Bruce Richardson Says

Taylor in Kansas City as Little House Closes

2010-07-02T11:45:00.000-07:00

They always say that nothing stays the same---you can’t go back. Granddaughter Taylor Bera might dispute that old adage.

She and her dad, Joe, went back to the Prairie last week after being away from Little House on the Prairie The Musical since early April and after talking with her, it sounds like she hadn’t missed a beat.

The cast and crew of Little House were in Kansas City for the closing performances of an odyssey that started when they all joined together to begin rehearsals in a 42nd Street hall last August.

I’m told that it was like Taylor had never left the play. She and her father ran into cast members almost immediately after checking in the hotel. I’m told by a reliable authority that her reunion went full steam ahead when she boarded the cast bus to go to the theater and they gave her a standing ovation. She was similarly welcomed backstage by the rest of the cast and crew.

The show was being performed at the Starlight Theater, an outdoor amphitheater that can seat in excess of 8,000 including lawn seats. Of course, since it is outdoors, it makes lighting and sound control more difficult and coupled with the summer heat, makes matinees for Broadway type shows nearly impossible. Daytime temperatures last week also stretched into the 100s.

This was the largest venue for Little House during its 28-city tour that began last September in Paper Mill in Millburn, NJ.

I’m told that the stage and backstage areas were enclosed during the day and fully air conditioned. Just before the opening act, they raise a huge “garage-like” door that opens the stage to theatergoers. The backstage area remains air conditioned during the show. I’ve included some pictures of the amphitheater area with the photo slide show attached:

http://www.kodakgallery.com/gallery/sharing/shareRedirectSwitchBoard.jsp?token=177395497803%3A867364169&sourceId=533754321803&cm_mmc=eMail-_-Share-_-Photos-_-Sharer

Shows start at 8 p.m. nightly, so some sunlight remains, which led one actor to comment that this is the first show where he needed to include sunscreen in his makeup kit.

Taylor got to be part of a final cast picture standing beside her buddy, Michael Boxleitner, Melissa Gilbert’s son. Michael, who attended school during the tour with Taylor, commented when seeing her that he thought she had grown even taller since he last saw her.

Starlight Theater and Swope Park, where the theater is located, had two hours of “western-type” events planned for early arrivers for every show.

All of the kids got to ride in horse drawn wagon “piloted” by Melissa Gilbert.

Taylor and Joe saw two shows while in Kansas City before heading back to New Jersey on Sunday so that Tay could join with big sister Maggie at the summer conservatory at Paper Mill on Monday.

Tay got to see her first show from the audience, but the real treat, I think, was to sit in the wings and watch from there one night. I’m told that one cast member tried to entice her to put on a bonnet and coat and join them onstage for the “church scene.” Of course, Taylor couldn’t –it would have violated Equity union rules but the “flip flops” on her feet, probably would have been a dead giveaway she didn’t belong in a prairie setting.

Taylor played in 210 of the show’s 288 regular shows plus a couple of weeks of preview performances before the show had its opening night.

Of course, Taylor’s trip wasn’t just about seeing the show. She got one last chance to bond with her “family” of nearly eight months.

On Saturday, she “bonded again” really well with the younger cast members and their family members when they went to the “Worlds of Fun” amusement park. There are lots of pictures of their adventures in the attached slide show –most of the photos are courtesy of our friends , the Enghs, parents of Kurt—who started with Little House when it was in its “infant stage” at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis a couple of years ago. Kurt completed his junior year in high school via computer while on the road and is looking forward to his senior year at home.

By coming home on Sunday, they missed the final show and the closing night party. Pictures the cast took and shared on Facebook show that a good time was had by all. Some male members of the cast celebrated by getting rid of their prairie-style haircuts by getting “buzzed.” I guess nearly a year of long hair was enough. I borrowed a couple of those pictures too.

It finally was the end of an idyllic adventure for Taylor (and her family). She logged about 23,000 air miles during her 20-stop segment of the tour. Too bad it wasn’t all on the same airline.

Off to the Prairie--One More Time

2010-06-25T08:41:00.000-07:00

Granddaughter Taylor Bera is headed back to the Prairie once again as she joins up with the cast of “Little House on the Prairie The Musical” —this time in Kansas City.

No, there wasn’t an urgent call saying they needed to her to retake the stage to reprise her role as Carrie or as Ruby, but for the next couple of days she’ll get to do something that she didn’t ever do in eight months as a member of the Little House cast, she’ll get to enjoy the show and cheer from a seat in the audience.

For 210 regular shows and countless rehearsals and previews, she was on onstage in costume alongside the cast.

Taylor and her father, Joe, left this morning for Kansas City to meet and party a bit with the Little House cast in Kansas City as the final performances of the musical’s national tour are held in the outdoor Starlight Theater. It closes on Sunday.

My reason for this blog is to let Taylor’s fans know that there’ll be one more report from the Prairie next week after Taylor returns and before she and sister, Maggie, head off to the Paper Mill’s summer conservatory program in New Jersey.

I’ll be interviewing her about her experiences with her friends and their memories of her time on the prairie with the cast of Little House. She says that she and father Joe will be taking lots of pictures in Kansas City.

The Last Week with Little House

2010-04-20T13:14:00.000-07:00

I’ve spent the last week trying to think of a word to describe the experiences that granddaughter Taylor Bera had during her eight months surrounded by the folks from the “Little House on the Prairie The Musical.” I thought it should be something spectacular like “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious” but then even that word is not appropriate.

The word sounds spectacular but according to the Disney film in 1964 it means "something to say when you have nothing to say". That doesn’t apply here.

That’s certainly not the case for Taylor’s adventures since last August when she walked into a practice room on 42nd Street in New York City and met the director and the cast for the first time.

I’ve been fortunate to be able to be a part of this adventure that took us all over the country from Tempe in southwest Arizona to across the northeast border to Toronto. Helen was also able to make about two and a half months of the tour too.

I feel compelled to recap it all but that’s something for a later time particularly since I’ve been writing a regular blog about our adventures along the way. For me, this is blog #20 and I’ll focus on our last stop on the tour in Spokane, WA—which followed a 10-day break at home for the holidays.

As usual, getting there was another adventure---nothing is simple when you’re going from the EDT to PDT in a day. Our flight from JFK seemed simple, 4 ½ hours to Salt Lake City then a short 1 ½ hour hop to Spokane. The plane was we’d be in Spokane about 8:30pm local time.

