Okay, I've failed!

I've officially failed my Wicked blog. Sorry to say it's been about six weeks since I created an entry. I guess I have a few excuses....we've had tons of rehearsals, I hiked the Grand Canyon, I still have my new puppy, etc, etc....yes all excuses ; ) But it's time to write again because a lot has happened! First, we ended an era at Wicked a few weeks ago when we said goodbye to our four witches (yes, our Glinda, Elphaba, Elphaba standby and Morrible). They had a great run all of them and I hope they will be off to wonderful and magical things. We've welcomed in wonderful new cast members in the last several weeks and that will continue as several people have turned in their notices. If you have a chance to see us in our next few cities, our new cast is wonderful! I think you'll love them all.

I sort of glazed over the "hiked the Grand Canyon" above, but yes, I really did do that from the top to the bottom and back out again all in two days. It was the most amazing thing I've ever done. I highly recommend it. But be sure to train for it and plan ahead. We've had reservations for over a year and it was worth the wait!!!

Zoey is growing nicely. She makes friends everywhere she goes. She's just kind of one of those dogs that everybody likes. She just always looks like she's smiling ; ) Well, maybe not so much in this picture. This is more the "I own this couch" look LOL

So what's next for the Wicked tour? We get a new Wizard soon. We also lose ensemble members Marcie Dodd (who is going to Los Angeles to play Nessa in the LA company), Christeena Riggs, Celisse Henderson (Shen Shen) and others soon to follow. I guess that is the revolving door of Wicked.

Thanks for patiently waiting for a blog entry! I'll try to be better : )

My gosh how time flies when your'e in Oz

First, I must apologize for the long delay in entries. I didn't every realize it had been this long and now that Zoey (my puppy) has become a part of my life, time is hard to come by. We have already had such wonderful adventures together! In fact, little did you know that my code name is actually MacGyver! Yep, I had to play MacGyver the other day when Zoey and I got locked up the roofdeck of the building I'm living in in Boston. Long story short....I was able to hail someone from the building next door, magically I found a roll of duct tape, tied the keys to the tape and lowered it down into his window. When he rescued us it felt like I was getting out of prison!!! LOL Anyway, Zoey and I are fine and she decided to chill a bit in the refrigerator.

On Tuesday of this week, I got to go on as Morrible again! That was a hoot and a surprise! Hopefully next time I will know ahead of time again so I can let you all know.

Also took my vacation to Hawaii....alas the photos

And Boston rocks!

All good out here on tour

Meet My New Dog Zoey

With so many dogs on tour, I finally succumbed to my desire to have my own. On Monday I flew to North Carolina to meet the breeder of my new puppy and was delighted to find this little pup available! Meet Zoey...the new love of my life. I don't have her in my little hands yet, but she will be mine in September. I must warn you that this blog may become a momma's bragging ground soon, because well, my little puppy is of course perfect in every way. More soon.

What We Do On The Road

I get a lot of question about what we do on the road as we travel around the country. Of course it's fun to explore each city you go to and there are always great things to see and do. But to fill idle time (like between scenes in the show) or between shows on a double show day, I've taken up Oragami...well, "Bugagami" to be precise. I like to to make bugs. This was a delightful gift from my boyfriend who knows how much I love bugs. At first, I couldn't make a single thing. i didn't understand the folds and was known to throw many unfinished Bugagami attempts at the wall, screaming loudly "This is stupid!" LOL

But alas, I've been able to create some very simple bugs and critters for your enjoyment.

Here is a snake, a tadpole (?), a grasshopper (with no head cuz I couldn't do that fold correctly) and a cicada (whatever that is). I'm sad to say these are my best works...it's a good thing I have talent in other areas cuz I don't think you're gonna see me at the International Oragami Festival LOL But what I have learned by doing Bugagami is the true genius it takes to actually COME UP WITH THESE DESIGNS. It's hard enough to follow the instructions. But, to think that someone had to design it first it truly amazing. All of these were made with a simple 5 x 5 piece of paper. Pretty cool.

My Stint As Madame Morrible

Well after nearly seven months, I FINALLY got my chance to perform Madame Morrible on Saturday, August 4 for both shows. I must admit, I couldnt' have asked for a better theatre and better timing! The shows went off without a hitch....well an interesting sound hitch happened on my first entrance where I say "And whether you are here to study Law, Logic or Linguification" ON the word Linguification the sound screeched louder than you could ever imagined. We laughed about it off stage and I joked that the line should have said "Law, Logic or Amplification!" Other than that it was a blast. The company was beyond supportive and so happy for me that I finally got to go on. I hope there will be many more in the future. I'll keep you posted. Thanks also to all the fans who were so supportive of me!

