Dear Old Syracuse

Week 44: Syracuse, NY

You can keep your Athens,
You can keep your Rome,
I'm a hometown fellow
And I pine for home,
I wanna go back, go back
To dear old Syracuse.
Though I've worn out sandals
And my funds are low,
There's a light that's burning in the patio,
I wanna go back, go back
To dear old Syracuse.
It is no metropolis,
It has no big Acropolis,
And yet there is a quorum
Of cuties in the forum.
Though the boys wear tunics that are out of style
They will always greet me with a friendly smile.
I wanna go back, go back
To dear old Syracuse.
--Rodgers and Hart, "The Boys From Syracuse"

As we crossed the border into New York state, the bus was suddenly filled with tinkling bells and little tunes as everyone fired up their cell phones. Back in the USA! I must admit I did feel a little surge of pleasure being back in our country. We drove through upstate New York, past fertile fields and trees just touched with the first of the autumn colors. Syracuse is a quiet, pleasant college town; the kind of northeastern small town that brings back memories of my high school years spent in the Berkshires, or summers spent doing theatre in the Adirondacks. There is a combination of rustic, country living and intellectual, new age liberalism that forty years ago would have been referred to as "hippie-ish" but which I have always called "granola." The weather here has been crystal clear, the air fresh, the leaves turning red and orange. There is a vegan cafe down the street from my hotel, which serves breakfast all day and stays open late, a massage school offering inexpensive massage, and a holistic healing center, Health Pathways, where I am receiving my physical therapy this week. Granola heaven!

The Syracuse University campus is just beautiful, now especially, with the crisp fall weather and changing foliage.
It is a sprawling campus with eclectic and interesting architecture and sculptures. Walking through, I felt that I was being taken back in time to my own college years. On college campuses, there seems to be a timelessness; the students look the same as they ever have, with their funky clothes, multi-colored hair, hackie sack games, passionate discourses, and fresh faces. There was something comforting about being amongst them and in that little bubble of a world so removed from the depressing realities of our current world situation. My friend Tim and I visited the Syracuse University Art Gallery, which had a very interesting exhibit on Michelangelo.
The exhibit explored his life story, his myth, both in the times in which he lived and throughout history, and of course his extraordinary gifts, which encompassed drawing, painting, sculpture (in which he was self taught), poetry and architecture. There was a bronze casting of his famous Pieta, as well as some remarkable examples of his drawing, and a fascinating documentary. It was a treat to find this absorbing portrait of the great master here in Syracuse. I have always said, if you look for beauty you will find it, wherever you are.

Also a place of beauty is the Everson Museum of Art.
To call this contemporary art museum's collection eclectic would be an understatement. Everything from pop art, to furniture by Arts and Crafts pioneer Gustav Stickley (whose studio was in Syracuse), to a large ceramics collection are all housed in a building designed by I.M. Pei, which is a work of art in itself--a structure of concrete and pegged wood floors, with a monumental staircase like the inside of a nautilus shell.
During my visit they had an exhibition of early, whimsical, fashion inspired works by Andy Warhol, and a flamboyant installation of fashion inspired by Sofia Coppola's film of "Marie Antoinette," illustrating the influence of the doomed 18th century French queen on style through the ages. The latter exhibit was delightfully over the top and was like being placed inside an enormous Bergdorf Goodman window display. It was a real hoot.




Time for another of your questions about tour life.

Kimberly asks:

There are days when I go to work and the last thing I want to do is work. How do you as actors fight that and still make the show amazing every night? Also, I know you have mentioned your wanting to be on Broadway someday. How do you audition while on the road all the time?

Well, I can only speak for myself. I have always had an obsessive work ethic. I hold myself responsible for the quality of what I do and the kind of actor I want to be. Also, every night there are a couple thousand people out front who have paid good money to see the best show we can do. I know that seems cliche, but some people save up to buy a ticket to our show; they buy the tickets as a gift or surprise for a loved one, or they plan the night out, paying for a babysitter, buying a new outfit, making dinner reservations. I also tell myself that somewhere out in that audience there might be a young aspiring actor who has come to see our show from a love of theatre and a desire to be exactly where I am. But ultimately for me, the biggest motivator is gratitude. I think about the years of struggle I lived through in New York, hungry to work in my profession, holding down day jobs, experiencing rejection, living hand to mouth. And I am filled with thankfulness that I have the good fortune to make my living doing the work I love to do.


