Tour #9: Greeneville and Athens, TN

Back to TN.  I have to say, I was charmed by the Knoxville airport.  It had landscape! 

No denying it, Tennessee is beautiful, and the weather was amazing, which made it a tiny bit hard to board the plane home.  But in the end I always want to be back in Chicago.

It was the first tour with the all new RedCo.  Yay, Jessica!  She had her first show with us at last week's matinee.

Our trip to Greeneville involved a significant car ride from the airport.  And what does a car ride involve?

  

A trip to the Cracker Barrel!  I was so excited about sweet tea that I mindlessly took down a full glass long before our food arrived, forgetting for a moment that when I drink tea on an empty stomach, my stomach reacts by wanting to remain empty.  But I kept it down in time for my grilled chicken salad to arrive.  Good story, Natalie.

I may have actually thrown up, however, if I had eaten 6 of these like I wanted to.  Mrs. Sullivan's Pecan Pies???  You're right, I DO LUV PIE!  But I got out with a pack of Big League Chew.  Crisis averted.

After our southern diversion, we drove into town to check into the General Morgan Inn, one of the most delightful hotels I've ever been in.  My room featured a photo of Andrew Johnson and a small collection of encyclopedia-type books circa 1911.  It wasn't your standard Holiday Inn, is the point.

Derek and I found some treasures at a nearby antique store before our call time.  On the way into town we also saw this.

With all due respect, we are Red.

Anyway, the show was great and the set was fun, and we had done our first show on the road together as a full brand new Co.  We would've gone out to celebrate good times, but predictably everything around us had long since closed.  Good night.

The next day it was breakfast at the Chocolate Cafe (visit this place if you're in Greeneville, it's incredible) and then back on the road for a couple of hours.  Our Comfort Inn was quite welcoming.

Does this mean we're opening for the Youth Rodeo?

(Two very important elements not pictured: cinnamon rolls from breakfast that should be declared national monuments and the kickass water slide in our Comfort Inn pool)

Again, a successful show, although we did lose a few people at intermission.  Was it because it was late and they were old?  Was it because we were in the Bible Belt performing A.Bill and Sequel?  Well...it was a clean show.  We did our best.  We received nothing but praise from the venue and from the high school group who came to Q&A us after the show.  Here I am in the choir room green room.  What?  I didn't mention we did this show at Athens Junior High?  We sure did.  It seemed to be one of the only theatre venues in this small town.  But they were pretty good to us. 

We also got to meet the Shipman family.  And tonight we were partying...at Applebee's!  There was a headache in my future, but it didn't stop me from ordering TWO Cosmos.  I really went nuts.  And I had another Cracker Barrel experience to look forward to the next day, courtesy of the Shipmans. 

We had a later flight so we meandered back to Knoxville and enojoyed the college town hangout time. 

I scored some sweet potato butter (you heard me) and old timey candy from the General Mart and then we were off.  Oh wait...we also honored the Tennessee women's suffrage movement.

Our flight was delayed a bit coming back due to the stupid weather in Chicago.  But when I finally got back, I was greeted by a real treat.

Sarah's birthday trolley!!  It had been a long day, but when someone says, "we're coming to your place to pick you up in the trolley," you go with it.  The weather wasn't exactly what Sarah was hoping.

But it was still a good time.  Happy B, Sarah F!

And then I went to sleep. 

Next stop: Edmond, OK

DQ's Final Homeshow/Derek's First Homeshow

After four and a half years on the road, Dana has her last RedCo homeshow.  I caught her and TJ preshow and forced a posed picture. I knew I wouldn't take too many.  I feel like last nights are better in the memory than on a hard drive.  (Regardless, I took a few.)

I'll miss her.

We had a great show for a nearly-full house and a very full bench.  We couldn't f around nearly as much as some last night casts do, as we had Derek onstage for his first homeshow.  I think that was for the best.  You don't want your last show being a total cluster, right?  The set was Dana's, and in SC tradition she got to do some of her favorite scenes from her time on the road followed by improv with friends, including most of GreenCo and some old Red friends.

Backstage was a party between the show and the set with all the guests.  It was a great time for the SC family, with half the new e.t.c. cast being former RedCo (badass), friends from other Co's and the celebration of Dana's "graduation" and Derek and me being newbies.  It was a great night all around, aside from Dana and I barely squeaking our songs out due to lost voices and sore throats.  We soldiered through.

When it was all over, and before adjourning to the party at Corc's, we presented Dana with our cast gift, having secretly framed a poster of hers.  Megan snuck into her apartment while we were in Ohio and made it happen. 

Today was our first rehearsal with the brand new incarnation of RedCo.  I loved my time with Arch and Dana so much and am glad to have caught them before they moved on.  But I'm also really excited to look ahead.  There were a few times during rehearsal today where we were all onstage together and I felt a wave of giddiness knowing this is my company and these are the people I get to share the stage with for (hopefully) a long time to come.  It's a really f-ing solid group...if I do say so.

