from windy to windier...take 2

so i had a pretty sweet day, and my patience isn't wearing thin like it was last night.  so i'm gonna give this another shot.  

chicago was amazing.  delectable pizza, the feel of a true city, energy in the streets.  we were in the theatre district, and i'm really sad to have left the emerald loop behind.  sweet restaurant with good food, a $4 heineken beer of the month special, and a 30% discount to those in the industry.  needless to say, we were there nearly every night.  one of the few nights we deviated, we ended up at a bar jason stumbled upon that was like hooters but better.  ah yes, the tilted kilt.  girls in their 20s in skimpy kilt skirts and bras two cup sizes too small.  the only thing better might be the possibility of dreamgirls going to dreamgirls while in columbus, oh.  anyway, i digress.  we went to tilted kilt on monday night, our off day the second week, and afterwards, jason and i went to hang with some of his friends at a spot called the checkerboard lounge.  it was a nice hang, and jason's friends were super accommodating.  it was a given that he would get up and play a couple of tunes but once they realized i could play, i was in front of the keyboard in the blink of an eye.  i was already several drinks in by this point and didn't even think twice about playing solos on standards i didn't even know - that is, once i found the groove and figured out the chord progressions.  needless to say, the jam session was a lot of fun.

the local chicago band we had for our show was superb, the best we've had.  really good players, even cooler people.  i conducted twice, my first times in front of the orchestra since december 11 at the apollo.  although i did miss my seat onstage, it's really cool to conduct and be so close to the energy of the audience.  the only frustrating thing is that, naturally, the sub doesn't know all the nuances of the show as well as the rest of the band does.  so there are always a couple unforeseen moments that i have to navigate the band through...not to mention the click track failing to start after i hit the button.  in the instant that something goes wrong, my gut reaction is one of utter terror (or a slew of four-letter words that run through my brain), but getting through those occasions makes you feel stronger and more confident once you get to the other side.  

weather-wise, things really weren't that bad.  only a couple of inches of snow fell the entire time we were there, and there were only a couple of nights where the wind chill flirted with -10 degrees.  but according to some locals, they're used to several nights of 15 to 20 below wind chills during january, so they didn't think twice about it.  but i gotta say, after a winter of being in milwaukee, minneapolis, chicago, etc., we dodged a bullet, because the weather could have been way worse.  

as for now, i'm in boston!  my second home.  feels great to be back near the common, harvard square, and so many other landmarks.  i walked through the square on monday - through the science center, past widener, around lamont.  definitely brought back a lot of memories.  i'm staying with sam quinn, matt meisel, nate bernhard, cara ferrentino and unfortunately, their fifth roomie, rob koenig (currier '06, one of my really good buddies) is out of town on business.  but staying in somerville is homier and cheaper than the doubletree downtown.  

the tour has been great, but my birthday couldn't have been any better.  we were scheduled to have a show on the 2nd...but a critical error was made.  they underestimated how long it would take for the trucks to drive the set, costumes, etc. from chicago to boston.  so we had no tues show and only 7 last week (as you might expect, we're making up for it this week by doing 9).  but at least for my birthday, I got to enjoy my birthday with no show and the LOST premiere (I happen to love that show).  so all in all, not bad for a 26th bday.