Unfortunately, the plane to carry a major section of the play’s cast and crew started its day in Denver and some foreign diplomat (?) there apparently didn’t know you can’t smoke in the restroom on planes. So planes in and out of Denver and flights around the country were delayed, etc. Guess it wasn’t too serious an incident though because he was let go without charges. If it was you or I, we’d be doing “hard time” right now. Does seem fair!

Our connecting flight was 2 hours late and, of course, the 35-minute connecting window we had in SLC was gone. The plane left without us and we were prepared to spend the night at a hotel near the airport. The last plane to Spokane only had five seats left. We had our hotel vouchers and meal vouchers in hand when the “gods look down on us.”
Because of all the flight delays that day, 20 or so people who had been booked on that last flight could make their connections and our “stand-by ducats” were honored.

We arrived at the Spokane at 11pm local time tired but grateful we were there. Fortunately, we had a good selection of takeout restaurants that deliver to the hotels at that hour.

The pizza was good—of course, our only other food along the way came from a Cinnabon that I persuaded to stay open long enough to give us two before we hoped a flight in SLC. Oh, I forgot the couple of bags of pretzels who got as snacks.

Even though we were on a short week—only six performances instead of the normal eight—school was still on Taylor’s schedule and noon came quickly the next day after a our long travel day.

Taylor was up to the task and even arrived a little early for her last week with tutor Carolyn Dunning and fellow original cast member, Michael Boxleitner. Two new members of the LHOTP cast-Anastasia Korbal and Camille Mancuso-had already joined the classroom at a tour stop in Appleton, WS, following a couple of weeks of practice to learn their show parts.

The four became close in their three weeks or so together and did have some good times besides those in school.

Spokane was a fun place for the kids and the “bigger kids” in the cast and crew and I include myself, and other guardians for kids on the tour. I have to say that Scott Engh, Bruce Boxleitner and I had some fun times too away from the hustle and bustle of the daily tour grind.

Us two Bruce’s got to sit in the music pit for one of the shows just yards away from the Taylor and Michael performing on the stage above us. I’ve done it before a few times but it was a first for Michael’s father. For those of you who don’t know by now, Michael is Melissa Gilbert’s son and Bruce is the one who has appeared in many TV series and movies. His newest film will be out in December—Tron Legacy—the 3D update of the movie from the 80s that he made with Jeff Bridges.

It was kinda fun to be around someone who shares my same first name---not many Bruces around anymore—although it was confusing at time when someone called out for one of us—we both answered.

Little House played before enthusiastic crowds at the INB Performing Arts Center, a great venue that was built for the Spokane World’s Fair in 1974. It used to known as the Spokane Opera House before the city’s Public Facilities District partnered with Inland Northwest Bank to do some remodeling of the 2,700 seat facility.

It was hard for Taylor and me to say goodbye for now to the cast and crew members we grew to be good friends with during the months of being on the road together.

They gave Taylor a rousing sendoff on the night of her final performance as Ruby. It was show #210. That counts the regular performances at Paper Mill in Millburn, NJ, in September. The first performance on the real road was #24 in St. Paul, MN, on October 13.

The kids in the cast—including 17-year-old Kurt Engh, who does his school work through the Minnesota online school facility—put together a montage of photos from her time on tour. Just about everyone in the cast and crew is pictured at various times with Taylor. There’s quite a bit of change in all of the “kids” in the cast over the eight month period.

Melissa Gilbert, “Ma” in the show wasn’t in Spokane because of her injured back required some repair, but she sent along a package of gifts with Michael, who gave them to Taylor. So between the gold Dolce & Gabanna dress that she got from her Secret Santa (Melissa) at Christmas while we were in Denver and the collection of gifts from Kitsons of LA, Taylor is pretty well decked out.

All of those gifts are pretty but I know that Taylor will also have some special memories of being able to work so closely and dance with the original Laura of TV’s “Little House on the Prairie” along with the rest of the superb cast.

I won’t try to list everyone who has been special to Taylor during the tour but I hope the attached picture collection from our time in Spokane will include everyone. I know that one picture includes almost everyone when we climbed into the monster Radio Flyer Wagon that sits in Riverfront Park next to the INB PAC.

Check out these picures from our time in Spokane:

http://www.kodakgallery.com/gallery/creativeapps/slideShow/Main.jsp?token=477883735803%3A213505603&sourceId=533754321803&cm_mmc=eMail-_-Share-_-Photos-_-Sharee

The last week had some sad times because it was the last on the tour, but there were plenty of fun ones too. We got to attend a performance of “Walking with Dinosaurs” at the Spokane Arena which tells the story of 200 million years when dinosaurs inhabited the earth. They tell the story using 15 life-size dinosaurs created through the magic of technology. I’m told that this show will be at Madison Square Garden in July. It was based on a BBC television series.

The kids also got to ride a 100-year-old carousel that features one of only three “creeping tigers” ever carved for use on a carousel. The other two are in private collections. We all tried our hand at plucking a colored ring from the holder as we made each revolution on the carousel. The kids were much better than me in this task. Guess it was because their hands are smaller.

Everyone got to feed trash to the resident goat in the park—this one is a mechanical tin creature connected to a trash compactor that sucks up anything put near its mouth.

Overall it was a great experience but an end has to come to even a “great experience.” I guess those two simple words pretty much sums it up pretty well.

Taylor's Odyssey Has One More Stop

2010-04-04T17:43:00.000-07:00

Granddaughter Taylor Bera’s odyssey, which started in August last year when she walked into a rehearsal hall in New York City, is near an end. She joins the cast of “Little House on the Prairie The Musical” for one last trip on the trail this week.

But first, she gets an answer to the question that she asked her stage parents when playing the littlest Ingalls sister Carrie. Nightly, before the family packed up the wagon train and started their trek, Carrie asked them, “Where is West?”

On Wednesday, we’ll head almost as far Northwest as the continental United States allows, when we go to Spokane, WA, for six shows.

Then we’ll head back to New Jersey and Taylor will return to family and friends and local activities. Who would have thought eight months ago that out “little” Taylor would have grown too tall to play the littlest Ingalls sister?

But it’s true! When she took the stage last week in Appleton, WI, she was nearly as tall as Laura, so it was time to move on even though the producers wanted her to complete the tour in her original role as Ruby and a member of the ensemble. But she was missed at home –eight months is a long time to be away-and her parents didn’t renew her contract.

It’s been a real trip though to get to this point and Little House’s time in Appleton was absolutely great for everyone including Helen and myself.

For those of you who don’t know, Appleton was the boyhood home of magician Harry Houdini then known as Ehrich Weiss. I didn’t know that even though I was a “boy magician” in my youth and dreamed at one time of doing the feats of magic that he and other famous magicians performed. His father was the local Rabbi before the family moved to Milwaukee and then New York City.

