ENTRY #3

September 27, 1999

  Oh dear, I’m waaaayy behind in my journal, so I’m gonna try to hit some highlights and move through quickly.

Dallas

  This was my first experience of taking my Dog, Griffin, to a hotel. We had worked it out in advance that he would be welcomed at all 3 hotels for our mini tour, but still the “Gestapo” met us at the door. After a round of 20 questions everything was cleared up and it wasn’t long before Griffin was the most popular guest in the hotel, fondly greeted by every member of the staff wherever we went. This continued throughout the tour in each city, much to Griffin’s delight and inflated self-esteem!

   I had not been to “Dallas Summer Musicals” since the late 80’s. I had come through with a tour of “Sound of Music” starring Debby Boone, in which I played the oldest living “Rolf” ever (Liesel was Emily Loesser, daughter of Frank Loesser and Jo Sullivan, a brilliant actress whom some of you may have seen in “Titanic” on B’way). Though I felt that SP would be a hit, I was not prepared for the overwhelming reception we received. They LOVED the show!! I received letters and e-mails from people saying they had been long-time subscribers to DSM and that this was the best show they’d seen in 10 years. We had hundreds of repeat customers. The ovations for “Creation” some nights would last close to a minute! And what a rush, coming from close to 3,000 people per show. Reviews were all glowing and supportive. What a great start!

  As an opening night gift, our Radio City/MSG producers very generously gave each member of the cast crew and staff gift certificates from the Western Warehouse. So, it was a trip to see us all look more and more like cowboys as the weeks went on, acquiring boots and jeans and what have you (Marc K. bought 2 pair!). Michael Jenkins and his staff at DSM treated us like kings and showered us with gifts, which we greatly appreciated. I also received a surprise visit from several “Buddies” or “BB’s”, which included Kristine, looking smashing in her new “Creation of Man” costume. What a treat!

Houston

  Things were only slightly tougher for us in Houston, which I attribute mostly to the Theatre we played. The Wortham Center, though a beautiful facility was primarily intended for Opera, Ballet and Concerts. It is a cavernous space, with a stage at one end, shaped like a smokestack or the inside of a nuclear reactor, tall with many balcony levels. It makes it rather difficult to give an intimate performance (this is only a temporary home for “Theatre under the stars”, ‘til their new theatre is completed in 2002).  Nonetheless, we had a great 2 week run, made many new friends and played to packed houses. We received a slightly more reserved response, but still wonderfully enthusiastic. I met many new “Buddies” there, which was very cool. We continued to tighten the show, to experiment. My daughters visited for the first week, also my Birthday week, and we had a blast, filling our days with trips to the Houston Space center, the skating rink and of course, the pool. Having them at the show for the first time was a trip; Austin, my youngest, said her favorite part was “…when you got your head chopped off”. Everyone’s a critic.

Atlanta

  I came down with a terrible cold the night we left Houston and was fearful of missing shows, but luckily my voice held out. We played The Fox, an incredible theatre with the outline of a castle surrounding the stage and a cyclorama of evening stars on the ceiling (it was very cool to sing “…but the stars and I begin to blurr…” and actually look up at them). Though old and quite large, it is a magical and charming theatre and felt much more intimate to me. Audiences were remarkable. I met many Leaguers, there for their first taste of SP3, and was thrilled by their enthusiasm and encouragement. Now at the end of our brief summer jaunt, we were all quite anxious to get home…

  Coming next, The road to New York, inside info on the new “Grappin” and Opening night!