we're at the colonial just south of boston common.  it's a very intimate theatre - so much so that i felt i could shake hands with people in the first row.  the show is, uh, just as intimate backstage - not as bad as the apollo but pretty close (and we've been forewarned that columbus could be worse than the apollo, yikes).  quick change areas are super tight, and there's only one narrow walkway behind the stage.  but i guess that's better than having nothing - like at the apollo and in columbus.  we've kinda been spoiled with large theaters since leaving new york, so to scale it big has been a big tough on us.  even the pit in boston (i conducted last sunday and will do so again this coming sunday) is smaller than anything we've seen on the road thus far.  but hey, at least there is a pit, and i'm not conducting from the third floor!  the crowds here have been quite receptive and even our opening night party on wednesday was surprisingly good.  if you're ever in boston, go to teatro (tremont and boylston) - scrumptious veal meatballs and little fried balls of shortribs...mmm, i'm getting hungry just thinking about it.  our most frequented after-show spot is just right across the street from the stage door and is owned by one of the local stagehands.  the appropriately-named intermission tavern can thank us for many nights of solid business, that's for sure.  thursday was special because a few of my friends (yagan and sara, meisel, defne, cara) came to the show and had a blast.  even better...well, jason is from boston, and he knows the owner of lucky's lounge on congress.  after the show, a lot of us went over and wow - sweet spot.  two different rooms that are connected.  in one, it has the feel of a lounge...but just down the hall is a live band with a dance floor.  not too shabby.  they brought out a crap ton of food and comped it all...and our drinks too.  it was awesome catching up a bit with danny, and i'm sure i'll do so again really soon.  in fact, i may get to see his high-arching beirut shot and the perfect circle in a matter of days.  to those of you who haven't experienced the perfect circle - don't fight it.  just accept it.

what do most warm-blooded americans do two weeks after the nfc and afc championship games?  ah, that's right.  they watch the super bowl.  so tell me why i wasn't able to?  i'm not warm-blooded, you say?  nope, we had a show.  a show during the super bowl.  doesn't company management know that super sunday is an unofficial national holiday!?!  now that i think about it, they should have paid us double for that show.  who would come to a show on super sunday night?  maybe that's why they were offering us half-off tickets to any and all of our friends.  because they expected an empty house.  but that didn't actually turn out to be the case (more on that later).  don't tell anyone (although i guess that precursor doesn't work, since i'm writing this in my blog), but i totally had my phone up on my music stand for large chunks of the show...hitting refresh whenever i could to see what was going on in the game.  sunday night was our 104th show, and after so many shows and countless rehearsals, i honestly think i could play the show without music.  not that i would try that, but if a mysterious fire were to happen and the only thing lost were my music, i most definitely wouldn't panic.  although i essentially watched the game through my droid and espn highlights later that night and the next day, i gotta say it was pretty sweet.  congrats to the saints and the who dat nation - totally deserved, and i'm elated for that region of the gulf coast.  but i still can't believe i had to play a show during the super bowl.  don't write nasty comments about what i'm about to say...but seriously, the screams of joy during the show were clearly more high-pitched than usual.  hmmm, could that be because the house was full of ladies and gays?  if there were any straight guys in the audience, they must have been on some sort of punishment by their gfs/wives, right?  thankfully, i have seen what many are calling the best ad - "keep yo' hands off my mama.  keep yo' hands off my doritos."  absolutely hilarious.

i'll wrap up by talking about today.  jason went to berklee and had already gone back to speak once last week, but i was in rehearsal and couldn't go.  oh, i should clarify.  for understudy rehearsal, they only need piano and drums, not bass and guitar - so dave and jason get to enjoy their mid-week afternoons, while trevor, sam and i...well, let's move on.  jason gave a clinic today at 1, and i sat in.  he talked about some of the highlights of his life post-berklee - from leaving boston, moving to new york, then los angeles, then starting this tour.  he's been on several tours and has played with more greats than i can imagine, from bb king to shemekia copeland.  it was quite enlightening to hear about his plights and how he's been able to put so many stamps on lifelong goals.  man, do we have one cool traveling rhythm section?!?  this is jason's first musical, trevor's too, my first tour, and dave (who has been a broadway fixture) is unbelievably out on tour.  he unfortunately just ended a 14-year relationship...yep, fourteen!...and needed a change of scenery, to say the least.  it's kinda funny because after the clinic, jason and i went out with one of his childhood idols and current bass teacher at berklee, lenny.  they swapped stories from years ago and imparted even more wisdom on my young ears.  i like to think that i'm a modest guy but after they shared some really trying stories (from couch-surfing for months to facing tough decisions about moving their wives and kids across the country), jason jokingly called me out.  "yeah lenny, this kid went to harvard, already has his master's, moved to new york in january '09 and got this gig within ten months.  yeah, you're one of the cats we love to hate."  a life lesson i learned a while back keeps reaffirming itself.  it's really not good enough to be good.  you've gotta be lucky and then jump on those breaks right away.  this may just be my best break yet.

