Olivertour08

And that's a wrap!!

2009-03-02T16:27:00.004-05:00

The Oliver national tour is officially over and Colin and I are home for good!!! As excited as we are to be home, we have to admit that we will truly miss all of our tour family. This tour ended up being an amazing experience for both of us. We will have memories and friendships to last a lifetime!

We were all excited to get to our last venue in Akron OH. Steve, Brittany, and Morgan joined us in Akron to watch Colin's final performances.It was wonderful having the whole family back together again. Old friends of Steve's parents, the Perry's came to the show that night too. Steve hadn't seen them in 35 years, so he wasn't exactly sure who to look for. The girls and I stood back and laughed as he approached a couple of women asking them if they were Katie Perry. He got some odd looks, haha! Luckily, after the performance the Perry's came to the stage door and asked for Colin. We really appreciated them coming to the show and enjoyed talking with them.
When we got back to the hotel, everyone got ready and headed to the cast party in the hotel's restaurant/bar. The company provided drinks and snacks for us all. We all had a great time chatting and taking photos. Steve and the girls enjoyed getting to know the cast and crew better. Quentin's mom, Gail, flew out for the last shows and cast party also. It was nice to have everyone together. We just got to see Mike and Maria in Reading too! Gail was so sweet. She gave Sue and I a beautiful pearl necklace and earrings. She thanked us for looking after her boys. Sue told her that Quentin was a piece of cake to look after, but John on the other hand....haha obviously she was just joking! The good thing about not having the cast party after the last show was that it was more of a happy occasion than a sad one. We knew that there were 2 more shows on Saturday, so we didn't feel that it was completely over.

Saturday we got up and met the Perry's for lunch. They brought us to their country club and we had a delicious lunch. We really enjoyed talking with and hearing about their family. They are wonderful people. We all felt like we've known them for years even though the kids and I just met them the night before!

The girls dropped Steve, Colin and I off at the theatre for the afternoon show. They went back to the hotel and Britt took a nap while Morgan went to the pool. She was happy that she had the whole pool to herself :) After the show we got the girls and met up with the Leone's who drove all the way to see the evening show. We had dinner at the hotel with the other kids and parents and a few more cast members. From there we headed to the final show. It was a little sad to see all of the boxes lined up waiting for everything to be packed up for good. We went out to our seats and I just got done telling Morgan that I didn't think I was going to cry, when the lights went down, the music started, and the moment I saw the boys enter the stage I started crying, lol! I kept watching the show and thinking that this was the last time I was going to see it. You would think that after 104 shows I would be happy about this, haha! I calmed down and was doing well until Colin started singing Consider Yourself. I love watching him do that number, I could watch him do it over and over(well I guess I actually did!) Morgan looked over at me and started smiling when she saw me crying all over again. By intermission, my eyes were all red and all of my makeup was cried off-attractive huh?! Act 2 wasn't as difficult for me because Colin isn't in that act as much as the first, so I was able to relax and enjoy watching everyone. Jeff who runs the lights came up to us and handed us a few crazy hats to wear. Mike(Stacie's husband) got a very attractive gold sequined cap, while I got an elf hat, Morgan wore a crazy fuzzy orange cap, and Sue and Britt had caps with weird springy type things all over it. We were hoping that they would draw the casts attention to us during bows, but unfortunately we were too far back for them to see us. We did, however, draw attention from the audience members sitting around us, lol!
After the show, we said our goodbyes. It was so difficult for all of us. As excited as we were to go home, we were so sad to think that all of the people who have been so close to us in the last 6 months would be away from us now. I think the most difficult goodbye by far for the boys was Spencer. They each hugged him and we all cried. We watched Spencer grow so much over the last few months, we're going to miss him so much! For me, the worst was definitely saying goodbye to Sue and John. They have become such wonderful friends over the last six months. I can't imagine what life is going to be without them! Without Sue I'm going to have to plan what and when I am going to eat all by myself and without John I am going to have to find my own way around! Thankfully in this world of technology I am sure that we can all stay in touch. It will be interesting to see what everyone is doing next!
This morning Colin got up and went back to school. He had a wonderful day and seems really excited to be back. He went over to his best friend Ben's house after school and then asked if Ben could come over our house. They have a lot of fun to make up for the time they missed, lol! I was happy to find that Colin is actually ahead in a couple of his subjects in school and right where he should be for the others. I hope Mikey and Quentin had great days back to school also! I took the week off to get everything situated around here and will head back to work next Monday. What a change that will be for me! I'll actually have to go to bed before 2am and wake up at 6am yikes!

Reading PA

2009-02-27T00:30:00.005-05:00

After two long days on the bus we were happy to get to Reading. We had a rough ride from Michigan to Ohio on Wednesday. The weather wasn't cooperating at all, it was snowing pretty hard. Clare decided it would be best if we just grabbed our lunch to go instead of taking a full hour lunch. This proved to be a good decision because as it was we got in around 8:30pm. We stayed at the Holiday Inn and Sue was lucky enough to get the woman from the hotel to drive us to Applebees. John and Quentin decided to stay back at the hotel, but Chaz joined us for a late dinner. We're really going to miss Chaz! He's such a great guy and we all really enjoy his company.
This morning we got back on the bus to find Spencer in the driver's seat steering the steering wheel, lol! Clare joked that he was our 7th bus driver. For some reason we seemed to go through a lot of busdrivers in such a short time! We had a very bumpy ride to Reading. The bus was all over the place. (No Spencer didn't really drive). I don't know how the boys managed to do schoolwork!
When we pulled into the hotel, Mike and Maria were waiting anxiously for Sue and Mikey to get off the bus. Maria was so sick during their last visit in Jacksonville, so it was great to see her healthy and full of energy! It's so cute, she has a little crush on Colin. She calls him her "teddy bear"! She came to the show all dressed up in a beautiful red dress. She was giving Nancy a run for her money lol! Actually she loves the song "As long as he Needs Me" so Sue made sure she got a picture of Maria in her red dress with Rhiannon in her red dress :)
I met up with Mark&Lisa, Steve&Mary Kyryk, and Fran Sullivan at the theatre. Colin was so happy to know that there were friends and family in the audience watching him. Uncle Mark won the award for the most shows seen by a relative (Other than Steve&the girls). This was his 3rd time seeing the show and Lisa's 2nd.
After the show we all heading out for a drink (Colin got a shirley temple, lol) While at the restaurant, Kevin (the musical director) and Jeff (drummer) came in. There were people doing karaoke and Kevin came over to show Colin that the book of karoake songs had Oliver songs in it. We tried to get Colin go up and sing Consider Yourself, but no go. Instead we had to listen to this guy who was tone deaf sing song after song! We said our goodbyes and heading back in to the hotel. It's so hard to believe that we are going to our last stop on tour tomorrow! Steve, Brittany, and Morgan will be meeting us in Akron. Tomorrow night after the show will be the cast party. We can't believe the end is here!.

Houghton MI

2009-02-25T01:06:00.004-05:00

Tonight the cast celebrated their 100th show!!! We enjoyed time to ourselves this morning and met John, Quentin, Sue, and Mikey later in the day to have an early dinner at Applebees. When it was time for bus call I got a call from Clare asking if I wanted to bring a sleeping baby out to the bus.(I absolutely love cuddling with Spencer when he's sleeping, he's soooo adorable!) I loved having my "baby" time holding Spencer on the bus. Just as we got to the theatre he woke up and wanted Mommy. He's such a sweetheart, we are all going to miss him so much when tour is done! We made Clare promise to post photos of him online, so we can continue to watch him grow.
When we got to the theatre(Rozsa Center)we were all excited to see the banner hanging outside. It actually had photos of our cast on it. The graphic designer did an amazing job,it was so colorful! We asked one of the men in charge if we could possibly get smaller posters like it. He was wonderful enough to have his staff go around and take the posters off the walls, so that each member of the cast could have one. They also had the photo on their programs so we made sure everyone got one to bring home. The people at the theatre were so wonderful and accomodating. We really appreciated their kindness. While we were taking photos in the lobby and theatre a woman from the theatre approached us and asked if we knew Colin Nims. I told her that I was his mother and she said that there was a woman here to see him. She brought me to the woman and I found that is was Chris Klasner's mom! She came 100 miles to come see the show and represent the Klasners! I enjoyed chatting with her and really appreciated that she came all the way to see Colin. Colin was excited to hear that Carson and Selene's grandma was there to see him :)
Tomorrow we are boarding the bus at 7am and heading to Ohio where we sill get to around 9pm. Needless to say, none of us are excited about this trip! Hopefully it'll go by quickly. Last time we played Michelle's music catchphrase game and had a blast, so I'm sure we'll be asking her to pull that out again. On Thursday morning we'll be heading to Reading PA where Mark and Lisa, Steve and Mary(Friends from High School) and Fran (Steve's roomate from the Academy and usher in our wedding) will be coming to the show. We're looking forward to seeing all of them!
I'll write more after Reading :) 4 shows left!!!!

5 shows left!!!

2009-02-23T00:56:00.003-05:00

We had a great Golden day yesterday. Colin and I along with Sue and Mikey ventured out in the cold and headed to the mall. Colin and I got much needed haircuts and then really enjoyed taking our time and shopping. Colin got new sneakers for school(so did I!) and treated ourselves to a couple of other things. Colin was thrilled to get a new phone(He was up for an upgrade). After looking over many phones, he decided on the LG Vu and absolutely loves it. After shopping we met up with Sue, Mikey, John, and Q for dinner. We were all freezing by the time we got to the restaurant, but were excited to show off all of our purchases. Even the waitress enjoyed looking at all of the fun princess things that Sue and Mikey got for Maria! After dinner we headed back to the hotel and went into the pool and hot tub again. When the pool closed we all headed up to our rooms. Sue and I bumped into Chaz and Alaggio in the hall and were horrified to hear about their church experience. Chaz thought it would be nice to join his friend and go to a local catholic church. Even though he isn't catholic he wanted to go and enjoy worshipping with his friends and castmates. When it came time to go up for communion, Chaz decided to join everyone because he felt that if he didn't he would offend the church. Well, once Chaz got the host he proceeded back to his pew with it in his hand. They were all shocked and horrified when a woman from the church marched up to Chaz and asked if he was Catholic. When he told her that he wasn't, she snatched the host right out of Chaz's hand!! Needless to say, Chaz felt awful and was afraid that he embarassed the rest of the group. However, the rest of the group felt embarassed at the way the catholic church reacted to how a newcomer was treated! I just wish I could have been a fly on the wall to see all of their faces! After laughing at the story when Chaz and Alaggio told us, the woman from the front desk came up to us and yelled at us for being too loud. Apparently 10pm-7am is "quiet time" in the hotel. Mikey then decided that we should all come into my room and hang out. Colin broke out the wine for Sue, Chaz, and me and we all had a good time just chatting in our pj's :)
Today we slept in and then headed to the theatre for a matinee. Sue, John, and I decided to grab a soda and popcorn before heading into the theatre(gotta love the theatres that you can eat and drink in haha!) We were surprised to find out that they didn't charge us because we had backstage passes on. That was the first time we got free food and we really liked that, lol! When we went into the theatre we found that they didn't sell the front row seats, so we decided to sit there. It was so much fun to watch the cast react to us once they saw us there. It didn't hurt that I was wearing a neon yellow sweater that practically glowed in the dark haha! The best reactions were when Erin and Will offered us the sausages they were selling in Consider Yourself and my favorite was when Chaz blessed himself during the show in honor of his experience with the Catholic Church! We had a blast cheering the whole cast on!
After the show there was a Q and A with some audience members. It was so funny how the 3 boys were not intimidated by the least bit. All three spoke right up when the group was asked questions. These three will have no problem with public speaking in school!
Once back at the hotel we decided to head over to Red Lobster for dinner, the 3 parents, 3 kids, and Chaz and Rhiannon. We had a great dinner which we overstuffed ourselves with!
Tomorrow we head back on the road first thing in the morning and will ride to Houghton Michigan.
I'll write more from there :)

2009-02-21T01:30:00.004-05:00

After leaving Lowell, we headed to Springfield MA. Once in Springfield we had the evening off and decided to Colin was really excited about the show that night. He let his understudy, Jenn, have a chance to perform as Dodger. Colin hasn't missed a show yet and thought it was the least he could do seeing as Jenn had to learn his part in case he got sick. He figured with 104 shows, it wouldn't kill him to miss one. Plus, he was really excited to actually watch the show! We found our seats and got ready for the show to start. Colin was so excited when the music started. His head was nodding along with the music and the beat of the orphans walking on stage. After that he had a huge grin the whole time while watching the show. He was so excited when it was time for Jenn to enter as Dodger. We both really enjoyed watching her do her version of Dodger. She was absolutely fantastic! We were both so proud of her. It was so wonderful to see her smile onstage. It was obvious that she was having the time of her life! I was so proud of Colin for giving Jenn this chance. During intermission Colin ran down to the dressing room to give Jenn a big hug and congratulate her. He also told his other castmates how great they were. After Mikey even gave Colin a hug (Mikey's not too fond of Colin's hugs, lol!) we headed back to our seats and enjoyed watching the rest of the show.
The next day we headed to Salisbury MD. We arrived just in time to cleanup and change and head right to the theatre. Actually it was another arena. Luckily this arena was much better soundwise than the others. After watching the show the night before, Colin was ready to hop back in to his role. There's not much more to report from Salisbury because we weren't even there a full day! The next morning we got back on the bus and started the long trip to Merrillville, IN. We stopped in Ohio the first night and continued on to Indiana this morning. Tonight we had a nice dinner at Olive Garden with Sue, Mikey, John, and Quentin. After a chilly walk back to the hotel, we got our bathing suits on and enjoyed a relaxing time in the pool and hot tub. It's been a while since we had a pool to hang out by and to actually have enough time to relax! It really felt good and the boys had a lot of fun together. I think we're all realizing that our time together is getting short. As much as we want to get home to our families and real life, we all realize how much we're going to miss the great friendships we have made on tour. It's just so unbelievable that in a little over a week this will all be over. Hopefully we will all be able to stay in touch and remain friends once we get back to our homes.
Tomorrow we have a golden day and are planning to walk over to the mall. We'll do a little shopping, get much needed haircuts, and have dinner. The next show is on Sunday.

Morganton NC and Lowell MA

2009-02-15T23:59:00.003-05:00

Thursday we got into Morganton NC. There was no show Thursday night so we were able to grab some dinner and do a little shopping at WalMart which was right near our hotel. Friday morning the boys had school and Cindy and Gary arrived :) It was so good to see them and spend some time with them! We had dinner together and then put Colin on the bus for soundcheck. Cindy, Gary, and I headed to the theatre a little later. Cindy and Gary seemed to really enjoy the show. I was so happy that they were able to see Colin perform. After the show, I introduced them to most of the castmembers and brought Cindy on the bus to see our amazing home on the road! I don't think she was really impressed lol!! We headed back to the hotel where Sue and Mikey joined us for some wine(Sue had the wine, not Mikey, lol!) We had a great visit and really enjoyed spending time with both Cindy and Gary.

After having breakfast, we said our goodbyes to Cindy and Gary and took the shuttle to the airport. The kids and parents were lucky enough to fly to Boston while the rest of the cast had to spend 14 hours on the bus. We flew into Boston and took a shuttle to the hotel. After checking into the hotel, we headed out for our Valentine's dinner at a nice little italian restaurant. Steve called and kidded that he was taking his cute young valentine (haha Morgan) out to dinner and I kidded back that I had a date with a young stud (colin!) Speaking of young stud, one of the girls who was at the Jacksonville Q&A friended colin on facebook. She asked him for an interview for her school newspaper. She said no one reads the newspaper now, so she thought if she interviewed Colin they may read it. She told him that he was the talk of the school. Colin had a grin a mile wide as he answered the interview questions lol!

