Idle Thoughts

Week 75: San Francisco, CA

Our opening night this week in San Francisco was an unqualified triumph. For me, it felt like a Broadway opening. Eric Idle and John DuPrez, the creators of "Spamalot," were in attendance. Eric came back stage to our dressing rooms to wish all the leading actors well. He had seen the first preview last week and had great things to say about all of us; he told me he felt I was wonderful in the show and "very, very funny." For a comic genius who was a member of one of the most famous comedy teams in history (which celebrates its 40th anniversary this year) to offer me praise like that, for a role that he himself created in the film, was heady stuff indeed. If I had doubts about my work in "Spamalot" they were allayed by the approval of the man himself. Eric and John came up on stage after curtain calls and joined us for the big "Bright Side" singalong, and after the show our presenters here threw us an elegant party at the Hotel Monaco nearby.
As usual, the company got out their Sunday clothes and made a beautiful showing. Above, there's a shot of me with Chris Sutton and his lovely wife, Lyn, together with Eric Idle; and here is a shot of me with our reigning King, John O'Hurley, and his beautiful real life Queen, Lisa. Such a great kickoff to our run here.

I have been, for the first time on this tour, living the classic life of an actor. San Francisco offers so much fun and entertaining nightlife that I have been out on the town virtually after every performance of the show, staying out til all hours, rising in the late morning and using the afternoon hours to get to the gym or a yoga class, or to see something of the city. This is unusual for an early riser like me--in almost all the other cities I have gotten up early and been out and about sightseeing every day. The long and short of it is, there is much of San Francisco to explore and I have not seen a whole lot just as yet. Part of the reason is that it is quite a complicated city to get around in--once you figure out the tangle of subways, buses and cable cars, you have to prepare yourself for the inevitable walking, which is really climbing. And I tell you, it can be a challenge, even for the physically fit, to do a full day of exploring in San Francisco. I have managed to wander around the Nob Hill neighborhood where I am staying, marveling at the classic architecture, the beauty of Grace Cathedral, the majesty of the Hotel Fairmount, and the views of the city from atop the hill. Each neighborhood has its own character, and I look forward to seeing more of this beautiful city as the weeks go on. If I can get out of bed in the morning!

We are preparing for a benefit which we will be performing in a couple weeks on our "dark night," for a local AIDS charity as well as Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. Various company members are coming up with musical numbers and dance pieces to perform and we are going to appear alongside members of the cast of "Wicked." I am doing a number by musical theatre composer William Finn, which was suggested by my friend Tim, who is organizing the benefit. It's a fun number and really expresses my personality. Following my rehearsal yesterday, I wandered back to the hotel and along the way I stopped in to the San Francisco Performing Arts Library and Museum for their incredible exhibit entitled "Star Quality: The World of Noel Coward." You may recall that I went to the Lunts' home in Wisconsin, Ten Chimneys, last year--the famous acting couple were lifelong friends of Coward's and this exhibit started there and has expanded to what it is now in San Francisco.
Coward was one of the great theatrical minds of the last century--starting his career as a precocious child actor, by his twenties he was an established playwright who was not only prolific but fast (he wrote "Hay Fever" in three days and "Private Lives" in four), was a composer, an actor, a singer, a director--in short, he was what he came to be called later in life: The Master. I have always loved Coward and this exhibit, full of rare photographs and memorabilia (from Coward's dressing gowns, to his cigarette cases, his theatrical makeup kit and toupees), wonderful recordings and video is just thrilling. It's a glimpse into a theatrical world that, alas, no longer exists. We may never see such glamour again.

"Star Quality: I don't know what it is, but I've got it."
--Noel Coward

San Francisco's many museums offer riches that I absolutely plan to explore during the rest of my time here. Along with those explorations, I plan to get in some quality time with my brother, his wife and their kids, who all live in nearby San Jose. I don't get to see them often and it was a blast to share "Spamalot" with them--especially with my brother, who has been a die hard Python fan since the 70s. I have a few other friends in the area that I plan to spend some time with, and will no doubt continue to burn the candle at both ends! But it's all part of the adventure of this tour. Now that we know that the journey will come to an end in October, we all have the opportunity to really savor not only the sights and activities of these last great cities, but to really appreciate how lucky we are to still be getting out there and doing the work of this hugely successful and popular show. Believe me, I am deeply grateful still for this opportunity, and feel very proud and excited indeed that the creators, especially Mr. Idle, have given me their seal of approval. I am off to do a two show Saturday, so best wishes to all. More next week!

