San Jose, CA

This past weekend in San Jose was quite eventful. Right by the theater we were playing at, there was a Christmas fair going on. Lots of rides and games and whatnot. Plus a lot of places to eat, which is always a good thing for travelers. It was a long weekend with double show days on both Saturday and Sunday. Sunday was our first day of call outs. Corey called in sick for Sunday, so our fantastic Matthew Myers took on the role of Judas. Matt did an outstanding job, receiving some of the biggest applause our cast has heard so far. Since Matt usually plays Simon, Phillip Armstrong (one of the magnificient apostles) stepped up to play Simon and sang his face off for his big solo number. It was an interesting experience having new blood in some of the major roles for the day, but definitely broke the routine down a little bit and gave some new life to the cast. After a 7 hour drive down the coast, we are now in San Diego and will be here until the 6th of January. Time for a long sit-down in a place where it's almost always 70 and sunny. Things could be worse :-) I'll try and do a few postings during our stay here just to stay current with you, my constant reader!

Redding, CA - Xmas Posting

After our drive on Christmas Eve from Seattle to Redding, CA (599 miles), everyone was pretty zonked. After a visit to Applebee's and Chevy's, we were pretty much ready to turn in for the night. Christmas Day was pretty uneventful for the most part since everything was closed for the day. That evening though, our Company Manager, Ray, was kind enough to organize a little party for our cast. A few of our illustrious cast members spent the day putting together a feast with the use of a microwave and pure ingenuity. I have to say it was quite well-accomplished. The cast rang in Xmas in proper style.
This evening, we hopped over to the convention center for a little performance time and the show was as well-received as one could hope for. The few days of rest did everyone a bit of good, and San Jose lies ahead of us, followed by San Diego. This will be a nice sit-down for the cast, and a good time to experience a little bit of the west coast without running around very much. Looking forward to warmer weather!!!

Seattle!

First off, this town is awesome. I think I would move here if I ever moved west permanently. Great city, and so far the crowds have been ridiculous (in a good way, of course). Teddy was feeling a bit under the weather yesterday, and almost had to call out for the matinee, but being the consumate performer, Ted made his best efforts and at the last minute, came to the theater in rockstar fashion and blew the show out of the water. Corey has received a lot of love from the audiences here as well, and well-deserved might I add. The theater here has the best sound we've experienced so far, adding to my personal enjoyment of our current stint.
The cast also closed out our Secret Santa extravaganza last night at our hotel, giving out the last of our gifts and revealing who we all were. The gifts ranged from liqour to magazine subscriptions and all were in good fun. One of our priests in the show (Thomas), et al., put together a journal of everyone's musings about Ted, for Ted, and it really came out quite well. It was a blast last night, so spirits are high, and the tour goes on!

Portland, OR

Just finished a stint in Portland, Oregon, a long week still ahead of us after 3 shows here. Two shows tomorrow in Seattle, then another matinee on Sunday before Christmas hits. Portland is an awesome city, a whole bunch of things to do here, not to mention getting my computer fixed at an Apple store. The theater here is quite fantastic, and it looks even better when our two evening shows were filled up to capacity. The cast is starting to feel the toll of the road, up at 5 or 6 in the morning the past few days and driving to the new city to perform that night. The road has it's ups and downs like most things in life. The group is still tight nit though, in it for the long haul. It's off to Seattle tomorrow. Hoping for no rain.....perhaps wishful thinking :-)

Kennewick and Bellingham

After a 12 hour bus ride across the border, we arrived in Spokane for the night and boy we needed it. I personally slept about 7 of those 12 hours, so the trip could have been worse :-) The next day, we drove to Kennewick and opened to 1500 people at another ice arena, the Toyota Center. A couple of famous hockey players have played there, so I was excited. The show was well-received, and most of the cast was finally able to get back on their cell phones and communicate with the world again. The next day, another 8 hour drive across the state to Bellingham, where last night we played in a vintage-style opera house. The audience was great and really responded to Corey, who has raised his game with every show. On a fun note, right outside the back of the theater, there was a mural on the brick wall of an adjacent building of Da Vinci's Last Supper. If you haven't seen the show yet, you'll understand how apropos that was when you do! The apostles, of course, took a picture in front of it.

Calgary, 2nd Day Update

I'll tell you what, there was some kind of crowd tonight for our last Canadian show until Toronto. The lights went to half and the audience was already cheering, and their energy never stopped. Ted delivered tonight on an unprecedented level, a Gethsemane that sounded like it was 1975. Next up, a 10 hour bus ride across the border....well, it can't all be glitz and glamour.

Calgary, AB

So, thank you to Alberta for being awesome for selling out the majority of our shows. Our first show in Calgary last night was great. The theater here is an exact replica of the one in Edmonton down to the last fire exit, and I have to say that being backstage was a little creepy. A very powerful sense of deja vu existed for all of us. We've got 2 shows today, one at 3pm and one at 7:30pm. Everyone's healthy and happy, and the hotel is beautiful. I have to say that Canada doesn't have much love for Macintosh. There isn't one Apple store outside of Ontario. What's up with that!!! Oh, and I'm down with Moxie's Steak House. Couple of fans spotted us at the resturaunt after the show last night and bought us a bottle of wine! First moment of rock-stardom for us tour-goers I'd say.