We got to sleep in this morning and then headed for a late breakfast and then to the theatre for sound check. We were so excited because Jenn Harrison drove down to see the show. It was so great to see her! She seemed to really enjoy the show and luckily we were able to get great seats!During intermission we ran into a little boy(who we later learned was named Brendan)with his mom. Brendan was absolutely adorable! He was singing the songs from the show and couldn't stop talking about it. Sue and I introduced ourselves to Brendan and his mom and had a great chat with them. After the show we ran into them again and Brendan was really anxious to meet some of the cast. He kept asking who was Jack Dawkins mom. After a little bit, I realized that Dodger's real name was Jack Dawkins! This little boy, knew right off the bat that Dodger was Jack Dawkins, but after seeing the show close to 100 times I didn't even pick up on it lol!!! The boys went up to meet Brendan after the show and really enjoyed talking with Brendan. Brendan especially loved Mr Bumble, so Sue went to find Chaz for him. As soon as he saw Chaz he ran up and gave him a hug. He was so adorable he definitely made our day!!!
Colin and I are really looking forward to our Golden Day tomorrow. We'll most likely just relax most of the day here in Lowell :)
Next stop.....Springfield MA :)

2009-02-13T01:15:00.002-05:00

We were all excited when we got on the bus after our very unrestful night at the Howard Johnson in Statesboro! Once we got to our Clemson hotel, you would have thought it was the Ritz by our reaction to a nice clean hotel!!! During our lunch break on the way to Clemson, we were all delighted by the gorgeous weather! We enjoyed hanging out in the sun. Some of the cast had fun throwing a football and frisbee. Spencer was having a blast running around in the sun and seemed to get a new love for football. He chased the football wherever it was thrown! We all got to Clemson, checked in and after a little rest headed to the theatre. During act 2 of the show, Sue John and I headed to the Green Room to do a little work on the computer. Clare and Spencer were also in there. I was thrilled when I got a perfect picture of Spencer doing Erin's "Leg Up"! It's amazing all of the things that Spencer learned on tour lol! I have to say that the Leg up and Jeff's "oh snap" are my favorites, haha! After a good night sleep in the Clemson hotel we headed to Jacksonville. The weather in Jacksonville was beautiful (mid 70's)! The best part was that we had two golden days which allowed us to really enjoy Florida. Sue's family, Mike and Maria flew down to spend some time with her and Mikey. The first day, Clare organized a trip to the beach. We absolutely loved relaxing on the beach while the boys were brave enough to venture into the chilly ocean. The next day we headed to a science museum for a school fieldtrip. Later that night Mike and John took the boys to see Coraline which they really enjoyed. Unfortunately Maria was sick with a bad cough the whole time, so Sue stayed back with her in the room. Our last day there the cast had two shows. The first was at 10am and they were all really dreading it. Morning shows are tough on the voice and Colin wasn't very happy about going, but that all changed at the show. The morning show was for local schools. Afterwards, they held a question and answer session with the students. The first question that was asked was, "Is Dodger single" lol! From what I hear(I wasn't at that show) Colin's face turned beet red! From what I heard the girls really seemed to enjoy Colin's performance lol! Or should I just say, Colin! haha! They asked how old he was and when he told them 12 there were screams coming from the group. I'm guessing that was their age too! Needless to say, Colin was a different person when he got off the bus than when he got on. I think this willurn be one thing about the tour that he will never forget haha! Unfortunately, he will have to turn back into a "normal" kid again in 2 weeks!
We were all upset to see that someone got onto our bus the night before and pretty much ransacked the whole bus. All of our things were thrown about the bus, but for some reason the only thing that we noticed were missing was Mikey's Nintendo DS. That makes 3 DS's that were stolen on this tour :( It was really strange because Cameras, videocameras, computers, dvd players and many other valuable items were left.
This morning we boarded the bus for another full day busride to Morganton NC. Colin and I are very excited because my sister and brother in law(Cindy and Gary) are coming to tomorrow to see the show and will also be spending the night in our hotel. It'll be so wonderful to see them :)
Well that's it for now. My pictures are limited because of a bad battery, but I have since got a new one so hopefully I'll have a lot more pictures in the next 2 weeks!
I'll write again soon!
Missy

Statesboro GA

2009-02-07T01:55:00.002-05:00

On our way to Statesboro, Clare informed us that she was having a little trouble with the hotel which we were booked with. Unfortunately, even though we had a contract the hotel didn't have rooms for us. After they scrambled a bit they came up with a Howard Johnson's hotel for us to stay. We were all disgusted when we got to the hotel. It was absolutely filthy! It amazes me how people let their business just go downhill! there were stains on our ceiling along with stains on the carpet. In addition there was an inch of dust on everything! The bathroom would've actually been nice if it was clean. It has a large jacuzzi tub with a tv. But with the filth in this hotel, neither Colin nor I would even entertain the thought of using the jacuzzi. The show at georgia southern university went well. It was a good audience and the space was very nice. However, before the show started we had to evacuate the building. As it turns out our hazers spread way too much fog and set off the smoke alarms! We all headed to the parking lot and awaited the firetrucks as they approached. After about 20 minutes we were allowed back into the building(Along with the audience) and started the show about 15 min later. Once we got back to the hotel many of us headed to the Sonic drivethru next door. We had to go up to the boards where orders are placed (Keep in mind, most people are in cars for this) We got our orders and hesitantly walked back to our hotel rooms.
We are all anxiously awaiting our bus call at 8:30 for 9:00 in the morning!

Gainesville FL

2009-02-05T23:52:00.004-05:00

After 3 long days on the bus, we arrived in Gainesville yesterday. The busride didn't turn out as bad as I thought it would be. Seeing as we only had half of the people on the bus we were able to really spread out. We each had a whole row of seats to ourselves which made us a little less cramped. We all kept ourselves occupied by either sleeping, reading, going on our computers, kidnapping each others stuffed animals(yes we are adults!) and watching dvds. Colin and Quentin also had 3 hours of school each day in addition to homework. Sue homeschooled Mikey for the days that they were home. We all definitely got a little antsy during the last couple of hours or the ride each day, but were able to get through it all with a little humor. At one of our lunchbreaks we stopped at McDonalds. Erin was excited to see that they had a playarea and asked Colin to go in it with her. Colin happily went along. It was a blast watching them climb through the tubes, but even better watching the faces of the mom's who were there with their toddlers watching them! Erin even asked two of the toddlers to get in a picture with her, lol! Erin then thought it would be fun to bring Spencer in. Unfortunately once she climbed through several of the parts of the play area, Spencer got very scared and started to cry. Erin's face was priceless as she rushed down all of the little nooks and crannies to get Spencer out! Back to the bus-Clare and Bart have taught sign language to Spencer to help him communicate better. Spencer made our day when he put his hands up in the air on the bus and signed "All done". Needless to say, by the end of the ride each day we were all signing "All done"!
Colin and I were happy to see the rest of the cast when they arrived today in Gainesville. With so little time left on the tour we realized how much we're really going to miss everyone once it's over. Unfortunately, Will was very sick when he got here so he had to miss the show tonight. Kudos to Adam for stepping in and playing both Mr Sowerberry and Dr Grimwig! Hopefully Will will feel better by tomorrow night's show in Statesboro GA.
The Fairfield hotel which we are staying in sent two baskets full of goodies to the show for the cast. It was so sweet of them and everyone really appreciated it! Before the show the theatre held a question and answer session for some audience members. A few castmembers went and answered questions. Colin and Mikey decided that they really wanted to do it, so Sue and I went to listen in. James did his research and calculated that at this point we have traveled over 20,000 miles!!! YIKES! The cast were a lot of fun while answering the questions and one of the audience members mentioned that he has read both Sue and my blogs! It felt great to know that people are really reading what I'm writing. So if that man is reading this, thank you and I hope you enjoyed the show!
Tomorrow we head to Statesboro. It's only 250 miles so after our last few busrides it'll seem like just a hop skip and a jump!

Getting ready for 3 days on the bus

2009-02-01T21:21:00.003-05:00

Colin and I had a couple of very relaxing days in Saint John New Brunswick. We slept in both yesterday and today. Yesterday we stayed in our room all day and then headed to the hotel restaurant for dinner (fish and chips, yummy!)While there Clare came in and was obviously feeling under the weather. As it turns out she ended up with the stomach bug. So far, 6 people on our bus ended up with it :( Clare asked John and I to take care of things on the bus as we rode to the theatre. John was in charge of directions and she gave him a map and I was in charge of making sure everyone was on the bus before we left. Well, things didn't turn out quite as planned lol! John followed the map but unfortunately there was a mistake on it so we went around in circles a couple of times before we made it to the theatre. I checked to make sure that everyone was on the bus that was supposed to. Some of the cast already told Clare that they would meet us at the theatre but when I did a head count I realized Adam was missing. We waited 8 minutes and then we all decided that he probably went ahead with some of the others and left. In my defense, Clare told me to have the bus leave at 7pm! LOL! As it turned out Adam thought bus call was at 7:15 so he missed the bus. He ended up calling a taxi to get to the theatre which had we all known we could've picked him up on our second time passing the hotel trying to find the theatre haha! I have a feeling Clare won't be asking John and me for favors anytime soon lol!
Some of the cast and musicians on the bus decided to fly home early this morning and then fly directly to Gainesville FL on Thursday. They weren't up for the 3 day busride from Canada to Florida. Can't say as I blame them but Colin and I opted for the bus (We'd have to pay for our own flights home and then to Gainesville) Hopefully it won't be as terrible as it seems. We can really stretch out on the bus seeing as half of the people won't be on it. We're just hoping that no one else gets sick because that busride would be torture for them if they do. (For my luck I'll be the one to get sick next!)
Colin and I hungout in our room again all day today and are watching the Superbowl now. Luckily, we have a big flatscreen tv in our room. Colin is ecstatic because his team is ahead and there is only a little of 5 minutes left in theh game. I myself am a little disappointed. The canadian commercials are nothing like the ones in the states. That's the only thing I really like about the super bowl!

Oh Canada! Oliver is officially an international tour :)

2009-01-30T22:53:00.002-05:00

Oliver is now officially an international tour. We headed to Kingston Ontario after Ogdensburg. Colin and I rode on the bus to make things easier and Steve followed behind the bus. Everything went well at the border until the border patrol came on the bus and asked if anyone had any mace or pepper spray. Melissa admitted that she had some pepper spray in her purse and when she pulled it out we all cracked up. It was in a pretty bedazzled bottle, lol! The patrol agent made Melissa come off the bus and come into the building. We were all laughing thinking about what they all thought about her bedazzled pepper spray. After quite a while Melissa was released and came back on the bus. Check out the photo I posted of her coming out, I had to rag on her a bit, lol!
Once we got over the border we headed to Kingston. We were so happy to still have Steve with us! Once we got to theatre we discovered that the show was sold out. I didn't bother ordering tickets because we planned on using our backstage passes as usual and just sit in an empty seat. Well when I went to the house manager to ask for seats she told me that there were none available. OK, so for the first time on tour I turned into a stage mom lol! I said, my son is in the show and my husband came all the way from Rochester to see him. We need to get a seat for at least him!So as luck would have it a woman in the balcony was scarred of heights and took the last house seats, but her seats were available. So Steve and I were able to sit together and watch the show :)
Steve left early the next morning and we boarded the bus and headed for Edmondston New Brunswick for a stopover. I discovered during our lunch break that I really should have paid more attention during French class, lol! It took forever to order our lunch. I discovered that corndogs are known as pogos in Canada. It was so neat to see all the buildings and billboard signs in french. When we finally got to the hotel I grabbed a newspaper and discovered it was no good to me because it was all in french lol! Jenn and John enjoyed that they were finally able to use their french. They both came in handy when we all needed a little translation.
We ordered food from the hotel restaurant and ate in our room. We were now in Atlantic time which is one hour ahead of eastern time. For some reason my phone never switched over so when I set my phone alarm for the next morning I set it for an hour earlier thinking that would workout so I was up at the right time. Well, my stupid phone decided to change over to atlantic time sometime during the night and my alarm went off an hour earlier than we needed it to. Of course I didn't look at any of the clocks and Colin and I dragged ourselves out of bed to make sure we made bus call. When we got downstairs the bus was waiting but there was no one else around. We loaded our luggage and went to the hotel restaurant where I spotted Ashley and Michelle having breakfast. After talking with them I realized that we were an hour ahead of schedule! Colin and I were both awake til 2:30am so we really could have used that extra hour of sleep! I really decided that I didn't like Canada when I tried to get money out of the atm. Canada has two seperate cards for debit and credit. When I put my card into the machine it only recognizes it as a creditcard and therefore will not give me any cash!
After another day on the bus we arrived at our hotel in St John New Brunswick. I had a huge bag of laundry so i decided to stay back from the show and get my laundry done. Of course, laundry was more expensive than usual so I used my last $14 in cash to get $1 canadian coins for the laundry. So here I am in Canada with exactly 7 cents to my name until Monday! Thank God my card works for credit at restaurants!
Even I was amazed by all of the snow here. I'm used to snow, but this place is covered! It's very pretty as long as you're inside :)
Tomorrow Colin and I are looking forward to sleeping in. We don't have to head to the show until 7pm and it's a weekend so no school :) Sunday is a Golden Day which means we have a whole day off and can enjoy the SuperBowl. Colin's rooting for the Steeler's and I myself prefer the commercials!
We hit the one month mark until we go home and have mixed emotions. We're so excited to get home and be with the rest of our family and friends, but at the same time are going to miss our wonderful tour family and this whole experience.

Springfield to Ogdensburg

2009-01-28T00:22:00.005-05:00

The last few days have flown by, but not without incidences! After Kalamazoo we headed to Springfield OH. This is Erin's hometown and her parents were wonderful enough to throw a reception for everyone back at the hotel. They had food and drinks for all and even a picture of the whole cast on the cake! That was very generous of them and we all truly appreciated it. Well after that is where things started to fall apart! The crew bus broke down when they were about to leave for Williamsport, so Clare had to arrange last minute flights for all of the crew so they could make it there in time. Then the truck carrying all of the sets and costumes was in an accident and a new truck had to come and get everything. Luckily the truckdriver wasn't hurt! Then Chris(Our Bill Sykes) came down with the stomach bug that a couple other castmembers had a couple of days before. The poor guy had to ride the whole day on the bus feeling incredibly sick :(
When we finally made it to Williamsport, the crew had done a great job getting everything set. Unfortunately they had no sleep what so ever. Chris was too sick to go on as Bill Sykes, so Will went on for him and did an amazing job!! There was rumor that Davy Jones(the original Artful Dodger) was going to come to that show, but as far as we know he was a noshow :( Colin was disappointed because he was looking forward to meeting him.
Today we were on the bus all day and got to Ogdensburg on time. Steve met us at the hotel and we went out to dinner with Sue, Mikey, John, and Quentin. From there we drove to the theatre. We were a little surprised that the theatre was actually located in a school and was extremely small, but it all worked out. We met up with Cici(Steve's sister), Jimmy(our nephew), and Aunt Carol and later Cindy and Emily Tyler made it. Emily has been in a few plays in Rochester with Colin. We really appreciated them coming all the way from Rochester, especially on a school night! It was so wonderful for Colin to have family and friends in the audience!
Tomorrow Steve is following us to Kingston Ontario and will watch the show there. We'll be sad when he has to leave on Thursday, but it will help knowing that we will be heading back home in a month :)

Kalamazoo billboard

2009-01-24T20:59:00.002-05:00

Today while riding to the theatre in Kalamazoo Michigan we were so excited to see a billboard with Colin and Quentin's photos on it! So of course I had to ask Larry(our busdriver) to slow down so I could take a photo of it like a true stage mom would! lol!!!

2009-01-23T20:42:00.004-05:00

This week has been quite a whirlwind! After St Louis we headed to Columbia MO, then Burlington IA, on to Muncie IN, and finally here we are in Kalamazoo MI. Last night the kids last tutor's(Kevin)parents came to see the show in Muncie. They stayed to meet the boys and we really enjoyed talking with them. They called Kevin from the theatre and each of the boys were excited to speak with him. Kevin is a great tutor and the boys really miss him. Colin was adament about going out to the bus to find the game Rumis that Kevin left behind in California. Unfortunately it was put under the bus and got a little tossed around, but after searching on hands and knees Colin finally found all of the missing pieces. He felt so much better knowing that Kevin would finally get Rumis back :)
I honestly don't know how the cast pulls off all of these shows! After spending the majority of the day on the bus we get to the hotel, grab a bite to eat and head to the show. On top of that, most of the cast has been fighting off colds and a couple had a stomach bug. It's tough not picking up germs when we're all on a bus together for so long. The boys have it even worse because they have to fit school and homework in. I'm so proud of how seriously Colin has been taking his school work. He got all A's on his report card! I know how exhausted I am by the show and all I have to do is sit and watch it. I have to admit though that I have been taking a few nights off here and there. Tonight Sue and I stayed back and did laundry and rested while John went to the theatre with the boys. Tomorrow is John's turn to stay back and relax.
I'm getting excited because Steve is going to meet us Tuesday in Ogdensburg and then travel to Kingson on Wednesday with us :) Colin and I are really looking forward to spending a couple of days with him. Unfortunately Morgan can't come along because she has midterms scheduled on those days :( We are also thrilled that Cici, Jimmy, and Aunt Carole are coming to the show in Ogdensburg. It's so wonderful for Colin to have family in the audience! Steve's old neighbors from Massena are also coming to that show. It will be nice to see them, we haven't seen them in years.
One of the best parts of this tour is the time that Colin and I spend alone in our room. We will just talk for hours about things. We each sympathize with whatever the other is going through and open up about all of our feelings. It's great therapy! I wish I would've had that much time alone with both of my girls without all of the daily activities and things butting in. One thing that I'm dreading about going back home is when he turns into the typical middle schooler! He opens up with me so much now, I truly hope that will continue.