And yes, I do have a strong ambition to work on Broadway, and I see this tour as a powerful step in that direction. As for auditioning, well, that is a challenge, one that every actor faces--do I take a good job that takes me out of New York and the casting pool there, or do I stay in New York and try to hustle up that Broadway show or feature film? My belief is that work begets work. Many key opportunities in my line of work come from the relationships one forms with other professionals--directors, choreographers, producers--when working for them. I also believe that the right opportunities come at the right time. That said, sometimes one has to take a little time off here and there to fly back and be seen for big projects in order to compete. Patrick, who just left our tour, landed his "Gossip Girl" guest star job because he took personal days and flew back and forth to try out for the part. The hunt for the next job is a central theme in the actor's life, and our biggest fear is that each job will be our last. I remember when I was in graduate school Dame Judi Dench came and spoke with us in an unforgettable round table discussion. This Oscar winning star, who has played every leading role in Shakespeare, told us that with each project she does she has the terror that it will be her last--that people will discover she's a fraud and she won't get hired again! As absurd as that may seem coming from such a successful actress, it is a deep seated fear in most performers.

Marie is my Syracuse dresser, and a scrappy little lady she is.
Marie and her husband used to belong to a church theatre group, which was their hobby and her husband's passion. Her husband became a stagehand in the local union because he loved theatre so much, and did back stage work on the side. When he passed away, Marie decided she wanted to join the union to do wardrobe work and carry on the love of theatre that she and her husband had shared. The male dominated union refused to let her in, so she fought it, enlisting the help of the union in New York City, and with persistence she became the first female member of the stagehand's union in Syracuse. Go Marie!!

It has been a real pleasure performing in Syracuse. The house has been packed every night and the audience response has been rapturous. Such a nice change from the small houses we had in Toronto. Next week we go to West Point, where we will spend much of the week rehearsing with new scenery and technical adjustments which are being made to the production. I will explain all of that in next week's post; it should be very interesting. Meantime, I hope that the autumn weather is as beautiful where you are as it is here.

300

Week 43: Toronto, ON

Yep, this Saturday marks my 300th performance as Sir Robin. Of course it feels like the time has rushed by and this past ten months of "Spamalot" passed in the blink of an eye. Repetition is one of the central themes of a stage actor's life; it is a profession rife with ritual and routine. Most people are engaged in professions that require the execution of repetitive tasks and routine, and there is a certain comfort that comes with those familiar tasks. And then there are the times when one asks oneself, "This again??" As glitzy as my job looks from outside, some days are about artistic inspiration and some are just about earning that paycheck. But there are always ways to stay present and engaged. If nothing else, the audiences are always different. Going out in front of a new audience is like a blind date. You want to put your best foot forward and make a great impression, and you hope that they will like you. And sometimes the connection is delightful, exciting and fun. Sometimes you feel like they would rather be anywhere else and that you simply are not their cup of tea. Live theatre, like life, is indeed, as Forrest Gump said, like a box of chocolates. You never know what you are going to get. Here in Toronto that is especially so. On a weeknight we can have a small, small audience that is quiet and unresponsive but on Saturday the crowd can be large, raucous and enthusiastic. Regardless, the show must go on, shiny and funny and true to itself, eight times a week.

Then there are the changes in cast which can infuse wonderful fresh energy into the process, as a new actor or dancer steps in and brings his or her own special quality to the show. Syracuse next week will bring the debuts of two new showgirls and our new Lancelot, Matthew Greer.
Matthew is an accomplished actor who has appeared on Broadway in "The Real Thing" and "The Judas Kiss" and played Cliff in the Sam Mendes revival of "Cabaret." Interestingly, he was starring as Oscar Wilde in "The Fall of Constance Wilde" at the Guthrie Theatre in Minneapolis while we were there earlier this year. Patrick Heusinger, as I mentioned before, is leaving us to ride the success of his latest good fortune on television in "Gossip Girl." Patrick is a fine actor and a great guy. He threw us all a party in the fabulous roof top function room of his Toronto apartment building on our day off this week. It was a nice opportunity for cast and crew to socialize together, enjoy some laughs with Patrick and welcome in the new performers. I wish Patrick all the luck in his future endeavors--his good looks and talent will take him far, and he will be missed.




