one-seven-three

has it really been almost a month since i last posted?  clearly, after leaving tokyo, things haven't been nearly as exciting.  combine that with all the recent work i've been doing, and i just haven't gotten around to posting.  so i'll try to make this as quick as possible.  umm, second week in cincy.  highlights were definitely monday and thursday.  monday, a big group of us went bowling to celebrate james' bday.  crossed the ohio and went to star lanes on the levee over in newport, ky.  nice place, tasty mac 'n cheese bites, and definitely the worst bowling night i've had in a while.  in three games, didn't crack 100 and in that third game, i made a bet with cate.  if i beat her, i'd get to wear my tie askew while conducting on a two-show day (yes, i know that's a lame bet - but she refused to bet for money, and she is very anal about clothing being out of whack, since she's a star dresser, and it's her job to make sure people's clothes look good.  she's been annoying the hell out of me lately as i've been losing weight by coming up to me repeatedly to adjust my shirts where the shoulders should be and that kinda stuff.  so seeing a crooked tie for a two-show day would drive her nuts.).  if she won, i'd have to buy a purple tie.  she thinks it'll look good with my eyes and complexion.  clearly, this isn't a fair bet - because i'd have to shell out money if i lost, but whatever.  as i said, i had a shitty night bowling, only rolled a 93 in the third and final game, while cate - who had never cracked trip dig in her life - rolled a fucking 117 to mop the floor with me.  so at some point soon (once i buy it), i'll be sporting a purple tie in the pit.  maybe i'll debut it in dc when i'm home.  and all of this happened during a pretty severe thunderstorm that prompted a tornado warning and the sirens to go off.  i have no idea how close we actually were to a funnel cloud or tornado, but it was pretty exciting nonetheless.  well, not the whole losing-the-bet part.  thursday saw us back in newport at the hofbrauhaus, which had its own biergarten and big screens showing game 7 of celtics-lakers.  thankfully, the celtic fans outnumbered the lakers', although the end result did not satisfy the masses.  but after being kicked out of the garten at 12:30, we ended up moving to jefferson hall - a rather cool bar that had waiters walking around, handing out free packs of cigarettes!  i don't smoke, but since most of the people i was with do, i handed him my ID and got 4 free packs for them.  unreal experience.  i have no idea why they were just handing out free camels, but they definitely were.  we walked back over the bridge instead of cabbing it.  tom peed off the bridge (classic) and once back in ohio, we stumbled to an awesome dive spot - o'malleys in the alley.  and yes, it literally was at the end of an alley.  by this time, it was 2, and the bartender was handing out free beer when we walked in.  after a couple of rounds, we went to lucy blue's pizza, which didn't close until 3, had a couple of slices and proceeded to matos' room for video games and more beer.  definitely an awesome night.  work-wise, the crowds in cincinnati were pretty solid.  i had fun conducting there, especially because of my podium situation.  i don't consider myself tall at six feet, but standing on that podium caused me to block the view of the first three or four rows of people directly behind me.  therefore, i had to conduct the entire show on a stool...and even then, i had to slouch.  not great for the posture, but i couldn't get as animated as i normally do while conducting.  don't worry, i picked up the hysterics once i could stand in philly.

man, one week in philly, and i swear i spent most of it in that theatre.  chauncey put in his four-week notice once we got to cincy, meaning that his last day would be the 4th of july here in dallas.  therefore, it became time to whip someone else into shape.  that someone else is terrance lemar thomas - formally in hair on broadway, which just closed.  not only that, but the dreams have been asked to sing the national anthem at various ballparks around the country to promote our show while we're in that city.  the first on the list was philly, and i was asked to arrange a three-part rendition of our anthem.  i was able to give each of the girls a solo and not to toot my own horn, but i got several compliments about my arrangement.  sadly, i was unable to attend the thursday afternoon against the indians because...that's right, i had rehearsal.  also, there are definite plans in the near future for understudies to go on (e.g., adrienne is taking the entire week off we're in kansas city), so i worked a bit with one of the understudy lorrells that will be going on.  long story short, i lost track of how many rehearsal hours i logged during our one week in philly once it past 20.  and that was on top of our normal 8-show week, load-in and load-out.  and that was on top of the director and producer and other big wigs making the short jaunt down from new york to check in on the show.  and mind you, this was their first time seeing it with me conducting.  and believe it or not, i only got one note from the director.  bobby told me that he loved my tempos with the exception of one.  he said that 'move' was too fast, so i brought that back a bit.  what a week it was, and i definitely splurged and got a big, juicy cowboy ribeye steak at ruth's chris, which was right around the corner from the academy of music, our theatre, on thursday.  and despite that scrumptious meal, i still achieved something i hadn't done in six years.