St Louis

2009-01-21T01:22:00.004-05:00

After passing the St Louis arch several times on tour, we were finally able to stop there. John, Q, Sue, Mikey, Colin, and I took advantage of the stop and went up in the arch. We got into the tram which looked a lot like a space pod. It was pretty neat watching as we made our way up the arch. Luckily we didn't have to walk up to the top(We'd have to go up over 1,000 steps!) At the top we were able to look out over the Mississippi River on one side and saw the St Louis Cardinals stadium out the other. We were so happy to be able to see another amazing landmark.
We headed to Columbia MO where we enjoyed a night off. We had dinner at the sports bar and just went back to our room and relaxed. We were able to sleep in the next morning, check out some of the presidential inauguration and then went across the street to the mall for some shopping and dinner. The cast performed at the University of Missouri tonight before an amazing audience. The seemed to absolutely love the show.
Tomorrow we head to Burlington IA for another one nighter.

Middle School Dance Party

2009-01-19T00:06:00.005-05:00

When some of the girls in the cast heard that Colin had to miss his middle school dance they decided to have a middle school dance for him! They decorated one of their hotel rooms with crepe paper and put up a poster. Everyone came dressed as middle schoolers, they served punch and cookies, had music playing and the best part was that they all acted as middle schoolers! It was hysterical watching their take on things and Colin and Mikey had a blast! A few of their skits were like something out of Saturday Night Live! Check out the pictures and videos they tell the story much better than me!

Waukegan IL and Lima OH

2009-01-16T00:54:00.003-05:00

We're all getting a little tired out from these one nighters! Our days have been consisting of waking up, packing our suitcases, loading the bus, 300+ mile trip, check in to the hotel, head to the theatre for sound check and then the show, go back to the hotel, shower, sleep, wake up and do it all over again in a different city. At least the adults get to sleep on the bus, I feel so bad for the kids who have to have school and then homework.

After St Charles we headed to Waukegan IL. Colin and I were excited to see my brother at the show. Mark has been working about an hour away and was able to drive up to see the show for a second time(He also saw the show in Binghamton) It was so nice having family there. Colin and I both really appreciated that Mark drove in snowy and extremely cold weather to come see us! I also appreciated that Mark had a glass of wine waiting for me in the lounge ;)

This morning we loaded the bus and headed to Lima OH. I was planning on relaxing in our hotel room once we got there, but changed my mind when I learned that a few of the understudies were going on. It's always a lot of fun to watch the understudies have their turn in the limelight. Tonight Erin wowed us as Nancy! She did an amazing job and we were all very proud of her! Michelle also did a fantastic job as Mrs Sowerberry. She looked so confident on stage even though she only had one rehearsal to learn the part! Ashley was hilarious as Old Sally and sounded beautiful as the strawberry seller. That girl is so talented! She can jump in any role and do it amazingly!

I had a chance to chat with the house manager at the theatre before the show. He told me that he was in a community theatre that is also putting on Oliver and he is playing Fagin. He said that many castmates were coming to watch the show. After the show the boys were delighted to find that the other Oliver cast was waiting outside the dressing rooms to meet them. Colin got to meet the boy who is playing Dodger in the other show along with their Oliver, Nancy, Mr&Mrs Sowerberry, Widow Corney, Fagin's gang members and their director. They were wonderful people and we really enjoyed answering all of their questions. By the end of our chat we were wishing that we could have the chance to watch their production.

Tomorrow we are heading to Evansville IN for another one nighter and then head to Paducah KY for two nights!!!

Memphis TN and St Charles MO

2009-01-14T01:23:00.005-05:00

We were all very excited to leave our hotel in Galveston and head to the double tree in Memphis(No cockroaches and no criminals!) The beginning of our bus ride was pretty amazing. We got on a ferry and all got off of the bus and enjoyed being out on the water. Alaggio even brought his flute out and played the themes from Titanic and Little Mermaid while some of our group went upstairs on the ferry and struck a "I'm on top of the world" pose! We were all so excited when we looked out on the gulf and saw dolphins swimming along side of us! After we got off of the ferry we rode by some of the worst destruction from Hurricane Ike. It was so unbelievable seeing how debris spread everywhere. There were beach homes that were completely destroyed except for the stilts that they were built on. There were businesses that were demolished and random cars tipped on their side. I can't even imagine what these people went through. Within a half hour we went from the joy of seeing dolphins to sadness of seeing all of the destruction.

After a 12 hour bus ride we made it to Memphis and were thrilled to see Matt David as soon as we got off of the bus. Matt used to play Mr Brownlow on our tour, but left and is now touring with the Drowsy Chaperone. It just so happened that both the Drowsy and Oliver cast were staying at the same hotel on the same night :) Most of the cast and crew went to BB Kings to have dinner with Matt. We had an amazing time, we enjoyed the best ribs again and also a fantastic band. We all soon forgot about our long bus ride and got happy rocking to the music! It was really a lot of fun!

This morning we got back on the bus. We weren't exactly excited to be on the another long busride, so of few of the girls decided to make it a little more memorable! Erin helped Jenn squeeze into the upper luggage rack which is probably only about 1 foot in height! Then Erin decided that she wanted to try it, lol! The pictures explain this all alot better, it was so funny! I also was able to get a curtain rod and suction cup hooks to hang my valance that Erin and Jenn got me for my birthday. My seat looks so homey now!!! I love it!

Tomorrow we head out to Waukegan IL where the wind chill is supposed to be between
-20 and -40 degrees!! I made sure to pull out all of our warmest clothes for this trip! My brother is in Illinois for work so Colin and I are really looking forward to seeing him at the show :)

Back on Tour

2009-01-11T23:29:00.004-05:00

I have to admit, this time it was extremely hard for me to come back on tour. Colin and I loved being home and I especially loved spending time with Steve, Brittany, and Morgan. We had to leave on the day of Morgan's first cheer competition for the year, so I was especially down having to miss that.
We headed for the airport at 5:30am and got on our flight to Atlanta where we had a layover. At the airport we met up with Stacie, Alaggio, Will, and Jeremiah who were on our flight to Houston. Once we all met up at the Houston airport the bus came to pick us up and bring us to Galveston. It was so sad seeing all of the damage that the hurricane caused in September. Homes and businesses were damaged and some totally destroyed. It was amazing to see all of the damage. We remember reading about this in the newspaper and seeing it on tv, but to be here and see the extent of the damage was unbelievable.
After checking in at the hotel we rested up a bit and then headed to the theatre for the show. We walked around a bit downtown and saw some places that were in business and looked like nothing happened and others that were completely boarded up or partially torn down. We went into a small grocery store and met the owner who told us about the hurricane and the damaged it caused to his store. He even showed us pictures of what it looked like after the hurricane. There was stuff everywhere, the streets were full of debris. He said that his store had 9 feet of water in it! He and his family had to get rid of everything and powerwash the whole building. Then they needed to order all new supplies. Miraculously it only took them 7 weeks to reopen although there still is a lot of work to be done. We were truly touched when we saw a woman come in to buy cleaning supplies for her apartment upstairs and Bob told her that there was no charge for the cleaning supplies. He had been through so much, but is still trying to help others get through their difficult times.
The shows went well but our time in our hotel was less than pleasant. The hotel was pretty run down. We have a nice view of the Gulf, but unfortunately so do the cockroaches and sketchy people who are staying in the hotel. Both nights we were treated to police cars combing the area. Tonight was especially exciting while we witnessed a footchase ending with the police coming up empty handed. Then they got back in their cars and headed to our hotel for a while! Sue and Stacie were fortunate enough to have some visitors in their rooms when they returned(not criminals but cockroaches!) There were several shady people walking around the hotel at night obviously doing some drug deals. So I'm sure you can understand why we are getting very little sleep and are really looking forward to bus call at 6:30am.
Things will get better from there. We're heading to Memphis again and staying in a very nice hotel. The best part is that Matt David is going to be in Memphis too with his tour (The Drowsy Chaperone)We're all so excited to see him!!

Home tomorrow!!!

2009-01-04T00:18:00.002-05:00

Tomorrow Colin and I head home for a 6 day break. We're really looking forward to just relaxing at home. Brittany is still home from college, so we can spend time with her and also squeeze in one of Morgan's lacrosse games and watch her cheer at a basketball game :)
We really enjoyed Milwaukee. We had a lot of downtime and the hotel was very comfortable. The worst part was that they are doing major renovations to the hotel, so the last two mornings we were awakened by power tools! Luckily the front desk offered ear plugs which helped a little, lol!
The shows been intersting lately because some of the understudies have been able to step in for one reason or another. Alaggio wasn't able to make the Sarasota shows due to bad weather in Idaho. Adam stepped in as Noah and Ashley filled Alaggio's part in Fagin's gang. Last night Stacie had a stomach bug, so Michelle was able to step in as Widow Corney while Ashley played Mrs Bedwin. They all did a fantastic job, we were proud of each of them! It's so interesting to watch each actor's take a part. None of them played the part the same as the original character, which made it fun to watch. So much fun that we sat in the front row last night! Sue, John, Elizabeth and I discovered that they didn't sell tickets for the seats right in front so we decided to make ourselves comfortable in them. It was great seeing all of the actors expressions up close. Even better was watching as each noticed us sitting right there. A couple of actors almost broke, but being the professionals that they are they held it together :)
Colin has been fighting a cough, but luckily has been able to go on each show. He was so exhausted today I wondered if he would actually be able to make it through. Luckily he was able to and I was so proud of him! Hopefully after a week home, he'll be able to rest up and feel better. There are several castmembers who are feeling the same way, so I think this break is going to be great for all!
Well we need to catch the shuttle for the airport first thing in the morning so time to hit the hay!
Missy

Happy New Year!!

2009-01-01T17:19:00.005-05:00

We're back on tour and after spending a couple of beautiful days in Sarasota FL we just celebrated the New Year in chilly Milwaukee Wisconsin.
We stayed at the Sarasota Hotel and Marina in Florida and enjoyed sunny skies with temperatures in the mid to high 70's. We spent a little time at the pool Monday before the show. They had a nice little tikki bar and Sue bought Pina Coladas for us to celebrate my birthday. The weather was so gorgeous on Tuesday that I decided to stay back from the matinee show and sit out by the pool. Boy how I wish I could go back!!!
We flew into Milwaukee yesterday afternoon and arrived to 11 degree temperature! Quite a shock to the system!! Last night Colin and I enjoyed a New Year's Eve dinner with Sue, Mikey, John, and Quentin at a yummy Italian restaurant. The best part was that it was right across the street from the hotel so we didn't have to walk far in the cold. After dinner I talked John and Sue into walking to the park where they had all sorts of Christmas lights up. The boys and I enjoyed it, but John and Sue were more than ready to get back to the warmth of the hotel! We all celebrated the New Year in our room. When we first got to the hotel I got a delivery from my wonderful husband-a bottle of champagne for my birthday :) We decided that we would pop the cork and celebrate New Year's on New York time. We were all exhausted and didn't want to wait for Central time! The boys had a good time playing on their DS's and Colin's Ipod Touch, but once we said enough with the electronic devices they decided to have a pillow fight! It was really quite humorous watching them go after each other! We ended up staying up til midnight our time thinking that a lot of people would be out and about the hotel celebrating, but when we went out in the hall there was no one to be found :( Ok, so we felt like quite the losers lol!
Today we enjoyed a day in our nice hotel room at the Hyatt Regency. Big comfy beds and brand new renovations to our room. It was just what we needed after a crazy week of traveling! We were happy to get a visit from Elizabeth(one of the musicians who left the tour) this afternoon who came by with Efrat and Chaz. After visiting for a while we headed to an Irish Pub down a few blocks with the parents, boys, and Chaz. Now we're back in our beds at 8pm relaxing again! Life is good!
Happy New Year to all!!!

Counting down the days!!

2008-12-20T17:14:00.003-05:00

Colin and I have been counting down the days til we go home for Christmas. Finally the count is down to 1, but Rochester is going to have a snow storm tomorrow!!! We are keeping our fingers crossed that the weather doesn't end up being as bad as they are predicting and we make it home safely. All I want to do is to get to my house and then it can snow all it wants!!!

We got into Lakeland FL Thursday night. The crew was already by the pool barbecuing, so most of us joined them as the night went on. It was a celebration for Jeff and Dan's birthdays. After a little bit Colin and I went back to our room, so I could get some packing done and Colin could get a little alone time. After awhile I talked with Sue who was still by the pool and decided that I would go down for one drink. Well as usual, I stayed a little longer than planned! I was just enjoying everyone's company and just relaxing. Colin chose to continue hibernating in our room haha!

The next day the kids had school and then we went by the pool so the kids could swim. It was so hard to believe that we were so close to Christmas because it was in the 80's! There was a show last night in Lakeland and Colin and I were so happy that Carol's sister and brother in law (June and Dick) and their friends were able to come see Colin in the show. I really enjoyed talking with them before the show and at intermission. It was nice to have some familiar faces out in the audience!

I'm writing today during the matinee performance in Melbourne. Mimi's mom was able to come to this show with a friend. I got to meet up with them before the show and they were really excited to see it. Colin and I are going to go out and meet with them after the show and then we'll have dinner which the theatre is providing for us. We're also exchanging our last secret santa gifts and Clare is planning a Christmas party for us back at the hotel after the evening show :) Tomorrow we are all heading to the orlando airport in the morning with hopes that we will all get home to our families safely and ontime!

Hope all of you have a wonderful holiday and I'll be writing again once we come back to the tour at the end of December.
Missy

Newest schedule-No Syracuse :(

2008-12-18T16:09:00.005-05:00

Dec 30-Sarasota FL
Jan 2-Milwaukee WI
Jan 10&11-Galveston TX
Jan 13-St Charles MO
Jan 14-Waukegan IL
Jan 15-Lima OH
Jan 16-Evansville IN
Jan 17&18-Paducah KY
Jan 20-Columbia MO
Jan 21-Burlington IA
Jan 22-Muncie IN
Jan 23&24-Kalamazoo MI
Jan 25-Springfield OH
Jan 26-Williamsport PA
Jan 27-Ogdensburg NY
Jan 28-Kingston Ontario
Jan 30&31-St John New Brunswick
Feb 5-Gainesville FL
Feb 6-Statesboro GA
Feb 7-Clemson SC
Feb 11-Jacksonville FL
Feb 13-Morganton NC
Feb 15-Lowell MA
Feb 17-Springfield MA
Feb 18-Salisbury MD
Feb 22-Merrillville IN
Feb 24-Houghton MI
Feb 26-Reading PA
Feb 27&28-Akron OH
Mar 1-coming home!!!!!

