Benched

Week 40: New York, NY

Chico: Doctor, Doctor, it hurts when I do this!
Groucho: Don't do that!


As you can imagine, it was incredibly frustrating and difficult to watch my company head off for the opening in Toronto, and know that I had to stay behind in New York for medical attention. After the initial injury to my leg on stage last Friday night in Hartford, my task was to get as much information as possible about what had happened and seek immediate treatment so as to get me well and back on the boards as soon as possible-- for many reasons, not the least of them financial; if I don't play, I don't get paid. I rested on Saturday of last week, missing both shows (my fourth and fifth missed performances since starting the tour), lying in my hotel room with the leg packed in ice. On Sunday, no one performed, as severe weather related to the recent tropical storm activity to the south blew through Hartford, knocking out the power at the Bushnell Theatre. Both of our last shows in Hartford were cancelled, and many of us returned to New York prior to the travel to Canada.

While my co-workers headed north, I stayed in Manhattan and visited Dr. David Weiss, the orthopedist who treats everyone on Broadway, helping injured performers get back to their eight a week. Dr. Weiss examined me and told me that I had torn my gastrocnemius, the muscle on the inside edge of my calf, but that it wasn't an extreme tear and no tendons were damaged--this was very good news. It will take four weeks for the muscle to completely heal but with physical therapy and rest, I can be back in the show sooner than that. I will have three sessions of physical therapy this week and my plan is to fly to Toronto for the start of next week, and be back on stage next Tuesday. It will mean toning down some of the more energetic movements in the show but I know I can do that and still deliver a strong performance. Meantime, it means patience and positive attitude to get well. The important thing for me to remember is that this is a common injury, usually happens while doing something simple that ordinarily wouldn't stress the muscle, and that it wasn't misuse or anything I did wrong that resulted in the injury. It's just "one of those things," but it reminds me that one can never take anything for granted and that our bodies are amazing, miraculous machines that need our care and attention to operate at maximum levels. I believe everything happens for a reason and there is a reason I need to be sidelined right now, resting and healing. I am very confident that I will be back in my role very soon.

Nevertheless, my morale is low. Imagine me in my apartment in New York, a place I had dreamed about many times while on the road, yet wanting so badly to be in Toronto. Tuesday evening, September 9. At 7:30 I think, they're getting the half hour call now. This is when I would be putting on my make-up. At fifteen minutes, Suzanne would come in and put me in my wig. At eight o'clock, imagine how heavy my heart is when I realize the overture is starting and someone else will be opening for me in Toronto. The first opening night on the tour that I have missed. And such a good one. It is hard to covey to you, dear reader, the kinds of fears and anxieties that arise when an injury sidelines you from performing. After years of trying so hard to get work in the profession, when one finally has a great gig, the last thing one wants is to be out of it. I feel a great responsibility to the company and to my role and to the audience to be there, 100%, every time. I've had irrational moments of panic when I worry that I will never work again, or I will be replaced in the show. Then I ice my leg another time. And pray.




The people at Physioarts, where I am receiving physical therapy, are great. I felt a sense of camaraderie with the other performers getting worked on in their office, all Broadway performers who, for whatever reason, have become injured on the job. Being a Type A person and a scrapper who never lets anything hold him back, it was comforting for me to realize that no matter how good you are at what you do, or how fit you are, or how strong you feel your body is, something can happen to upset the delicate balance. And all anyone can do is get treatment and keep one's chin up. So that's what I am doing, while I treat the leg, fill out and fax the many forms for worker's compensation, and try to keep the financial hemorrhaging to a minimum. Losing a week will be a huge setback for me financially but it could have been much worse and I am thankful it wasn't. Now if I can just keep from gnawing my fingers off from frustration and boredom...

Well, since I am laid up I can address a question sent to me by one of my readers. As I mentioned before, if you have any questions about me, or the show, or tour life, feel free to email them to me for answers in a future posting. Kim wrote to me and asked:

My first question is about the hotels the company stays in. What kind of places do you stay in? I assume everyone stays at the same place, but how are the places chosen? And how do you do laundry??

I may have touched upon this before, but here's how it works. For each city we go to, our company manager presents us with two hotel options for which they have arranged group rates. Usually one hotel is more expensive than the other, but both are chosen to fall within our per diem, or expense budget. Company members then either select one of the two hotel options, or seek out their own housing. Alternate housing might be with a friend or relative, or a sublet or vacation rental of a furnished apartment. The advantage to company housing is that transportation costs to and from the hotel are covered by the company; if one chooses alternate housing, these transportation costs (i.e., cabs to and from the airport, local transportation to and from work) are not covered by the company. We have a budget to work with and it's all about finding the most comfortable and cost efficient options for the money. As for laundry, this can sometimes be a real hassle (see my San Antonio posting). Many hotels have guest laundry facilities with coin operated machines; sometimes we have to go to a laundromat. In the apartment rentals I have had, there has been a washer/dryer in the unit. But sometimes, there are no options and we just have to cart dirty clothes to the next city. It pays to have lots of extra underwear!

Since my week will be more PT, ice packs and ibuprofen, I will sign off now. Say a prayer for me! Next week, a nice blog post from Toronto. Meantime, I am reminded of the amazing Lance Armstrong, King of Recovery, and a quote from his book "It's Not About the Bike." It speaks to the unexpected bumps in the road that life presents us with. All we can do is keep on keeping on. Be well everyone, and thank your miraculous body today for all the amazing things that it does.

Things take place, there is a confluence of events and circumstances, and we can't always know their purpose, or even if there is one. But we can take responsibility for ourselves and be brave.
--Lance Armstrong