happened for the first time in november 2003.  happened again in june 2004.  now, for the third time in june 2010.  alvin weighs the lowest he ever has as an adult.  173 pounds.  eating in tokyo for three weeks certainly helped.  their food is just generally so much healthier than ours.  and i really watched myself in cincy and philly, with the exception of the debaucherous nights mentioned above.  same method that lost me the weight before - well, in addition to adding more cardio to my routine.  but it was much harder to accomplish this time around.  because we work at night, it becomes second nature for us to go out to eat and drink after a show.  but my metabolism is terrible, and eating after a show causes those calories to multiply overnight.  so i stopped eating after shows most nights and cut back my beer intake from, say, 7 a night to slowly sipping 2.  the pounds flew off, and i couldn't be happier.  now, i've put a few pounds back on here in dallas but for good reason.  sad to admit that i've never worked out in my life for longer than 3 consecutive months.  something changes in my schedule, and i can't go one day, which turns into one week, one month, then not going again for a long time.  well, i've started working one-on-one with nikki - you know, the former national spokesperson for bally's.  she is absolutely amazing - in super-great shape, wonderful attitude and motivator and just an all-around good-natured person.  well, after three one-one-one hour-long sessions with her (one at the end of philly, two in the first week of dallas...and my fourth is tomorrow), i've already noticed a difference.  i've definitely put on a few pounds of muscle, and i'm working areas i didn't even know existed or could hurt the way that they do.  she's even got me back on vitamins and drinking a shit-ton of water like i said, she's great, and i just bought a 20-pack from her at a discount.  hopefully, after 20 sessions, i'll truly see a new me, and that i'll keep it up after the tour is over when she's not around to whup my ass.

ok, i have to share my "where were you when?" moment.  it's really not spectacular at all, but i just want to write about it.  wednesday morning in philly.  i've got rehearsal at the theatre at noon, but the usa-algeria game won't be done until right before noon.  begrudgingly, i leave my hotel room with the game scoreless.  i'm staying at the radisson on 17th and locust and on the walk to the theatre, i pass by misconduct tavern and fado, both of which have outdoor tvs and people crowding around them, spilling off the sidewalk and out into the street.  i knew what happened without even watching.  we were clearly getting ourselves in position to score and had a near-miss, because the "oh"s and "fuck!"s were deafening.  but i had to keep walking.  i get to the theatre and grab my score, when i hear a tv in the distance, in one of the crew rooms.  the announcer is going nuts, and i get there just after donovan scores to put us in the knockout stage.  absolutely thrilling, and i wish i could have been outside on 15th and locust to hear the uproar from all the people.  it's a shame we didn't beat ghana, but that moment when donovan scored that goal was monumental for our soccer team and nation.

now, i'm in dallas and wow, downtown dallas is a dump.  and no, i'm not saying that because i'm a redskins fan.  it's rundown, and the only people down here either wear suits from 9-5 or are homeless.  kinda depressing, if you ask me.  also not staying in company housing.  instead, at the mosaic at 300 north akard.  pretty sweet apartments with a full kitchen, awesome pool (which we took full advantage of yesterday), and only a few blocks from the primary hotel where everyone else is staying.  and company management divvied out cars, and the traveling musicians have two.  only a quick 10-, 12-minute drive to the music hall at fair park, which is quite secluded - although it is next to the revered cotton bowl.  the orchestra here is pretty good - overall better than cincy and philly.  i didn't mention philly's orchestra on purpose.  let's just say that they whined and bitched and moaned, threw in voluntary high trumpet notes when they couldn't even hit all the ones that were written for them, couldn't keep time, didn't follow me consistently, and had the loudest, most brash and didn't-give-a-fuck percussionist i've ever worked with.  oh darn, i guess i've mentioned philly's orchestra now.  what a shame.  the dallas crowds have been a bit paltry, but they've certainly been vocal.  people dancing and testifying in the aisles.  a bit surreal but totally more of what this show means to bring out in people.  all this, despite a recent rash of injuries.  we've had an equal amount, if not more, call-outs in philly and dallas than we had in tokyo.  last friday night's show had understudies on for all four dreams!  and somehow, we managed to survive, lol.  last night's fourth was great - only one show (a matinee), then grilling and boozing by our 8th-floor pool.  the fun continues today, as a big group of us are on our way to the ballpark in arlington.  7:05 central start.  indians-rangers.  we've apparently got free box seats in the cuervo club.  i've been told we can choose to sit out in the heat for a while before heading inside into the air-conditioned club for a smorgasbord of delectable treats and ice-cold adult beverages...that is, provided by our personal wait staff.  if this ends up being true, sweet.  and yes, i'm taking a rare two-day food and drink splurge.  good thing i've got a one-on-one with nikki at 11am tomorrow...