Living on a bus

2008-12-17T17:32:00.006-05:00

Well, we have certainly had our share of time on a bus lately! We had quite a few one nighters which are tough on everyone. Packing up and hauling luggage on and off the bus everyday gets pretty old! Everyone's nerves were getting pretty frazzled. Luckily, we got down to Destin Fl and were able to stay in a nice hotel a couple of blocks from the beach for 3 nights :)
I left off in Memphis, so from there we headed to Baton Rouge LA. We were hoping to get some good cajun cooking, but by the time we got to the hotel we only had 1 1/2hours til we had to head to the theatre. The closest place around was the Cracker Barrel so that was that! Sue, John, and I decided to walk around downtown while the cast was doing soundcheck in the theater. I was hoping to get some oysters, but unfortunately most places were closed. We decided to stop in one of the bars and have a drink before the show. I introduced John to a favorite beer that my sister used to always bring up from Louisiana-Albita Purple Haze. Sue opted for a glass of wine, I guess she's had her fill of beer on this tour! We went to the show afterwards and then went back to the hotel to sleep and then packed up to head out again in the morning.
Our next stop was Oxford MS. Sue, John, and I decided to stay back at the hotel and send the boys with the rest of the cast to the show. We were all in desperate need of doing laundry, so that's how we spent that night off, lol! The boys got back, we slept and again packed up and got on the bus.
From there we headed back to Lousiana( I know, right???!!) this time we stopped in Lafayette LA. Again there was one show, then we went back to the hotel to sleep and back on the bus in the morning!
Now you can probably understand why we were all so happy to get to Destin FL! Yesterday we decided to take a cab to the Boardwalk to have some seafood at the Crap Trap and check out the shops. The boys went down to play on the beach while we waited for our food. They definitely needed to get some off their energy out! Being cooped up on the bus everyday made for some crazy kids!! After brushing all of the sand off of the boys and throwing them into the shower, we headed to the theatre for the show. Speaking of the sand, it was incredibly white! As a matter of fact, when we were riding by some of the cast members thought that the sand was snow! We're so used to going in and out of different temperatures, we all tend to forget where we are! We were definitely happy to realize that we were in Florida instead of in Rapid City where we were last week. They are having a blizzard with temperature in the negative teens!!
Tomorrow we'll spend another day on the bus heading to Lakeland FL. I'm sooooo ready to come home, lol!
Missy

Walking in Memphis

2008-12-12T02:28:00.004-05:00

After two long days on the bus, we ended up in Memphis TN for a stopover on the way to Baton Rouge. We all(Sue, Mikey, John, Quentin, Colin and I) decided to take advantage of our time here and went out to explore Beale Street. Beale Street is full of restaurants, shops, music, and bars. We enjoyed walking down the street and shopping for souvenirs, but the best part was our dinner at BB King's. Colin and I enjoyed a rack of ribs that were to die for. While eating we enjoyed the wonderful entertainment of a blues band. While tapping away to the music, several memberes of the cast and crew came in and sat near us. Q danced with Jenn and Erin came over to dance with Colin. Poor Mikey got stuck with me, lol! Anyways we all had a lot of fun. The singer started asking where everyone was from and took a liking to the boys who were dancing and singing away to the music. Colin yelled down that he was from Rochester and with all the noise she thought he said Russia, haha! She called them down and the 3 boys sat with her on the stage while she sang. Colin then clarified that he was from Rochester, not Russia! When she found out that our group was the National tour of Oliver, she asked them to come down and sing. Unfortunately no one was ready to go down and sing a blues song. If they had to sing a showtune they'd be all set, lol!
Once the band took a break, we decided it was time to head back to the hotel. We had to practically drag back as he was really wanting to go to the 2nd floor of the Rum Boogie(Just kidding John, haha!)
Well here it is 1:30am and Colin and I are still awake. It's time to turn out the light and get some sleep before our 8:30am bus call! We'll be pulling in to Baton Rouge tomorrow afternoon. Rumor has it that they have snow there!! Just our luck ;)
Missy

Mount Rushmore

2008-12-11T00:36:00.010-05:00

We got to Rapid City on Sunday. It was pretty chilly, but after a day on the bus we were all ready to walk around the town. All that is except Colin. He was exhausted from the trip and school on the bus and decided that he needed a night in the room by himself. John, Q, Sue, Mikey, and I decided to try the Firehouse Brewing Co. for dinner. The town was all decorated in lights for Christmas and was really charming. We enjoyed our dinner and found that most of the cast and crew decided on the same restaurant. I ordered take out for Colin and after stopping at the grocery store for a few things, we headed back to the hotel. I found Colin in the same position as when I left him-laying on his bed on the computer!
The next day the boys had school and then we all enjoyed the indoor swimming pool and hot tubs. There was a show Monday night for a large audience at the convention center right across the street from the hotel. The boys and John had to go a little early to rehearse for Christmas caroling (They are going Christmas caroling at a few of our stops along the way. The first one will be at a nursing home in Niceville, FL) Sue and I took advantage of our extra time at the hotel downstairs where they were serving complimentary drinks and popcorn! Afterwards we walked to the theatre to watch Act I and then look after Spencer so Clare could get some work done. He is such a sweetheart, everyone adores him. He loved watching all of the castmembers going on to and off the stage. He waved to most of them as they walked by, and everyone waved and played with him on their way. The best part was when Rhiannon came up to us in her low cut red dress. Spencer pointed to her chest and said "MMMMMMMMMMM" Needless to say he is still breastfeeding lol!
The next morning we all got up and headed to Mount Rushmore. We were all so excited to see such an incredible site. It really is amazing to think that people actually were able to carve these faces into the mountain. We watched a movie that described how Mount Rushmore was made. They used dynamite to blow off the top soft layer of the mountain before carving the faces of Abraham Lincoln, George Washington, Teddy Roosevelt, and Thomas Jefferson. We all were totally in awe by the sight of this.
Chaz's secret santa wrote a note to him to have him do the shoopoopi at Mt Rushmore in order to get his gift. He did it just as we were getting ready to leave and everyone truly enjoyed it. Chaz played Marcellus in his theater company's Music Man. Mikey, who played Winthrop with the same theatre company jumped in and accompanied Chaz in his dance! He definitely earned his secret santa gift that day!
We rode all day today on the bus to St Joseph Missouri and will be heading out tomorrow for a stopover in Memphis Tennessee.
I'll write more later
Missy

A sad goodbye

2008-12-10T23:41:00.004-05:00

In Fort Collins we were all saddened to hear that Ira and Elizabeth were leaving the tour. They were part of the orchestra and are great people. Efrat threw a nice party for Ira and Elizabeth on their last night with the whole cast and crew and we all really enjoyed being together. We turned a sad time into a nice time with friends. We have become like a family now, and each time someone leaves it leaves our "family" with a void. We wish Ira and Elizabeth the best of luck and all the happiness that they deserve.
The next morning we said our goodbyes and got on the bus for Rapid City, South Dakota. The big excitement on this trip was that Jenn finally got to see
live buffalo! She has been waiting and waiting to see buffalo. The time the rest of us saw them she was sound asleep. After that people continually teased her and said "Look Jenn a buffalo!" She'd jump up in excitement only to find a bunch of brown cows, lol! This time, she refused to sleep until she saw them and within the first hour her dream came true!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!!!

2008-12-05T00:49:00.004-05:00

We arrived in Ft Collins Colorado yesterday afternoon. When we got off the bus, we noticed a difference in temperature. It was in the 20's and there was snow on the ground. The snow continued overnight and there are now a few inches of beautiful white snow on the ground. Our bus is also getting holiday like! Little by little we are all decorating our areas. Alaggio and I put up lights and garland around ours and Colin put some pine garland, lights, and red bows up along his. Check out the pictures!! We've been continually finding secret santa gifts ever since it started. Now people are getting really creative. Ashley's secret santa had her go to the front desk at our last hotel and do a dance from the Nutcracker in the lobby along with a scene from Oliver. None of us knew what was going on when she started dancing. Now Ashley's probably one of the happiest people I know, but I never expected to see her doing ballet in the hotel lobby, lol! Last night was hysterical when David's secret santa made him perform as Old Sally during sound check. We were all amazed at all of the lines he knew! Tonight Stacie's secret santa gave her a toy microphone and made her do a rap! We're all really having a good time with this!
The first show in Ft Collins was last night and oh what a show, lol! It seemed like everything that could go wrong did. The funniest was probably when Mikey's coat got stuck on the bridge during Consider Yourself and it took both Chaz and Chris to pull him free! We were dying watching him try to move along to no avail, haha! But Mikey, the trouper that he was, didn't let it affect his performance at all. Even though he had a huge rip down the back of his jacket! A bunch of other things went wrong, benches and tables weren't where they were supposed to be, hankies flew down when they were supposed to fly up, sausages fell on the floor, etc. It was all humorous until Jenn fell right on her bottom off of Alaggio's shoulder's during Pick a Pocket. She got up and kept going, so we didn't think anything was wrong til all of the sudden we realized she wasn't on stage. After a short bit, we saw Ashley come on stage to take over Jenn's part. At that point we knew something was really wrong. When we checked on her at intermission, she was getting ready to head to the hospital with Clare. We were all praying that she didn't break her tailbone and as it turned out, our prayers were answered and she didn't. She is still sore, but recovering. They had her take a break from the show tonight and she seemed to enjoy watching for the first time. She was excited about what a good show they have! It was also a good chance for her to watch Colin as she's his understudy.
This morning the boys had school from 9-11, then there was a brush up rehearsal at the theatre in the afternoon. Colin and I decided to order take out from Pita Pit for dinner tonight so we could just hang out in the room. Brittany introduced us to Pita Pit at SU and we have loved it ever since! The show went 150 times better tonight than last night. There was so much energy, we really enjoyed watching. It was James first show as Mr Bumble and he was amazing! It seemed like he's been doing the role forever! Great job James!!
We have 2 more days in Ft Collins and then head to South Dakota on Sunday. We're hoping to bring the boys around the town tomorrow after school, so we can all see a little bit of the area. It seems like a great town!

Orange Texas

2008-11-30T23:44:00.005-05:00

We just pulled in to Conroe Texas which is a stopover on our way to Fort Smith Arkansas. We were in Orange TX Friday and Saturday and had a show each day. The people at the theatre were so wonderful. They fed us dinner Friday and lunch today. All homemade Texan food, yummy!!!!
Last night was Matt's last show. We decided we had to watch both acts so we could see him one last time. Oom pah pah was so funny. All of the girls tried to get in a kiss with Matt! He is such a great guy and we'll miss him so much!! Today, Adam played the role of Mr Brownlow and did a great job! It amazes me how the swings can just step into a role at any minute and pull it off! He'll be performing a few more times until James is ready to take over his role.
At lunch today we all picked our Secret Santas. Most of the cast and crew decided to participate so it should be a lot of fun. I'm thrilled with the person that I am being Santa to, but I can't tell in case he/she is reading this!!
We are starting to decorate the bus for Christmas. I can't wait to see what it looks like by the time we leave for the break! Colin wants to put up lights and make them blink to the transiberian orchestra's xmas carols!
well gotta hit the hay, tomorrow's bus call is 6:30 :(
Goodnight!
Missy

Thanksgiving in Texas

2008-11-28T23:51:00.008-05:00

Well yesterday wasn't the most traditional Thanksgiving but we ended up having a great time! Obviously, Colin and I were a little sad that we couldn't spend Thanksgiving home with our family but the day turned out to be much better than we expected thanks to our tour family :)
We started the day by going out for a wonderful Thanksgiving buffet that our tour manager, Clare, planned for the whole cast and crew. We went to a really nice restaurant in the Embassy Suites hotel in McAllen Texas. Everyone dressed nice (we all look a lot different when we're out of our bus clothes!)and enjoyed a buffet of the traditional turkey, stuffing, sweet potates, along with a yummy mahi mahi, delicious salad and fruit, carving stations with turkey and roast beef, and an unbelievable display of desserts. I have never seen Colin eat so much in one sitting as he did yesterday. He would've given his sister Morgan some competition! Ashley got up and gave a beautiful toast. She is such a sweetheart, I had tears in my eyes by the end of the toast. Before she even got to mention Spencer (Clare and Bart's baby who is touring with us) he lit up and decided to give his own toast which consisted mainly of hi ya da da da!lol) During dinner we enjoyed listening to music being played on the piano. Matt and Rhiannon decided to get up and create their own dance floor. Everyone enjoyed watching them dance and have fun. The best part was when I realized why Matt was carrying a backpack. He brought in his box of wine(Yes, BOX! Matt's my kind of guy!!!)and continued to fill up his cup during the dinner. We're going to miss Matt so much when he leaves the tour. Matt is leaving on Sunday to join another tour, The Drowsy Chaperone. He is such a sweet and happy person, he will definitely by missed by all :(
After dinner we all headed to the pool. It was 85 degrees outside, so it couldn't have been more perfect. At 5:30pm the hotel started serving complimentary drinks and that's when things really started to get crazy! We had the pool to ourselves and by the end of the night everyone was thrown in the pool at one point or another. Dan(the stage manager) obviously didn't realize that I have a rule that I never get thrown in the pool. So, before I even realized what was happening, I found myself immersed in water! I had to admit once in the pool that is was very refreshing!!! I'm sure the hotel was ready for us all to check out this morning!
Today we began a long day of travel to Orange TX. On the way we stopped at the airport in Houston to pick up James who will be taking over the part of Mr Brownlow for Matt. We all introduced ourselves to James and welcomed him to the show!

Medieval Times

2008-11-24T13:19:00.004-05:00

Last night the Morleys invited us to join them for dinner at Medieval Times. We took them up on the offer not really knowing what to expect, but ended up having a great time! Mikey even said he liked it better than Six Flags!! John and Quentin who are big Cowboy fans, decided to take on a Cowboy game so they couldn't join us.
For those who haven't ever been to a Medieval Times it's a restaurant set in an arena. While you eat your dinner with your hands (They didn't use utensils back in the medieval times) you enjoy a jousting contest. Each group gets assigned a knight to cheer on. Ours was the black and white knight who unfortunately was the first one out of the contest. It still didn't stop us from cheering. The funniest was when the green knight killed off our knight he asked who was next. Sue yelled out "Here I come!!!!" haha! Then when the prince came back at the end she stood up and yelled, "I love you Prince!" Haha all that on one beer, lol! The kids all bought wooden swords and Mikey got a knight's vest while Maria got a princess crown.
This morning Colin had an interview with a Baton Rouge newspaper. We'll be heading there next week. (It's just too bad that Cindy and Gary moved to Tennessee or we'd be able to see them there!) After the interview, the boys had school and I packed everything up. We are so sad to leave Dallas, we had so much fun here. Not to mention the beds and pillows were amazing!! We're leaving shortly for Waco, TX. I'll keep you filled in from there.
Missy

Six Flags over Texas

2008-11-23T15:58:00.004-05:00

We had a blast at Six Flags over Texas! We did so much walking I could barely stand this morning! The temperature was a little cool (50's) but perfect for the park. Especially because it kept some people away, so there were no lines! We got to hit every ride we wanted (for me that would be 2, lol! The teacups did me in!) Colin's favorite ride was Runaway Mountain which was 6 1/2 story rollercoaster inside of a mountain and the best park was it was pitch black. He was a little unsure at first but a few of his castmates talked him into it, and when he came out he was so excited, he absolutely loved it! They all decided that it was so much fun that they would all go ride it again! Colin's least favorite ride was the Pirate Ship! Everyone on the ride said the best part was just watching Colin's face lol!
One of the craziest rides was definitely the Batman ride. Mike went on it 2 times in a row! We went from there to dinner at Johnny Rockets where we got totally ripped off!) This is where we lost Mike for a while too! The rides caught up with him and he got a wee bit queasy! We left him in the booth with his cowboy over his eyes. He looked like a drunken cowboy! From outside the restaurant all we could see was the top of his cowboy hat in the window. Colin wanted to change his watch ahead so he would think he missed the bus, but we thought he went through enough lol! Mikey sure doesn't take after Mike-he went on every rollercoaster possible and absolutely loved it. We can't figure out how he can go on rides that go upside down with no problem, but get motion sickness in the bus, lol! Michelle joined him for about 6 rides on the Titan. The Titan is a 25 1/2 story rollercoaster that goes 85 miles per hour. I think he would have gone back for more if we didn't have to go catch the bus!
We all barely made it back to the bus. Our legs were absolutely killing us! All in all it was a great day and we all had a lot of fun :)
Missy

The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza

2008-11-22T00:34:00.004-05:00

Today was a very intersting day. The boys had a fieldtrip to the Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza, the 6th floor of the Texas School Book Depository where Lee Harvey Oswald was when he shot JFK. Tomorrow is the 45th anniversary of JFK's death. We took the crew's new bus to the museum and were all jealous of how awesome it was! We had to remind ourselves that the crew has to sleep on the bus some nights during the tour and doesn't have the luxury of a hotel room. However, with the flat screen tvs, refrigerator, microwave, bunks with their own tvs, and nice decor, we still wished it was our bus, lol!
The museum had so much information that it took us about 3 hours to go through it. Each of us was given a headset and player which explained all of the exhibits in the museum. We followed along from JFK's inauguration to his death and felt like we were reliving it all. It was all so interesting and after going through all of the facts and the questions that still were unanswered, we all had different feelings of what actually happened that day. There were so many different conspiracies and some really seemed plausible. The one thing we all agreed on was that it was extremely sad and senseless. I read how As the World Turns was interrupted with the first news broadcast of the shooting. I remember my mom telling me how she was 8 months pregnant with me(yes, I know you can now do the math and realize that I'm almost 45, lol!) watching her soap opera when she heard the terrible news. It seemed so strange to be in the same exact building and floor that the shooter was in. We could look out the window and see exactly where the motorcade rode along. Down on the road were two x's. The first showed the location where the first shot hit JFK and the second x showed the spot where JFK was hit with the bullet that killed him.
AFter the museum we all grabbed some lunch and then went outside to Grassy Knoll. We walked right by the spots where JFK was shot, saw the grassy knoll where many witnesses claimed that a second gunman fired at JFK. Supposedly, that was the first spot that policemen ran to to try to catch the gunman. After the investigation, it was stated that there actually wasn't a gunman there afterall. This wasn't accepted by many people. People who were at the site said that there was a puff of smoke and a sound of a gunshot coming from that area as the President's car approached.
I wish we could've gotten all of the answers, but I guess that is something that we may never learn. If you'd like to see more info on the museum you can check out the website at http://www.jfk.org/go/home.
After the fieldtrip Colin and I took a little break at the hotel and then headed to the North Park Mall. We were told that when designers were asked if they could choose one mall to display their items in the majority answered the North Park mall. We ate dinner there and did a little bit of Christmas shopping. It was a great night except for the cost of the taxi to take us there and back :(
Tomorrow we're heading to Six Flags so I better go get some sleep!
Hope all went well with our middle school's production of Annie. Colin and I wish we could've been there to see it!
Missy