Taylor and her classmate, Michael Boxleitner, got to tour the Houdini museum while we were in Appleton as part of their schoolwork. Don’t know who had a better time—me or the kids or their tutor Carolyn Dunning! The kids got to try their hand at some of Houdini’s tricks and escapes including the straitjacket escape that Houdini made famous. Of course, this version used Velcro strips, so Michael had no trouble breaking free. Taylor tried to follow the instructions on how Houdini did it and but was not successful.

The exhibit is housed in Appleton’s History Museum At the Castle which includes exhibits about the works of Edna Ferber, a Pulitzer prize-winning author who grew up in the town and the infamous Sen. Joe McCarthy, who was also born and raised in Appleton. The city’s organized sports were also highlighted in an exhibit. A little known fact is that the Yankees’ current third baseman, Alex Rodriguez, didn’t sit out the 1994 strike—he played for the minor league Appleton Foxes. A portrait of him and a bat he broke while playing are on display in the Castle.

Downtown in Houdini Square is a plaque noting the night when Ehrich and his older brother “pranked” the town by unlocking all of the businesses on College Avenue, the main street in Appleton. The plaque didn’t note the punishment they received but I’m sure the business owners weren’t very happy with the youngsters.

The cast and crew also took a morning to work with the local Habitat for Humanity project. Habitat leaders this time took us to a ReStore outlet—something I had never heard of. ReStore is a retail outlet that accepts donations of new and gently used building materials, which are in turn sold to the public at greatly discounted prices. All of the profits then go to the local Habitat for Humanity’s effort to eliminate substandard housing.

At the Appleton ReStore location, we constructed the floors, walls and roof sections for sheds that will be sold to the public. We did this work inside because it was too cold and windy to work outside at a Habitat construction site where the shed would be built onsite.

Overall the weather in Appleton was much better than anticipated before we got there from the southern climate we had basked in Florida and North Carolina. We had to use winter wear for a couple of the days but the hotel where we stayed was right across the street from the Fox Cities Performing Arts Center where Little House played for the week to large and enthusiastic crowds.

The Arts Center is about 10 years old and was a “performer friendly environment” with large and spacious dressing rooms on the same level as the stage and permitted easy crossover between scenes for the cast. This is not something the cast has been able to enjoy at the other 19 stops so far on the tour.

All of the “kids”—old and young alike-- in the cast and crew got to partake in the indoor pool and hot tub that the hotel offered. The area included ping pong tables and a full workout area that was open all hours of the days and night. It was not something we’ve really had at any other stop.

Overall, Appleton gets an A+ as a tour stop in my book.

Photos from our time in Appleton can be found at:

http://www.kodakgallery.com/gallery/creativeapps/slideShow/Main.jsp?token=563815674803%3A348337530&sourceId=533754321803&cm_mmc=eMail-_-Share-_-Photos-_-Sharer

We’re now enjoying a 10-day break and as I noted earlier, we’ll pack up and head back to the prairie on Wednesday for one last set of performances. I know we’ll come back with lots of memories from the last eight months.

Taylor gets Support from Home

2010-03-24T07:21:00.000-07:00

I know that the cast of Little House on the Prairie The Musical” gets a lot of enjoyment out of making the audience happy when they attend one of their shows, but what makes a performer happy?

I’m not one of those who have ever been on the stage, so I can’t speak from experience, but I think when you’re a performer, it helps to have been supported in your role by loved ones.

I’m not talking about the kind of “groupies” who are fans of a rock group and usually follow the group around on concert tours or admirers of a celebrity who attend as many of his or her public appearances as possible.

Granddaughter Taylor Bera is lucky because her groupies aren’t the “store bought kind”—they’re her family.

When she took the stage last week in Raleigh, NC, in the regular role as Carrie, the littlest Ingalls sister, her groupies began their trek to the south to see her.

Dad Joe took a vacation week so he could see a full week of her performances and to give Helen and me a break from some of the guardianship duties we have enjoyed during the musical’s tour of the U.S. and Canada.

Mom Kelly and Taylor’s aunts, Terri and Carolyn, were there for a weekend of performances to cheer her on too. Of course, besides getting to be around Taylor for their times there, they also got to spent time with many of the cast members on an informal basis. That’s something few “groupies” ever get to do with the groups they support.

I won’t say which one really enjoyed being able to talk with the show’s Almanzo Wilder (Kevin Massey) while riding the hotel elevator with him one day, but it happened. He’s such a gracious guy and the girls think he’s good looking too. Besides that, he’s a great singer and actor.

I know that Taylor was really happy to see her parents and aunts---it’s been a long six months since she’s been home for any length of time.

However, Taylor’s journey to Raleigh was not without incident as I noted in my last blog. When I last wrote, we were forced into an overnighter in Fort Lauderdale, FL, en route from a week in Naples and I was up before dawn writing. I know there are those out there who will say that’s “really rough duty” being stuck in Florida where the temps were in the high 60s and low 70s, but we lost a whole day off in the process.

Theater-folk, and I have to include Helen and myself in that group along with Taylor, live for days off after a week of eight performances, so any disruption in their travel schedule regardless of the climate is hard to take.

Well, we did make our “rescheduled” flight on Tuesday from Fort Lauderdale to Tampa where we comfortably transferred to another flight scheduled for Raleigh. Everyone boarded the plane and sat back for the hour and a half flight north.

The ground crew was in process of getting ready to put our bags on the plane when someone in one of the crews ran into the plane with some heavy equipment and scratched it. Unlike your personal vehicle when someone bangs into it with a shopping cart, you can’t just holler at them and curse. The damage to the aircraft had to be formally accessed to insure it was still airworthy.

That process took nearly two hours; meanwhile we sat like captives on an airship in outer space. I have to say that the crew of the Southwest Airlines plane, including the pilot, made our wait somewhat entertaining. The best sight though was our female pilot out on the tarmac personally helping load our luggage on the plane after we got the go ahead.

We finally made it to the hotel in Raleigh with about an hour to spare before the sound check prelude to the evening’s performance.

Members of the orchestra, the sound and light crews and the rest of the backstage crew got to Raleigh ahead us after a night of driving from Florida. Their work was done too and the show was ready to roll.

Other than the start, we had a great week in Raleigh. The weather cooperated and the crowds for the show were receptive.

