Logan, Utah and Sin City

This week has been filled with travel and adventure.  Monday we left Chicago and flew to Salt Lake City where our buses picked us up and took us to Logan, Utah.  Logan is a very pleasant community located in North Eastern Utah in valley between two mountain ranges.  It was of course cold while we were there but it was a very friendly town filled with great people and great food.  The presenter at the theatre fed the entire cast and crew before our shows while we were there and the performances were sold out!  All it all it was a great three days.  Thursday we drove to Las Vegas where we spend the afternoon and evening on our way to Costa Mesa, CA.  I have to say Las Vegas is one of my least favorite places thus far.  Everything about it screams self-indulgence and depravity.  There we people "selling" sex on every street corner, the casinos are filled with unhappy people recklessly spending money they often don't have, and the shows are way over priced.  This is not a place I would want to visit again.  Others, on the other hand, thought it was great and had an amazing time.  Each to his own I suppose.

Today we arrived in Sunny California.  The theatre here is wonderful, large and beautiful and the hotel is nice.  The people have been great and tonights audience was excellent.  We are looking forward to a great couple of weeks in the warmth and sun after what seems like an eternity in cold and snow.

More tomorrow along with pictures.  Hope you all have a fantastic weekend!

Atlanta, HOME and Chicago

 Well, since I last talked to you all I have been in Atlanta and traveled through Tennessee on my way to Chicago! Atlanta was a lot of fun.  the 24 local orphans did a great job and the audiences there really enjoyed the show.  Sunday's final performance was UNBELIEVABLE!  It was a near capacity crowd in a theatre that seats 4,500 and they were loud and attentive.  I have never experienced anything quite like that as an actor.  It is one of those moments that I will remember for the rest of my life.  My thanks to whomever it was that arranged for over 1,600 high school and middle school students in town for a theater convention to be at that performance.  It was like being a Rock Star.  They cheered after every number and only go louder and more attentive as the night went on.  And to top it all off my daughter Ashlea and her friend Carolyn were in the audience and got to be a part of this special night.

After the show the three of us drove home to Hendersonville where I got to spend the night in my own bed.  The next day, Cay and I drove to Chicago where we have been performing at the Auditorium Theatre all week.  It is the oldest theatre in Chicago and is amazingly beautiful.  Everyone here has been so friendly and we have had a great time.

Chicago is a huge theatre city.  They have over 200 theatres in Chicago and they really love their theatre.  This also means we have been visited by several critics and reviewed in nearly 20 publications of one kind or another.  This had everyone associated with the show a little on edge as the future of this production and future productions is effected by what these critics have to say.  I can't tell you how great it was to get up Wednesday morning to overwhelmingly good reviews!  If you want to check out the reviews simply google search my name plus "Annie National Tour" plus Chicago.  You should have several popup.

It is fulfilling to have the critics say that you did a good job.  It is also very humbling and a little embarrassing actually.  We perform together as a company and no single performer could do their job effectively if everyone around them wasn't doing a great job as well.  So when I or Hannagin or Annie get good reviews it really is, in my opinion, a reflection on everyone involved with the show.  I work with an amazingly talented group of people, top to bottom.  They are the best and they are the reason "Annie" continues to be so successful.

Casper and Rushmore

Well, time has certainly gotten away from me.  I didn't realize how long it had been since I last posted here.

Over the past two weeks we have traveled through several of the states in the northern teer of our great land.  Our adventures have taken us to Casper, Wyoming, Billings, Montana, Rapid City and Sioux Falls, South Dakota.  I know many of you back home in Texas and Tennessee thought you were cold these past few weeks but that was nothing compared to the sub-zero temperatures up here.  It was painfully cold, to the point that you didn't dare even think about going outside of any extended amount of time.

All is well with the show as we continue to play to great audiences.  The highlight of the past couple of weeks for me was Rapid City, SD.  It is only a few miles from Mt. Rushmore which we all got to visit one late morning.  It was a beautiful day with lots of sunshine, even though it was well below freezing.  The mountain is amazing (although several in our group expected it to be bigger.  60' tall heads sound pretty big to me.)  We also got to see some of the mountain goats that roam the mountain which was neat.  As a history buff I loved every moment on the mountain.  Additionally, Rapid City calls itself the "City of Presidents."  On the street corners they have put up bronze statues of all the presidents.  The one on the corner of hotel was of JFK.

It as a great two weeks but it is good to be back in the South.  Today we are in Atlanta, GA where we opened at the Fox Theatre last night.  It is a beautiful theatre that must be seen in person to fully appreciate.  The big deal here is that we are hosting 24 local girls and walk-on orphans all week.  Our choreographer and dance captain have been working with them all week to put them in to a couple of scenes in the show and I have to say that they did a great job.

And the icing on the cake, I go to spend the evening with my wife, Cay.  It is always good to be with the family.

The entire company is really enjoying our hotel here.  We aren't supposed to say where we are staying while we are there, so I won't reveal that yet.  Next week when we are in Chicago I will let you know the name of the hotel.  Let me just say that I highly recommend it to anyone traveling in Atlanta and staying in the downtown/midtown area.  It is wonderful with a full kitchen and washer and dryer in almost every room.  And the staff here has been amazing.

Happy New Year from Tempe and Beyond

Happy New Year!

We had a great week in Tempe, AZ!  It was wonderful.  The weather was amazing with warm days and cool nights.  We actually we were able to walk around in t-shirts!  We had great audiences in Tempe.  They weren't really large but they really love the show.  New Year's Eve we went to one of the countries biggest block parties were over 100,000 people gathered for food, fun and more.  The headliners for the event were "The Doobie Brothers."  Those of you my age will remember them well.  The younger folks know their songs but probably not the original group.  They were wonderful and I had a blast spending the evening with a rather eclectic group of cast and crew.

Today we left the warmth of Arizona for the chill of Wyoming.  We are in Casper, Wyoming tonight and will perform here tomorrow.  It was a real shock to the body to change climates and altitudes so quickly but should be a lot of fun.  The best part of the day was the view of the Grand Canyon from the plane on the way here.  It was breathtaking. 

Being on tour can be a ton of fun.  It can also be incredibly difficult.  I was reminded this week of the importance of family and friends and how often we take their mere presence for granted.  If you haven't hugged your child, called you Dad, or told that special loved one you love them in a special way, please take the time to do that today.  You never know what tomorrow holds.

Pictures are from this past week.