Tour #8: Columbus and Cleveland, OH(IO!)

Dana's last tour with RedCo.

Who's going to drive when she's gone???

It was also Derek's first tour with RedCo.  God bless him for wearing this Cubs scarf with no irony.
















So we drove first to Columbus to perform at the Southern Theatre.  We checked into the Courtyard Marriott and knew immediately where we were.

We also knew immediately that it would be hard to get to sleep after our show.  The place (set up like a "suites" hotel with the big space with a pool in the middle) was crawling with crazy loud kids there for what we concluded was a middle-school aged wrestling tournament.  I quickly assessed that these people (no offense Ohio friends) are like southerners without the charm.  Lots of adults wandering the halls and lobby in their pajamas and yelling PG-13 profanities at their children.  Nice.

Our audience seemed delightful, though.  Some sponsors (contributors? benefactors?) of the theatre came to our green room to say hello and thank you and take some pictures.  Edgar is always up for a picture.

And so is our newbie.  Why do I look so shocked??  (Oh yeah, I have bangs now.  Thanks, Monique!)

Off to Cleveland, DQ's hometown.  We met some of her family for lunch at TGIFriday's when we got into town.  Other than her neice's disdain for me and the ominous dismissal of our waitress mid-service, lunch was delightful.  We had enough time pre-show to get to our hotel and take showers/naps/gym visits. 

And a bit pic.  Dana and I took a nap in the lobby.

Dana took me on a mini walking tour of the downtown area.  This theatre is the former site of The Second City Cleveland.  This day it was hosting a women's roller derby...meeting?  We walked through and Dana showed me the stage, which looked similar to the old days.  She was pretty nostalgic but happy to see it.

Here was our home for the night.  We were in the Ohio Theatre.  I was giddy to learn that next door to us was Ted Neely playing Jesus for millionth time in Jesus Christ Superstar.  Seriously, he's 66...he's been Jesus twice as long as Jesus was Jesus.  I wanted nothing more than to see him on the street, but instead I was happy to put my ear against their stage door and hear the beginning of Act II.  Also, some of the cast was in our hotel.  When some wirey dudes in skinny jeans, shabby chic beards and makeup remnants came in, I knew they were apostles.  Or guys from my neighborhood in Chicago.  Hey-o!

For the final time, Dana and I shared the makeup counter and she lamented the last of her bronzer, which she's been meaning to refill since our first trip together.  (Yes, Kyle always sits in the girls' dressing room pre-show)

More bits!  Here I am coming out of a weird old telephone booth in Becky's, our dinner and after-party locale.  They are a bar famous for their perogies.  And oh man, are those good perogies.  It was like drowning in a quicksand pit of potato.  Our show was great, despite a late start and some sound issues.  Dana had dozens of family and friends in the audience and we used the set to honor her in her home town.  The party at Becky's featured some blow-the-roof-off-the-joint karaoke, especially Edgar's When Doves Cry.  It was a good trip, although we did have to leave crazy early Sunday to get back in time for both Bryan and I to make it to other jobs.  We made great time getting back, and thus ended my last tour with DQ.  It was a great six weeks, and I am grateful to have had the time with her. 

No trips for a little bit.  Homeshows, then next stop: back to Tennessee!

Tour #7: Nashville, TN

I was in room 2-2-7.  Jealous?  Jackee?

We joined Edgar and Arch (already there for a workshop) in Nashville on Friday and immediately went looking for food downtown.  Nashville's Broadway (really called Broadway) is very touristy and kitschy, but very fun.  There is music everywhere. 

And giant guitars!!  Look closely, my eyes are closed in this shot.  Because I'm so in love with this giant guitar.

We had lunch in this place, Jack's BBQ.  Oh man.  It was amazing.  Pulled pork, five different bbq sauces, and unlimited sweet tea.  Oh and cornbread that was like a piece of cake.  Thanks, the South.

Edgar's show clothes needed some steam.

Perfect.

We had two great shows.  They were Arch's last with RedCo, which was very sad, but also fun.  We have a two person scene in the show that we've had a great time playing and it took on some serious bit water in its last night.  I'm very lucky to have played with him and am sad to see him go, but happy that he's going on to some fun new things this year.  Good luck, Arch.

We got done with our shows too late to go back downtown.  Which was unfortunate, because this was the first town we've been in where I was jazzed to go out.  Nashville karaoke bars?? Come on!  But as it is, it's only an hour or so by plane, so Matt and I will just have to have a weekend there one of these days.  Just for fun.  Instead of heading downtown, we hit a 3am bar by our hotel and hung out.  We were all exhausted, but we had a good time watching the Olympics and eating Hot Chicken Chunks.  Not a bit, that's a real menu item.  For the record, I ate no chunks.

I suppose instead of going to a bar we could've gone to this kickass Studio 54 party at the Kappa Sigma house.  As Arch yelled out our car window, "It looks like the real deal!"

My first RedCo.