The Dallas Zoo

2008-11-20T22:46:00.005-05:00

We got into Dallas Texas yesterday after the cast did a student show in Oklahoma. We were all excited to have 4 days off in Dallas. Sue's husband and daughter flew into Dallas to spend the weekend with her and Mikey. They were sweet enough to invite us to dinner with them. We are staying in a beautiful hotel, but there aren't any restaurants within walking distance. Mike rented a van, so they could fit us and the Araujos in if needed. Today the majority of us went to the Dallas Zoo. It was a gorgeous day and perfect weather to explore the zoo. We absolutely loved walking throughout the zoo. We managed to see the majority of exhibits before we had to get back on the bus. My absolute favorite animal was a little duck of some sort. It looked like a cross between a baby duck and a baby platypus. I could have watched him for hours waddling along, he was so cute! I got Clare's approval to bring him on tour with us, but unfortunately the zoo wouldn't cooperate, lol! Colin couldn't point out his favorite animal, but said that the lemurs were one of his favorites. They were hysterical. One adult lemur came out from the building to join the rest and all of a sudden they all started "screaming". Sue said they were having a domestic dispute, haha! The baby lemurs had to even join in, they looked like little wolves howling only in a high pitch.
We had lunch and then Alaggio and Chaz joined us for the rest of the day. Colin mapped out our schedule for the remainder of our time. The first stop was the monorail (sue and I liked the idea of sitting for awhile!) The monorail took us all around the zoo. By the time we got off we had just enough time to check out the gift shop and load the bus. We got back to the hotel and rested a bit before joining the Morleys and Araujos for dinner at an italian restaurant.
We're all looking forward to joining the boys on their fieldtrip to the JFK museum where we will see where his assassination took place. We'll be there the day before the 45th anniversary of his death.
Well that's it for now. I'll write more tomorrow to tell you all about the museum.
Missy

Updated Oliver schedule through Christmas

2008-11-18T00:35:00.006-05:00

Hi everyone,
Below is the updated schedule through Christmas. Once we receive the remainder of the schedule I will post it.

Midwest City, OK
Nov 18th at 7:30pm
Nov 19th at 10:00am
Dallas Texas
Nov 19th-23rd Layoff
Waco, Texas
Nov 24&25th at 7:30pm
McAllen, Texas
Nov 26th at 7:30pm
Orange, Texas
Nov 29th at 7:30pm
Nov 30th at 3:00pm
Fort Smith, Arizona
Dec 1st at 7:30pm
Fort Collins, Colorado
Dec 3rd at 7:30pm
Dec 4th at 7:30pm
Dec 5th at 7:30pm
Dec 6th at 2:00 and 7:30pm
Rapid City, South Dakota
Dec 8th at 7:30pm
Dec 9th at 7:30pm
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Dec 12th at 8:00pm
Oxford, Mississippi
Dec 13th at 8:00pm
Lafayette, Louisiana
Dec 14th at 7:30pm
Niceville, Florida
Dec 16th at 7:30pm
Dec 17th at 7:30pm
Lakeland, Florida
Dec 19th at 7:30pm
Melbourne, Florida
Dec 20th at 3:00 and 7:30pm
Home!!!!
Dec 21st-28th

2008-11-18T00:14:00.004-05:00

Today was a full day on the bus. We all got used to be in one place for a few days, so it was kind of tough to get back into the roadtrips. I spent the majority of the time sleeping. (gotta love dramamine!) The boys got their schooling in on the bus, but also had time for sleep beforehand and the movie Wall-e afterwards.
We are in Lebanon, Missouri for the night and head to Midwest City Oklahoma in the morning.
The highlight of our trip was seeing the St Louis arch. The last time we passed it it was dark, so today we got a good view of it and were able to get some photos of it.
Once we got to the hotel we dropped our things off and headed out to dinner. We ended up going to the Catfish BBQ with John, Q, Sue, and Mikey. Seeing as we were there, Colin and I decided to try the catfish. We had a platter with fried catfish, shrimp and chicken. Unfortunately it wasn't one of the best meals we've had :( The desserts however, were yummy! Colin had a pumpkin cheesecake that was delicious!
Well, time to head to bed. We've got another day on the bus in addition to a performance in Oklahoma City tomorrow night and Wednesday morning.

Toledo Ohio

2008-11-16T18:35:00.011-05:00

Here we are in Toledo Ohio waiting for the 6th and final show to begin. We are at the Stranahan Theatre right in Toledo. Six shows here and each time the theatre has been very full. There are over 2000 seats in the theatre! Luckily the boys have a dressing room with an adjoining seating area for us parents. The room is complete with a couch, big comfy chair, refrigerator and microwave :) It's so comfortable that when we got in for last night's show we found Jenn and Alaggio sound asleep on the coach and chair, lol! Jenn even got her own dressing room and was quite excited about it :) During intermission, we went out and found that they had specialized drinks, Colin had a drink named after him "The Artful Dodger"!
The boys fit all of their tutoring in during the earlier part of the week, so Friday we were free all day until the evening show. Colin and I chose to be blogs again and relax in our hotel room. It was rainy and cold outside, so we stayed snuggled in our beds while Colin played on the computer and I enjoyed a great book which Sue handed on to me.
Saturday was filled with 2 shows. John offered to bring the boys to the afternoon show, so Sue and I both had the days to ourselves. I was thinking about venturing out, but when I looked out there were great big snowflakes coming down from the sky. I decided to go online and start my Christmas shopping instead. It's going to be an interesting Christmas because we won't be home until Dec 22nd, so I'll have to do all of my shopping online. Luckily Britt will be home a couple of weeks ahead of me, so she can help out with the wrapping and last minute things that I can't get online.
After the matinee we went out to dinner with the other boys and parents at Jed's restaurant. Colin and I got an amazing steak along with a potato casserole which is to die for! It was so yummy that we decided to go back and have the same thing today! John took the day off today to stay back and watch the football games, while Sue and I took the boys to the afternoon show. We only had an hour to eat dinner, so this worked out well. John went over to Jed's and ordered our food for us. When we got to the restaurant the food was just being served. Luckily it wasn't much of an inconvenience to John as he got to have a beer and watch the games on tv while waiting ;) During dinner Alaggio was telling us that his mom used to teach a hermaphrodite and a boy who used to hit the other kids with a 2x4. I looked across the table and saw the puzzled look on Quentin's face. I thought, uh oh, here comes the question(thinking for sure he was going to ask what a hermaphrodite was) and when he opened up his mouth he asked, what is a 2x4!! Haha, it was the funniest thing!
Spencer, Clare's little baby got his first set of taps. The boys were enthralled watching him tap along,he was so cute!! All three boys have really taken a liking to Spencer. They look after him like he's their little brother.
Tomorrow we leave Toledo and get back on the bus for a 2 day bus ride to Oklahoma. Ugh! Oh well, relief is in sight. We pull into Dallas on Wednesday for a 5 day break!
Hope all is well with everyone following us :)
Missy

Huntington WV

2008-11-13T13:30:00.006-05:00

Right now we're on the bus to Toledo Ohio. After a 16 hour busride, we spent Tuesday and Wednesday nights in Huntington WV. Clare, our new tour manager, has her 13 month old son touring with us. I have never seen a baby more well behaved than Spencer! He hardly let out a peep during the whole trip. When he did it was usually baby babbling that made us all smile! The addition of Spencer makes us feel like even more of a family!

Last night the show was at the Keith Albee Theatre. It was absolutely amazing and probably one of my favorites. The theatre was built in 1928 originally housed vauldeville performances. With the decline of vaudeville in the 1930's, they began using the theatre as a cinema. In 2006 they turned the theatre into a performing arts theatre. Although it was renovated a few times, they kept the original character of the theatre. It is made of all plaster (to avoid a fire) and is just incredible! Check out the photos. The ceiling was especially gorgeous. It was painted like a sky and lit up with stars.

The show went very well, and the audience was great. All but the woman seated right in front of us parents. During the second act her head kept bobbing as she fell asleep!! John and I had a very difficult time containing our laughter. Once she let out a snore it was all over! Sue managed to keep her composure and even tried to get us to stop, but to no avail. The woman's head just kept bobbing and bobbing and we were laughing so hard I was crying!

A reception was held at a little nightclub next to theatre. The cast was invited to join some of the sponsors. Chinese was served along with drinks. We all had a nice time chatting and socializing.

Back on the road

2008-11-10T23:04:00.009-05:00

After enjoying a wonderful time at home in our own beds, it was time to head back out on the road. Luckily Steve and Morgan were able to bring us to the next destination, New London CT. We drove part of the way on Thursday to Lee MA. We spent the night in a very quaint little place. After making our way through the hallway and into the room, morgan and I both felt like the hotel we were staying at was haunted. Luckily we didn't have any visitors during the night and headed the rest of the way to New London on Friday. Once there, Colin had a rehearsal with the rest of the cast. Friday night was the first show after break. Steve, Morgan and I watched both this performance and the Saturday evening performance. Steve brought Colin to the Saturday matinee performance while Morgan and I spent some quality time.
We had a hard time on Saturday saying goodbye to Andrew. Andrew was the dance captain of Oliver. He got another job in 42nd St. As happy as we were for Andrew, we were still sad that he was leaving! Ashley will now be dance captain, and our new male swing is Adam. We got to watch Adam in his first performance Saturday evening and were very impressed at how well he did after just learning his part about a week ago!
Sunday morning all of the NYC castmembers took the bus back to NYC while the rest of us stayed in CT. Steve and Morgan stayed until this morning. We really enjoyed our day off on Sunday together. We did some hot tubbing and swimming, went out to dinner at the Outback, and then met up with other cast and crew members at Chuck E Cheese's! We all had a great time collecting tickets(Morgan lucked out, the game she was on was out of tickets and when the guy came to replace the tickets Morgan was rewarded with hundreds of extra tickets!) Morgan traded her tickets in for cotton candy and matching mother and daughter rings! Colin ended up with a lighted sword. I'm sure we'll all be sick of that by the end of the tour! We discovered that Morgan was still a little nervous around the animated Chuck E and his friends! Everyone else really enjoyed forming a mosh pit around Chuck E and friends while they sang! All and all it was a fun night. The highlight of the evening was each of us getting headshots drawn by Chuck E. Check out the pictures!!
tomorrow we're off to NYC to pick up the rest of the cast and will then head to Huntington WV. We'll be on our new bus, which is much nicer,newer and cleaner than the other one. We have a new bus driver Will, who is great. We still miss John and Kim and hope they are happy in their new job.
I'll keep you posted~
Missy

We're home!!!!!!!

2008-10-27T21:44:00.006-04:00

Tonight I couldn't be happier! I'm sitting on my couch watching tv :) I know it doesn't take much, but after traveling so much it feels so good to be relaxing at home!
We had a nice day on the tour yesterday. The cast performed at Florida State University and we were all treated to a wonderful reception afterwards. They had a wonderful spread for us including shrimp, crab claws, scallops, a huge cheese tray, fruit trays, carving station, dessert table, and unlimited wine and champagne!!! They even had an Oliver ice sculpture! This was provided for us along with many patrons of the theatre. The cast loved signing autographs and posters for all of their fans at the reception.
There was one woman who felt she had to critique the whole show! She told Chaz that his Bumble hat needed to be replaced and said it looked like paper mache and thought Zac was a former student of hers, lol! The topping of the cake was when she thought that I performed as Old Sally!!!!! Of all people she had to think Old Sally was me???!!! LOL! Needless to say we all had quite a chuckle over that ;)
We all were the last to leave(we don't get this too often so we decided to stay til they kicked us out!) We got back to the hotel around midnight hopped in bed, slept for 4 hours and got up in time for our bus to the airport. We were exhausted but too excited to care! Erin kept us very entertained during the busride with her Tweedle Dee impersonation and especially her "Leg up!". She is absolutely hysterical!!
Half of the cast flew to Atlanta together. During the flight we all started thinking about how we're going to miss each other. Sue told me she was already starting with seperation anxiety! We have become such a tight family,we started to think about how tough it will be once the tour actually ends and we all go our own ways.
Steve picked Colin and I up at the airport and we dropped him off at work before heading home. I actually got to drive for the first time in 2 1/2 months!! I never realized how much I would miss such a simple thing as driving! We pulled into the driveway and Colin raced to see Nilla. Nilla seemed to be a little confused upon seeing us, but within minutes she was giving us all sorts of loving! I was delighted to find that Brittany was home. She and Morgan went to see Legally Blonde last night, so she spent the night at home so she could see Colin and I when we got home.
After a much needed nap, I came down to find Morgan home. It was such a great feeling for us all to have dinner around our table as a family. I miss it so much!

Pembroke NC

2008-10-25T23:28:00.004-04:00

Hi Everyone
We're in Pembroke NC and the cast performed last night at the University of North Carolina Pembroke. Quentin had all of his family come along with lots of friends from his theatre group back at home. We all went out to dinner before the show and enjoyed getting to know each other. The show went very well and all of Q's fans seemed to really enjoy it and especially enjoy watching Quentin on stage. Quentin really rose to the occasion and had a phenomenol performance! Afterwards Q's mom Gail invited us all up for some cupcakes and drinks to celebrate John's birthday. The kids who were all exhausted at dinner really came to life in the hotel room! Along with some of the Hurrah Players the boys plus Rianna did a great rendition of Mama Mia! We especially liked when Gail joined the girls from the Hurrah Players and showed us a song from their production of "Seussical"!
Today was a day off so we really enjoyed sleeping in and just relaxing. We had to pack up the bus to get ready for our new bus once we get back from break. Sue, Mikey, John, Q, Colin and i went out to dinner and toasted John's birthday. Afterward Rhiannon and Melissa invited us to their room for a little get together. Rhiannon showed us pictures of her wedding gown which were absolutely beautiful!! She's going to look gorgeous in it!!!!
Tomorrow we head to Tallahasse for a show tomorrow night and then we catch a shuttle at 4:30am to catch our flight home!!!!!!!!!!! Colin and I are so excited to get home with our family and Nilla! We are really looking forward to sleeping in our own beds!!!

Nightmare at the Laundromat!

2008-10-24T21:28:00.014-04:00

Yesterday was quite the experience. We were all desperately need of a laundromat because the last few hotels we stayed at didn't have washers and dryers. We decided that Sue and I would take the hotel shuttle to the laundromat and wash all of the clothes, while John took the boys to their brushup rehearsal at the theatre. I could attempt to tell the story of the laundromat, but Sue told it so well in her blog that I'm going to share her version of the story with you:

Okay, I know I told you in the last post that Missy and I would be on a mission to find a laundry. Little did I know what a mission it would be. I am sorry to tell you that we found one. Boy-Oh-Boy did we! Of course it wasn't easy. We asked the hotel shuttle driver to bring us to what we thought was a good laundry. She took the scenic route instead of following the directions we gave her. When we finally found the place it was closed. We thought thank goodness because we did not like the look of it. Of course we did not give up looking for another and luckily, I thought at the time....I have a back up plan ( having been a girl scout.) I had an address for another laundry that I looked up on mapquest. When we finally found it the shuttle driver was afraid to let us out.....(with good reason.) This place made the other place look like a palace. Just glancing in our instincts told us it was not a good place to be. But being the good Mom's we are, we were really determined to get the laundry done at any cost. The first clue that made us think maybe we were better off with dirty clothes and no undies was the sign that read: "Only the attendant can call 911." As a former cop, I have to say this was a very interesting sign to read, let just say the hackles were raised up on my neck. Undeterred we forged on and proceeded to put our clothes in the dirtiest washer machines we ever saw at $4.00 a wash no less. Hey, dirt doesn't come cheap! Then we began to read the rest of the signs: "No Drugs because Mr. Lyle will prosecute." "Drinking allowed only with shoes and shirts on." (We speculated pants were not needed.) "Patrons must stay inside." Then Missy noticed there was actually a bar in the laundrymat and decided this place was so disgusting we needed a cold beer to get us through it. I tried to protest but she would not take no for an answer. Rochester ladies are tough! Since I am not a beer drinker, I was hoping she was talking about one of the small nip bottles, but she insisted that in this place we needed a pint each. Since this would be my second beer in about twenty years (I won't say who made me drink my first on this tour but you can probably guess) I figured she was right...in this place I needed it. So we proceed to sit at this brown picnic type table and drink our beers as the people in the place looked at us like we were from MARS. Missy asked me if I was trained in self-defense and I told her I use to be but wasn't sure I could still lift my legs high enough. Then we strategized our defense plan should we need it. She suggested fingers in eyes and I suggested breaking the beer bottles if necessary and using them as weapon. If only I had my piece! Oh, the fun we were having! It just doesn't get any more glamorous then this! Then Missy gets up to check on her wash and I notice we have company at the table....not just any company but the brown,disgusting, cochroach kind moving across the table and blending in with the color. As I quickly jump up and grab our beers....God knows we really need them now, I notice another one crawling on the floor...sorry to be so disgusting but this story needs to be told so I don't have nightmares. Needless to say there was no more sitting for the next hour and we stood tap dancing (better than Andrew) in front of our washers and dryers. Thank goodness the dryers got so hot that our fingers burned touching the clothes. We figured nothing alive was coming out of the dryer. The shuttle driver agreed to come back for us....we think cause she wanted to make sure we were still alive. When she came back she told us her boss said "Don't tell me you left those ladies at THAT laundrymat." I can tell you we were so happy to see her and be out of that place we tipped her very well. I have to say the Mom's went above and beyond today to give their little stars clean laundry. Goodnight and pleasant dreams......I am trying not to itch just thinking about this. I think I have PTS from it......Can't wait to do laundry at my own house on Monday. I think I am going to kiss the washer and dryer!