Spam Francisco

Week 74: San Francisco, CA

If you're alive, you can't be bored in San Francisco. If you're not alive, San Francisco will bring you to life.
--William Saroyan

At last! Our long awaited seven week engagement in The City by the Bay. San Francisco is one of the most distinctive, unique and amazing cities in the world. One look at the streets of this place and you know exactly where you are--it is as recognizably itself as any great city--Paris, New York, London. And it is somewhat improbable, this great metropolis built on all of these steep crazy hills--it reminds me a bit of the ingenuity and audacity that created Venice, a city on stilts in a swamp. There is something magical about the creativity and determination that brought these unique cities to life. And let me tell ya, there is no better workout for the buns and thighs than climbing the hills in this town! I just love it here. I had been to San Francisco a few times with my cabaret act, but never for more than a week at a time. This summer I get to really develop a relationship with this place. The weather, while intermittently cold (you know Mark Twain's quote about "the coldest winter I spent was summer in San Francisco") is beautiful and the place is endlessly fascinating. It has a somewhat indefinable European quality and a sophisticated charm that even New York doesn't possess. I really love it.

"Spamalot" excitement is in the air here, and our promoters are really getting us out there--the show has posters and billboards everywhere: on the sides of buses, in the subways, on nearly every street corner. We had our first weekend of preview performances, and the first one was sold out, with an ecstatic energy that gave us all a rush. Eric Idle was present at our first show and, while I didn't get to meet him, I hear he was pleased with how his creation is coming across. Our producers have enhanced the show for our California run by restoring the full orchestra and beefing up the lighting and sound. These touches, especially the fuller, richer sound of the amazing band, add so much to the experience not only for the audience, but for us. It has revitalized us all with new energy and enthusiasm.
We are performing at the Golden Gate Theatre, one of those great old venues that started as a vaudeville house in the 1920s, went through a decline with the advent of movies and the changing fortune of the sketchy Tenderloin district where it resides, and then experienced a revitalization to become one of San Francisco's leading performance venues. It has that crumbling, dusty feel of a good old fashioned theatre, where once the Marx Brothers cavorted and Frank Sinatra appeared to crowds of screaming bobby soxers.

San Francisco is a city of many cultures and many neighborhoods. I am looking forward to exploring them all and taking in the unique sights, the fabulous art museums and the historic landmarks and writing about them here. This week has been primarily about getting acclimated to my neighborhood, my apartment here, my routine; we also had a full dress rehearsal this week prior to our first preview for Casey Nicholaw, our brilliant choreographer, who gave us all thumbs up on our show. I am staying here in a sort of in between neighborhood, halfway between Nob Hill and Union Square in what is referred to here as "downtown." A 20 minute walk to the theatre district and the busy shopping center of San Francisco, I am centrally located and can easily jaunt out to the various neighborhoods of the city from here. I am staying in one of those great old residential hotels from another age, the Steinhart.
Built in 1910, its marble and mahogany lobby and gated elevator are charming, and I have a sweet little studio apartment with a Murphy bed. It's really cute. All in all, I am happily ensconced and am looking forward to the adventures here over the next several weeks and the pleasure of what I know will be a most successful run. Stay tuned for more from San Francisco next week.

Mile High

Week 73: Denver, CO

My week off in New York sped by. There were many things to attend to, people to see, and goals to accomplish. Such is the New York way, but in my case, this was my last time home for at least several months. I really was industrious, and among other things, I passed my driver's test and am now a licensed New York driver. It's funny to be saying that at my age but it's definitely an achievement, and is just in time for our California tour! I had not realized I needed the break from the show so much until I showed up for our opening here in Denver. I suddenly felt so refreshed and energized to perform, and the Denver audiences are vocal, smart and there to have a rollicking good time. Fantastic crowds.

Our energetic opening here was tempered somewhat by a visit from our general manager, who came out from New York to give us all the official news that the "Spamalot" tour will close in October, following our engagement in Costa Mesa, CA. With over three years, 101 different city stops, and over 160 million dollars in revenue, this highly successful tour will finally come to an end. It is, of course, always sad when a production has to close up shop, but it is also the nature of the theatre. I am sure that I am not the only performer in the company who is now focusing on the horizon and thinking about that next job. It's the nature of the beast. Anyway, that's all a few months off and we still have our exciting San Francisco and LA engagements to look forward to. I am grateful that I will be fortunate enough to be in the final company of the original "Spamalot" production.

