This will be a brief entry, friends, but I just wanted to take a moment to thank the fans of Clay Aiken who seem to have suddenly discovered my blog and have written very nice comments for me. I have published your kind words and I feel very happy that you took the time to share with me not only your enthusiasm for Clay but for "Spamalot." It is clear that Clay's fans are people who appreciate talent and who are inspired by kindness and good spirit. I am sure by now Clay is having a total blast playing Robin, as am I. Once you have done the show enough, it gets into your muscles and you can let your spirit soar and enjoy the connection with the audience. Then the real fun begins. Come Sunday evening here in Nashville I will have given 71 performances of the part. How time flies!
I did want to mention to the fans of Clay Aiken and also to anyone visiting my blog and wanting to say hello that you can email me directly at james@jamesbeaman.com. When you post a comment to the blog I am not always able to respond to your questions directly. But to answer a couple that I received--yes, I will be with the tour when we hit the midwest this spring. We will be doing dates in Ohio, Wisconsin, Michigan, and Minnesota. For dates, visit the "Spamalot" website and click on the tour map to find a city near you. Also to the Clay fan who wrote from Vancouver--you will be pleased to know that the tour is coming to your town. We will be there for a month in July and yes, I will be performing there.
Since I am here I can relate a few more of my Nashville adventures. I went to the Country Music Hall of Fame, which is a fascinating museum, full of wonderful memorabilia, costumes and guitars owned by some of the greats of country music, and even one of Elvis' Cadillacs with a gold interior and a finish made with crushed diamonds. There are rare recordings from the early days of the industry to listen to, and video interviews with greats like Dolly Parton. When you are in Nashville, don't miss it.
I also went to visit the Parthenon, a replica of the original ancient Greek temple which was built originally as part of Nashville's Centennial celebration in the late 19th century. It was a huge event similar to the World's Fair in St. Louis. The Parthenon is quite beautiful and houses a huge statue of Athena gleaming with gold leaf, as well as an art gallery with a permanent collection of fine paintings, including one by Winslow Homer.
Last night, to celebrate the birthday of one of our actors, we went to a real Nashville honky tonk club called The Stage. Packed with people wall to wall and rocking with good time country music, it was a real taste of the town. All that seemed to be missing were John Travolta, Debra Winger and an electric bull! And if you don't get the reference, then you're much younger than I...
Here is another in my growing gallery of photos with "Spamalot" dressers. Dressing Number 5 this week has been the lovely Tiffany. She is another one of those impossibly young looking mothers of three! She got involved in dressing at TPAC through an aunt years ago and it has become a steady sideline for her. She is just lovely. Well, folks, we head to sunny Florida next week and I already have my white Vans to wear with my linen pants during the day, and my jeans and cowboy boots to sport in the evening! Hope everyone had a nice Valentine's Day and best wishes until next time.
5 comments:
Another Clay fan here who found your blog and thoroughly enjoyed reading ALL your entries from being cast to costume fittings to rehearsals on to performances. On stage you all make it look so easy that we just don't realize the hard work that goes into giving a great performance so thank you for the behind the scenes look.
Your writing is so good and you seem like one classy guy. Enjoy yourself, God speed, break a leg and all that good stuff. If I'm lucky I'll catch you in Raleigh come April cause no way can I get to NYC.
Oh - you did get your professional photos in costume so you didn't have to be envious after all. Cool. :)
Hi...am a Clay fan and have really appreciated your comments about Clay and our enthusiasm for him. But there is something I wanted you to know. I saw Spamalot in NYC a few weeks ago and absolutely loved everyone in it. I sat next to a young man in his 20's who was visiting NYC with his parents. They lived in different towns and were using the NYC trip as a means to get together.
The parents told me they were so happy to be able to see the show again. They had seen it at Proctor's in upstate NY a few weeks before and totally loved it. When their son suggested seeing a show, they immediately got tickets for Spamalot. They knew he would love it. He did. Laughed his buns off.
His parents' enthusiasm had nothing to do with Clay, but for the production they had seen before...the gift of talent that you and your fellow castmates so generously gave them. And, as you have seen, many Clay fans will be seeing your show locally because they can't afford to go to NYC.
Your blog is very interesting and I hope you continue to tell about your adventures as you experience them!
Hi! Clay fan from Nashville here. I'm so happy to hear you are enjoying our city. I was planning to come and see you tomorrow, but some frineds & I were able to get great seats to see the show in NYC...hope your feelings aren't too hurt. *g* Anyway, thanks for being so kind to Guitar Town, and for your kind words about Clay as well. :-)
Hi Jamie,
I love reading your blogs! Thank you for your kind comments about Clay.. he is truly an amazing man. I love that you explore and take pictures of the cities you visit. You are an entertaining writer and I will continue to follow your journey.
Your visit to Nashville was interesting and I was especially fascinated with the boot store owner and his story about Jim Morrison!
That was a heck of a deal to buy one pair of boots and get 2 free! I need to check the Spamalot website to see if you're coming to Albuquerque...I'd love to see you here.
I wish you well.
Hello again!
I just read more of your blogs and was particularly interested in your blog about how you prepare for the shows and all the activities that go into it. Fascinating! I'm going to NY in April to see Clay in Spamalot, but I am also attending one of your performances in Albuquerque in June...looking forward to both!
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