We also say farewell this week to Tera-Lee Pollin, one of our wonderful dance captains, who you may recall taught me my show when I first started, and who appeared triumphantly in male drag as one of the knights during our run in Fort Worth. Tera-Lee is a beautiful dancer and a beautiful person who is nothing short of a breath of fresh air. She always has a smile on her face. I know that her positive energy will be missed also amongst the "Spamily."

And then there is the exit of my darling Bree.
Bree and I have been buddies since she joined the tour back in Orlando. She is half my age, literally, but we are kindred spirits. She is a supremely talented dancer, with a wonderful work ethic and a fierce ambition to do great work with great people. I admire her drive, her honesty, and her confidence in her abilities and her dream. She is stunningly beautiful, funny and a joy to spend time with and I will miss her terribly. She just got great news that she has been cast in the new Cirque du Soleil show that will be in development next year. It has been her dream to do a Cirque show and I am beside myself with happiness for her that her vision and her tenacity have paid off. I expect nothing but great things from the lovely Miss Bree Branker.

My leg improves daily, with the bracing, taping, icing, not to mention my daily gym routine and my physical therapy. Having never been seriously injured in a show before, I had not fully appreciated the enormous benefit of physical therapy to the recovery process. Truly, without the ministrations of my therapist Karen at Physioarts in New York, and Adam here in Toronto at Cornerstone Physiotherapy, I would never have been able to return so quickly to my performance schedule.
I was fortunate indeed to find Adam, who, with his business partner, just opened his wonderful clinic. He is a man of great skill and easy humor and has helped me to strengthen the calf muscle while working on the underlying soreness and stiffness of the scar tissue that has built up since the injury. It's amazing how quickly the muscle atrophied after the initial trauma and how much dedicated work it is taking to build it back up. But truly, I could not be doing this without my physical therapist. Thank you Adam!

So, Toronto. Or "Tronno" as it sounds on the lips of the natives. It's a nice city. Sort of a mini-New York in some ways. Very diverse, very liberal, and made up of lots of little neighborhoods mainly characterized by ethnicity--Greektown, Little Italy--there are even three Chinatowns, I hear. I regret to say that I have not ventured much beyond the downtown and midtown areas where I am staying, working, and doing my physical therapy. Mostly in the interest of not stressing my leg. I had set aside one afternoon this week to go to the Royal Ontario Museum, but after discussing it with the folks at the physiotherapy office, they steered me to the Art Gallery of Ontario, which houses more paintings and sculpture; more my interest anyway. I cabbed over there in the pouring rain only to find the place closed for renovations. By the time I had done that, the better part of my afternoon was gone. The remainder of the week has been dedicated to the gym, physical therapy, and rehearsing with our new performers. So, boo. Bad travel diarist that I am, I have not much to impart about Toronto and environs. But I can take a moment and answer another of your questions about tour life.

Liz asks:

How does the cast and crew travel between gigs? Are you on a chartered ordinary coach? a tour bus with bunks like a traveling rock band?? If verra long distance to the next stop on the tour, do you fly? Are travel costs charged to the cast or paid by the show? Details like these would be interesting to read.


We travel generally by plane or by bus, depending on the distance we need to cover between cities. The company arranges flights and chartered buses. The crew travels often via sleeper bus (which has the bunks you mention), but the company goes by regular coach. The company covers all travel costs, unless an individual chooses to makes his or her own arrangements. In that case, they can sometimes receive the reimbursement for the company flight and apply it to their alternate travel plan. However in those instances, cab fares and other transportation expenses are not covered by the company.

My dresser in Toronto, another wonderful helpmate in this process of reintegrating myself into the show, is Maureen.
Maureen has had a passion for fashion since she was a kid and a love of performing arts that started with an obsession with ballet. She works mainly on film and TV production, but through a dispensation from the unions, she and other of our dressers have been allowed to pick up work with us at the Canon Theatre. She is a very thoughtful and lovely person to work with and was a great help to me as I worked carefully through my first week of shows in Toronto. On Monday we return to the states for a week in Syracuse, NY. That week will mark the debuts of three new performers and our final shows with our existing physical production, which will be getting a complete overhaul. As the leaves change, change on our tour and in life comes as well. The only constant.

