Final Friday

Today was our last Friday on tour. Every day from here on out will be a Final day but today was special. We had our final sound check in our final venue, which is amazing by the way. The Performing Arts Center in Tampa is beautiful and BIG. The audience tonight was amazing as well and really enjoyed tonight's performance. They came in droves after the show to stand in line and get autographs. It was heartwarming and overwhelming and a little sad. I also did my final pre-show meet-and-greet tonight with a group of young Lady's and their families. The girls have been attending a six week camp sponsored by a group from the NFL that was performance based. They had a lot of really good questions and some really cute ones as well. They also did a performance for me of a song they had written to JZ's version of "Hard Knock Life." It was adorable. Afterward they all asked me to sign their camp T-shirts. This is another night I will never forget.

After the show we had our final cast party with really good food and lots of good conversation. I have learned over the years to protect myself from my own depression by not getting too close to people, especially those that come into my life for only a short time. It started as teacher when I would get so close to my students that I would be devastated when they graduated or moved. I learned to keep a "professional" distance. I have applied that on the road for the most part as well. I know that sometimes it makes me appear aloof or arrogant or stuck-up. The truth is that I care so much about these people and they mean so much to me that if I were to show that or share it I would lose all control and make a fool of myself. So, to all my "Annie" family, I love you dearly and will miss you more than you can imagine. You have all played a major role in making my "dream" come true. To those that won't be coming back next year, thanks for a great year and may all your dreams come true. To those that will be joining me for "Annie" again come November, I look forward to continuing living the "Dream" with all of you.

The sun will come out tomorrow and we will have four more "final" performances to do. I look forward to each and every moment on stage and also look forward to Monday, when I will get to go HOME. Life on the road is a great adventure and tons of fun, but there truly is "no place like home."

Final Golden Today

Yesterday we arrived in beautiful downtown Tampa, FL. Today we had our final Golden Day. That is the rare true day off where we don't have to travel or do a show. I spent the day walking around downtown, went to the aquarium which was nice but not as good as the one in Baltimore, or at least I thought so, and had dinner with a few friends at a place called Stumps where I had a really good BBQ Salmon.

The weather here has been fantastic. While a little warmer than we are used to (only two weeks ago we were up north wearing light jackets) it is not overwhelming. Tomorrow I may try and do some shopping, though I really don't need anything. It would just be a way to pass the time. I may go see a movie though there isn't really anything out that I am just dying to see. That is the hardest part of tour is dealing with the boredom.

Tomorrow night we have a show and then our final cast party where I suppose we will begin our goodbyes although we will still have two days of work to do. Should be a fun time anyway. Saturday and Sunday we have two shows each day and then Monday I fly home arriving in Nashville before noon!

The Final Week

We are now in our final week of the 2008-2009 Annie National Tour.

Bartlesville, OK and Austin, TX went well.  I stayed at my brother John's apartment in Austin which was great.  Not only did I save $80 a night on a hotel but I was able to spend some great time with my brother and have a little quiet time away from the Annie family.  It is always good to find some time to yourself and rest and recover from the pressure of always being "on."

Austin, is a great city.  If you have never been, I highly suggest adding it to your list of must see places in the USA.  We played at Bass Hall on the University of Texas campus.  The show went well and was well received.

Monday we had the day off so I drove up to Archer City and spent the afternoon with my parents and visited my Grandmother.  It was good to see Mom and Dad and spend some time with them.  It is too bad we don't realize when we are young and living at home how much our parents mean to us.  I think of those hours I spent doing silly things when I could have been spending time with Mom and Dad.  Now, I will drive 5 hours to send 5 hours just sitting and talking with them.  It was a very special day.  And of course seeing my 92 year old Grandmother is always a joy.  You would never know your age by simply looking at her.  She is an amazing woman and continually inspires me to do my best in all I do.  My Dad is and always has been my hero.  While not a perfect man, he is a loving and compassionate man, and will do anything for anyone.  The way in which he cares for my mother is saintly and Divine.  My mom has always inspired me to love others with all my soul.  She is the most loving person I have ever known.  Even now, in the midst of her horrible illness I look into her eyes and see the face of God.  She is truly a living angel.

Today was our last travel day on the bus!  We have driven over 36,000 miles these past eight months.  That is roughly 600 hours of driving not counting rest and lunch stops.  If you add those in we have spent 30 nights and days on the bus!  This is one part of tour I wont miss.

We performed in McAllen, Texas tonight.  It was a typical early summer day here.  It reminded me of my childhood and youth growing up in Texas.  I laid outside before the show in the shade enjoying the dry warmth of the late afternoon.  Many a day as a kid, my brother and sister and I would sit under the shade trees in the afternoon playing and relaxing.  There is nothing like it.

Tomorrow is our final travel day as we fly to Tampa, FL where we finish our tour.  Only 5 more days to go and then I will be headed for HOME!

Two More Weeks

Well, we have finished another week on tour on the road with "Annie."  This past week we played in Reading, PA, Wilkes-Barre, PA, and Baltimore, MD.  It was a good week but the best part is it puts us one week closer to being done with this leg of the tour.

Reading was OK but not one of my favorite places as the area is a little rundown.  It is one of those smaller older cities that has fallen on hard times and is struggling to maintain itself.  The people there were great though and we had a good show.

Wilkes-Barre was much the same and we were only there for a few hours so we didn't really get a chance to experience the city.  They were doing some major improvements to the river walk area and I know that it will be beautiful when completed.

Baltimore, which is home to NetWorks, Inc., the company that produces "Annie" was a lot of fun.  We were playing a the Hippodrome which is a beautiful old theatre and stayed with in a few blocks of the Inner Harbor which is a great area with lots of shops and restaurants and things to do including a wonderful aquarium (Alayna and I went on Monday and had a great time, especially at the Dolphin show).  Several special things happened in Baltimore.  First, we got to meet some of the folks who will be joining us for next years tour.  Three of our current company members are moving on to other projects.  They seem to be very nice, very young people.  One of them went to school at OU with a former student of mine.  Small world, huh?  The other thing was that we had a special guests appearance by the host of "Ace of Cakes," a reality show on TV.  Chef Dunn and Mary Alice came on Saturday night and did a walk on bit in NYC.  They also had a cake of the "Annie" company that was really cool.  Evidently this was a huge deal as I have gotten more contacts about this than any other thing that has happened on tour.  Mary Alice came back to see the show Sunday night with her niece.  It was the nieces first experience with Annie and Mary Alice is apparently a huge fan of the show.  She and Chef are both great people and were a lot of fun. 

Of course we also had visits from lots of the "bosses" at networks.  Everyone seemed pleased with the show and had only good things to say.

Monday night we did a cabaret performance at an area club to raise money for BARCS, Baltimore Animal Rescue and Care Shelter.  Members of the Annie Family performed favorite numbers and we all had a good time sharing our unique talents with friends, family, and locals.  The best part is we raised $1,600 dollars for the shelter.

The best part of the week, however, was getting to see my oldest daughter Alayna, who now lives in NYC.  She is leaving in a few weeks to spend the summer in Oregon leading a Performing Arts Camp there.  She co-directs and choreographs and teaches as part of the program.  Alayna saw the show Sunday night and she and I hung out together on Monday.  

Today we are in Bartlesville, OK for a show tomorrow night before heading to Austin, TX for the weekend.  I am looking forward to being in my home state and spending some time with my brother, sister, mom, dad and rest of the family.  I don't get to see them enough so this well be a welcome treat.

We now have 12 days and 12 performances left before the end of the 2008-2009 Annie, National Tour.  But who is counting