, then we're gonna forget it. But I'm just puttin' it out there...
-V
Yesterday I did a press all morning here in Cincinnati: the FOX morning show and two radio interviews. It was a surprise that they asked me, let's put it this way: the Professor Bhaer action figure is not selling as well as the Marmee in flying battle armor. The lovely Nancy Parrott picked me to do the interviews because she reads this blog! Fancy that, she's gotten the mistaken impression that I've got some sort of engaging personality. Poor kid.
Nancy picked me up (in a Caddy, thank you very much) and took me to the tv station, and when we pulled up, the M&M mobile was there in the parking lot! It was awesome and the girls who were driving it let me have a look inside and everything. Let's put it this way, no gps. Actually, I'm not sure they even had a cd player. But man, they had a load of chocolate in that thing.
I was waiting in the green room and one of the other people being interviewed walked in and it was Sharon Wheatley. Now Sharon and I go WAY back, we both worked on my first paying job back in '91. She's just written a book about called "'til the fat girl sings" about her experience being an overweight teen whom everyone said would never make it, to being in THREE Broadway shows! Sharon is a good egg and she's not used to talking about herself this much but people are emailing that she's really helping them with their own weight issues. She and I went back and forth, just like old times, and she even managed to get Sheila Gray (my interviewer) to give me a little grief. It was great, I love doing press.
Then I went and did a taped interview with Mark DeWitt WAIFand then did a live interview with Kelly St. James on WAKW. That last one I was worried about. I'm kind of gregarious and that can rub people the wrong way, but I don't really have another setting. WAKW is a Christian station and I had this image that I was going back into the Catholic school that I'd left 30 years ago. Let me tell you how wrong I was. Kelly St. James gave as good as she got, (why are women always hassling me ;-), and the front office girls at the station are having a ball behind their desks. I've been glad to be wrong few times in my life, and this is up there.
Like I said, I love doing press. If I gotta get up at 6:30, I'm glad its cuz I'm gonna have fun.
So on this tour we've taken to having a monthly paintball day, and it is something that we all look forward to and take very seriously. Its the day that we leave "Little Women" behind and become "SWAT". This past Thursday, the usual cadre (Billy, Squeege, Fluff, Patty, Me, Dan, Minarik, the new guy Matty, John Mark) were joined by GIRLS! Julie Foldesi and Autumn joined the men in our ritual of sweat, fury, and pain.
If you've never been to paintball, you're biggest worry is the pain. A nickel-sized sphere travelling at 300 fps can leave a nasty welt. That's part of the charm. After any day of paintball, there is the obligatory "comparison of the wounds". Everyone lifting their shirts to show the rainbow of colors that surround the telltale white welt. Autumn and Julie handled themselves well and even proved invaluable to their teams. Julie appears rather unscathed while Autumn has a bruise on her leg that looks like a purple fried egg. Patty, who turns out to be a killing machine, took home the men's trophy bruises, the one on his back is particularly gruesome.
A great time was had by all. I was thinking of posting some of the bruise photos, but Susan advised against it.
Last night was a party hosted by Julie and Cary Michelle, the theme of which was tacky clothes. The entire company thought about this for weeks since the announcement and the parade of costumes did not dissappoint. Big hair, blue eyeshadow, tattoos, and trucker hats everywhere. Ann Kannengeiser's striking red hair was handsomely coiffed into something of a cross between Opie and Darth Vader. Billy and Autumn came as Dog the bounty hunter and his wife, with Billy as the wife. Duda was a hillbilly and concertmistress Susie was a pregnant smoker.
Maureen graciously catered the whole affair, even as many of us brought our own favorite trashy foods, including a chili dip that I dispatched almost singlehandedly.
Katie Fisher will be joining us this week and performing this weekend's matinees and resuming her regular schedule next week in Louisville, KY. It will be good to have her back.
Julie Foldesi's last performance will be the Thursday matinee. We will miss her. Meet her and you'll understand why.
Someone asked what sorts of things we do to each other to mess around. I have to explain that there is a fine line on those sorts of things. If you intend to mess around with someone, you have to be reasonably certain that that person will be able to continue with whatever stage business they have to do, that means you can't do something that will affect the flow of the performance.
Sadly there are some of us who, regardless of how subtle the particular trick being played is, will have a hard time keeping it together. I am, unfortunately, that sort of person. I get tickled even thinking that something is being done. Susan is better at it than me, but we really don't mess with her because she's ususally the focus of every scene she's in and that's off limits.