Back In the Saddle Again

Week 42: Toronto, ON

I want to start this post by following up on my last one regarding Clay Aiken. Thanks to all of Clay's fans who wrote me to express their regret about the few sour emails I had about my commentary on Clay's performance in "Spamalot" and to show their support. Your many voices by far drowned out the few dissenting ones. I never imagined my simple posting would elicit such DRAMA!! It's been reproduced on Clay Aiken sites all over the web, as has the picture I took with Clay (one site even stole the photo and cropped me out of it so it's just Clay!). His fans are very busy people!
Anyway, as I have said, I wish Clay the best in "Spamalot" and in all areas of his life. And I applaud his decision to come out and be truthful about his sexual orientation, both for his own sake and his child's. It is a testament to his integrity that he did so. I have read a phrase that his fans have used: "We came for the voice, but we stayed for the man." I hope that Clay's revelation, and his reasons for sharing it, will deepen the respect and admiration his many supporters have for him. I wish him all the best.

I arrived in Toronto nervous but very much relieved to be getting back to work. I joined my housemates at the enormous house we are renting in the neighborhood known as Old Cabbagetown. This area, which is only a short walk from where we are performing, was settled in the 1840s by Irish immigrants escaping the potato famine. In order to put food on the table, they grew cabbages in their front yard, thus lending the neighborhood it's distinctive name. The area is full of wonderful old houses, many of which, like the one in which we are lodging, have been beautifully restored. It's still a rather sketchy neighborhood, with a ragtag assortment of vagrants, druggies, prostitutes and crazies roaming about. I am told in recent years more and more people have migrated into the downtown areas of Toronto, prompting new developments and the gentrification of the old neighborhoods. Cabbagetown is one such neighborhood which is still in transition.

The company welcomed me warmly back into the fold and while I had a lot of nerves that first night back, I was able to make it through the show with the leg behaving itself. What a relief! I have a great physical therapist here and between the work I am doing with him and my renewed gym schedule plus lots of rest, I am getting back into my performance routine with only minor adjustments to some of the more strenuous moves in the show. Unfortunately, the show is not selling well here in Toronto and our audiences have been woefully small; disheartening for us, as we are so used to sell out crowds of a couple thousand people. It's "Spamalot's" second time in Toronto and the show has had to compete with things like the Toronto International Film Festival and the enormously popular first time engagement of "Jersey Boys." However, we have our own draws; I am told Patrick Heusinger, our Lancelot, who recently made a splash in a guest star role on the popular TV show "Gossip Girl," has been attracting small hordes of screaming female fans! I have not yet witnessed this phenomenon but I am looking forward to that. Such fun to tease him about his growing fame. Patrick, along with some other beloved members of our company, including my dear friend Bree, is leaving us after Toronto. There are many changes in store for the tour.

We are performing at the Canon Theatre this week.
It has a rich history, stretching back to 1920, when it was built as a combination vaudeville and movie house as part of the Pantages circuit. Over the years the theatre exchanged hands several times and was for most of its life exclusively a cinema. Interestingly, the first legitimate theatrical production ever to grace the stage was "Phantom of the Opera" in 1989. A grant from Canon Canada in 2001 for the preservation of the theatre lent it it's current name. It is a handsome house, with rich gold leaf and royal purple. I just wish there were fewer empty seats.

I expect next week to be able to roam about Toronto a bit more; I have been taking it easy this week in order to rest the leg. Toronto is a city of little neighborhoods, each with its special character or ethnic identity. I look forward to exploring some of these; and of course a visit to the Royal Ontario Museum, to appease the art dork within, will be on the agenda. I had two questions this week about the tour so here goes:

Michelle writes:

How is your costume holding out? You are almost at the one year point for your performance. Have they had to replace any parts of your costume, or have your dressers kept it in good repair? I know they did all the fittings and construction last fall.

All of our costumes are extremely well maintained both by our traveling wardrobe crew and the local stitchers and dressers who are hired in each city. They are constantly mending, re-beading, cleaning and sprucing up our costumes to keep them looking fresh and new. I'd say my costumes are doing very well. Sometimes certain things wear out--especially the elastic that holds my plastic "armor" pieces together, and my leather gauntlet gloves which absorb a great deal of sweat every performance. The rubber on the soles of my boots has to be mended fairly frequently and things like that. But these costumes are expertly built to last.

Pam asks:

How long does it take the crew to break down and load the touring set? And, how long does it take to set it up in the new theatre location? My hats off to them! It must be doubly exhausting when the show has only 1 or 2 performances in a
location.