Denver is a really cool town. I love the look of it, the laid back energy of it, and the weather has been wonderful. It has been quite a challenge to get used to the dryness of the air here as well as the altitude. The former makes it imperative to guzzle water all day and stave off chapped skin with lip balm and lotion; the latter makes breathing a challenge, and as you can imagine, that poses something of a difficulty when one is jumping around on stage in a musical! I have not gotten to see as much of Denver as I would have liked but I really love the visual character of the city. Old warehouse districts are now high end loft condos and chic restaurants; old buildings have been preserved, giving a taste of gold rush era Colorado, while modern structures and glass skyscrapers provide a modern edge.
The Denver Center for the Performing Arts is one such magnificent architectural feature. In the 70's, an ambitious project centered around expanding the existing old Auditorium Theatre into a multi-space performing arts complex, and today the DCPA encompasses ten different spaces with over 10,000 seats. Our theatre, the Temple Hoyne Buell Theatre, was opened in 1991 and is a really beautiful modern performance venue.

While I was in Des Moines last Christmas I was befriended by a couple of fans, Beth and her mom Karen, who saw the show a few times while we were there and who have become pen pals of mine. They decided to take a vacation to Denver while the show was here to visit relatives and see their favorite musical (and actor!) again. I had the pleasure of spending some time with Beth and Karen during their visit, and we all went to see the Denver Art Museum together.
The new wing of the museum, designed by Gio Ponti, resembles something out of "Star Trek"--all pointy angles and high tech gray tiles. The collection is relatively small but diverse, and they had a special exhibition of psychedelic concert posters from the Haight Ashbury period of the 60s in San Francisco which was fun. Of course I took Beth and Karen to the European collection to see what treasures of the Renaissance or the Baroque they might have. I was pleased to find two really exciting pieces there: "Portrait of a Young Man in a Red Hat," a famous piece by Sandro Botticelli, and a rare "Still Life With Fruit" by the master Caravaggio, on loan to the museum. One of the great joys of doing this tour and keeping this blog is that it has introduced me to some terrific people like Karen and Beth. I was delighted to visit with them here in Denver, and as fate would have it, Beth was the audience member pulled up on stage to be our "peasant" at the third performance she saw this week! What a treat for a diehard fan!




And so, with the completion of our time here in the Mile High City, the long awaited California leg of the tour will begin. We are all looking forward to a nice long stay in San Francisco at a wonderful time of year, and, since we all know now when our tour will come to an end, we will cherish these next few months. Denver has treated us well. Some of our best audiences ever, and a really swell time had by all.
Janel is my Denver dresser. She has been doing wardrobe work since she was 18 years old, and it is a family business. Janel's husband has been a wardrobe worker, her mother in law started the wardrobe union here in Denver, and she has a handful of relatives actually working on our show! She's been just lovely to work with. And so folks, it is good to be back on the road with you! San Francisco, here I come!

Emerald City and Shakespeareland

Week 72: Eugene, OR

Spring has returned. The Earth is like a child that knows poems.
--Rainer Maria Rilke

A group of us left Anchorage in the dead of night, taking an overnight flight to Portland, and from there, a bus to Eugene. Drifting in and out of sleep, I watched the dawn break over the passing Oregon landscape. Rays of sunshine breaking through cloud illuminated verdant hillsides, brilliant fields of green with sheep grazing, rich farmland, acres of wildflowers. It reminded me of the beautiful countrysides of Germany and Austria.
After the austere, dingy winter that had overstayed its welcome in Anchorage, Spring rose up at me in a riot of color and extravagant lushness. How very welcome it is. I have said often that we must seek out beauty wherever we can find it, but in Oregon it seems to simply reach out to you from all sides. Spring is here in full flower; trees bend with the weight of their blossoms, the grass is vibrant and studded with dandelions and daisies, the air is fresh and fragrant with the scent of rich, moist earth and honeysuckle.