The opening night show at the Progress Energy Performing Arts Center had something for the younger members of the audience that I haven’t seen before—a pajama party. Kids showed up in pajamas and they enjoyed cookies and milk at intermission. The shows started at 8 p.m. each night, so I guess the Pajama Party facilitated getting them to bed quicker when the show let out at 10:30 p.m.

Little House cast members took part in a build at a Habitat for Humanity site in Raleigh. This one was a nearly completed and we got to do some of the exterior painting and interior work on kitchen cabinets. I got work with another guardian for a cast member on some exterior siding and I did tell the new homeowner that hope she would fondly remember “Little House” when she looks at one piece of the siding that probably could have been a little straighter. She laughed and said she would.

Pictures from our time in Raleigh can be found at:

http://www.kodakgallery.com/gallery/creativeapps/slideShow/Main.jsp?token=687563334803%3A835251441

We’re now in Appleton, WI. the birthplace and boyhood home of magician Harry Houdini. The weather here is sunny and cool today. It’s a great place, but the whole cast and crew, including the guardians, is looking to next week and a 10-day break. We’ll be home in time for Easter.

Travel Woes

2010-03-16T04:14:00.000-07:00

The life of a bunch of “stars” in the theater business isn’t all you read about in the papers. It’s not all glitter and high living like some of the tell-all magazines like to portray it.

I’m not one of the stars but Helen and I have the pleasure of traveling with a bunch of the best in show business, the cast of “Little House on the Prairie The Musical. As I write this before the crack of dawn before another long travel day, the only word that comes to mind is “arduous.”

The prize at the end for our granddaughter Taylor Bera, who has been a member of the cast since last August, is to be a “principal” in the show on a regular basis and that goal is just “Up Ahead” –if I might borrow a song title from the play itself.

When she next steps on the stage, she’ll be Carrie, the youngest Ingalls’ sister, on a daily basis.

That will be tonight in Raleigh, NC, at 8 p.m. but first, in true Ingalls family tradition, we have an adventure ahead of us today.

Yesterday, a normal travel day in the business for touring companies, started like others have since we hit the road in October last year. We loaded our bags on a bus to travel to the airport for a flight to our next city after two weeks in Florida, the last in Naples on the Gulf side of the state.

We were pumped because we actually were scheduled for a “direct flight” to Raleigh —no stops, no change of planes. We could sit down in relatively comfortable seats, each with its own TV, and enjoy the flight to North Carolina.

Of course, we did have to travel by bus from Naples, across Alligator Alley to Fort Lauderdale, but that didn’t bother us. Most slept or read. Some counted the number of alligators along the roadside—the highest count was 15. We arrived at the airport in plenty of time for a snack after going through check-in and security.

It was pretty close to heaven, but minutes later we thought we were in the other “H.” The word “cancelled” was posted next to our flight number on the board and our veteran manager, who handles all of the tour arrangements, was told the earliest the airline could get us on a flight was Wednesday. That, of course, was not acceptable to anyone, so he really worked his “A” off to make alternate arrangements. It was just good that his hair had already changed color (I can say that because mine changed a long time ago to silver) because yesterday was one that would have brought it on quickly.

So what did this mean for everyone? Well, rental vehicles for the production team members to drive 12 to 13 hours to Raleigh, so they could be there when the four semi-trailer trucks filled with scenery, props, costumes and other show gear arrived to be unloaded. The sound and light guys had to set up for tonight’s show starting at 6 a.m. this morning. The hair, makeup and wardrobe directors had to be there to make sure those were ready for a show too.

The orchestra regulars had to be there to begin rehearsals at 9 a.m. with the local additions to their group so we’d have music for tonight’s show (if the cast makes it). That group similarly piled into a quickly rented vehicle.

I don’t know how they decided who would be driving, but I know that I wouldn’t have wanted to be with them. I can’t imagine that they got much rest between shifts.

For the cast, some of the day was still left after we arrived after a hotel was found for us. Some took advantage of the unexpected overnighter to swim or whatever in the city on the Atlantic Ocean side of the state. We all got some sun or otherwise chilled out. We ate dinner at a seafood restaurant overlooking a bay with some very, very nice seaworthy private ships.

Oh well—we can’t dwell on it for too long---today is another day and Raleigh and Taylor’s big day is just over the horizon.

Our week in Naples was otherwise great for the most part. We enjoyed the sun ---only one day was raining and unfortunately that was the day the school kids had a scheduled half day so they could go to the beach. We saw “Alice in Wonderland” instead.

Little House had a great sunny day on Wednesday when we took part in a Habitat for Humanity build at a site in Collier County. We actually framed six walls and “raised” the walls before we left. Habitat is building single story duplex homes for 184 families at the site and we hope that our half of the duplex proves out to be the sturdiest.

We all affixed our signatures to a bunch of studs that will be used in construction, so we truly have a stake in the success of the project.

A couple of our former neighbors from Old Bridge, NJ, were able to jump off a cruise and be with us on our final full day in Naples. It was great seeing Barb and Art McCauley, who lived across the street from us when we moved to NJ from Illinois in the 70s. Of course, we recognized each other immediately because we all looked the same—we wish.

Pictures from our time in Naples can be found at: http://www.kodakgallery.com/gallery/creativeapps/slideShow/Main.jsp?token=964593004803%3A748852900

The sun is up and we’re heading for the airport shortly. Stayed tuned for the next installment—hope it has better news.

Not all Learning Comes from Books

2010-03-09T08:04:00.000-08:00

The question last week for the kids on tour with Little House on the Prairie The Musical was how to make learning really, really fun. And, of course, where there’s a will, there’s a way! Not all learning comes from a book--borrowing a line from the play.

Last Friday, the cast and crew from Little House were invited to see the sights at Busch Gardens in Tampa, FL. The school kids got to learn an awful lot through an up close and personal tour “backstage” with the stars of that massive show—the animals from all of the world.

And, the rest of the kids in the play (the cast, crew and chaperones) got to tag along too.

I know that none of us every thought we’d be able to actually pet a porcupine or a baby kangaroo. They (we) learned that a mother kangaroo can have three babies at various stages of growth at one time—one already born and living outside the pouch, one born but still inside the pouch and a third still waiting to be born. At Busch, the baby kangaroos and their “cousins,” the wallabies, live in fabric pouches that simulate their mother’s womb.

The school kids got to meet up close the “actors” in some of the shows at Busch. In this case, it was the birds, dogs, snakes, bears and other animals who are the real stars and their trainers who put them through the paces.

