Baltimore, Where Do I Begin?

Well, thanks to some not-so-gentle prodding (ahem, JLaurelN), I figured I should update this thing.  The bus ride from New York to Baltimore was uneventful except for the...oh wait.  The band had multiple mimosas starting at noon.  I'm one of the 4 (technically, 5) traveling band members - yeah, believe it or not, we pick up the other 10 players in every city along the way.  Trevor is our drummer (really cool guy - mid 30s, married), Jason is the bassist (also cool - late 30s, married with a son) and Dave is our guitarist (perhaps the coolest of the bunch and pushing 50).  And the earlier technicality is that Sam, the musical director and conductor (also mid 30s), obviously also travels with us.  Sam is a musical genius who has toured many times before, including running this production for 3 months in Korea just last year.  The other guys have toured before, primarily with bands, but never with anything on this scale.  So yes, for those of you out there counting, that makes me, at the ripe, baby-faced age of almost 26 (birthday is Feb 2, presents are always welcome on the road), the baby of the band by a wide margin.

I think they're spoiling us early, in terms of hotel selection.  The vast majority of us are staying at the Residence Inn, which is only about a 10-minute walk from the Hippodrome Theatre.  They just recently installed 40" flat screenS in each room.  And that plural was emphasized for a reason.  There are two!  Refrigerator, fully-stocked kitchenette, living room, bedroom...and all for only 59 bucks a night (clearly, company management got some sort of discount).  Something tells me this won't last throughout the entire tour, but I'm certainly enjoying it while it lasts.  If I get bored watching TV on the couch, I can crawl into bed and do the same thing. 

Upon first walking into the Hippodrome, I was mesmerized.  The Apollo may have seemed large to those of you who came to see the show, but that's because you couldn't see backstage.  The stage itself is rather small, and the amount of room to maneuver backstage and downstairs in the dressing areas is surprisingly pedestrian.  Or maybe that's because our show has over 500 costumes and nearly 200 wigs and 5 huge LED panels and a cast of 26 that takes up so much space.  Well, to drive this point home, I'll put it to you like this.  We, the onstage band, are clad in full costume (with wig) for the entirety of the show but had no dressing room!  The four of us literally changed next to a sewing table in the middle of the hallway next to the oft-frequented water cooler and soda machine.  I never knew this would have an upside but after careful consideration, I now realize that I've been half-naked while in the same room as Halle Berry.  In the words of James McAvoy at the end of "Wanted," "What the fuck have you done lately?"  But as for the Hippodrome, it feels at least ten times more spacious than the Apollo.  And yes, the band has its own dressing room.  I've never done a cartwheel in my life, but I almost learned this week because there is that much space in our dressing room.  You know, they always say it's the little things in life that really make a difference.  And whoever "they" are, they're right.

The band in Baltimore is pretty frickin' good.  Better than the guys we had at the Apollo.  At our first rehearsal, the 5 of us (Sam, J, Trev, Dave and me) were throwing each other glances of shock as to how much better they sounded than our former Harlem cohorts.  In fact, I'd played with one of the trumpet players before.  It's been great catching up with Craig, who did a couple of shows with me at Toby's, a regional theatre with 2 locations (Columbia and Baltimore, MD), back in 2007 during my year off between Harvard and Georgia Tech.  But with every positive, there seems to come a negative.  Although the show has been selling pretty well in B'more, the crowds are (no offense) whiter and in turn, less vocal than those at the Apollo.  Or maybe that's because many more friends and family of the cast/crew/band came to see the show in Harlem and cheered vociferously.  Well, whatever the case may be, the spark from the audience hasn't quite been the same.