Eugene is a charming small college town (University of Oregon is here) and something of a hippie enclave. It is nestled in a beautiful natural setting, and surrounded by lovely parks like Alton Baker Park, which lies right across from my hotel, and borders the rushing and crystalline Willamette River. It's no wonder such a green haven has been nicknamed "The Emerald City." Green thinking and environmental awareness are part of the lifestyle here, as are all forms of outdoor exercise, from running to biking. On Saturday the town hosts the oldest outdoor market in the country; grocery stores and farmer's markets burst with the freshest produce. There are funky shops and art galleries at the 5th Ave Market, as well as numerous excellent eateries. In short, Eugene is as lovely a place to spend a week as any I can remember visiting--I have the same feeling of well being and balance here that I had back in Greenville, SC last year. Places like this make you feel healthier and more relaxed. And fortunately, our week started with three whole days off in which I explored the area, wandering the woods and strolling along the river, taking pictures, watching the migrating geese float downstream with their little goslings in tow, or sitting by the rushing water under a shady tree reading Pablo Neruda. Folks, life is good.
And if that's not enough, there's the glorious Oregon coast 50 miles away. The rocky coastline rising above the Pacific is what I would imagine the coast of Ireland to be like. Green, craggy, majestic. Oregon is growing on me.

Back in January, in wintry South Bend, I concocted a plan to visit the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in Ashland while we are here in Eugene. I was working on learning to drive, and my intention was to reward the achievement of my license with a road trip to Ashland. I bought theatre tickets and requested a rare personal day. I also booked a room at a charming bed and breakfast, and wrote to the artistic staff of the Festival and requested an audition. They agreed to see me during my overnight visit this week. Let me try to explain what going to OSF and auditioning for them meant to me.

Oregon Shakespeare Festival is a Tony Award-winning regional theatre that is going into its 75th year of continuous operation; it is an American institution.
It is also only one of three Shakespeare Festivals in the world that work as a genuine repertory company (The Stratford Ontario Festival and The Royal Shakespeare Company are the others), presenting a full season of rotating productions in three incredible spaces. The Elizabethan Stage is a replica of an early Elizabethan playhouse for a stunning outdoor experience, the Bowmer Theatre is their arena style thrust stage space, and the New Theatre is a black box, in the round venue. It's a Shakespeare dork's dream! And the theatre is the main attraction in charming Ashland, a slice of real Americana here in the northwest. White picket fences, Craftsman style houses, perfect gardens. Funky antique shops and dynamite restaurants. And I love the campy names that businesses have adopted inspired by Shakespeare such as: Puck's Donuts, Juliet Hair Salon, All's Well Nature Foods, and my personal favorites--a music store called CD Or Not CD, and a storage company called As U Stor It. At the Black Sheep you can get a black and tan and a genuine Welsh rarebit or a Norfolk fish pie. I could go on and on about my little overnight jaunt to Ashland. I saw two shows, a violent modern dress "Macbeth" and the zany and completely delicious Commedia dell'Arte Farce, "The Servant of Two Masters." I snuck into the Elizabethan Theatre and watched, a bit jealously, a rehearsal for a scene in the upcoming "All's Well That Ends Well." I practiced my soliloquy for "Richard III" in nearby Lithia park, which is as close to the Forest of Arden as I have ever seen. At one point, I was speaking my speech, and a deer crossed my path and looked at me. Richard the third and a deer had a standoff in a woodland glen.




What can I say, folks? I love classical theatre and there are still many roles I would love to try my hand at in the Shakespeare canon. So, I was honored to audition for Oregon Shakespeare Festival while I was there. This would be akin to a ballet dancer auditioning for ABT, or an opera singer auditioning for the Met. By the way, I didn't get my license during the layoff, so I had to fly from Eugene to Medford, 20 miles from Ashland, and hire a car to drive me there. I swear, during my vacation next week, I will do my damnedest to pass that driving test! Grrr! So, back to Eugene. Our run at the Hult Center, a beautiful theatre, is going great, and the audiences here are vocal and enthusiastic. My dresser here is the lovely Gwen.
Gwen, as you might imagine, was once a model and also worked in the fashion industry before finding her way into costume design in Los Angeles and now here in Oregon. She's simply beautiful and a great dresser, such a sweetie. And now, my friends, I am heading home to New York for a week's vacation, while the company goes on to Spokane. So I will reconnect with you the week after from Denver, Colorado.