Busch also afforded all of the “kids” a real chance to study, in real time, the forces that you can only read about in physics books--like what does it feel like when you’re dropped off a 200 foot cliff and freefall at a 90 degree angle to the bottom. You have four seconds to contemplate that question before the freefall force took over on the SheiKra ride and our car plummeted to earth before take us on a twisting trail to head toward another similar drop.

There’s just no way any fairly studious person can solve this physics question the first time. There were not many from Little House who was satisfied after one trip. Most of the cast proved that practice makes perfect and it took three, four or even five rehearsals to make sure they had the right answer.

This writer and his charge, granddaughter Taylor Bera, only got in two tries and if the bus wasn't waiting for us to go back to reality, we might still be there.

Tampa was a great change from the wintery climes of the north. It was in the 60s during the day and cooler 40s at night, but still a 30 degree improvement in any case. We’re looking forward to temps in the 70s next week further south in Naples.

The Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center (in the process of changing its name to the Straz Center for the Performing Arts) is a great complex. It has its own performing arts conservatory for students and five different theaters offering a wide variety of theatrical endeavors from opera to straight theater. For instance, the theater next to ours last night was host to the Miss Tampa contest.

Little House was in the Carol Morsani Hall, a 2,200 seat venue. The sound was great and there wasn’t a bad seat in the house. The crowds were very receptive to the show. Season subscribers make up 70% of the audience. Next season, they’ll be treated to shows like Billy Elliott when it starts its road tour.

While the kids have been in school, the grownups in the cast and crew and the kids’ chaperones have found plenty to do in the off hours.

Ybor City is listed as a historical city whose main trade at one time was making cigars. They still do that in many shops but there’s a lot going on there, Helen and I were able to partake of some of the food there plus look on as the city hosted its own version of the Amazing Race TV show---two-person teams in all sorts of costumes raced around the city solving riddles, finding landmarks, taking pictures then racing back to the finish line for a party that didn’t look like it would end any time shortly.

Ditto for the beer tasting charity event that ran for 6 hours or more. I couldn’t try that one because it was sold out with pre-subscriptions before it started. I did get to try some orange-colored local brew appropriately called Shock Top as we sat in a balcony hamburger restaurant overlooking the main drag in Ybor (pronounced “E-Bore.”) From high above it looked like everyone was having a great time. I wanted to go to the party across the street but found out it was a costumed affair for the owner’s daughter and Helen and I couldn’t match the dress of the “Alice in Wonderland and Red Queen” pair, who we saw enter earlier. Guess they were inspired by the movie that just opened.

We’re told that the area really goes wild on most holidays. Locals said St. Patrick’s Day will really be rocking. Others said Halloween is another big favorite along with any other holiday that gives them a good excuse for partying.

All in all it’s been a good week in Little House and Taylor continued to perform in the play at her usual high level. She even got to play the major role of “Carrie” so we were extra thrilled to be on hand. Her other grandfather and grandmother, Joe and Kate Bera, stopped by Tampa after returning from a cruise with two other aunts and an uncle. So they got to see her in the show too.

Taylor actually did the role 2 ½ times---jumping in after intermission for one show, which meant putting in contracts, having her hair put into pigtails, changing her mike and getting a whole new set of costumes. All in about 15 minutes. She loves it though--that’s what actors are expected to do!!

It was an extra special week for us too because the daughter of the best man at our wedding 48 years ago was able to bring two of her children to the show on Sunday when Taylor got to be Carrie. Debi Ferger Fiegle and two of her three children, Alyson and Jason, saw the show. Debi's father and mother, Bill and Janet Ferger, were our good friends in Dixon, Il. Debi lives in the Tampa area.

Pictures from our time in Tampa are at:

http://www.kodakgallery.com/gallery/creativeapps/slideShow/Main.jsp?token=616067573803%3A2118278018

Next stop is Naples.

Our Journey Across the Northern Border Ends

2010-03-01T04:48:00.000-08:00

The Canadian adventures for the cast and crew of “Little House on the Prairie The Musical” have ended and everyone has packed up to head south for two weeks in Florida.

We all hope that the “weather gods” look down on us favorably. We haven’t seen anything approaching warm weather since the first of the year when we headed back out in 2010.

Arkansas was sub-zero during our week there and Omaha and Madison, WI, were snow-filled and cold. Toronto, which is on Lake Ontario, and has its lake effect breezes whipping through town, has been a little better but it's still “winter” here.

Don’t get me wrong, we’ve had a great time here, but, even five weeks in a really great city tend to wear on everyone.

Granddaughter Taylor Bera and her two classmates have been exposed to a number of educational opportunities that I wrote about in earlier blogs.

Last week was no exception.

On her day-off Monday, Taylor and I and four others drove to Niagara Falls about 90 miles away. We got a spectacular view of Niagara Falls. It’s not a big tourist hotspot in the winter because it’s really, really cold. Only one of the portals (viewing areas) under the falls was open because the others were frozen over.

Neither the Maid of the Mist boat ride or the Aero Car ride over the whirlpool was operating because of the frozen conditions, but we had a lot of fun anyway. We sure weren’t rushing along by the crowds that wife Helen and I experienced a few years ago during a better weather visit to the Falls.

We stopped 15 kms to the north (about 10 miles) at Niagara-on-the-Lake for lunch and found two great places if you have a chocolate urge. One had every kind of fudge imaginable including one made with Frozen Wine, The other place was appropriately called “The Chocolate Fix.” You probably can imagine our reaction when you walk into the store and there’s a huge display of “samples for tasting.” There’s no way you can resist trying almost all of them and buying your favorites.

No one kept track of how long we were in the store, but no one complained. We did get back to Toronto despite the heavy snow that was falling by late afternoon. There are some pictures of the “Fix” in my collection but I’m sure none of anyone’s purchases lasted long enough to be packed away for Florida.

Taylor also got an unexpected extra day off from school, so she and I packed up early in the day and headed off to Ontario Science Centre. We spent the whole day there and the local crew at the venue for our show, Canon Theater, was right when they said you can’t see it all in one day. We barely scratched the surface even though we were there for six hours. You see some of the sights in my photos except one exhibit, Body Worlds, didn’t permit photos and I couldn’t let the camera in my phone go wild.

Body Worlds is an an artistic and anatomic display of plastinated human specimens, including whole bodies as well as individual organs and transparent body slices.

Here are some pictures from our last week in Toronto:

http://www.kodakgallery.com/gallery/creativeapps/slideShow/Main.jsp?token=311775443803%3A1504465263

What did I learn from my time in Canada—some good and some bad:

1. I kinda like the coin system for dollars. They have $1 coins called “loonies” and $2 coins called “toonies.” You might retort that you won’t want to have a pocket full of coins, but you actually use them up rather end up with a pocket full of $1 bills. Check your own bankrolls. Besides, the coins last longer than paper.

