Providence

Well, I am now in Detroit spending some time with my wife after a wonderful weekend in Providence, RI.  The weather there was great and the city is really wonderful.  Very beautiful and some great places to eat.  This is another of those places I will have to return to in order to see more of it as there just wasn't enough time to take it in.

Thursday night most of the company went to the Circus.  It was a lot of fun and was good to do something with each other just for fun.  Thanks to Bill for getting us the discount and arranging it all.

I had another of those moments when I am reminded why I continue to do this crazy thing we call touring.  After the show on Friday a mom brought her daughter over to meet me.  "She just wanted to meet Daddy Warbucks" the mom told me.  I signed her program book and had my picture taken with the little girl.  As I was getting up the girl grabbed my neck and gave me the biggest hug I had gotten in a long time.

In a world filled with so much darkness, despair and ugliness, it is an amazing thing to witness and be a a part of such unbridled joy and passion.  This little girl has inspired this actor and I know now that I will survive the final six weeks of tour with an improved attitude and a brighter demeanor.  My thanks go out to this little girl and her mom for being by "Annie" and filling me with joy, hope, and optimism.

Wonderful Night In Utica

We had a great opening tonight in Utica! The theatre here is beautiful! It was originally built in 1929. They ran out of money and let parts of it unfinished, such as the chandelier that was only a single bulb until the renovation last year. They spent 20 million dollars upgrading the theatre and remodeling it and it turned out amazingly well. The stage house is magnificent, the dressing rooms are wonderful and the house is beautiful. They also threw us a big after show party! It was the best this year so far and went a long way to lifting every ones spirits on the road.

We also got to see one of last years orphans who was at the show tonight. It was so good to see her and her mom. I continue to be amazed at how much these young ladies grow and mature in a year and at what beautiful and gracious young women they have become.

Needless to say, Utica is now one of my favorite stops on tour! Who ever said that Yankee's don't know how to be hospitable never visited Utica!

Utica, New York

Wow, times fly. I didn't realize it had been so long since I last posted. It has been a very busy week for us. We have traveled over 2000 miles since I last blogged and played in Fayetteville, NC, Shippingsburg, PA and Toledo, OH. It was a very difficult week with the travel over such long distances. With that travel stress was high. But as with most things we weathered the storm, did the show, and continue on the journey we know as "Annie."

A couple of revelations hit me this week. The first being that even as wonderful as performing professionally is we begin to take it and each other for granted. We all need to be reminded of our connectedness, of the fact that we all need each other and are all in this together. We need to be about encouraging each other every day.

Second, in Toledo I got a glimpse at how much this economic downturn is really effecting people. It is easy to dismiss when all you see is news of corporations and banks struggling. But when you see a little girl told by her mom that she can't have the "Sandy Dog" or the souvenir program because they "costs too much" you begin to realize that this recession isn't just about money and jobs, it is about people. Every person with the power to do something about this economy of ours should have to look into that little girls eyes and explain to her why they keep fighting with each other instead of working together to solve these problems. (Is that too political? Sorry.)

We are in Utica tonight where we have shows tomorrow and Wednesday. I took a walk through the downtown area and found it to be very quaint and interesting. It is odd to finally see a city that I have talked about for two years now.

We have a reception here tomorrow which should be fun. It is always nice to be treated to special events in the city's where we perform. It will also be nice to only have one bus trip this week!

Seven weeks of tour left and then it will be on to the next step on this journey. I can't wait!