Steve Patterson once appeared in the wings, directly in my view, carrying a coil of rope, and started acting like he was a mountain climber. Now, you may wonder why that's funny but I was facing offstage directly at him and I had to bite the inside of my cheek. I am the worst. Patterson also is the king of the zinger snuck in during general hubbub. Susan is always telling me the things he's saying when there is the upset in the March home over Amy's fall thru the ice. "Jo, go on forgive her. Have you been drinking?" Stuff like that. You can always tell when he gets her with one because when Jo tells everyone to be quiet, Susan yells it furiously, trying to get it under control.
Congrats to Sutton Foster on her Tony nomination! Haven't seen the show but heard she's incredible.
The audiences in Cleveland have been pretty fantastic! I'm in the first scene in the show and since there are a some laughs in the scene, when I come offstage Maureen asks me, "How are they?" Well, Cleveland has consistently been a great audience. Always laughing and always a big, fat standing ovation at bows.
Backstage stuff: when I come offstage from that first scene, I see Maureen, who is waiting to go on, and she asks how the audience is, I tell her, and then I say to her, "Share your gifts" as I walk off to my dressing room. This little exchange is one of those backstage traditions that makes our night complete.
Last night, during the scene where Amy comes back from Europe, the March home had no couch. There was a tech problem so the sofa was unable to run onstage and they all had to do the scene standing. Susan told me that she was worried that Stephen would do something to make her laugh so she tried to look at him as little as possible. He's done it to me so she made the right choice.
We thought we had lost our camera. We were frantically looking for 3 days and finally I found the house manager here who put me in touch with the head of security. We left it in the house during sound check and someone had turned it in. A big shoutout to Tom, head of security, and whoever turned our camera in: Thanks!
Twice a year, an organization called Broadway Cares/Equity Fights Aids leads a fundraising drive to collect for people living with AIDS/HIV. The fundraising culminates in The Easter Bonnet in the spring and Gypsy of the Year in the fall, where each show puts together a small production number (usually funny or moving) and the totals of each shows fundraising is announced. Since 1987, over $100million has been raised.
In Little Women, James Darrah (assistant stage manager/Bhaer-Laurence standby) has been the pointman for the fundraising. For those 6 weeks, after the company bow, Maureen announces that she's moving out to the lobby and introduces Luisa Flaningham as having a favor to ask. Luisa explains to the audience what we're doing and that Maureen has recorded a new cd songcard called "Help is on the Way" (a very moving song, btw) which she will personalize for a minimum donation in the lobby.
Our show has collected, in the past 6 weeks,over $30,000. A dollar at a time. Every little bit helps.
Most Thursday nights our crew has a poker game in the company hotel. For a $10 buy-in, we enjoy a friendly game of Texas hold-em, replete with tense moments and heaps of trash-talk. Usually 12-15 people show up and the game begins at 11:30 pm and you play until one person wins all the chips on the table, usually about 3 am. The winner receives the lion's share of the collective buy-in as well as a proud trophy, fashioned by our propman Will and edited by flyman Squatch.
Well, last Thursday, yours truly, for the first time, WON.
Oh, the glory. Oh, the majesty. I really didn't expect it. The guys on the crew are playing online poker constantly, I had no reason at all to expect I wouldn't be going home before midnite. The cards kept coming and, lo and behold, I am in possession (sp?) of the Little Women Weekly Poker trophy.
Winning the game is a hoot but spending the time with the cast and crew is the real reason for staying up way too late. We laugh so much and yell so loud that its a wonder the hotels even allow it. The men and women on our crew are so diverse a bunch, who have been together over several tours, that sitting there and listening to them interact is really my reason for showing up. Billy, Squeege, Fluff, Eyan, Squatch, Platt, John Mark, JT, McP: each provides a different character to this Star-Wars-cantina that we travel with.
By the way, Susan surprised us by sending a boat-load of Domino's pizza to the game room.
Who's luckier than me?
Anyone who has seen the show knows how hard the actor playing Jo is working. She carries the show on her back basically all the way through. Having played Jean Valjean (finally got it on the page, Miniarik) I know how tiring a huge role can be. (ok I was the understudy, Patty) (we call Stephen Patterson "Patty")
Katie is on a medical leave. She last played in St. Louis and was scheduled to rejoin the tour here in Baltimore, but she told us this week that she is going to be out longer. She is now coming back in June, and Susan Spencer will continue as Jo with Julie Foldesi performing the role "at certain performances".