from windy to windier

just had an entire update written when firefox crashed.  and i don't feel like rewriting it.

fuck.

i'll attempt to summarize.  chicago band, awesome.  weather there not as bad as it could have been.  excited to be in boston, staying with friends in somerville.  conducting subs is always an adventure, but i'm having fun doing it.  can't believe we had a show during the super bowl.  had a great birthday here.  pissed off that my many paragraphs from the past hour are gone.

timba...who?

so yeah, i love chicago.  reminds me of a real city.  a city that doesn't get swept up in the whole east coast/west coast drama.  but instead lies in the heart of the midwest.  and is awesome.

yes, it's 5am, but i had to post this now.  today was wow.  sun, jan 24.  two ridiculously entertaining games - neither of which i could fully enjoy, since i had two shows.  but my phone got one hell of a workout, that's for sure.  as is my liver, as i continue to drink a bottle of three-buck chuck from the trader joe's on ontario and wabash.

as for today, here's where the drama lies.  sam's contract explicitly states that he should only conduct 7 shows a week.  the other is meant for him to take notes, to check the sound mix in the house, etc. - for him to make sure the show is flowing smoothly.  to check things he can't while trying to conduct a 14-piece orchestra.  (the only problem is...i really don't have the time.)  sorry, the show has gotten to me.  i have a line for everything...and others have duly noted that.  so, moving on.  the only problem is - my sub.  no names will be mentioned, but suffice it to say that my sub showed up at our 5-hour orchestra rehearsal on tuesday with no tape recorder.  real classy.  after a handful of, uh, interesting meetings with said sub, sam and i were honestly having a hard time not letting him go.  so i was supposed to conduct on saturday afternoon.  but that was mercifully pushed back to tonight (sun night).

back at the apollo, the other 10 pieces of the orchestra lived upstairs on the third floor, since the apollo had no pit.  i haven't conducted since the apollo, simply because it's been difficult to find a sub in a city where we tour for only one week.  we're here in chicago for two, and my sub tonight has subbed for other shows that have come through, including the color purple.  so it was my first dreamgirls conducting experience from a pit.  the band here in chicago is not only musically good but also quite personable.  they were super supportive of me, and i had a blast conducting them...and seeing the complete show from the front for the first time in months.  in fact, since tech at the apollo in late october.  the show is magnificent, and if you're in a future city on our tour, you had better come see it.  speaking of which, we have received word that we will be extended past the schedule on the website (www.dreamgirlsonstage.com).  after kansas city, we'll be in dc for two weeks (likely at the warner theatre) and also in san francisco for five weeks...with a possible sixth week as an extension.  we also learned about a two-week layoff before tokyo in may.  turns out the company is sending the 5 super-huge LED panels from costa mesa, ca to tokyo via barge.  so that'll sure take a while.  so we'll get two weeks off - right around mother's day.  yes mom, i'll be home...or i'll fly you to wherever i am.  rumors are already flying about spending our layoff in the midpoint between cali and japan.  yep, hawaii.  i've only been once (to the big island to study volcanoes in the process of getting my bachelor's in earth and planetary sciences at harvard).  and boy, would i love to go again - to both the big island and all of the others.  wow, where was i?

let's jump ahead to tonight.  one of the ensemble members in the cast, douglas, knows one of the backstage workers at the house of blues here in chicago.  well, he got an invite to get VIP access (plus two) to a timbaland concert tonight.  and i was one of the plus two.  after waiting in the front lobby for quite some time...doug, kim and i finally got shuffled around to the back to get the necessary credentials and then upstairs via the crew elevator to absolute bedlam.  indeed, timbaland himself had just gone on, and the scene was one of absolute bedlam.  the sheer number of songs that he has worked on in some capacity is mind-blowing.  from "go 'head, child" of justin timberlake fame to fat rabbit.  some of chicago's finest ladies and one of the hottest bands i've heard live ever equals a night i won't forget for quite some time.  hopefully ever.