After this wonderful experience, we headed off to the theatre where they were holding rehearsals for the understudies. It was so much fun to see everyone in different characters. Mikey was understudying Oliver and was remarkable!! We were so proud of him. This was his first rehearsal as Oliver and he was a natural at it. You would've thought he'd been doing the role all along! (Don't worry Q, we know you're the original and we love you!) All of the understudies did a fantastic job! Erin was terrific as Nancy, as was Jenn as Dodger, Will as Fagin, Ashley as Bet. We even got a taste of Matt singing One Boy and he was great!

Once rehearsal was over we grabbed a bite to eat before the show. I was tempted to skip the show and try to get into the Rascal Flatts concert which was playing on the same campus. We watched all of their trucks roll in and I was dying to see it. Oh well, being the awesome mom I am I went into the theatre and watched Oliver for the 28th time! LOL!

Oh I forgot to mention that the boys felt like big shots yesterday during school. They were given a board room at the hotel to do their tutoring, so of course I had to go in and take pictures. I think Colin's going to throw my camera out the window by the time we finish this tour! LOL!

Off to Pembroke NC next :) 3 days til we're home for layoff!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2008-10-21T23:30:00.004-04:00

We arrived in Columbia SC around 5pm. We were delighted when we got off the bus and felt the warm and sunny weather!! After getting settled in our rooms we went out to discover the town. We found a nice steakhouse where we enjoyed a nice dinner. It's so funny because we never even think about what we're wearing when heading out. I was still in my tshirt and comfy capris with no makeup! I started to feel funny about how underdressed I was til I looked across the table to see John in his Flying J's tshirt, lol! Flying J's is a truck stop which we frequent during our bus trips. We decided that we had to have a tshirt when we made a stop at the Flying J's in Ohio. We decided that Flying J's should be our sponsor, lol! So after checking out John's shirt I realized that I had nothing to be embarassed about, lol!

We made it back just in time for Rhiannon's surprise engagement party. Rhiannon(who plays Nancy) got engaged over the weekend in Binghamton and some of the castmembers planned a party for her. She was totally surprised when she got there(Zach offered his room for the party). The room was decorated with pink balloons and rose petals were thrown on the beds. They had a nice spread of appetizers and drinks. It's amazing how these things can come together so quickly on the road!

We're all so excited for Rhiannon and her fiance Brendan! We all got to know Brendon during the NYC rehearsals and also the shows which he has come to cheer Rhiannon on. They're a wonderful couple and I'm sure they'll have a fantastic marriage!

Finally in Binghamton!!!

2008-10-20T12:20:00.015-04:00

I can't even begin to describe how happy Colin and I were to see Steve and the girls and everyone that came down for the shows in Binghamton! It definitely gave us both a boost to be with family and friends!! Steve, Morgan, and Lexa were there waiting for us when the bus pulled up :) Colin ran off the bus right into Steve's arms. He was so excited!! I was obviously thrilled too! I hugged Morgan forever, and she even let me, lol! The poor thing has a sprained ankle and bad cold, but didn't complain at all about it.
Cici and her friends spent the night Saturday. They were absolutely hysterical!! We hung out in their room for a bit and then they talked me into going out for one drink. The main reason I went was to protect some of the castmembers who I knew were going to be at the bar from them, lol! We didn't even leave the hotel and there was Joy rubbing the hotel security guard's head and asking for him to handcuff her, haha! When we got to the bar we bumped into Alaggio, Will, and Matt. The ladies were all over them and Will and Alaggio looked a little scared, haha! Matt, however held his own even when Joy tried to convince him to swing the other way for one time, lol!!!! This was the point that I decided it was time to leave, so steve and I headed back to the hotel.

Upon waking the next morning I heard that I missed a bunch of things that night! The girls stole a fake ficus tree from one of the bars and continued to carry it bar to bar with them! They ended up bringing it back to their hotel room! They also hit a gay bar that night and were intrigued with the transvestites, haha!

Later on we met everyone at the theatre. Brittany, her boyfriend, and room mates met us in the parking lot. Britt was so excited to see the show. She made me bring her backstage so she could see Colin before he went on. Afterwards, I couldn't get to give the backstage pass. She went home with it around her neck! LOL! The girls were so proud of their little brother. Colin was thrilled with all of his family so and friends being there! They were all so supportive and all seemed to enjoy watching Colin on stage. Colin was especially excited to see his buddies Ben and Connor at the show. Many people joined us for dinner between shows, so we had a chance to get photos, and sit and chat with everyone.

Steve, Morgan, and Lexa spent the night and left bright and early this morning. I was so sad to see them go, but it definitely helped knowing that we'll be home with them all next week!!!

PS Lorraine you finally made my blog!!!!

2008-10-20T11:25:00.002-04:00

Hi All!
We got to Owensboro KY on Thursday. The view from the theatre was absolutely beautiful, it was right on the water. Once at the theatre, we had a company meeting and were told that there were going to be a few changes coming up. First of all our male swing/dance captiain (Andrew) is going to leave the tour :( We're really going to miss him, but he decided to take another opportunity. Ashley has been appointed the new dance captain and they will be holding auditions for someone to fill in the male swing position. Next, Tyler announced that he will be leaving the tour as company manager due to his wife's pregnancy. Finally the good news was that we are getting a new tour bus when we get back from our layoff! We're all pretty excited about that. Hopefully it'll be a little more comfortable and have a bathroom that doesn't stink all of the time, lol!
We got up Friday and boarded the bus for Cleveland OH. We were thrilled when we saw that we were staying at a beautiful Hyatt in downtown Cleveland. The hotel was gorgeous and had a mall in it! Unfotunately all of the shops were closed, but it was neat walking around. We ended up going out to eat at the Hard Rock Cafe and then headed back to our rooms. We crashed on our beds, they were definitely the most comfortable beds so far! It was heaven! LOL!
Colin had a rough time getting to sleep. He was so excited to see Steve and the girls. He woke up very happy the next morning because he had a dream that he was with Steve.
Luckily in a few hours that dream turned into reality :)

2008-10-15T18:55:00.007-04:00

Once the show was over in Casper we had a day off;) Stacie arranged for us all to go rollerskating! We all needed to dress in 1980's clothing! We found a thrift store down the road from the hotel and managed to come up with some pretty unique outfits, lol! I got a boyfriend jacket w/leggings and Colin had the double polo w/ the popped collar working for him. I scrunched my hair like I remember doing a few decades ago and feathered Colins :) Sue had the ultimate hair-she already had a hair appt that day, so she decided to have the hairdresser create an '80s do for her, lol! It was awesome and very big, haha!!! The shuttle from the hotel dropped us off at the rink and as expected we got a few strange looks! Luckily it wasn't very crowded and when the owners found out that the cast/crew of Oliver was there they were very excited. They had us all go into the center of the rink so they could get a group picture to hang up. They also went around getting everyone's autographs(even the parents!)

Skating was a lot tougher than I remember! I had a lot of trouble just keeping myself from falling! I even had the old fashioned wheel skates, not rollerblades. After a few times around the rink I started to get the hang of it, but at that point I was exhausted and just wanted to get the skates off my feet!! All in all it was a lot of fun for all!!

Unfortunately that's where the fun ended. The next morning I woke up with a stomach bug. We're not sure if it was the flu or food poisoning, but whatever it was it was horrible. It was not a good way to start a rough week of traveling! When I got out to the bus, I found that Mikey had the same thing going and Sue started with it later in the day. John's stomach was off all day and then Quentin got sick on the bus! So much fun for all of us! Luckily, Colin never got sick :)

As if that wasn't bad enough, on our way to Great Falls MT our bus broke down about 3 hours away. We had to sit in the bus on the side of a road in the middle of nowhere(Except of course a building that was labeled "Grizzly Encounters"! We waited for 3 hours in the cold for another bus to come and pick us up. Once the bus came we had to move all of our luggage and belongings off our bus onto the other bus. Keep in mind we were still sick at this point! We finally pulled into the hotel at 4am!

I spent the next day in bed until it was time for the show. I still wasn't feeling well but was able to keep some soup and crackers down. After having a little rest in the boys dressing room lying acrossed some chairs, I managed to make it out to watch Act I of the show. I was surprised at how well the cast did after such an exhausting trip.

After the show we started our 1760 mile trip to Owensboro KY! We drove 6 hours the first night. We got into Billings MT after 4am. We slept at the hotel for about 4 hours and then had to get back on the bus. Yesterday we spent a total of 15 hours on the bus and rolled into Sioux City Iowa around 1am. Today we got up and are doing it all again!!

I can't even begin to describe these long bus rides to you. They're just exhausting! We try to sleep as much as possible, but sleeping in a double seat on a bus leaves a little to be desired! My legs are constantly cramping up and I can never seem to get comfortable. I feel so bad for a few of the really tall guys on the bus, they're about 6'5" so their legs have nowhere to go! People stretch their legs across the aisle of the bus which makes getting to the bathroom quite an obstacle course! Some people have it really mastered as they climb from seat to seat to get there! After sleeping as much as possible, we all turn to our computers and books. Once everyone's bored with those, we usually pop in a video. Last night we watched the prequel to The Little Mermaid and tonight we're watching Hocus Pocus once the kids are done with school(They are tutored on the bus for at least 3 hours a day) After the movie,people really start getting antsy. Sometimes games are played, last night it was catchphrase. We also began making bets as to what time we'll actually get to the hotel. I lost out on the pot by 2 minutes last night. Hopefully Colin or I will win tonight : )

Well I think it's time for another nap! I'm still not feeling great so I'm trying to get as much rest as possible. I want to be all better by the time we get to Binghamton so I can enjoy time with our friends and family!!!!!

I haven't been able to upload photos to the blog the last 2 days, so once I can get them to upload I'll add them. Believe me, the ones from the rollerskating party will be well worth the wait lol!

On the road again, and again, and again!!!!

2008-10-15T00:42:00.004-04:00

Well the last few days have been pretty crazy! We've been on the bus more than we've been off. There was a peformance in Bozeman MT last Thursday, and Casper WY last Saturday. It was quite a different experience, both shows were held in an arena! We felt like were were at a sporting event,lol! The best part was the concessions stands. We had to get wristbands to purchase alcohol and in Bozeman they only sold beer! Sue hasn't had a beer in ages,so when John showed up with 3 Bud Lights she almost fell over. After taking a sip, she started to get a taste for it and then continued to down the bottle haha! It was definitely a different scenerio carrying cardboard trays with hot dogs, nachos, popcorn and beer into our seats to watch the show, lol!! Unfortunately the spaces weren't ideal for a musical production, but everyone got through it and the audiences seemed to enjoy it.
On top of everything else we were hit with a big snowstorm in both Montana and Wyoming! We were all caught off guard with the temperature change. Most of us planned on changing to our winter wardrobe over our october layoff. Luckily there was a WalMart right next door to the hotel where we could stock up on warm clothes!

2008-10-07T13:22:00.005-04:00

Yesterday we rode to Alto NM for one night. After getting there we were all wishing we were staying longer. The hotel had nice big rooms and was located right in a little quaint town lined with shops and little restaurants. Colin had an interview with the Courier Journal and thought it was quite funny that the reporter actually wanted to speak with me too! The article should be in next Wednesday's paper if you live in Macedon and want to pick up a copy. Luckily we had some time before the show to explore a bit in town and really enjoyed it. It was a beautiful crisp autumn day. The mountains around us were snow capped!

When we got to the Spencer Theater we were amazed. First of all it was located right in the middle of nowhere. From outside the theater all you could see were beautiful mountains all along the horizon. The theater itself had a very unique shape (check out the photos). Inside were beautiful glass sculptures hand blown by artist Dale Chihuly. The theater staff were incredibly accomodating. They put out a delicious spread for the cast and crew which was really appreciated.

After the show we were invited to Rhiannon and Melissa's room for a wine and cheese party. They found a wonderful wine shop in town and stumbled on some yummy wine that they wanted to share with us. It was nice to hang out with some of the cast and just relax and chat. Colin chose to stay in our room, he was in need of some alone time which we all need now and then!

We got up early this morning and started our 10 hour trek at 7am. We will be driving to Fort Collins CO to spend the night and then get up in the morning and drive straight to Bozeman MT. It's going to be a long couple of days!!!

~Missy

2008-10-05T23:30:00.004-04:00

After Farmington, we were all thrilled once we got to Albuquerque! The hotel is fantastic. We all have suites which have a large bedroom, living room, and kitchen area. There's both an outdoor pool and indoor pool and hot tub, which we were able to enjoy when we first got there.
The theater is very nice as are the people who work there. We three parents were invited into the VIP room to talk with the guests and tell all about our kids. We also were given complimentary wine and hors d'ouvres. Given that, we were willing to tell them almost anything, lol!
We were so excited to find that we were in Albuquerque during their big and famous balloon festival. People bring their balloons from all over the US along with many different countries. The balloons have all different shapes and sizes. There was a Darth Vader balloon, a wells fargo wagon balloon, a Smokey the Bear, and many others. There were approximately 700 balloons that were launched yesterday! So after a late show Friday night, we all agreed that it would be well worth getting up at 5:30am to witness this. Unfortunately, things didn't go as planned. We were told that a bus stopped right in front of the hotel at 6:05 and would bring us directly to the place to pick up the shuttle to the festival. After waiting a half hour we called the bus company to find that we received the wrong info and no buses were coming. Colin was extremely disappointed, he was really excited about going:( We thought about calling a cab, but at that point it was just too late. So we opted to go in, have breakfast and watch the balloons on the news. John went to the theater with the boys for the Saturday matinee, while Sue and I stayed behind to do laundry. After realizing there was only 1 working washing machine in the hotel, we realized if we ever wanted to get all of our laundry done we better find a laundromat. So for all of you who think we are leading the glamorous life, just picture Sue and I getting in a taxi cab with a bag of laundry and detergents. We hung out in a less than desirable area while the laundry was going. People seemed to think it was kind of strange for me to be hanging out at a laundromat with a laptop. We got even more strange looks we hopped into a taxi with our laundry bags. I guess we're not the normal people they see at the laundromat! LOL!
The rest of the cast invited us to a toga party in one of the rooms last night after the show. The plan was to bring the kids for a half hour. Well, we all were having so much fun we stayed a lot longer. Watching everyone come in in all of their handmade togas was priceless. Some were much better than others at toga tying! lol!

The shows have been going extremely well. The cast is doing a phenomenal job. Its so exciting to watch Colin up on stage. It seems that he grows more and more into his character at each performance. I am just so proud of him!!

I'll try to be a little better about writing more often. Hope all is well with everyone back home. We're counting down the days til we get to come home on break!!
Missy

2008-10-05T23:11:00.004-04:00

Hi everyone!
Sorry I haven't written in a bit, but internet connections have been in and out while we've been in the mountains. We've had a lot of great times since my last post.
After Bakersfield we headed to Colorado Springs. It was absolutely beautiful there. The mountains were everywhere we looked! Our best experience by far was our trip to the Garden of the Gods. The natural rock formations were breathless. The kids were able to use this as a field trip and learned all sorts of wonderful facts about the rocks and plants we encountered. Colin received a gift from the Gods while on top of a mountain. He found a $10 bill right on the rock! After spending a couple of hours hiking through the trails, we headed to the town of Manitou Springs and did some more sightseeing and souvenir shopping.
From Colorado, we headed to Farmington NM. Lets just say I was taught that if I had nothing good to say about something, don't say anything at all. So there you have it, lol! At least it was only one night!