This is the week we were to have spent performing in New Orleans, but with Katrina having hit, the week was cancelled and we were all free to roam. Over the last weeks at the theater, everyone's been planning and sharing their plans for the layoff week. Hawaii, Jamaica, the Dominican Republic, and Ohio are some of the places people went.
When we get to Baltimore, I'll fill in the blanks.
We leave FtL today and it had some memorable events:
Maureen hosted a tea party for the ladies of the tour. Susan came back to me and described a lovely afternoon with the girls. Oscar and myself, left to our own devices, cruised up and down Ocean Blvd taking in the beach. Its Spring Break here so the place is loaded with college kids getting their freak on. I have never felt so old. Also, had I know how much coed attention a 3-year-old would get me, I'd've had one in college.
Cary, Renee, and Michael (Renee's man) were rear-ended in their car at a stoplight. They had some soreness but, thankfully, avoided major injury. The other driver was also alright, but totalled her car. Oops. Driving around here has a Grand Prix feel. Scary.
Minarik had what, by all accounts, was an epic poker night at his apartment. He's staying with some friends in a palace and offered it as the weekly poker venue. John McP won with the delectible Peggy Taphorn coming in second. Julie Foldesi came in 4th in her first poker outing. She's a shark, that one...
For the Varela's, we went to visit my cousins in Miami and, not having been there ten minutes, my little buddy Oscar falls off a swing and breaks his wrist. Many hours and two hospitals later, my little man has a big blue cast on his forearm. It hasn't slowed him down a bit, but I do get "What did you do?" looks from other parents at the parks.
See you in GA.
Lets do a fast catch-up:
Chicago- We loved chicago! Its got New York sophistication with midwestern friendliness. It was great to see our show up in huge lights again. We played on Chicago's Bway equivalent so it was a trip to walk to work though all the flashing lights of the different shows that were playing. Kevin Duda hooked the Varela's up with a SWEET penthouse about a mile from the theater. Incredible views and a flat screen tv. We had a hard time leaving that one.
The audiences were great, lots of autographs to sign after the show.
Appleton- Its starting to get cold out there and Appleton is the furthest north we go until Minneapolis. Its a nice town with a good strip of lively shops and restaurants that serve a college crowd. The theater itself is state of the art (its a hard rule that the larger the city, the more decrepit the backstage area, Appleton was spotless). Susan Spencer is from Wisconsin so she had lots of family come in to see her perform. On Grammy night, Katie Fisher had the honor of stepping forward during bows to inform the crowd that Maureen McGovern had won a Grammy award for her work on a collaborative children's album! Maureen was very moved and thanked everyone onstage and called us "the best cast ever".
Kevin Duda took over the role of Laurie while little Stevie Patterson went to NYC to take part in the workshop of the ABBA people's new musical "Christine". Our associate director, Darcy Evans, will join the company in the Laurie/John Brooke standby slot.
Minneapolis- Cold. 18 below 0. However, we do find the Mall of America and we spend alot of time in the amusement park there. Our producer, Randal Wreghitt, is from the Minneapolis area and his sister invited the cast to her house for a luncheon to celebrate Randal and to meet his family.
Now, Randal is robust 6'2" and he's the runt of the bunch, because everyone there looked like they belonged at one of those Strongman contests. Uncle Fred was the epitome of the term "gentle giant". They were so loving and so proud of Randal (Randy, as they say) even old teachers of his were there. They all came to see the show and, afterwards, had a gathering at a restaurant near the theater. They were a bunch of characters and I can completely understand how they made Randal the character he is.
St Louis- when you play StL, the first question you ask is "Are we playing the Fox?" Besides being one of the most beautiful theaters in the country, the backstage area of the Fox is covered with the graffitti of a thousand tours that have passed through, from the simple signatures of Ray Romano and Bill Cosby to entire walls of feathers that memorialize the tour of "La Cage". When you're not onstage you can just walk around reading all the signatures of friends and legends and you'd never get through all of them.
Bob "I can't help my hard face" Stattel, an accomplished artist, is responsible for the Little Women painting and when I tell you it looks like a Monet, I really don't know what a Monet looks like. Bob always paints a moment from the show, one that isn't onstage but is talked about.
After a matinee, we had a cast barbecue. Squatch, our giant flyman, drags out his grill and we make burgers, dogs, and basically whatever else you want. Its just another way we make the road seem a little more homey. Someone stole my bratwurst, I'm still p.o.ed about that.