2. I learned how to put vinegar on French fries rather than ketchup. All of the fast food places here have packets of vinegar readily available.

3. The best place for breakfast in downtown Toronto is about 5 foot wide and maybe 10 to 15 deep. They make the best Belgian Waffles you ever tasted. Of course, it’s takeout and sometimes there’s a line waiting to get in. Kinda like the deli on the Seinfeld TV show.

4. I overcame my problem with the north and south directions on the subway that loops the city and also found out another plus to the system. The city buses have terminals in each major stop along the line and you can ride them free without having to leave the subway. Unfortunately, I found out about this after Taylor and I were going to the Science Centre. We exited the subway station and couldn’t find a bus stop. I asked a passerby and he said we shouldn’t have left the subway. Rather than pay another two fares, I went back to toll booth and told the man on duty my plight. He waved us through without another fare. Can you imagine that happening in NYC---I don’t think so?

5. I hate to admit that it took me five weeks to actually understand curling. I thought it was just another version of shuffleboard or darts. I couldn’t understand why they didn’t try to hit the center area more often and get more points. I thought the center was worth more. Actually, the rings are only for reference and each rock closer to the center is worth one point. I also never realized that the rocks they throw weigh between 39 and 45 pounds each.

6. Body Worlds really gave you a close up view of a human body and every organ in a human body was sliced and diced to let you “look inside the human body.” I’m not so sure I feel more comfortable knowing what I look like inside. They are looking for donors to donate their body when the time comes, but I don’t think that’d be putting me on view. The bodies in our display were pretty athletic looking. I’d probably end up as transparent body slice (in plastic) that they’d pass around for you to look at and touch or one of my body organs would on display as an abnormal one. I have some of the donation cards if anyone is interested.

7. Taylor also learned something—her “dresser” Michele Munn taught her how to do needlepoint. Taylor liked Michele so much that she said it was too bad she wasn’t traveling with the show all the time.

8. I never really understood the Celsius temperature scale but it was really confusing to wake up most mornings and find out it was -4 C or lower. It’s a confusing conversion method and best done by a computer program or a cell phone program. A -4C temp converts to about 25 F. The folks on the local crew said the best method if the C temp is on the plus side is to double it and add 30. If on the minus side, you have to use a formula.

Well it was great being in Canada but we’re happy to be heading back to the U.S. We flew to New Jersey last night, and picked up Helen to head for a couple of weeks in the Florida sun. Little House plays next week in Tampa and the following week in Naples.

Back in Toronto after snow duty in NJ

2010-02-21T20:15:00.000-08:00

One of the most gratifying things about writing a Blog, that is intended to come out on a pretty regular basis, is to have someone tell you that they have enjoy reading it and have missed seeing it when you don’t write one.

A number of people told me that during the last couple of weeks and I was really pleased to hear from “my audience.”

When I headed out into the “Prairie” with granddaughter 11-year-old Taylor Bera in October, I began a weekly log of the travels with the cast and crew of “Little House on the Prairie The Musical.”

A couple of weeks ago I left the trail in Toronto to be home in New Jersey to spend time with Helen, my wife of nearly 48 years, who I haven’t seen since the first of the year (except via Webcam). Taylor’s mother, Kelly, and father, Joe, plus older sister, Maggie, took up the trail in split shifts for two weeks.

I’m now back in Toronto for the last week of a five-week run before heading back to the states for our next stop in Tampa, FL.

Helen will be rejoining the tour then when we hit, what we hope will be, much warmer weather. We’ll have two stops in Florida, Tampa and Naples; a week in Raleigh and then a week in Appleton, WI, just before our Easter break.

Now back to the last two weeks—I really enjoyed being home with Helen and my older daughter Terri’s family, but keep wondering if the weather gods were also waiting for me to come home to bring the heaviest snowfall of the season.

I came home Friday morning (Feb. 5), a day earlier than planned, to avoid the snow delays that did hit the NYC area later that night even though towns north of our home in Parlin really didn’t get much, if any, snow. We had enough to use the gasoline powered snow plow to clear the driveways the next morning.

It was just a forerunner of a storm that would hit us the following Tuesday night, all day Wednesday and into Thursday. Four plowings later, the storm stopped and Kelly and Maggie were able to fly out for Toronto on Friday morning.

I guess it was fate that brought me back to NJ when it did, since “fate” knows I’m an experienced “digger outer.” Our area was hit pretty hard but points further south including Washington, DC, were buried a lot deeper.

We had another snowfall early last week, but that one only required a manual snow shoveling.

Now for a recap of what transpired on the “Little House Prairie” while I was back in the wilds of New Jersey.

Taylor and her schoolmates were busy with regular classes the last two weeks but found time a couple of class trips. Taylor says that her favorite was a trip to the ROM (Royal Ontario Museum). She says she liked all of the exhibits that are housed in Canada’s largest museum of world culture and natural history.
Joe and I both missed the class trip because we were in the air at the time. Joe did get to go with Taylor and others from the play when they spent time at a Habitat for Humanity project in Toronto. The Habitat visit was filmed by local TV crews and some of the cast members told Taylor they saw film of her working on the JumboTron in Dundas-Yonge Street Square. Little House cast and crew (including Taylor and Joe) got to take in a “Jersey Boys” performance on a day-off.

Last week mom Kelly went with the class and other cast members on a tour of the sacred treasures from the Tomb of King Tut on display at the Art Gallery of Ontario. You may recall that Tut ruled for nine years before he died in this late teens, so he really was a boy king. His tomb was discovered in 1922.

Taylor also had a good week as an actor: she got to do what an understudy does best by filling in as the younger Ingalls daughter, Carrie, and then yesterday picked up the Tony Award for youth actor from the Main Street Players back home for her role as Scout in “To Kill a Mockingbird.”

Here’s a pictorial recap of the last two weeks (thanks to pictures made by Taylor, tutor-wrangler Carolyn Dunning and others in the cast):

http://www.kodakgallery.com/gallery/creativeapps/slideShow/Main.jsp?token=271576513803%3A1568836058

Little House Travels Across the Border

2010-02-03T04:29:00.000-08:00

We’ve been in a Canada just over a week—8 days to be exact—and we’ve seen so much but only skimmed the surface of things to do. Too bad that the cast and crew of Little House on the Prairie The Musical has to work and/or go to school too.