Other news...Philadelphia is a great city! They've grown since the last time i was here. It's almost like a small, more close-knit New York. People are friendly and there are some great restaurants. I'm glad we're there for several more weeks to really take in the city! Be sure to the Duck Tour if you come here. It's great fun and lots of history. Enjoy the photos!

iPhone Saves The Day and Morrible Dates

I'm sure you're sick of hearing about the iPhone. And I was already in love with it ever since I've had it in my hands. But this week, it proved its $599 price tag and then some. Here's the scenario....

We were in route from Columbus to East Lansing, a short 3 1/2 (or so) drive, so the company bused us instead of our usual flying. What a perfect time to utilize my iPhone...all of it. I was literally usuing every function on the iPhone all at once. 1) I was listening to my ipod function 2) I was paying my bills on line 3) taking phone calls when they came in (which, by the way, the ipod fades in volumne when you pick up the call and then goes up to full volume and starts where the song left off when you finish your call...way cool) 4) sending text messages to freind, 5) in general, having a grand old time until suddenly I realized the bus was jumping around a lot. When I looked up, I realized we were on a country one-way dirt road in this huge tour bus in the middle of farms and cattle...in other words...the middle of NO WHERE!

"Where are we?" I questioned.

"Well, the GPS says this is the shortest route," says the bus driver.

"To where? China?" I said. (Okay, so I didn't really SAY that, but I thought it as I gave a questioning glance to the company manager.

So I whipped out...guess what...my iPhone.

"Wow, you have an iPhone already?!" said my company manager. Clearly, he had not been paying attention for the past two weeks when i was touting it to everyone in the company LOL

Anyway...I went to the map function to punch in a street name (which of course there were none since we were literally in the middle of no where!) But finally a tiny little street call Arkon had a sign. No joke, I typed it into the maps and it found where we were and it gave us explicit directions to get back to the highway. When I showed our Company Manager he was thrilled and told the bus driver, who insisted that her GPS was showing a different route and that it was probably better to stay on her route, at which time the company manager stepped in and said, "no, hers take us right where we're going."

So sure enough, the iPhone saved the day. We got to our destination (after an almost 6 hour bus ride) and not once did I lose battery power or a wireless signal. Crazy! The iPhone and ATT were life savers.

NEXT: I've finally going on as Madame Morrible. I'll be performing the role for both shows on Saturday, August 4 in Philadelphia! Hope you can make it.

ALSO: Just FYI, I'll be on vacation Sept 3-10, so you'll miss me in the show if you come during that week.

We'll chat soon ; )

The Quest for the IPhone is Complete!

Ahhhhh sweet success! I am now the proud owner of the new IPhone. I got it on the first day, waiting in line with all the other iphone fanatics and it was a blast! Thursday night after the show I drove to the Mac store to see if people were waiting outside overnight. Luckily, the store was not allowing it so I didn't have to do that. The next morning at got there at 10 a.m. and there were already 45 people waiting. They had been there since 6 a.m. (and this is in Columbus, OH!) At 12:30 my friend came and replaced me in line while I rushed back to rehearsal. When I returned, there was only an hour wait left and the guys on either side of me and my friend hit it off so well, they let my friend Eric stay in the line and get his own iphone too. These are my iphone friends: David, Eric and Paul! Woo hoo! At 6 p.m. Eric's girlfriend called and said that she had just seen the two of us on the news. Yippee...we're famous! I owned an iphone by 6:15 p.m. Friday night, then rushed back just in time to do the show. I left my phone at home so I could do the unveiling when I returned back in the quiet of my hotel room.

But alas....the road was not a smooth one. Despite all the prepping I did, it appeared I indeed did NOT have the right operating system for the iphone (for those of you mac enthusiasts, you MUST have 10.4.10 for the iphone to run.) The phone activates directly through itunes. So without the right operating system, no iphone. So I had to be patient overnight which was okay since I had played poker until 3:30 a.m. the night before (won $85) so sleeping was welcome. I rushed to the mac store the next morning to get the upgrade and as they were loading it, they found a glitch in my computer (all of this, mind you, before the iphone was ever plugged into my computer). It took several hours for the them to fix my computer, so I had to get back to the matinee. I was BUMMED to say the least. My friends from iphone line were already texting me on their new iphone and I had SQUAT

But alas, 5:30 p.m. came and I dashed back to the mac store between shows. They set me up, fixed my computer and helped me activate my iphone and then, low and behold...angels sang!!!

This is the coolest, most technolgically advanced machine I've ever seen. It is worth the hype and beyond. They have thought of everything. It works perfectly. My email (all of my accounts) loaded with complete ease. The interenet and WiFi is fast and wonderful and the clarity of photos is incredible.

I say, rush right out and get one. you'll love it. And of course there are plenty left to by. I didn't NEED to be there at 10 a.m. and wait in line for all those hours....but I'm sure glad I did. It was fun to be a part of something amazing. You can even view this blog on your iphone.

Thanks for doing the happy dance for me

Woo hoo