Katie Fisher left us on a medical leave, her knee requires a little surgery so she's going to be out for the next 5 weeks. Susan Spencer will take over the role and Julie Foldesi will be the alternate Jo. For those of you who followed the Bway run of the show, Julie was the Jo alternate in NYC. Back on Bway, she and I used to play a rather cutthroat game of Monopoly in the standby room during the show. She's a great energy and is going to fit perfectly with the family we have going out here.
Tampa- Florida FINALLY! We are now out of the winter doldrums and can enjoy the outdoors again. We spend as much time as we can soaking up the sun. The audiences are fantastic. They hootin and hollerin at all the jokes and jumping to their feet when the curtain comes down. Nice weather=good audiences I guess. The Varela's stayed with some friends who had a pool so Tampa was a great pseudo-vacation. Stephen Patterson came back to us.
Bob Stattel, who has played Mr. Laurence in every incarnation of the show and has never missed a performance, comes down with the flu and our own James Darrah goes on. He, thoughtfully, walks around to everyone he has to work with and shows them the beard he has to wear. After we have a laugh (and a couple of Amish jokes), James gives a wonderful performance.
Ft Lauderdale- so now we're relatively up-t0-date. FtL is in the middle of spring break so the city is really busy but, again, great weather all the time. In our first week we've had two barbecues and we're planning the next one already.
I'm going to try to blog weekly henceforth, a gentle prod from fans of the show was well received. Forgive me.
Very interesting things happening to yours truly as of late.
When we were in Detroit a few weeks ago (sorry I'm not keeping you up on stuff) I, as I often do, did yoga in my dressing room during my hour-and-a-half break in Act I. Well, it would appear that I managed to find myself a little bacterium that lodged in my left foot and proceeded to, over the next week, make it swell up like something out of a National Geographic piece. I went to a doctor, got some antibiotics. Didn't get better. I went to the emergency room, got a shot. Didn't get better. Finally, when my Susan,myself and Oscar are driving from Charlotte to Boston, we stop for the night in Winchester, VA. We get into the hotel room and I am almost in tears with pain. I take the car and drive myself to the hospital where the doctor said, "You're not going home tonight."
He was almost right: I didn't go home for 3 days. I was on iv antibiotics the entire time and, for a needlephobe like myself, had my blood drawn at least a bazillion times (it was 3x but I was traumatized nonetheless.)
So now we're in Boston and James Darrah, our Prof Standby and Assistant Stage Manager, is doing a brilliant job with the role and the show is getting beautiful reviews.
If you've learned nothing from me this post, learn this: flip flops.
Hello from Columbus! Had a great opening last night, great audience. And by that I mean they loved me.
The word for the week is "tight". This is a beautiful theater that is very "tight". Matt Marholin told us at sound check that this is as "tight" as its ever going to get. There is no crossover (those of you who don't know what that is, its the backstage way we get from stage left to stage right) so we hurriedly spent a few minutes reblocking the show so that no one needs a crossover. A fun game for those who have seen the show several times would be to see where those changes occur.
Katie Fisher's room at this Doubletree we're staying at is off the hook. Its a two-story deal that she promised me she would have a party in, and I am going to hold her to that.
We lose half the orchestra at the end of this week, they're going home for 3 months as the cities we're going into require the use of local musicians. This is especially sad as we have a great bunch of people playing every night (and a few cuties as well) who've been a reliable source of fun these past months. We shall miss them. Eleanor, Claudia, Jeff, Matt, Chris, Kevin, Orlando, see you next quarter.
Happy Thanksgiving to all our LW devotees! We're in New Haven and a slight dusting of snow is giving us exactly the right atmostphere for the beginning of the holidays. Sitting in my hotel room, Susan and Oscar getting ready for the feast, watching the National Dog Show...yes, my friends, "Living the Dream".
Our esteemed producers have arranged for a Thanksgiving dinner here at the Omni Hotel. Dani, Jason, Randall and Tom all came our opening night and had us all for drinks after in the same restaurant (which is really quite lovely). I'm really looking forward to this meal, we received the menu some weeks ago and then entire cast was giggly reading it. Its gonna be good. I'll tell you all about it later.
The Schubert Theater here is tight but its the sort of space that we enjoy playing. We're a small show and playing an intimate space is a real treat, you can bring all the subtleties back that don't work in a huge barn theater. I, personally, sing "How I am" about three feet away from an audience member (must be a premium seat!).