i'm so glad we're in chicago for two weeks.  and i'm super excited that tomorrow (monday) is our first true off day since xmas eve (which doesn't really count, since most of us were traveling anyway).  we do 8 shows a week from tues-sun, but monday is always our travel day to the next city.  thankfully, we're here for two weeks, so we've got all of monday off.  and according to equity/union rules, we can't rehearse the day after a day off.  so i have no responsibilities until half-hour at 7pm on tues.  and we've already started thinking about all the off mondays we've got in LA.  we're there for 6 weeks.  one monday will definitely be spent in each of the following: palm springs, grand canyon, vegas, tijuana.  and by definitely, i mean hopefully.  damn, i wish i were drunker than i am right now.  no alarm for me in the morning, that's for sure...

lovin' chicago

many props to andrew mugica.

he and i caught up for a bit yesterday afternoon, and he told me a thing or two about the awesome city that is chicago.  i told him that i'd have friday afternoon free.  and two of his initial recommendations were gino's east and the water tower.  first, gino's east.

naturally, you've gotta have real deep dish while you're in chicago.  andrew recommended gino's east at ontario and wells.  and boy, he's never been more right in his life.  lunch special of a mini deep dish sausage pizza, salad, coke...7 bucks.  can't beat that, and it was probably the best pizza i've had in my life.  to put icing on the cake, my waitress was super-cute and super-sweet.  i told her i was with dreamgirls, and she said that she was considering taking one of her best girlfriends to see it as an early birthday present (our last chicago show is sun, jan 31).  unbelievably, her friend was born on feb 2, 1984 - my exact date of birth.  so i'll see if i can get angie and her friend discounted tickets.  needless to say, i'll definitely be going back to gino's east.  and not just for the pizza...

i'm staying at one of the 14 club quarters hotels that exist in the world, on east wacker drive between wabash and michigan.  right across the street lies the no-longer frozen chicago river and just on the other side of the river across michigan ave stretches the magnificent mile, which is much like 5th ave in midtown manhattan - a shopper's paradise.  well, about midway the mile lies the old chicago water tower - one of the only structures to survive the "mrs. o'leary's cow, 1871" fire.  sorry, slipped into quiz bowl mode for a second there.  the structure itself isn't particularly impressive but when you factor in its surroundings, it really chills you to the bone.  or maybe that's the biting chicago wind.  with so much grand skyscrapers all around, this tiny little building seems to stand taller than them all.  it's a very symbolic structure that represents how far the city has come in the past 14 decades.

as for the show, it's going well so far in chicago.  we've had our best overall band yet, and the show has had a few hilarious glitches.  during one show, the click track didn't start when the button was deployed, which meant that we didn't have recorded vocals for one of the radio scenes.  yikes.  during another show, one of the three roll drops did not come down with the other two, leaving parts of backstage exposed for a couple of minutes while workers frantically tried to get it down.  i would tell you the third thing, but it involves revealing something about the show that i don't want to reveal to those who haven't seen it yet.  suffice it to say that it was a minor glitch that was solved quickly and afterwards, we all had a good laugh about it.  ah, gotta love live theater.

well, my featured moment comes within the next 24 hours.  and then again next saturday afternoon.  for the first time since new york, i'll be conducting.  one huge difference though.  there was no pit in the apollo, so the non-rhythm section was upstairs playing on the third floor.  the third floor will be a lot different than being two feet from the front row in the pit.  i'm super excited about tomorrow...and super nervous.  at least back in new york, the guy who subbed for me was our original key 2 player.  so at least he knew the show quite well - you know, cue lines, the flow of the dialogue, etc.  and i'm not trying to call anybody out...but even he made a fair amount of mistakes.  so what is the sub here in chicago going to do?  he sat beside me during our 5-hour orchestra rehearsal on tuesday, will rehearse with sam and i tonight for an hour and watch the show live, then play it tomorrow!  unreal.  i already know he will mess up.  it's just a matter of how often.  hopefully, things'll go better than expected.  speaking of which, i need to shower and get to the theatre for said rehearsal now...

