The Man Who Would Be King

Week 68: Wilmington, DE

This week we began rehearsing with John O'Hurley, who will be our new King Arthur until at least the fall. While he doesn't begin performing with us until our opening in Anchorage in a few weeks, he came to Wilmington to work with us this week. "Spamalot" is not new to John, as he was the star of the Las Vegas production at Wynn Casino which closed last summer. He has most recently been playing Billy Flynn with the tour of "Chicago." You will know Mr. O'Hurley from his many television appearances, which range from playing the role of J. Peterman on "Seinfeld," to winning the first season of "Dancing With the Stars" in a controversial "dance-off," to hosting several game shows, including "Family Feud." But this versatile and accomplished man has far more to his credit than that. He is a successful voiceover artist, providing the voices for many cartoons and video games; he is a venture capitalist and principal partner in two companies; he is an accomplished musician and composer, with a CD out of his cello and piano compositions; he is a motivational speaker and the creator of products for corporations to increase productivity and customer satisfaction; he maintains a single digit handicap in golf; he is a published author; and he is a devoted husband and father. In short, John O'Hurley is THE MAN. He is larger than life in every way, and his Arthur is supremely dignified, ultimately befuddled, and as charming and charismatic as Mr. O'Hurley is himself. It will be great working with him.

We are performing this week in the historic DuPont Theatre in Wilmington.
Originally built as The Playhouse Theatre in 1913 as a venue for out of town tryouts of shows heading to Broadway, the DuPont has the distinction of being the tiniest theatre we have played since I joined the tour. The house itself is lovely and intimate, about 1200 seats, but the back stage areas are cramped and claustrophobic. My dressing room is like a small train compartment in which I have to stand to do my makeup; the stage door opens out into the lobby, and all week I have left work and come smack dab into a crowd of patrons! The theatre is housed in the swanky DuPont Hotel and is of course a popular destination here; the sold out houses have been most gratifying.

Wilmington itself has a rich history. More than a hundred years ago, it was the center of the iron and steel industry in America and a major shipbuilding hub, with foundries and factories lining the Christina River (named for Queen Christina of Sweden by the Swedes who originally settled here). Today, Wilmington is the center of the credit card industry, and the banks of the Christina River are now an attractive river walk, lined with restaurants, condos and a farmer's market. Great care has been taken in the development of the riverfront, and the marshes and wetlands on the river have been meticulously preserved to support wildlife and the flocks of migratory birds that are attracted to the area. Wilmington was an important player in African-American history.
During the Civil War, it was a treacherous and crucial passage through which the Underground Railroad operated, with heroes like Harriet Tubman leading the courageous effort to bring southern slaves to freedom in the north. Despite these efforts, criminal gangs successfully abducted free slaves, selling them back into slavery down south, a shameful part of Wilmington's history which is movingly remembered in a monument on the Riverwalk. In fact, African Americans are further honored with Harriet Tubman Park and public ways named after Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King, Jr. Today, Wilmington seems to have a large black community and it's great to see their cultural history being honored in this way. My favorite discovery, in my early morning walks through Wilmington, was the architectural cornucopia that is Market Street, the main business strip leading up from the railroad station and riverfront. The street still retains much of the feeling it must have had as travelers ascended the hill carrying their carpet bags in the 19th century. It is lined with a wonderful collection of buildings from various periods, from the carefully preserved 18th century houses on Willingtown Square, to ornate late 19th and early 20th century structures, to some marvelous streamlined examples of Art Deco design.
While many of these old buildings are boarded up and crumbling, one can see the efforts to restore these great structures, particularly in the Lower Market Design District, which is revitalizing this historic street. Perhaps the most imposing of the architectural features of Market Street is the Grand Opera House, its white gingerbread facade creating a fanciful effect, especially at night, when it is washed with lights in shifting rainbow colors.

I have received a couple more questions via my website regarding touring life, and thought I would answer them here this week. Just a note to those of you who want to send me a personal message or a question--rather than posting a comment here on the blog, shoot me an email instead at james@jamesbeaman.com.

One reader asks:

Got a cosmetic question for you -- I noticed in one of your pics, MAC was on the table. Is that usually the best make up to use for those who appear on stage and/or tv?


Our wig and hair department supplies all the makeup we need for the show, and they use a combination of MAC and Makeup For Ever, which is a French brand. For specialty things, like the "dirt" we use on our faces in the early scenes, we use products from Ben Nye, which is a tried and true theatrical makeup company. MAC does make products suitable for stage work, and of course they have a great many products and choices. MAC was started by a group of professional makeup artists in Canada and was bought out several years ago by Estee Lauder. When I played the lead in "La Cage Aux Folles" a few years ago, MAC "sponsored" me and provided me with all of my makeup for the show.

Wendy writes:

My family saw Spamalot 'way back in frigid Peoria in January and loved it! My husband has been reading your blog on his lunchbreaks since then and is now all caught up. One thing we wondered - do the musicians tour with the show, or do you use 'local' musicians at each city? My sons both play instruments and they always want to know about other musicians.


Our tour travels right now with a drummer, a trumpet player, and two keyboard players, plus our conductor. The rest of the orchestra is jobbed in in each city, and I believe five additional musicians are hired: a woodwind player, a bass player, guitarist, violinist, and an additional brass player. When we have our longer runs in California this summer we will only be bringing with us our two keyboard players and the rest of the orchestra will be local, per the rules of the union out there.

Danielle is my Wilmington dresser.
She is primarily a costume, wig and makeup designer and works with the theatre department at University of Delaware as well as the Delaware Theatre Company. While she works wardrobe for us, she is busy creating wigs for three shows at once. Industrious girl! Well, folks, Wilmington has been a busy week. We have had some intensive rehearsals with Casey Nicholaw, the original choreographer of the show, in anticipation of our highly publicized openings in San Francisco and L.A., in addition to the company rehearsals to integrate John O'Hurley into our production. After our Cleveland engagement next week, we all get a blessed week off!