2008-09-30T01:02:00.005-04:00

Hi All!!!
Colin had a performance in Bakersfield CA yesterday and we arrived to Colorado Springs today. The 3 kids and parents were fortunate enough to fly in to Colorado today, while the rest of the cast rode 14 hours on the tour bus :( The boys had to arrive early and get their school time in with their original tutor from NYC. Last night we stayed in a beautiful Sheraton in Bakersfield. The grounds were absolutely incredible(check out the pics!). We wanted to stay a few more nights there, but unfortunately, the show must go on!

After the show last night, colin, Rhiannon(Nancy)and Chris(Bill Sykes) were invited to do a Question and Answer session with some audience members. It was fun watching Colin answering some of their questions and especially loved when he thanked his vocal coach, Cara, for preparing him for this. He said he wouldn't be here without her :) Then they asked if any family members were traveling with him and he said yes my mom and she's sitting right there! Everyone turned around and gave me a round of applause, lol! Gotta love that boy!!! Rhiannon and Chris told the group how impressed they are with all three of the boys professionalism. It was a wonderful compliment, especially coming from the two of them. Rhiannon continued to say how wonderful us parents are. I always loved that girl, lol!!

We had to get up at 4:15 to catch a cab to the airport and then with one layover in Phoenix, made it to Colorado. We had just enough time to get some lunch and then the boys went to school. The parents on the other hand took naps! LOL!

The rest of the cast should be arriving by midnight, and there are shows both tomorrow and Wednesday evenings. Colin and Rhiannon will be doing a television interview for a Colorado Springs Fox news station first thing Wednesday morning. He's pretty excited about that! He's done a few phone interviews, but not a tv interview yet. We're hoping to go see some sights here in colorado springs Wednesday between the interview and the performance.
We miss everyone back home and really appreciate all of your support!!!
Missy

2008-09-28T03:09:00.005-04:00

Today we were able to go to the Pacific Ocean! It was very neat to see, but unfortunately the temperature was the coolest it's been yet and the fog rolled in. We were still able to go into the ocean, although it was quite chilly! Colin and I enjoyed walking along the beach collecting sand dollars and all sort of shells and rocks. We also saw some of the largest jellyfish we've ever seen! Sue took pictures of them so I'll put them up once we get them. Colin found a neat shell and quickly threw it back to the sand once he realized there was a hermit crab in it lol! After the beach we headed back to the hotel to get ready for the performance. When we got to the theater we met up with Judie and John Kemp. It was so great to see them! We haven't seen them in a while! They drove 3 hours to see the show, and Colin and I really appreciated it!!! It was so great to meet up with old friends and introduce them to our Oliver family : ) It was so funny because they still remember watching Colin as the panther at the basketball games. They were so surprised to see how he has grown! Tomorrow the boys have school and then we're heading to Bakersfield CA. Colin will be doing a Q&A after the show with some of the audience, and then we'll fly to Colorado Springs the next morning : )

San Luis Obispo

2008-09-27T03:32:00.003-04:00

We really enjoyed our time in Medford OR. The people were so friendly and the weather was perfect! The crew set up a bbq for our last day there and we all had a fantastic time just hanging out, eating, and playing in the pool!

After a 10 hour bus ride, we finally made it to San luis Obispo! It was a rough bus ride, we traveled around and through mountains. Many of us were looking pretty green by the end of it all! We saw the Pacific Ocean on our way, so that brightened everyone's spirits! Today the boys had school from 11-3 and then loaded the bus at 4:45 for the show. The rest of the cast was able to go to the beach. We parents felt guilty going to the ocean while the kids were in school so we opted to hang out by the pool. Tomorrow we will be heading to the ocean for a few hours in the afternoon. The boys will have school beforehand and then continue with hands on at the beach for a bit and then they'll be able to enjoy the beach before the show.

John and Judie Kemp are coming to the show tomorrow night. Colin and I are so excited to have people we knew from home come and see the show!

Medford OR

2008-09-23T03:48:00.005-04:00

After a 5 1/2 hour bus ride, we made it to Medford, OR. The scenery was absolutely incredible!! We road through mountains and by volcanos. We had quite a geology lesson discovering lava rocks and ash layers(Thanks Alaggio!) We were all in awe by Mount Shasta. It was absolutely beautiful! Check out the photos I posted!

We had lunch in Mount Shasta at the Black Bear diner. We felt like we were right out of "Northern Exposure"! The food was yummy, and the atmosphere was great. We also had a perfect view of Mt Shasta from the table we were sitting at.

We then headed the rest of the way to Medford. Once we checked into the hotel, we were able to enjoy some time at the pool before heading to the theater. The show was held at the Craterian Ginger Rogers Theater. I have to say that the people at this theater were the friendliest people we have met so far! They went above and beyond to satisfy us all. They had a wonderful display of treats for the cast in the green room from their trademark Bartlett pears to tea and honey! The ushers in the theater brought us 3 parents through the theater and told us all about the history of the theater and allowed us to take photos along the way. One of the ushers was from Endicott NY and moved to Oregon after visiting one of her kids that lives there. She almost had all of us parents talked in to moving to Oregon after our talk, lol! Before the show we headed to a great little salad and soup restaurant. All the food is organic and delicious!! The guy who worked the counter was great and very helpful. He reminded me so much of my nephew Jason! Jas-you have a twin in Oregon! It was so nice to be treated so well at a restaurant. The service in NYC left a little to be desired, lol!! I had the tomato gorgonzola soup and already realize I will be craving it for a long time!
The crowd was absolutely fabulous. They really seemed to enjoy the show and showed it with a standing ovation. Us parents never seem to get bored watching the show. There is always something different with each show and after seeing it so many times we pick up on it all!

We have two days off, tomorrow and Wednesday, and are excited for a break! We're hoping to do some sightseeing and also get some rest in during these two days. Thursday we head to San Luis Obispo.
Missy

Details on Binghamton Show

2008-09-20T18:35:00.000-04:00

Hi all,

I'm trying to coordinate a trip and help reduce costs for those wishing to go see Oliver in Binghamton. The show is on October 19th at 3:00 PM and 7:30 PM.

I have preliminarily looked at chartering a bus and it costs $1,378. The bus can hold 47 folks. Assuming 40 go that's about $35 per person. The charter would leave in the AM and hit the 3:00 show and then grab something to eat and head back to Rochester.

If we pool together tickets I can get a group discount (> 20). The group discount is 10% of tickets. Tickets available are:
Orchestra/Mezzanine $49.50
Lower Balcony $39.50
Upper Balcony $25.50

Regardless whether you take charter bus or not, you can get in on the discount tickets.

So, what I need to know:
1. Are you interested in charter (if so, how many)?
2. Are you interested in discount tickets (if so, what show and how many and where do you want tickets)?

Please let me know by 9/24 if you want to do this as I need to book things and reserve tickets (they go on sale on 9/22).

If you know others that might want to get in that's fine, just pass this along and make sure they know to get to me by 9/24.

You can always make the reservations yourself at http://www.broadwaybinghamton.com/show-detail.asp?id=22.

Thanks!
Steve
--------------------------------------------
Steve Nims
steve.nims@thomsonreuters.com

We're in Reno Now!!

2008-09-20T02:26:00.004-04:00

Okay, I just started to write this blog and almost forgot where we were! I had to ask Colin, lol! It's so easy to lose track of the day and place we're at. Each day seems to roll into the other while on this tour!

We'll be in Reno for 3 days. There are 5 performances between tonight and Sunday, so there will be little time for doing sightseeing. Luckily there's a casino right in our hotel so I may be able to squeeze a few slots in ;) The bus ride was very scenic. The mountains were absolutely gorgeous! We rode by Donner Lake where the historical Donner Family traveled. For those who don't know, the Donner party traveled west in 1846 in a wagon train. They attempted to take a "shortcut", but unfortunately that was the wrong decision. It turned out to be a much longer trip and as they ran out of provisions, bad storms approached. The survivors had to turn to cannibalism in an attempt to survive.

During one of our stops we were able to view another part of history. We saw the actual car that Bonnie and Clyde were killed in. There were also other things that belonged to them, such as the shirt that Clyde had on when he was shot. I didn't have my camera but both John and Sue took photos, so I'll post them once I get them.

Quentin's mom, Gail, and sister, Reina, traveled to Reno to see the shows. It was the first time they watched it so it was pretty exciting for their whole family. I can't wait to have our family at the Binghamton performance. I miss everyone so much!!

The boys finished up school til next week. It'll be so nice for them to have a week off. They've been working so hard on school, homework, and shows-they deserve a break!

I'm posting more photos, so I hope you all enjoy them!

Missy

Stockton Show

2008-09-19T03:34:00.000-04:00

The Stockton show was defintely the smallest one. The stage was small, so some scenes were a little cramped, plus it wasn't a very big crowd. Even so, the cast did a great job during the performance. Stockton was somewhat of a blur, seeing as we got in, had a quick lunch, the kids had school, then were able to have a quick swim and then head to the theater for the performance. We got up this morning and hopped on the bus for Reno.
The show was held at the Bob Hope Theater which is absolutely beautiful. I've attached some photos of both the inside and outside of the theater.

2008-09-18T02:38:00.002-04:00

For those of you who are planning on coming to the Binghamton performances, here's some info: There will be 2 shows one at 3pm and one at 7:30pm. Tickets go on sale Sept 22nd and can be ordered online at http://www.broadwaybinghamton.com/show-detail.asp?id=22 Orchestra seats are $49.50. Balcony seat are $39.50 & $25.50. The show is being held at the Forum Theater in Binghamton.
The second performance went very well tonight. There were still a few glitches but nothing that the audience would be able to notice. The cast was great tonight, they had so much energy! I think that they were all a lot less nervous now that Opening Night is over. They also all had a lot of sleep and were well rested. I can't even begin to describe the thrill of watching Colin on stage and the joy on his face during the show. Seeing him so happy is worth every minute of this!
Tomorrow we head to Stockton for one performance. I'll keep you all updated. Please comment when you have a chance, we love to hear from friends and family!
Missy

OPENING NIGHT!!!!!

2008-09-17T17:54:00.005-04:00

Last night was the official opening of The National Tour of Oliver! The cast did a wonderful job in front of a very good crowd of approximately 2000 people!! They performed at the Saroyan Theater in Fresno California. The theater was incredible! It was very contemporary and very big! It was great for the crew to have so much room in the wings and the cast enjoyed the nice dressing rooms!

Afterwards we had an opening party at the sports bar in the hotel. We all had a great time eating, drinking(shirley temples for Colin!) and enjoying the company of the rest of the cast, crew, and creative team. I've got lots of pictures some of which you can see below. You can go to http://picasaweb.google.com/olivertour08

Unfortunately now that the show opened, the director and choreographer will be leaving and moving on to other projects. Colin had a difficult time saying goodbye to Clayton and Vince. They both taught him so much!!! They promised to come back during the tour to see the show again, so that helped.

The boys had school today from 11-3. We're going to have a little downtime and then eat dinner and head back to the theater for tonights performance! Tomorrow we head to Stockton Ca for an evening performance.

Missy

2008-09-15T01:27:00.007-04:00

Hi all Things have been very busy, exciting, and exhausting here the last couple of days. Friday we had a Target run and got our body pillows and comfy blankets for the busride. Colin also purchased a new game for his Nintendo DS. When we got home he realized that his DS was missing! After searching frantically, we came to teh conclusion that someone must have taken it from his backpack pocket at the airport :( The worst part was that not only was his DS in the case that was taken, but also his Gameboy and all of his games. He was so upset and I feel terrible for him because he just bought the DS in NYC with his first paycheck. Yesterday the cast had their first preview. They did a show for a small audience and were wonderful!! I was so proud of all of them. After getting to know them and feeling like they are all our own kids (the majority of the cast is in their 20s)watching them all on stage was truly rewarding. I have to admit that my eyes filled up a couple of times and got goosebumps at other time! They are all so professional on stage and give the audience a show that they can really enjoy. There are lots of laughs, some sad moments,tender moments and especially magical moments! I hope that many of you following our blog will be able to see one of the performances. I can guarantee that you'll love it and them!! Today they did a B-roll before the preview. For those of you who are like me and don't know what a B-roll is, it's Broadcast roll. Many of the key segments are videotaped and edited into a commercial which will be played at the cities we are touring in. The cast went from B-roll to a catered lunch and then right to the preview show. After the show, the 3 kids had to go in to school so they could get the remainder of their tutoring in for the week. The kids were extremely tired and obviously not thrilled to go into the classroom while the rest of the cast headed back to the hotel!! Sue (Mikey's mom) was sweet enough to treat Colin and I, and John and Quentin to a nice dinner to celebrate the boys' performances. We are so proud of all three of them for doing such a wonderful job on stage! Afterward the boys got all of their energy out in the pool. They had so much fun just playing and being kids in the pool and hot tub. I just finished packing us all up for the next stop. Tomorrow we are heading to Fresno and will have the official opening on Tuesday night. I am so excited to see the kids and whole cast's excitement while performing in front of a big crowd! Well, I better get some sleep. We have to be ready for the bus at 9:30. Missy

Where is Love

2008-09-12T13:21:00.001-04:00

Things are getting exciting!!!

2008-09-12T02:55:00.005-04:00

Today, the cast did a run through of Act 1 in costume. It was so exciting to see everyone in costume, with lights and sound. It's amazing how quickly this show came together. I can't even begin to tell you all how proud I am of Colin and how happy I am that our family made the decision to allow Colin to do this. I can honestly say that I have never seen Colin so happy! He is enjoying every minute of this and loves all of the other castmembers. This is such an incredible opportunity and we both are so appreciative that we have been given this chance.

The boys have been squeezing in time with their tutor, Kevin, doing schoolwork. Kevin has been wonderful with the boys. He makes sure that they get all of the time needed for school and also makes sure that they have time to be kids. He's great about getting them outside to run off some of their energy during dinner break : ) Kevin's worked on several tours and is teaching the boys not only in the regular school subjects, but also the rules of theatre. Colin's especially impressed that Kevin tutored on the set of I Carly!

Tomorrow is a full dress rehearsal, Saturday will be a preview and Sunday they will do a run through which will be taped for commercials which will be shown in each city they are performing in. We leave Monday for Fresno and opening night is Tuesday!!!

We've both really enjoyed getting to know all of the people we are traveling with. It is so incredible to watch the people that we have gotten to know turn into their character(s) on stage! They are truly an amazingly talented group! I'm so thrilled that Colin has these people to look up to and learn from.

We haven't done any sightseeing here, but are hoping to do so once we hit some of the more populated areas. Sue, John(the other parents), and I all get along real well and are having a great time together. I feel so fortunate that I am traveling with the two of them. I know our families will stay close forever after this tour!

I'll keep you all posted within the next couple of days!
Thanks so much for checking in : )
Missy

We're in California!

2008-09-10T02:29:00.007-04:00

Hi Everyone
We flew into Los Angeles California yesterday. Needless to say, after getting up at 3:15am to catch a cab to JFK, taking a 6 hour flight, 1 hour busride to San Bernadino, checking into the hotel,fitting 3 hours of schooling in, and doing a WalMart run, we were exhausted! It's definitely different here than NY. In NYC you could walk to just about any kind of store or restaurant. There was a Starbucks on every block. Here in San Bernadino it's almost as desolate as Gananda!! The good news is that you can buy box wine at WalMart ;) After such a long day, the other parents and I really enjoyed our boxed wine! lol! Colin konked out as soon as his head hit the pillow and I wasn't too far behind!
Colin was thrilled to finally be on the tour bus. I think it made him realize that this is really happening. Everyone will have their own row on the bus that they can make their own and they're turning the back of the bus into a classroom so that most of the tutoring can be done on the bus.
We got up this morning and had time to enjoy the pool before having to go to the theatre for tutoring and tech rehearsals. Tech rehearsal are very tedious and long
(1-10pm) but it was so exciting for Colin.