See you in Columbus!
Hello! Andrew Varela blogging from sunny southern California here! Just let me say, if you're going to tech a show, why not tech it in one of the most beautiful places on our little blue planet?
Fire, blah, blah, blah, sets damaged, blah, blah, show must go on, blah.
We're fine and we're going to do our show however we must. You would not believe how upbeat the mood is here. Before rehearsal today, Ken Gentry and Dani Davis gathered everyone and just let us know where everything stood and how "herculean" efforts from the scene shops in Vegas to our own road crew are going to get us up and running in record time. Everyone is pulling this cart and its simply gonna get done. We're actually looking forward to it, in an A-team/Macgyver kinda way.
I realized we were going to be ok when, back in NYC, after hearing the news and wondering what was going to happen, our own little General Patton, Susan Schulman, strode into rehearsal and proclaimed, "I will put this show on with whatever set we darn well have left!" She was such a comfort as well as an inspiration that we all were soon feeling the same defiant spirit. Soon the jokes came and I mentioned to Dani that this is going to make a fine chapter for the "Little Women, the musical" coffee-table book that's sure to come out.
There's a line in the show, "We March women are invincible!". Well, it appears they're fireproof as well.
Andrew giving the heads-up to y'all that Janet Carroll, Little Women's own Aunt March/Mrs. Kirk, is right now working on a tell-all that chronicles how she came to the show and shares how she brings her characters to life eight times a week in the show.
I've already perfomed several times with Janet and, take it from me, she is the real deal. You have GOT to check back here to read what she's got to say.
Varela out-
Link over to BroadwayWorld to see a range of photo's from the DC signing.
Andrew here - Did you know that Little Women has the only orchestra on Broadway that is all acoustic? Yup, not a single bit of electricity befouling our musical instruments. I asked Jason Howland (composer and all around great guy, looks like James Marsden ((Cyclops from X-Men movies))) why he chose that and he said that it had been his vision from the beginning to write a musical that could be played they way they used to be played. As someone who has listened to the score many a time, the purity of that vision comes across beautifully.
Speaking of beautiful, Bob Stattel (Mr. Laurence) said the thing that struck him most about the whole CD recording experience was how beautiful it was to see the orchestra again. You know, since the show began, the orchestra and the cast don't get to see each other much. The cast shows up at half-hour (or before) and goes upstairs, while the orchestra shows up (anytime before the start of the show((!))) and goes into the pit beneath the stage (no Golem images please).
If you've never SEEN an orchestra play, then you're missing a beautiful sight. Andrew Wilder (conductor) gets up there and as soon as he starts waving his arms the orchestra becomes a single organism, moving with each pulse of the music, its really a sight to behold. You might even see our percussionist, Jim, over on the left, running around like a crazy person, playing the timps, marimba, glockenschpiel, chimes, bells, triangles, snares, and probably the kitchen sink. I call him Vishnu, the Hindu god who has all the extra arms, because he could use another pair of arms for all the cues he has.
Varela out-
Andrew here - We're coming up on a wave of events that have to do with the release of the Little Women Original Cast Recording and I thought it might be interesting to the shows fans to learn about how the recording was made. I went around the theater and pestered the cast to tell me their experiences so big thanks go out to Sutton, Maureen, Jim, John, Bob, Danny, Amy, Jenny, Megan, and Janet.
The recording process, to put it diplomatically, requires meticulousness. Knowing that this particular recording is going to stand forever as the definitive example of "Little Women the Musical" means that you work and work "until it is right". A great sense of humor is an absolute must if you're doing anything in the studio as, invariably, you will be asked to sing your most difficult passages "just one more time". I happen to really like studio singing because you do get to get it right. Also, there's ususally no shortage of food.
The day began at 10 AM with the orchestra laying down the overture and entre act, the cast joined the fun at noon. With the day scheduled to go until 10PM, its was important for the actors to pace themselves and make sure they don't oversing themselves into hoarseness. Luckily for us, our voices are some of the best and strongest you're going to hear on Bway (and that's no idle boast) so we brought stamina in buckets.
You get up off the sofa in the green room (anyone want to know what that is?) go into the studio, put on your headphones (like listening to yourself whispering in your own ears) and wait for the engineer to tell you what you're singing. You might hear, "Let's take it from the top" or they might tell you to start somewhere in the middle. The good thing is that in any take of a given song, you might blow the doors off of Section A, but you might forget a word in Section B. So, you'll go back and start at Section B and get another run at it. Using special software, the engineer can bond the good Section A to your best Section B and voila! Its the perfect you!