I am actually planning to hang around and witness a load out one of these days and do a special blog post about it. My understanding is that it takes several hours; but the traveling crew have it down to a science and during the last day of performances all sorts of preparations are made to assure a quick dismantling and loading of the set, props and costumes. My understanding is that the crew has 18 hours in each new theatre to load in and set up the show. This means essentially that when we are doing one week engagements in each place the crew gets no day off. They travel either Sunday night after load out or Monday morning, get to the next theatre, meet the local crew, and do the load in, which has to be completed by the time the company gets there for sound check prior to the first performance of the week. The crew are the unsung heroes of the show, no doubt about it. Fortunately, we do not do less than a week of performances in any given city. Doing one or two shows, as you mention, Pam, would be called a "split week" and our production doesn't do split weeks.

Well friends, more from Toronto next week.

Claymation, or "Oh, My Aiken's Back!!"

Week 42: New York, NY

I am prefacing this post, in retrospect, in response to some comments I have received from Clay's fans who seem to think that I am somehow critical or lukewarm about Clay's performance as Sir Robin. I think those folks should read this post again. I am a fellow performer, playing the same role as Clay in a major national tour of the identical production. My point of view is not as a Clay Aiken fan, but as a fellow artist. When I say Clay may be an "inexperienced stage actor" what I mean is that he has not had as much experience in theatrical roles as he has as a concert performer. I have, for those of you who doubt my credentials, 20 years of stage acting experience behind me and my views. If you will really look at what I wrote here, you will find me very complimentary and supportive of Clay, and the benefit his stardom is lending to the Broadway production. I am really impressed by the way some of Mr. Aiken's fans have come to his defense, but there is no need to defend him or to insult me. I really did enjoy Clay's take on Robin...


A bonus blog post prior to my going to Toronto, as I had the opportunity to see a Sunday matinee of "Spamalot" on Broadway with Clay Aiken as Robin. Well, first of all, this is the first time I have seen the show from out front since I went into it last December, and it was very illuminating and very surreal as well. Hearing the familiar lines and songs and being out in the audience while my mind was running through exactly what I would be doing offstage... very strange. When the overture started, I almost involuntarily leaped out of my seat because at that moment I should be waiting for my entrance behind the tower window stage right! The Broadway production and the tour production are virtually identical but there are some differences. The tempos are lightning fast on Broadway; much faster than anything we are doing on the road. It's like "Spamalot" on speed. It's also a very different energy on the whole from this particular ensemble of performers. I was delighted to see Michael Siberry back as Arthur; he was my first king on the road and indeed was THE first king on the road, having originated Arthur in the touring production. Rick Holmes, who started as Lancelot on tour and has been doing the role on Broadway for quite some time, is as quick, funny and terrific as he was a year ago when I first saw him in it. And I have to say I am a fan of Merle Dandridge as the Lady. Spectacular voice, gorgeous to look at, and with a comic sensibility that is wry and tossed off--almost bored-- which gives her Lady a great diva edge. I also got to see and say hi to other buddies from the tour--the lovely Piper Arpan and the delightful Wally Dunn, who plays Bedevere.




And then there was Clay Aiken. I think he is very amusing as Robin and I enjoyed many of his choices and personal touches. He plays it rather foppish and fussy, a bit eccentric. Clay may be inexperienced as a stage actor, but he has great instincts and a goofy comic sensibility which works for "Spamalot." And then of course, there's that effortless, amazing voice--and the creators of the show have inserted a few bits into the show for Clay to show off his vocal talents. But, even though these are slightly gratuitous (what isn't in "Spamalot?"), he carries them off nicely and they are charming moments. While his take on the character is extremely different from mine, it is consistent and it holds together. Truly, this is the test of well crafted material--that different performers can take on a role and infuse it with completely different energies, and it still works.

Now, watching Clay perform at the Shubert Theatre is rather like watching a child star in the school play with his entire family out front. At the performance I was at, there was a group of Clay's fans right in the front who whooped and clapped and cheered Clay's every look, gesture, and word. While it wasn't completely disruptive of the flow of the show (yes, dears, there are other performers on stage!) it was odd to say the least. They reminded me of that gaggle of girls in "Bye, Bye, Birdie" who scream in unison over Conrad Birdie's every move. Nevertheless, Clay carried on like a pro, and sold the big number with panache, acknowledging his cheering section at the perfect moments to please them and to please the rest of the audience. "Spamalot" is really not a star vehicle, per se, but I thought Clay was allowed to have his shining moments while still being an integral part of the ensemble of actors. He very generously met me back stage after the show, and we chatted about the part and about my injury, which he begged me not to go into detail about as he was afraid it might happen to him in the same spot in the show! His very nice bodyguard Jerome snapped a photo of us together and it was a nice moment. We are, after all, the only two performers playing Robin in all of North America, so I enjoyed meeting him. Clay went to take a nap before his evening show, and I left feeling charged up to return to my company and get back to work.