The kids, of course, have school 20 hours a week—their Toronto school is set up in a “pretty neat suite” at the Delta Chelsea where we’re staying, so they don’t have far to travel for that gig. After one of the parents solved the riddle of who gets to use the lone internet cable in the room, things went smoothly the rest of the first week. The answer, of course, was the splitter that the hotel installed in the room to give them multiple connections to the internet. Wish I had their 40” flat screen TV in our room!

We’re in the heart of Toronto’s entertainment district. Little House is playing its 5-week run at the Canon Theater, a 2,200 seat venue just down the street from the Chelsea.

LHOP did eight shows last week and the crowds were very good at this 90-year-old venue, which was part of the Pantages vaudeville circuit that had it’s beginnings in western Canada (actually started in the Yukon by a Greek sailor who left ship and went there during the Gold Rush Days in 1898). By 1920, his company acquired the Toronto theater on the east side of the continent.

Guess there’s something about Greeks coming to North America as sailors. My wife’s father came to the U.S. after being a sailor. Helen says the story is he jumped ship in the NYC harbor and ended up in Dixon, IL.

Outside of school, the kids and their grownup companions have found lots of fun things to do (and some of them were educational too). The country’s money is educational in itself. They have the right idea and have eliminated some heavily used paper currency. They have $1 coins, called loonies and $2 coins, officially called toonies, but I have not heard anyone use that term yet. They say the coins last so much longer than paper currency and are easy to use after you get use to the concept.

We took advantage of an only slightly cold and not so windy first full day in Toronto last week for the kids to go ice skating on probably the city’s largest outdoor rink near the harbor. Skating at the Harbourfront centre (that’s the right spelling for both) is free for those with their own skates. The kids had to pay $7 Canadian for the skate rental and another $5 for the helmets (the latter we insisted they wear despite their protests,)

There are similar free skating rinks all over the city. There’s one just adjacent to our hotel, but the view from the waterfront was spectacular with all the private and commercial ships that are docked in the harbor and the planes landing in the background at the city’s municipal airport on an island. The people who live or work on the island plus the airline passengers need a ferry to get to downtown Toronto. Besides we got to see the Air Canada arena, where the Toronto Maple Leafs play hockey and the Raptors play basketball, while we were walking there after jumping off the subway,

It’s pretty easy to get around---they have two subways, one goes north and south and the second goes east and west. It should be simple but even though I’m pretty proficient on the complex New York City subway system, I almost got us lost doing the simple northbound-southbound loop in Toronto. You just have to remember that the southbound train designations on the platform become northbound designations after you pass Union Station.

It was just a short walk after skating and lunch to get to the CN Tower that was the world’s tallest building for the last 35 years until the Burg Khalifa Tower was recently opened in Dubai. The builders in Dubai won’t say exactly how tall the structure is but they say theirs exceeds 800 meters (2,625 feet) while the CNT Tower stands at 553 meters (1,815 feet).

I’ve been around the Empire State Building in New York City for the last 30+ years so a tall building is not new to me. But, Canada’s National Tower (its official name now) stands plenty tall and was exciting to tour, Don’t know if the kids (Taylor and Carly Sonenclar) or their chaperones (me or father Bob) had more fun.

We saw it all from every level. At 1,122 feet, we all got to walk on the glass floor and peer down at the specks on the ground below. If you lay on the glass floor and someone takes your picture, you appear to be flying. That’s just for the kids though, haha. Rogers Stadium, the home of the Toronto Blue Jays, is just adjacent to the Tower. I think it would be fun to be in the tower on a summer day and view part of a game when they open the sky dome.

Even though it is enclosed, it was still too cold of a day for baseball in Toronto, however, our next Little House tour stop will be in the warm temperatures of Tampa, FL, and spring training will be in full swing. The NY Yankees home base in the spring is in Tampa and even though I’m not a fan, I’ll likely get to see at least one game in March when we’re in Florida for two weeks.

Back to Toronto, and much chillier weather. We got a panoramic view of the city from the 1,136 lookout level and also from the Sky Pod level another 110 feet higher (but high winds kept us inside behind windows.) The view later at night was breathtaking—they let us go back up for a second trip, some thing that not possible when the Tower is full of visitors in the warmer weather time.

We could even pick out our hotel which is about a 15 to 20 minute walk from the tower and the downtown area surrounding is lit up at night like Times Square in Manhattan. The latter is not something that all Toronto citizens like, I’m told. The square has its own version of our TKTS—they call it T.O. Tix, but the principle is the same—cheaper tickets no matter what your area of entertainment leans toward---drama, musical, opera, ballet, symphony or whatever-Toronto has it all.

Some members of the cast combined a lavish opening night party at the Canon on Wednesday and a performance by Guns N’ Roses, an American rock band in its 25th year of performing.

Mary Louise Parker, the Emmy-winning star of the TV show Weeds, stopped by with her family and met with the cast. I complimented her on the show and told her I missed the last season because of travelling, but coincidentally had just started watching the DVD version that came out last week.

The Little House cast left the flu in Madison, WI., hopefully or maybe the “bug” got confused by the shift from Fahrenheit to Celsius temperature readings. It’s been below zero all week but when you convert it to Fahrenheit it’s really more like home. But the wind here whipping off Lake Superior is more like you experience in Chicago. I’ve not lived in that city for nearly 40 years, but I can still remember the cold winds from Lake Michigan. Brrr!

Yesterday (Monday) was an off day for the cast and crew. Some of us went to the Bata Shoe Museum, which may not sound every exciting, but even Taylor thought it was. Footwear on display ranges from Chinese bound foot shoes and ancient Egyptian sandals to chestnut-crushing clogs and glamorous platforms. Over 4,500 years of history and a collection of 20th-century celebrity shoes are reflected in the semi-permanent exhibition.

The 2009 Winter Olympic Games are just around the corner and one exhibit featured athletic shoes donated by past Canadian Olympic champions from years ago. It was interesting to see how footwear design has progressed over the years. The kids found the Olympic Wii game, they could try out, to be interesting too.

My picture album that accompanies this edition of my Blog gives you a better view of some of the exhibits, but we had a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity” to see the extremely rare 15th and 16th century artifacts, “On a Pedestal: From Renaissance Chopines to Baroque Heels.” If some women today complaint that shoe heels might be too high for walking, they should take a look at the outrageous platform chopine and its replacement, the high heel. Even men of the day wore some of these too. One nobleman was said to own, 1,300 pairs of shoes but only 7 pairs of underwear—guess his priorities were twisted somewhat.