from strippers to earthquakes

so yes, it's been a while since i've updated.  let's get started.

milwaukee was the first city on tour that i had never visited.  it began a string of three cities i hadn't set foot in until now: milwaukee, minneapolis and chicago (where i am now).  the area right around the theater was pretty dead, but there were a few interesting highlights.  there is a really cool bar called the safe house that has its front in an alley, albeit a well-lit one.  a password is required in order to get in and if you don't know it (thankfully, one of the locals working on the show told me), you are subjected to embarrassing...uh, shall we say, "feats of strength"...in order to get in.  the bar itself used to be a safe house back in the prohibition era.  it's loaded with many cool artifacts and booby traps, including a secret passageway that takes you down into some of the actual tunnels that were used decades ago.  i won't give away any more, but if you're ever in milwaukee, check it out at the corner of front and wells.

4-dollar bratwursts, 2-for-1 beer specials all day, every day...milwaukee had a pretty decent bar scene.  and you know that people in wisconsin love their beer.  and their beloved packers.  being in wisconsin during the packers game was pretty sweet.  i was at a buffalo wild wings for a couple quarters of their game against the cardinals, and the place was absolutely electric.  sadly, i had to go play a show before the conclusion of the game - which could have been a blessing in disguise.  as loudly as people cheered for green bay touchdowns, i wouldn't have been surprised if they started torching the place when karlos dansby ran that aaron rodgers fumble back for the game winning td.  but overall, milwaukee wasn't that bad - but minneapolis was better.

i was pleasantly surprised by how cool minny is.  we were playing at the orpheum, which isn't far from the metrodome and target center downtown.  the theatre was nice, the band was better than the mediocre players we had in milwaukee, and downtown actually had a vibe that milwaukee didn't.  i went to hell's kitchen, a restaurant that was recommended to me, for breakfast and was blown away.  i normally don't spend 23 bucks on the first meal of the day, but i'd do it again at hell's kitchen in a heartbeat.  heaping plate of eggs, hashbrowns, black beans, sour cream, cheese and salsa for only 10 bucks (http://www.flickr.com/photos/21151899@N03/4109686604/in/pool-996578@N20) and...ahem, an 8.50 mimosa, lol.  minneapolis is the headquarters of target, so i had to go to this huge target a few blocks from the hotel.  i was also really impressed by the architecture of the city that featured multiple skywalks, keeping people out of the brutal cold.  last week was actually balmy by minneapolis standards (highs in the 30s, lows around 20).

quick minny highlights.  1) half of us stayed at a doubletree, the other half at a radisson.  kinda wish i had stayed at the radisson, because saturday night, a lot of the cast/crew told the rest of us that the dallas cowboys were staying there.  they proceeded to get trounced at the hands of the minnesota vikings, 34-3, the following afternoon.  music to a redskin fan's ears.  2) dave, our guitarist, and i have continued to play late-night xbox.  he's got multiple friends around the world that he plays with on xbox live.  turns out that one of them lives in minny.  both she (ann) and dave are gay, so they went out several nights during the week to gay clubs and drag shows around the city - much to their delight.  on sat night, they took it easy, came back to his room - dave invited people over, and we all played a little left for dead.  good times.  3) saved the best for our last night, sunday.  went to bunker's - a live music bar.  great r&b band there, including a couple of guys from prince's band back in the day.  really good music, lots of fun.  but after getting a little tipsy, we (a large group of about 20 cast and crew) decided to hop in cabs and go to perkins.  i've never been, but it's kinda like ihop.  24 hours, breakfast served all day, and apparently, they're all over the country.  but it was my first time.  and wow.  i don't think i've seen so many strippers in one place.  well, outside of a strip club.  can you imagine the conversation between a guy and the hooker he picked up?