2008-09-05T21:06:00.005-04:00

Hi all, We're all settled in our hotel in Newark NJ. Now we are really learning what life on the road is going to be like. Living out of our suitcase and eating out or ordering in! Tomorrow is the last rehearsal in NYC! I can't believe how quickly the 3 weeks went! The show really seems to be coming together and I am so excited for when we can actually see it! We can't go into the rehearsal room because its so small, so we can only hear some of the singing from the hallway. Now that the other parents and I have gotten to know the cast, we are really looking forward to watching them all get into their character(or in some cases characters)on stage. Colin had his interview yesterday (I've added it to the blog) and also has been very good about doing his homework at night. He is truly loving this whole experience and hasn't complained once about the long days. Well that's about it for tonight. There really isn't a whole lot to report! Missy

2008-09-03T17:28:00.002-04:00

Well our time in NY is winding down. Tonight will be our last night at the apt. Tomorrow night we head to Newark NJ to spend our last few nights in a hotel. Then we have to learn the whole train transportation thing! lol! Luckily John and Quentin have been staying at the same hotel, so we'll just follow them around! They've got it down pat by now.

The boys started school with the tutor yesterday. They need a minimum of 15 hours a week of school. Colin will be following Gananda's curriculum so he can go right into the classroom in March.

I went to Macy's today to waste some time while Colin was in school. I just can't get over how huge all of these stores are!! I got my workout today just walking around. NYC just amazes me. I always look out the window of the bus on the way to rehearsal each morning and watch all of the people outside. Everyone is in a rush. I always wonder where they are going and what their story is. Some young professionals dressed to a T, some barely dressed at all, homeless people begging for money, performers doing just about everything in the street to get money(including playing the guitar in their underwear!), people of just about every nationality, it's just crazy! I have to admit it was definitely an experience "living" in NY for 3 weeks!

Tomorrow Colin will be doing an interview with a Binghamton radio station. I'm hoping to videotape it again : )

School started in Gananda today. Morgan had a good first day of school and had her first volleyball scrimmage. I really miss my friends at work. It's strange to think that everyone is back to the school routine while we are roaming the country! We'll be back in that routine soon enough, so we need to enjoy this as much as possible. I doubt we'll ever have an opportunity like this again!

Missy

Great last day with Morgan and Steve!

2008-09-01T00:05:00.013-04:00

Today we headed out to Coney Island. We've never been there so we thought we'd go and check it out. Morgan went on the Cyclone(it's a 75year old rollercoaster) and Colin and I decided to watch, lol! She absolutely loved it and said she didn't touch the seat for the majority of the ride! We walked around a little more and then Morgan and Colin had fun on the bumper cars. Before leaving we made sure to stop by the world famous Nathan's for hotdogs.(For our Syracuse friends, I prefer Heid's!) After we walked around Coney island we headed for the beach. We headed back to the beach at Rockaway (Thanks Sue and Mike!) and had a nice relaxing rest of the day. Morgan and Colin had a blast with the boogey boards on the ocean waves! We were in the mood for seafood and asked Sue what restaurant she would recommend. She pointed us in the direction of the Wharf Restaurant which was exactly what we wanted. It was a casual restaurant right on the water. We sat outside and saw the sunset over the NYC skyline, it was beautiful! We got back to the apt and we had to find time for me to give Morgan her manicure and pedicure for back to school ; ) I'm going to miss her so much, we had such a great time together!! Morgan and Steve leave tomorrow and we won't see them til the Binghamton show on Oct 19th. It's going to be tough, but I am so thankful for the wonderful friends we have made. We'll help each other through it all and make sure we enjoy every city we visit. Please be sure to keep in touch! Missy

A fun-filled day with friends!

2008-08-30T22:22:00.014-04:00

Hi everyone! Steve and Morgan got in around 11:30 last night, so obviously after unloading the car we all decided to just head to bed! We had a really nice day today. Steve brought Colin to rehearsal and Morgan and I slept in(perfect way to start the day!) John Barthelmes and Kaitlyn Zorn flew down this morning and Morgan and I met them in Times Square. We decided to head to Colin's rehearsal and go to lunch with Colin and Steve. It was pretty funny because we waited out in the hallway of the studio til Colin came out of rehearsal and the look on his face when he saw John and Kaitlyn was priceless! He had no idea they were down. We headed to the Tick Tock Diner on 34th and 8th and enjoyed a very filling lunch. The monte cristo sandwiches were yummy and after Kaitlyn ordered the pizza fries, we decided to follow suit(they were steak fries topped with sauce and mozzerella-yummy!) Colin returned to rehearsal after lunch, John and Kaitlyn checked into their hotel, Steve went back to the apt for a nap and Morgan and I hailed a cab and went shopping!!!! We had a good time looking at all of the bags people were selling on the street. After trying to talk many of them down, we finally got the bags we wanted for the right price : ) Colin actually paid for Morgan's bag because he wanted to buy her something nice since he wasn't going to see her for 6 months. Sorry Britt, he didn't offer to buy you anything lol! We also went into the biggest Abercrombie we've ever seen. There was a line to get in, but somehow Morgan and I got to bypass the line. The salesclerk asked Morgan if she wanted her picture taken with an abercrombie model, so I talked her into it. She has been staring at the picture ever since. I think she's even going to sleep with it, lol! After deciding not to pay $45 for a tshirt, we moved on. We stopped by St Patrick's Cathedral and saw a wedding going on. What a gorgeous place to get married in! After going to Rockefeller center and doing a little more shopping, we met up with John and Kaitlyn at the Stardust Diner. Steve and Colin met us there after rehearsal. It was such a neat place. The waiters and waitresses are aspiring actors/singers. Between taking orders they all take turns singing all sorts of songs. they all sounded so good! They said that in just about every show in NY there is a former Stardust waiter. Zac who plays Fagin in Oliver used to work there! It looks like such a fun job! After dinner, Kaitlyn and John left to go see Mary Poppins and Steve's friend from the Naval Academy, Dan Ballister, came and met us for a few drinks. Dan was one of the sword bearers in our wedding : ) Dan lives a few blocks from the apt we're staying in. It was so great to spend time with him, we really enjoyed it. After Stardust Dan took us for a walk through Time Square pointing out the sights and making sure we got our picture taken right in the very center of Times Square. From there we headed to Connelly's Pub for a few more drinks. The kids really enjoyed chatting with Dan. I think he even talked Morgan into writing a blog of her own! From there we headed home, and cut through Grand Central Station on the way. What a gorgeous place. The architecture is just incredible. We were in there at 10pm, and there weren't a lot of people there. Dan told us at 7:45am the place is absolutely packed. I'm glad we saw it at night, lol! Now we're back at the apt and Steve and the kids are playing cards (now there's a shocker huh?!) We're hoping to head to the beach tomorrow. We all want to go to a different one, so stay tuned to see who wins!! Missy

2008-08-28T22:25:00.004-04:00

Hi Guys!
Not much to report today. Colin went in for a few hours of rehearsals and the rest of the time was pretty relaxing. Colin bought himself a Nintendo DS for the road and has been playing Nintendogs ever since! I've been trying to figure out how to cut down on our luggage! If it's over 50 pounds we have to pay extra when we fly, so I'll be sending a few things home with Steve this weekend!
Steve and Morgan are coming in tomorrow night and we can't wait to spend time with them! Morgan wants to go shopping so we plan on Steve taking Colin to rehearsal on Saturday and the girls will shop til we drop, lol! The only thing that would make it all perfect is if Brittany could come, but unfortunately she's already at school.
We got our luggage tags and backstage passes today which makes it all a reality! We're really looking forward to get started with the tour. It's so hard to imagine what it's all going to be like, so once we get started it should be easier. I should have the updated schedule within the next few days and once I get it I'll be sure to post it to the blog. Hopefully we'll get to see some of you at performances!
That's it for now, nothing too exciting!
take care
Missy

Halfway there

2008-08-27T23:20:00.006-04:00

Today was a perfect day. We got to sleep in late, relax around the apartment and finally get some errands done. Colin didn't need to be at rehearsal til 4 and then was released at 5:30 : ) After looking at the schedule tomorrow (He doesn't have to be in til 2pm) we decided that it would be a perfect night to catch a show. We headed to the TKTS booth at 7:30pm and were able to get tickets to Legally Blonde for half price!
We absolutely loved the show, it was so upbeat and high energy. This was one show that I had planned on seeing in Rochester when it came, but then realized I wouldn't be there. Now, even better, I got to see it on Broadway. It was even better that I watched the whole casting process on MTV (In Search of Elle Woods) so I felt like I knew Elle! It was pretty incredible to watch someone go through all of the auditioning and then finally see her as the star up on stage!
I have to say that I am quite proud of myself, lol! I never dreamed that I would be tromping through NYC for three weeks. To think that I found my way to get tickets to a show, go see the show, and actually find my way home at 10:30pm is something for me! I wasn't even nervous haha! Actually it was wild how bright it was when we got out of the show. It seemed so much earlier than it was with all of the bright lights in Times Square. Now I see why they say that it's the city that never sleeps. It was just as crowded at 10:30 at night as it is 10:30 during the day!
It's hard to believe that we have already spent half of our time in NY! We leave for California a week from Monday!
Thanks for checking in!
Missy and Colin

2008-08-26T22:49:00.003-04:00

Hi!
Today the cast did such a great job learning the scenes that they were working on that they got an extra long lunch break : ) Colin was actually able to leave a little early today : ) With a little extra time on our hands we went to Game Stop to get a Nintendo DS for the trip. Many of the castmembers have one and we thought it might be a nice way to spend some down time during the bus trip.
We went to Rockefeller Center to get the DS which allowed us to see more of NYC. We saw St Patrick's Cathedral, the spot where they set up the ice rink during the winter, and Radio City Music Hall.
It was pretty funny, Mike showed us the daily paper that had an article about a shark being in the waters at Rockaway Beach!! Good thing I didn't see that before we went or that trip to the ocean would've been a bust, lol!!!
Colin has the morning and early afternoon off tomorrow, so we're deciding how we want to spend our extra time. One thing we both agreed on is to sleep in ; )

A fun weekend!

2008-08-25T21:02:00.006-04:00

Hi everyone Sorry I haven't written in the blog, but we were pretty busy over the weekend. Colin had rehearsal til 6pm on Saturday and then we went home with Mike's(Charlie) and Quentin(Oliver) and Dad. Mike's parents, Sue and Mike, live in Rockaway on the ocean. They have an absolutely beautiful house with a lovely view of the ocean. We were so appreciative to them for sharing their home with us! Saturday night we went to their old neighborhood's block party. It was so much fun, the boys were able to kick up their heels and really have fun. There was a dj playing all sorts of fun songs, and the boys stole the show with their dance moves, lol!The adults were able to chat and have a few drinks. It was truly a great time with wonderful people! Sunday we went down to the beach and just relaxed all day in the sun. The boys had a blast in the ocean with their boogie boards riding the waves. The adults enjoyed relaxing and drinking wine on the beach : ) We were also able to meet some of Sue and Mike's extended family and especially enjoyed getting to know their adorable 4 year old daughter Maria! This morning we got up early and went back to the studio for rehearsals. They had a meet and greet today because the rest of the cast joined those who have been rehearsing last week. Everyone seems absolutely great! I really think this is going to be a lot of fun. It's a really great mix of people : ) We miss all of you and can't wait to be able to see everyone again!Thanks to all of you who keep commenting. We really love to hear from you all! Missy

2008-08-22T21:38:00.001-04:00

Hi everyone,

Today was definitely an interesting day! There were auditions for male dancers in the room next to where Oliver rehearses. These guys were hysterical!! I said to them that they were a lot different than the other auditions for acting and singing. Then one of the guys said" that's because we're a bunch of gays!" lol! They were so funny, one whipped his pants off right in front of me and was standing there in his briefs! Others were hitting on one of the cute guys, lol! Luckily Colin was in rehearsal so he didn't observe this ; )

Colin had an interview today. The only time he got stuck was when the reporter asked where he was from! He didn't know whether he should say Rochester, Gananda, Macedon, or Walworth lol! Why can't Gananda be simpler, lol! I posted the interview in case you are interested in listening in : )

It was another full and exhausting day of rehearsals and he will rehearse again tomorrow 10-6, but then have Sunday off. The boy who plays Charlie lives right in Queens on the ocean and we were invited along with Oliver and his day to go tomorrow after rehearsal. We're looking forward to getting a little break from the city.

Steve and Morgan are up at the cottage. Morgan stayed at the cottage all week with Steve's sister, so Steve was really a bachelor. It was only Nilla and him at home, lol! I'm sure he's looking forward to having Morgan back home next week! Morgan starts volleyball on Monday, so I'm sure she'll be happy to get back into things.

2008-08-21T20:08:00.000-04:00

Hi all

Our days are going by quickly! Colin has been very busy at rehearsal. Each day we get to meet more castmembers. Today Colin was able to meet one of his facebook friends, Stacie who plays widow corny. It's fun when we get to meet the people we have already chatted with on facebook. We feel like we already know them!

Colin is really enjoying all of this! Even though rehearsals are tough, he said that he has so much fun. The choreographer is very talented (He performed in Pajama Game w/ Harry Connick Jr). If he can turn Colin into a good dancer, he must be really good, lol! I have to admit that I am extremely proud of Colin. It has been a very tough schedule, but I haven't heard one complaint from him. He truly loves it and is working as hard as he can to do his best.

Oliver's dad and I are enjoying peoplewatching while we're at rehearsals. They are

rehearsing in Pearl Studios and auditions are going on all around us. We're getting to be quite the critiques listening to the people auditioning, haha!

lunch again at Subway-tuna today, lol!

I'm putting up a few more pictures : )

Missy

Day three

2008-08-20T23:16:00.000-04:00

Another long day of rehearsals, but Colin absolutely loves playing the role of Dodger! They worked on "I'd Do Anything" and "It's a fine life" today. The three boys insist on having lunch at Subway each day to see if they can win anything with the subway scrabble game. Colin and I try a different sub each day. I am hoping to lose the weight like that guy on tv who only ate Subway, haha! It just doesn't seem to be working yet, lol!

Colin is excited because he and the boy who play Oliver were asked to do a phone interview with a Bakersfield CA. radio show on Friday. That should be interesting, lol!

Each day Colin meets more people in his cast and loves all of them. They all seem incredibly talented(The other parents and me sit in the hall and try to listen in, lol!) While they are rehearsing we there are many auditions going on in the rooms around them. It is so interesting to watch actors come and go at auditions. The look of fear on their face when they go into the room and the complete relief on their face when they leave. It's a really tough business. There are so many talented people and so few get roles.

I am finally starting to get used to the whole routine. This is the first night that I didn't cry so I look at that as an achievement, lol! I felt like a true New Yorker today while I tried to fix a problem I was having with my at&t aircard. I walked all over the city going from one at&t store to the next, hailed a few buses, pushed my way through the crowds on the streets and even yelled at a salesclerk, lol! For those of you who know me well, know I need my internet! When I was having issues with getting it I got very um how should I say it ticked off,haha!

I'm hoping to have more exciting blog posts for you once we start touring, but for now I thought I'd let those of you thinking of doing this know what it's all like. The production company has been absolutely fantastic and accomodating. I am confident that this is going to be an experience that Colin and I will never forget.

Please let us know if you plan on attending one of the performances, so we can make sure to see you after the show!

Thanks for all of your support!
Missy

two days under our belt!

2008-08-20T12:51:00.000-04:00

Colin finished his second day of rehearsal. He worked with 6 other castmembers choreographing Pick a Pocket and Be Back Soon. It's a lot of difficult choreography, but he's working like crazy to try to get it all down. The choreographer works them hard, so they are exhausted at the end of the day. I spend the day chatting with the other parents and playing on my computer(rough life huh?!)

We decided to go for a nice dinner before heading home, so with filled stomachs we headed back to the apt and crashed!! We're still trying to fit in some siteseeing and shows, but with his rehearsal schedule(6 days a week 10-6) it's going to be hard to fit too much in. I have a feeling on Sundays (his only day off) he's going to want to crash.

First day of rehearsal

2008-08-18T22:20:00.000-04:00

Colin has one day of rehearsal under his belt : ) He got to meet some of the other cast members including the two other boys who will be on the tour with him. They really seemed to hit it off and I'm sure they'll get very close over the next 6 months. I met the other two parents who will be going along. We also hit it off and are going through all of the same emotions preparing for this tour. I'm sure we will also get to be great friends throughout the tour.

Steve and Morgan headed back home after lunch today. They were able to meet everyone and then take Colin out to lunch for his break. As expected it was very tough to say goodbye. Luckily they'll be back in a little less than 2 weeks before we head to Cali. I already miss them and Brittany, but am trying to take it day by day.

Colin rehearsed from 11:30am-6pm today and was pretty pooped by the end. They worked hard but he really seemed to enjoy it all. We finally learned how to use the NY buses and subways...well kind of, lol! We'll see what tomorrow brings ; )

Well that's it for now, Colin needs to be at rehearsal from 10-6 tomorrow so we better start winding down.

We look forward to hearing from everyone, so please leave comments!
Missy