Before I leave you and finish packing for Toronto, I can answer one of your questions about the tour.

Caitie asks:

My daughter has a question for you. What do you do with your apartment, your bills and the like. Most of us are used to sitting down at the kitchen table at least once a month and going through the bills. But what happens when your kitchen table is in a different city every week? Do you get mail on the road?


Everybody has a different solution to the issue of where "home base" is. Many company members sublet their apartments. In my case, my building doesn't allow subletting, so I am paying my New York rent while on the road. Some company members aren't maintaining a home base at all, as they are saving to buy a home. As for the bills, I pay everything pretty much on line and by automatic withdrawal. My laptop is my lifeline to my life back home, essentially, and my kitchen table is frequently the desk in a hotel room or a table at Starbucks. I travel with a filing system and do all my record keeping on the fly. My mail is picked up by a friend of mine and dropped at the shows production office in New York. They forward all of our mail to wherever we are once a week. In this age of technology, it's easier than ever to manage your life while working on the road.

Okay so NOW I am off to Toronto! More from there at the end of the week.

How Do You Make God Laugh?

--Tell him your plans.

Week 41: New York, NY

My attempt at fast-tracking my recovery simply didn't work. For an injury that typically takes four to six weeks to heal, trying to get better in 10 days was an exercise in futility. My physical therapist and I tried a few simple moves from the show during our last session last week and it quickly became obvious that not only would performing be painful for me, it would be risky. The last thing I want is to make the injury worse and the downtime even longer. I was vastly improved from where I was at the time of the injury, but it would take more PT and rest to get me back in the game. So I stayed another week in New York, getting treatment and dealing with the rigmarole that is our insane insurance industry. I do believe everything happens for a reason, even if we don't know what that reason might be right away.

Having a second week in New York had it's benefits however. Once I got past the initial frustration and depression about being injured I came out of my little cave and reconnected with friends and colleagues I hadn't seen in many, many months and have had some nice visits. I also have had the chance to see some theatre, a luxury that I rarely get on the road due to our performance schedule. My friend Mickey is working on "The Seagull," an imported production from England of the Chekhov play, and he got me into the invited dress rehearsal. Because of my classical background I am passionate about great productions of classic pieces but unfortunately this is not one. Chekhov is tricky and has so many traps for the actor and director. It's so easy to let the plays slide into a turgid mass of self-pity and frustration. Odd casting and a lack of pacing and energy are plaguing this particular production, led by Kristin Scott Thomas and Peter Sarsgaard. Thomas is luminous to look at, with those extraordinary cheekbones of hers, but her Irina is shallow and all on one note. Sarsgaard is simply miscast as Trigorin, the famous writer who is the obsession of the two primary women of the play. He has a very odd speech pattern, similar to John Malkovich's, is rather soft and fey and has no stage appeal at all. Chekhov plays are peopled with wonderful supporting characters and the best performances in this Broadway production are turned in by Art Malik as the Doctor, and Ann Dowd as Paulina, the wife of the estate keeper. Dowd especially delivers a full-blooded character, overflowing with emotion and sensitivity, and the pain of her unrequited love for the Doctor. It's worth seeing just for her marvelous performance.

I have the opportunity to see one or two other things while in town and one of them is a Sunday matinee of "Spamalot!"
Clay Aiken returns to the role of Sir Robin this week and I want to see his take on the little chicken. I am also hoping to meet him and get a photo with him for the blog, so keep your fingers crossed! I have some buddies in the Broadway company who are trying to help me facilitate a moment with Clay but he has pretty protective handlers, apparently. At the very least it will be fun to see what he does with the part. Full report next week.

