One Week To Go

Thanksgiving has come and gone and I am into the final stretch before leaving for the tour. This week will be about settling things here in New York and making sure my home base is taken care of before leaving it for a year. I will also be buying a new set of luggage and some neccesaries for the trip. I anticipate another possible round of fittings before I head out to Michigan next week. Everyone from the tour has been extremely helpful, answering my questions, large and small, and making me feel very welcome and taken care of.

The Broadway stagehands strike may be coming to an end this week, as both sides were into negotiations late into the night last night. For the sake of my friends working on Broadway, and for the industry and the audiences alike, I hope that they can come to a satisfactory conclusion this week. Unfortunately, with "Spamalot" dark for the past two weeks I have been unable to view the show as many times as I would have wished before starting the rehearsal process, but I will see it many times over the next couple weeks before my performances begin in DC December 18. What a treat to begin my role during the week leading up to Christmas!

Decorating the Cake

This week was about fittings, of several kinds. First I made a call at Euro Co where the chainmail is made for Spamalot. I was measured and put into a pair of mail tights and some sleeves. The tights made me feel a little like I was in a child's "footie" pajamas and I'm afraid, if you look at the picture taken during my fitting, I look it a bit! From there I trudged through the rainy, soggy Manhattan streets to T.O. Dey, a long-established Broadway institution, where custom made shoes are created.

This is one of the great pleasures of becoming part of a Broadway show. Doors open onto creative workshops where the finest work has been done for the biggest shows and biggest talents for decades! T.O. Dey just reeks of history. I was greeted by Gino and shown to a fitting room where I waited with sadly soggy stocking feet. The whole place seemed to be working, and leather and shoes and foot casts were everywhere. Gino measured my feet and traced them and I was on my way. They will be making two pairs of custom made boots for me. Now if you think I am not feeling giddily like a star, you would be wrong. It's so much fun! And more, one begins to see that the reason for all the great expense is the pursuit of absolute excellence.

Today I went to Barbara Matera, an amazing costume shop, where the rest of my costumes will be constructed. I was greeted so warmly by everyone and shown into a plush fitting room, where I just imagined like, Chita Rivera being pinned into a costume (I know--whenever I think STAR I think immediately of Chita Rivera first!). I was measured and met the talented man who would be building my white tailcoat for the glitzy finale of the show. I am just in awe that I have been invited into this rarefied world. Got my script yesterday! Now the real work begins...

What's that on your head?

A wig! Today I was measured for the three wigs that will be made for me to wear as Sir Robin and others. The wigs are designed by David Brian Brown, a very accomplished designer who has done many Broadway shows and was nominated for an Emmy for "Angels in America." I went to his studio where he wrapped my head in Saran Wrap and adhesive tape and scribbled on it with a Sharpie. When he slid the concoction off my head, it was revealed as a transparent mold of my head, on which the wig makers in London will build the wigs! Amazing. Then David draped various switches of strawberry blond and light auburn hair over my forehead in a series of bangs that, well, made me look a little Jane Wyman frankly! But I know David will give me that signature Sir Robin look, and on the wall nearby David Hyde Pierce smiled down from a "Spamalot" photo, sporting his strawberry blonde mane. And he didn't look the least Jane Wyman. I almost had to pinch myself to realize that I am actually going to be playing Mr. Hyde Pierce's role in less than two months...

Welcome!

Welcome, friends, fans and family, to my blog. As I embark on the grand adventure of my first Broadway National Tour, I invite you to come along for the ride! I will be posting regularly with stories, observations, reviews, and photos as I make my way around the USA. Feel free to comment or email me and keep me connected with what's happening in your world. And enjoy the ride!!