So pick up your copy of the CD and (props to a certain chef) kick it up a notch by getting it signed at the theater by the cast on Saturday, May 7 from 4:45 to 5:15. SWEET!
Andrew here - I was watching "Volcano Press" from the wings and thought you might be interested to know that, after the song is over, if you peer into the darkness upstage you might see a giant crushing New York with his mighty footfalls.
Actually, it'll be Jim Weitzer crossing the stage with a large black cloth over his head. He exits from VP as Braxton Prendergast but in the next scene he switches to John Brooke who has an entrance from the opposite side of the stage. Now that would mean a mad dash involving several flights of stairs (we have to go to the basement to make a "crossover") and a big costume change. To save Jim the trauma (and possible injury), they've worked out a trick wherein he comes offstage after VP, they throw a black cloth over his head, and he strolls across our darkened miniature NYC skyline like some titanic wraith.
Kinda cool, no?
The Outer Critics Circle, an organization comprised of out-of-town critics who cover New York City theater, have announced their nominations for the 2004-2005 theatrical season and Little Women -the musical's Sutton Foster has garnered a nomination for Best Actress in a Musical. Although the winners will be announced May 9, they won't be officially "lauded" until the 55th annual awards ceremony on Thursday, May 26th at Sardi's
Andrew Varela here, I'm working on a cool cyberhandle. I'll keep you posted.
Sometimes its helpful to explain to those interested what our world looks like in order to let you get a better understanding of what our daily life is like. To that end, lets take a virtual stroll backstage at the Virginny.
This is the inaugural post from the cast of Little Women on Broadway! We're going to be blogging from our LWOB Terminal or whatever it is eventually called ("LWOB Command Center" gets my vote) and we're going to be giving everyone a glimpse of what's happening backstage on as close to a daily basis as we can provide. There's alot that goes into putting the show up nightly (and matinee-ly) and we're going to be sharing the tension, hilarity, sorrows, and pastries (thanks, Sutton) that abound at the Virginia Theater.
Let's see what happens...
From: Andrew Varella (u.s. Prof. Bher/Mr. Laurence)Wednesday evening, April 20th, Little Women - the musical celebrated its 100th performance since its opening on Broadway on January 23rd. The cast had their own small celebration before the show on Wednesday and celebrated with the authors, producers, friends and family on Thursday at the CD release party at Angus McIndo's. Check out photos of the event at Broadway.com.
In an historic first for a Broadway musical, members ofLittle Women- the musical's cast and crew will be contributing to the show blog. They will be writing about the show, the book and other interesting topics. Check the show blog often to see their posting and comments.
This is the inaugural post from the cast of Little Women on Broadway! We're going to be blogging from our LWOB Terminal or whatever it is eventually called ("LWOB Command Center" gets my vote) and we're going to be giving everyone a glimpse of what's happening backstage on as close to a daily basis as we can provide. There's alot that goes into putting the show up nightly (and matinee-ly) and we're going to be sharing the tension, hilarity, sorrows, and pastries (thanks, Sutton) that abound at the Virginia Theater.
Let's see what happens...
From: Andrew Varella (u.s. Prof. Bher/Mr. Laurence)ON Saturday Marueen will be on the Local TODAY show.
Click over to the new Production Diary to find out the details.
Maureen McGovern, who plays Marmee in the new Broadway musical Little Women, will sit down for a chat with host Seth Rudetsky at the March 31 edition of Seth's Broadway Chatterbox.
Generations of Women have been inspired by the book. Lauren is just one fine example. Her mom gave her the book when she was 10.
September 29, 1994
Dear Lauren,
Happy 10th Birthday!! I hope you enjoy reading this book as much as I did when I was your age.
Love,
"Marmee"
P.S. Hope you have your happiest birthday ever, little woman!
She is a fan of two of the movie versions (I look forward to hearing about those) and is a super fan of the musical.
When I first heard a couple years ago they were working on a musical version, I was thrilled! It combined my favorite book with musical theatre, my passion, and I knew I'd be a huge fan. I've seen the show a few times and am extremely pleased with what the creators did with my favorite book. I think it's a great show that could warm even the coldest heart.
We look forward to following her show experiences here.
I just found this
video of the Cast Album being Made it is a terific snapshot of that day and has clips from many of the songs.
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