guy: come on baby, let's go back to my place.
girl: i'm hungry, let's get something to eat first.
guy: well, i've got something for you to eat.
girl: oh come on, don't be in such a rush.  what's another 10 bucks?  you're already paying me 500 tonight anyway.  let's go to perkins - i hear they have a really good steak and eggs combo.

unreal, right?  insane atmosphere, but the food was good and so was, um, the eye candy.  our group had a blast, and it was truly the first time a group of us that size (around 20) hung out outside of the theater.  hopefully, that's a great sign as the tour progresses.

got to chicago yesterday evening.  long time ago, playing some boring, non-sexual drinking game, i had to come up with a list of 3 us cities that i wanted to visit but never have.  in no particular order - chicago, san fran, miami.  this was the first city on tour that i was truly excited to see.  it feels like i'm back in a real city.  you know, skyscrapers, the rattling of the L, hotel near the famed riverwalk, theatre actually within a sizable theatre district.  has an air of nyc that i haven't felt since leaving it behind last month.  SO excited to be here for 2 weeks, and i can't wait to talk to andrew to get the lowdown on cool places i should see.  i just completed a task that i'm really proud of.  not trying to toot my own horn or anything...well, maybe a little.  i decided a few days ago that it would be heartwarming to collect money on behalf of the entire company and send the donation to haiti.  i collected money over the weekend in minneapolis and just made the donation here in the windy city.  proud to say that we collected just over $1,600.

ok, that's it for now.  gotta run off to do a sound check in preparation for our opening night show at the cadillac palace theatre tonight!

my first juicy post

i'll try to explain this in a way that even non-musicians will clearly understand.  imagine you're about to play the english horn.  you have a six-note phrase that is coming up in measure 73.  measure 73 comes and goes, and there is orchestral silence in measures 74 and 75 where one of the actors dramatically sings a cappella.  the conductor whispers to you in that silence that you missed your entrance.  in fact, the exact words were: "you missed it.  that was you."  what would you do next?

A) stare straight ahead silently, as if a virus had suddenly rendered you motionless
B) hang your head in shame and apologize to the conductor, vowing that you will not miss it the following night
C) attempt to play the six-note phrase in the silence of measures 74 and 75

hopefully, most of you chose B, but a handful of you jokingly chose A.  well, you're all wrong, because C is what happened.  at what point the conductor furiously cut him off before cueing me to come in with the singer in measure 76.  none of us could believe it.  unreal.

well, that was friday night.  saturday night was even more unreal, but for totally different reasons.  i won't spill exact details, simply because some of you haven't seen the show yet, and i don't want to reveal too much before i get to your city.  but during "one night only," let's just say that there was a technical malfunction that caused a truss nut and some bolts to fall out of the sky.  with actors onstage performing.  for everyone's safety, we had to stop the show and gave the crew some time to attempt to remedy the situation.  after a few minutes, they realized they couldn't - so after about a half-hour pause, we did the last 20 minutes of the show, brechtian-style.  lighting, sound, orchestra and costumes told the story.  no set pieces.  thankfully, the vast majority of the audience stayed and gave us a standing ovation at show's end.  scary situation with light fixtures dangerously swaying over my head while i was playing.  the band kept playing for several dozen measures after the incident.  you know, they always say that the show must go on.  and ours did, only after that 30-min delay.  the best part is that we're only under contract until 11 (i.e., at most, a 3-hour show).  the show typically ends around 10:45, but since we went past 11, we'll all be getting some OT.  can't wait to see that on my next check.