Aside from seeing theatre, and catching up with my chums here, as well as the all-important healing process, being sidelined from the tour has given me a chance to catch up on the presidential campaigns and educate myself about what's going on in these precarious and unsettling times. Between the natural disasters and Wall Street crises we are living in a pretty anxious moment in our country's history. The anxiety is not helped by the presence of Sarah Palin in the presidential race. I acknowledge and respect John McCain's record of public service and his sacrifices as a soldier. But his judgment in selecting a vice presidential running mate who is purely a provocative and divisive "personality" rather than a qualified candidate is troubling.
I watched the Charles Gibson interviews with Palin and was simply bewildered by this woman's dearth of knowledge and insight on crucial matters of international politics and her convenient hedging of her hard line opinions which are a matter of public record. The woman makes Anita Bryant and Dr. Laura look like moderates. Our country does not need to go backward. Palin is an inflexible and dangerous conservative and in no way is she in a position to represent ALL Americans. No abortion in cases of rape and incest? No waiting periods for assault weapons just because she and her fellow Alaskans like to slaughter moose for sport? Has the woman ever been in an urban environment, or has she been breathing the thin air in Alaska so long she isn't aware that there are teenagers stalking the streets with Uzis? I love listening to conservative Republicans talk about getting the government out of people's business; yet all their social policies are about denying whole segments of the population their rights based on their own personal religious and moral views. There was a little movement in Nuremburg about seventy years ago that did the same thing. Much as I like Canada, I would rather not have to contemplate a change of citizenship if, heaven forbid, we are saddled with a McCain/Palin presidency.

Speaking of Canada, as of this writing my doctor has given me the green light to return to work, so I will be flying to Toronto on Monday. With modifications to my performance, continued physical therapy, and good care, I will be able to work my way back into the show and get on with my life and my tour. Thanks to all of you who have written to express your good wishes for my recovery; really, it means more than you know. Enjoy the coming of autumn, everyone, and more next week from Canada.

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

Dutch Treat and A New King

Week 38: Amsterdam, Netherlands
Week 39: Hartford, CT

The Amsterdam Vacation




In the life of the struggling actor in New York, things like paid vacations are the stuff of fantasy. Having lived hand to mouth most of my adult life in a series of freelance or part-time jobs, I had never had a paid vacation until now, working on this tour. I used one of my two weeks of vacation to visit Amsterdam with my very best friend, Mickey (who you may remember from my postings in Boston earlier this year).
Mickey and I have talked about such a trip since college and it was something of a dream come true for us to go. My good friends Olaf and Matt have a house just outside the central ring of Amsterdam and offered us their cozy corner of the city as our home base. And thank goodness for that! For us poor saps, the Americans, European travel is a very costly endeavor these days. The Euro is clobbering the dollar, leaving it a poor, bloody pulp. This being the case, even the simplest and most frugal agenda in Europe costs Americans a packet. Just to give you an example: on the day we visited the major art museums, we went to a nearby cafe and had a sandwich, a salad, some water, and two coffees. The bill was the equivalent of almost 50 bucks! Needless to say, shopping was not at the top of the Amsterdam agenda.

However, there was so very much more to do there. What an incredible city it is. Achingly, zanily beautiful. Completely unique. Coming at you with the intense energy and pace of any world class city, yet steeped in rich old world charm. A complete culture unto itself, much like New York: diverse, stylish, with it's own character.
One of the most unique aspects of Amsterdam is the Bicycle Culture, as I came to call it. The most popular and expedient way of getting around the city is on a bicycle and they are absolutely everywhere. For an Amsterdammer, the bike is an extension of the person, like a witches' familiar. And they mean it, these local bikers. God help the poor tourist who finds himself walking on a bike path. Bikers rule in Amsterdam and have the absolute right of way. If you hear that tinkle of a bike bell behind you, you'd better haul ass. Because of the intensely confusing layout of Amsterdam, and the aggression of the experienced bikers, we decided to spare ourselves a possible disaster and forgo the bicycles this time around.

This of course meant a great deal of walking. We walked our feet off from one end of the city to the other.
Amsterdam is a non-stop feast for the eyes: the ancient houses leaning against each other as if destined to topple at any moment; the canals, or grachten, spanned by charming bridges; the genteel shops, the old churches, the windows bordered in red neon in the Red Light District, framing ladies engaged in the "oldest profession." The spider web layout of the city is endlessly confusing and we clung to our pocket maps as we routinely found ourselves lost! By the end of our week we had something of a sense of the shape of the city but man, it was a challenge getting around. The weather during our first few days was cool and damp and gray but by the end of the week it was perfection--sparkling, sunny summer weather.