The "snowpocalypse" of 2009 buried Thurgood Marshall-BWI Airport under 21" of snow last Saturday, and it gave us something that none of us had experienced in quite some time.  A snow day.  A snow day that couldn't have come at a better time.  Because we were getting Christmas Eve off, we actually had a show last Monday (our normal day off/travel day) in the middle of a scheduled stretch of 11 shows in 8 days (1 last Wed, 2 last Thurs, 1 last Fri, 2 last Sat, 2 last Sun, 1 on Mon, 1 on Tues, 1 on Wed).  We were scheduled to have 2 Saturday shows (at 2 and 8pm) but got the word at noon that the mayor was closing down the city and putting it under a state of emergency.  This meant no shows...but with FULL pay!  How's that for a snow day?  So naturally, what did we do?  Got blitzed in the hotel bar.  I didn't start as early as some (one of the ensemble members, Robert, later confessed that he had a celebratory toast right at noon in his room when we got the call), but I certainly finished strong.  Jason and I spent many hours at the bar seated next to each other and were told by the bartender that he had us on one tab for the time being but that he'd split it at night's end.  Sounds pretty reasonable.  Only that he didn't anticipate the vast quantities of food and alcohol we would consume.  A shot of Jager for Trevor.  A Guinness and Jameson for Kaitlyn, one of the wardrobe girls.  Sadly, our generosity was taken advantage of by other drunkards later in the evening who got drinks on our behalf and when Chris, the bartender, handed us the tab...well, suffice it to say that I wasn't expecting to see $305.12.  We were too drunk to argue or do math, so after splitting it down the middle, I was out a buck seventy-five.  There went my Saturday per diem and then some.  But hey, a snow day on tour in the first week?  I doubt we'll get that lucky in say, Minneapolis, where we'll probably have to trudge through drifts higher than ourselves come mid-January.

The snow day also really allowed me to bond more with the crew and band, especially Dave.  His room was where the afterparty was, and it turns out he's a pretty serious gamer.  He mentioned this a few times in passing before we left New York, but I didn't think he'd actually bring his full setup.  Xbox 360, two controllers, surround-sound speakers, a slew of games - yeah, crazy.  It's been years since I played video games professionally (read: pulled all-nighters to beat levels).  But Dave has gotten me hooked again.  On multiple nights this week, we've stayed up until sunrise playing either Left for Dead 2 or Gears of War 2 while sipping on some Jameson or Svedka.  With eight shows a week and scattered rehearsals mixed in, it's always nice to take advantage of one-show days with no rehearsal.  Tuesday night, Dave and I killed zombies until about 6am...I slept until about noon...checked e-mail/watched TV until about 2...napped until 4...went with Dave to the grocery store and a beer tasting at a nearby liquor store...played more video games from about 5:30-6:30...showered, got dressed...left the hotel at 7:15...got to the theatre at 7:30...did the show at 8...went out for drinks after.  Don't worry - all days aren't this glamorous.  The "9am-noon sound check, 1:30 call for a 2-5pm dress rehearsal, 7:30 call for an 8-11pm show" day we had last Wednesday wasn't too fun.

Overall, Baltimore has really been a lot of fun.  I'm currently typing this from my room in DC, while my mom and grandma sleep down the hall.  Took a train down early this morning since we had the day off, but we do have a show tomorrow (Fri) night to start a 5-show weekend (two each on Sat and Sun).  My mom, grandma, one of my aunts and one of her friends are coming to the Sunday matinee, which will be a thrilling way to close out our time in Baltimore.  After shows at 1 and 6:30 on Sunday, we pack up and head out on a 10am bus to Pittsburgh bright and early Monday morning.  Happy holidays to all!

Auspicious Start

11:59am: Bus departs from the back of the Winter Garden Theater on 7th Avenue between 50th and 51st Streets.

12:06pm: Alvin takes the first sip of his noonday Moet mimosa.

That is all.

My Last Day in New York

First off, let me say that I am still overwhelmed to be a member of such a thrilling production.  After the first day of rehearsal, I could feel that this would be a special show.  Playing on the legendary stage of the Apollo was awe-inspiring, and many of my friends here in New York came to see the show (mad props to you all).  On several nights, members of the cast/crew/band would ask just how large my cheering section was because of how vocal you were!

The list of celebrities that attended the show was rather lengthy: from Mario Lopez and Joan Rivers to Chris Rock and the living members of the Jackson 5.  But by far, one of the highlights of my life was getting to meet and take a picture with Halle Berry (check out my Facebook profile for the pic)!  Our final two shows yesterday at the Apollo were absolutely stunning and thankfully, we were given all of Sunday to pack.  I'll be on a bus that leaves from the Winter Garden Theater at noon tomorrow on my way to Baltimore.  More to follow!