A recap of our first week back on the road!

I'm starting this update from Georgia as we're nearing the end of a 26-hour bus ride from New Bedford, MA, where we performed yesterday.  Didn't know I could sleep on the floor of a bus, but I can happily now cross that off the bucket list…

First things first: I've posted my first few albums of pictures from tour on Facebook!  Here are the links (you can see them even if you're not on Facebook):

Album 1
Album 2
Album 3

I've also recently updated my all-new website with pictures from my last few shows...check it out at www.kellykarcher.com!

Our first week back on the road (10/24-10/30) started in Greeneville, TN, and is honestly kind of a blur…our first week of one-nighters!  Meaning, we had one show in each town and drove to a new place the next day.  Tennessee was beautiful--we were in the Great Smoky Mountains, surrounded by gorgeous fall leaves in 70 degree weather.  Unfortunately we were inside for most of it, in brush-up rehearsals for our first show back!  And then it was on to Kentucky early the next morning.  Luckily, there was a Dunkin' Donuts right next to the hotel, so that got us through. =)

Welcome to Greeneville!

I feel like that first week back exemplified life on the road…our first three shows in Tennessee, Kentucky, and Michigan were in high school performing arts centers (our "female principal" dressing room in Michigan--for me, Dorothy, and the Wicked Witch--at first consisted of some tables set up in the school's computer lab; we said we'd be happy to join the rest of the cast!); and we ended the week at the Palace Theatre in Cleveland, built in 1922 and at one time home to performers such as Bob Hope, Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, and the Three Stooges.  It's interesting, though--I've found that some of the smaller venues can have the best audiences...there's an intimacy that I didn't expect to serve a show this big, but it does.  The audiences that are closest to us tend to be the most responsive and vocal even when they're small, which is surprising--but so much fun for us!

That week, more than anything, it just felt so great to be back at work!  We went from a choppy schedule before the break to our first 8-show week (a Broadway schedule…plus travel!), and it was amazing to see it all come together again.  Our first show back had kind of a weird energy--a little hesitant--but by the time we had our third show of the week in Michigan it felt solid again.

From Michigan, we went to Cleveland for the weekend, which was a complete whirlwind (5 shows in about 50 hours), but also wonderful--not only were we in an amazing space, but we were finally comfortable enough with the show to enjoy it!  We were able to play, and find new things...to make discoveries as our characters.  And both the venue and the theatre district were unbelievable...I take back what I said about Fort Worth; Cleveland's Palace Theatre is now the most beautiful theatre I've ever performed in...huge and gorgeous and so much history, and built like a Broadway theatre!  Here are a couple pictures taken by one of our cast members...there are many more on Facebook!

The Palace Theatre in Cleveland, OH!

The lobby of the Palace... =)

We fortunately were able to stay in Cleveland for Halloween...fortunate mostly because our hotel rooms were larger than my New York apartment (which has never happened and will probably never happen again)...thank you, Embassy Suites!  We trick-or-treated to each other's rooms and then had a pretty hoppin' party...complete with spooky decorations, dancing, and butterbeer!  I was Posh Spice, along with three other cast members and our wig/makeup guy as the other Spice Girls...and we won the "best overall" costume award!

Spice Girls!

The next day, we went to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for some more history...and ended the day at the Chocolate Bar downtown...mmmmm.

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame!

One of my favorite parts of the tour so far has been the kids, onstage and off--there is always a girl (usually in the front row) dressed up as Dorothy, and we've had some witches and scarecrows and lions as well!  And the kids onstage with us playing the munchkins have been so much fun to work with…I remember, I think in Michigan, looking around during Munchkinland and seeing this one girl with her face lit up singing "tra la la"…she was having the best time!  And in Fort Worth, we met a little girl--maybe 2 or 3--in a restaurant after one show and she was shyly singing "Somewhere Over the Rainbow."  In Cleveland, the doorman at the Stage Door told us his nephew saw the show--his first theatrical experience ever --and said, "This is the best day of my life!"  And another girl during our last show there shouted, "Glinda! Glinda! Glinda!" from the audience as I came onstage in my bubble…it really puts into perspective why we do what we do, and who we do it for. =)


Hope to post again soon with more updates from the last week and a half...lots of love!


xoxo


Kelly