Now there are two stories of my trip to Amsterdam: one is rated PG-13, and the other, well, let's just say "what happens in Amsterdam, stays in Amsterdam." And since this is a PG-13 blog, I won't go into detail about the rest... however, I did visit a coffee shop or two--but only for the coffee, um, er... I , uh didn't inhale, uh, well... no comment...

Some snapshots of Amsterdam... The crowds, the pigeons, the pealing bells of Dam Square. The quiet, sad and deeply moving Anne Frank Huis.
The masterworks of the Rijksmuseum, including the most famous Vermeer in the world and Rembrandt's monumental "Night Watch." Bucolic moments of contemplation in Vondelpark. Prostitutes beckoning from behind street floor windows.
The marvelous photography of Kors Van Beddecom at FOAM, the photography museum. Discovering a terrific old print for my apartment at the open air book market on Spuistraat. Dutch pancakes that overflow the plate on the Leidseplein. The Van Gogh museum and its astonishing treasure trove of masterpieces by that tortured and brilliant artist. The floating flower market bursting with color. Snapping hundreds of photographs of the exquisite architecture of Amsterdam, that never ceases to dazzle the eye. Amsterdam is a city fully alive in the 21st century, while inhabiting the bones of the 17th and 18th centuries. It has a wonderful style, incredibly chic, very sophisticated and vibrant. It was a welcome break from the routine of the tour and I returned refreshed and ready to get back to work.



Insurance Capital of the World

Hartford, Connecticut was the next stop on the tour, and our engagement here was reduced from eight to six performances, which allowed me 48 blessed hours in New York to recover from jet lag and reorganize and repack the luggage before the next round of performances. While I was on vacation, the wonderful Gary Beach finished his run as King Arthur, and our new king, Jonathan Hadary, came in and rehearsed with the company in preparation for his opening this week in Hartford.
Mr. Hadary is no stranger to "Spamalot", having played Arthur for nearly two years on Broadway; in fact, I saw his performance several times during the audition process for the show. My only previous experience of his work was his wonderful Herbie opposite Tyne Daly in "Gypsy," and I know he was an original member of the cast of the important AIDS play, "As Is." Jonathan and I almost literally met on stage at our opening in Hartford! It was wild to jump back into the show and play with a new King with an entirely different energy and take on the role. Jonathan's Arthur is befuddled, understated and charming, and we had a great opening here at the Bushnell.

The Bushnell Theatre was built in 1930 and the gold encrusted art deco interior speaks directly to that period--it was created by the designers of Radio City Music Hall. The ceiling is graced by an enormous mural entitled "Drama" by Barry Faulkner. It's quite an impressive space, but like most old theatres the wing space is very small.
Most impressive to me, being a big fan of his work, is the incredible red chandelier piece by Dale Chihuly in the theatre lobby's Great Hall. It is one of the most massive and beautiful pieces of Chihuly I have seen and it was a treat to discover it here in Hartford. We are in Hartford for such a short time it is not possible for me to get out and about and see the sights in this city, which has a rich cultural life, including a number of museums and the prestigious Hartford Stage Company.

At the time of this writing, I have injured myself in the show. Ironically, during only my second show back after vacation, I hurt myself on stage--so much for R&R! In the middle of my big number I was doing a small, routine bit of choreography which I have done hundreds of times and I suddenly heard a 'pop' and felt a stab of pain in my right calf. I almost went right down but managed to limp my way through the rest of the number and the performance. But it is pretty clear to me that I have a rupture in my calf muscle. How bad it is remains to be seen; the only real treatment for it is ice, anti-inflammatories and staying off of it. Which makes performing rather a challenge, as you can imagine. It is likely I will miss performances this weekend, which completely sucks, but we fly to Toronto on Monday and I need to have the ability to schlep myself around airports! We truly forget what miraculous machines our bodies are and how much we take them for granted. Until you have a freak accident and can't walk! Sigh. As I have mentioned before, performers are athletes and sometimes athletes get hurt. Nothing to do but treat the problem and be good to the body to minimize the damage. Think good thoughts for me that I can get back to my role as soon as possible!

My dresser here is Ginny, and I am fortunate that she dressed my track the last time the show played in Hartford in 2007.
She is a scrappy, down to earth lady and was a pro from the get-go. Thanks, Ginny! I mentioned in my last post that there has been a request for a Q&A posting, addressing your questions about the show, touring life, and anything else that you might want to ask. Feel free to send your questions and I will answer them within the next few weeks. I hope everyone had a great summer. More from Canada next week.