the problem was fixed, and we had two run-of-the-mill shows to close out pittsburgh on sunday.  pittsburgh resident and dear friend, the great michael mitnick and his sister, jenny, were in attendance at the matinee.  it was good to catch up with mike for a bit - he was home on winter break from new haven.  i can't believe he's only a few months from finishing up his graduate program at yale.  the world had better watch out, especially new york.  i can feel there are great things in store for him once he transitions down to nyc this summer.  for those of you who don't know, mike is a musical genius who will simply take new york by storm.  speaking of storms...our trip from pittsburgh to milwaukee encountered an unusual type of storm.  the few inches of snow pittsburgh got over the weekend was not the problem.  in fact, our flight from pittsburgh to midway and subsequent bus to milwaukee was flawless.  the issue arose when one of the two buses that took us from the hotel to the airport decided to break down.  because the bus driver stupidly didn't check the oil level.  so since we all travel together, the one good bus (the one i was on) couldn't leave the other one behind.  company management called a third bus, which arrived quickly enough, but that made for a harrowing race against the clock once we did get to the airport.  security was among the swiftest i've ever seen, so we did make it to the gate with a few minutes to spare.  which was JUST long enough for a few of us to have a pre-noon mimosa at the bar.

milwaukee = dead after 7pm - according to one of our hotel concierges.  at least in the area right around the theater and hotel.  good thing we're only here for a week, and then it's on to even colder minneapolis.  go jackets tomorrow night in the orange bowl!

so...this is probably a mistake...

...but, here we are anyway.  it's 5:30am on new year's morning.  i'll say no more.

our last few shows in baltimore were great.  i had friends/family present on multiple occasions - ranging from harvard friends to an ex-girlfriend's parents (whom i still love dearly and think of as family...and not only because they bake me cookies for the road =)).  but nothing could eclipse last sunday afternoon, when my mom, grandma, an aunt and one of her friends came.  they really enjoyed the show and were happy to see me on stage, bopping around in my wig.  my mom is the bestest ever, and i love her to life.  i was really touched by how much she loved the show, regardless of the fact that i was in it.  despite not knowing the next time she was going to see me, she was genuinely happy for me and the life that lay ahead of me over the next several months.  could anyone have a more loving and supportive parent?  not at all.

i love you, mom...and always will.

pittsburgh has been pretty frickin' awesome so far.  we're at the renaissance hotel at 107 sixth avenue, which overlooks the clemente bridge.  it just so happens that this bridge leads directly to pnc park and looks onto heinz field.  some of you know that i made my first trip to pittsburgh a few short months ago.  evan hepler-smith's parents were so generous to house several drunken twenty-somethings for an august weekend, as we explored local pittsburgh landmarks.  and by landmarks, i obviously mean kennywood and tiki lounge.  it's been a great return to the 'burgh, and i'm really looking forward to our last few days here.

well, being the budding meteorologist that i am, i have to say that i'm loving pittsburgh's weather.  snow and single-digit wind chills upon our arrival on monday, only to find temperatures well above freezing today.  and oh right, there is a very high probability of several inches of snow this weekend.  i love it.  the audiences here have been even drier, on average, than in b'more...but hey, what more can one expect than a standing ovation at show's end?  i was pleasantly surprised by the effort the city puts into new year's.  the street right in front of the theatre was closed to vendors all day and overall, the masses really came out to bring on the new decade.  we had a pretty slammin' party in our own right at the hotel.  tons of pizza and wings, swarmed by even more of the good schtuff.  if you have found yourself in the fortunate situation that you have seen the members of the cast...well, suffice it to say that they're all smokin' and even more so on new year's.  if you want to see their headshots, along with our tour schedule, go to dreamgirlsonstage.com.  whatever you do, don't accidentally go to dreamgirls.com.  and naturally, since i only found out last night where dreamgirls.com leads you, i thought a few of you would get a kick out of the end result...

so yeah, i love the show.  i love the cast.  i even think that the pittsburgh band is pretty good.  if you're reading this, i care quite deeply (to those in the dorm room, TWSS) about you.  even after several shots of grey goose, i wish all of you the happiest year possible in 2010.  personally, i'm going to watch the back of my eyelids until deep into the afternoon (we only have a show at 8pm).  but as for your endeavors in the new year and decade, i hope you accomplish all of them and transcend your goals at an unimaginable level.

this is my first blog, so i hope i update it more frequently in 2010 than i did in 2009.  i guess i can't get any worse at it...right, ajl?  much love, and i'll talk to you quite soon into the new year!