Check out my picture album at:

http://www.kodakgallery.com/gallery/creativeapps/slideShow/Main.jsp?token=259804832803%3A116889370

This Friday, the kids will tour the Royal Ontario Museum (the ROM), we got a glimpse of it yesterday walking back (or hiking back) to our hotel. It was really cold and windy but no one froze.

And, of course, there’ll be eight performances of Little House on the Prairie The Musical, this week iu Toronto. That part of the tour is consistent.

Little House in Madison, WI

2010-01-28T09:01:00.001-08:00

Little House on the Prairie The Musical has moved even further north—this time we’ve crossed the Canadian border for a five-week gig at the Canon Theater in Toronto’s entertainment district.

We all made it through customs and immigration, and pretty skies with just a little overcast greeted us on our first full day in another country.

But first, let’s talk about our last full week in the States. What a week it was!

Some members of the cast talked of the “moon being out of alignment” to explain our week in Madison, WI. We all had a great time in the home of the University of Wisconsin, although some had a hard time at the hotel where we were housed. The internet service left a lot to be desired for us but our room was nice and roomy.

It was an adventure-filled time for nearly everyone in the cast. Sickness and various injuries shook up the lineup on the stage on a nearly daily basis. Almost every major character relied on an understudy a one time or another during the eight-show run. At one point, understudies were called upon at the intermission, which caused a real flurry of activity backstage.

At one point, I even jokingly offered my services (after the show was over; he was too busy to talk at intermission) since I’m well experienced in karaoke but the director said “thanks, I’ll keep you in mind.” I guess when I told him my main claim to fame was singing “Okie from Muskogee” that was a tip off he shouldn’t take my offer seriously.

I certainly could have filled in for one of the guys, who filled in for one of the girls in a long dress, bonnet and shawl covering his face. His male partner on the stage, who had not been let in on the substitution beforehand, nearly broke down on the stage laughing when he realized who his scene partner really was.

I know that it was thrilling for the understudies to go on, but it really a treat for me to hear others take on a different role in the play. I saw most of them in understudy rehearsal while we were in Tempe, AZ, last year; I got to see their hard work pay off last week.

It just happened that I was in the theater when the understudies got to perform, so most of time I was able to watch the show from a variety of venues where we played in Madison, the Overture Center—a four-year-oldvenue that’s part of a three-theater and museum complex within eyeshot of the State Capitol Building. It really helps to get to know the people working in the complex during the week so I can have a little freedom to explore the house during show time.

The show’s main director and main choreographer joined us for a few days in Madison to “tweak the show” prior to our venture across the Canadian Border.

Even with the staging issues taking priority during the week, we were still able to focus on other things away from the Overture Center.

Here are some pictures from our time in Madison:
http://www.kodakgallery.com/gallery/creativeapps/slideShow/Main.jsp?token=308228412803%3A333309973

The school kids had a room inside the hotel where they could focus on their studies without much distraction.

They even got in a school trip. I got to go with granddaughter, Taylor Bera, and her classmates and teacher, Carolyn Dunning, on a tour of the Wisconsin State Capitol Building. Our guide wasn’t just an intern or rookie in the statehouse. House Assemblyman Marlin Schneider, who is the longest seated representative in Wisconsin, conducted our tour,

I always assumed tours were relegated to junior members of the assembly. Our tour guide has been elected to serve the 72nd Assembly District 20 times. What an honor for the kids and teacher, me and a couple of our cast members who joined us!

We got to learn some about history of the State of Wisconsin. We got to sit in the presiding officers’ seats in both the House and Senate but only made to the spectator section in the Wisconsin Supreme Court room (it wasn’t in session and access the justices’ chairs can only be given by one of the seven members of the court.)

But we did get into the actual office of Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle to look around and sit in his chair. He’s a two-term Democrat who has decided not to re-run this year even though Wisconsin is only one of 14 states that do not have term limits on Governors.

It was a worthwhile trip for kids and grownups alike.

A dozen of us also spent a morning at a Habitat for Humanity “build” in Madison. The kids got to take part in this one, which was a remodeling of an existing structure to make it livable for a single mom. The Little House kids got to decorate stepping stones that will remind the new homeowner of our work and the older “kids” in the cast got to do some insulting work inside the house. Have you ever tried to stretch and keep an 8 ft by 30 ft piece of insulating plastic barrier taunt while it is nailed to a ceiling? Four of us, including this writer, were assigned this task in the living room of the house.

Believe it took us a while to get the technique down and it wasn’t pretty during the learning process. We started over several times. The idea was to put it up without air bubbles between the plastic and the drywall. It helped to have tall Steve Blanchard, who plays “Pa” in the Little House, on your team.

We had lots of snow on the ground in Madison, and the temps fell below freezing at night. We had some rain on the last day there which melted some of it, but, it froze at night making some of the walking treacherous. At least one crew member came away with some injuries after taking a tumble on the ice.

So far, Toronto has been great and we’re looking forward to the next five weeks north of the Border.

Little House Kids are Flexible

2010-01-17T21:44:00.000-08:00

Question of the week in “Little House” land---how can three cast members have school without books and other school supplies? The answer is simple; they can’t, so Tuesday’s normal school day was turned into a field trip to the Joslyn Art Museum.

Next question—why didn’t they have the regular school supplies and their books for the first day in Omaha,NE? That answer is simple too---someone forgot to put the school’s two trunks on one of the four semi-trailer trucks hauling the sets, costumes and other paraphernalia for the “Little House on the Prairie The Musical.”

So the trunks extended their stay in Fayetteville, AK, for another 24 hours and Carolyn Dunning, our traveling tutor, had to make some quick plans on Tuesday--¬just an hour or so before school was scheduled to start.

The trunks had to make their journey to Omaha by themselves and even that was not without drama—someone or something broke the bottom out of one of the trunks and the contents apparently spilled out somewhere—granddaughter Taylor Bera’s science book was missing when the trunks arrived on Wednesday and many of the students’ folders were damaged.

So Tuesday unexpectedly became a field trip day and the students and chaperones were able to enjoy an informative trip through the Joslyn, Nebraska’s largest art museum that opened it doors first in 1931. Its collections features work from antiquity to the present with an emphasis on 19th and 20th-century European and American art plus a large collection of art of the American West.

My favorite two paintings in the whole museum ---and they would have been Helen’s too if she was back on the tour with us—were originals by French painter Claude Monet. We have copies at home but the originals are breathtaking. One of the Monet’s, “The Meadows” painted in 1879, was given as a gift to the museum by former NY governor and US Ambassador W. Averell Harriman, who at one time was chairman and vice president of the Union Pacific Railroad based in Omaha.

The school kids toured the museum and took some time to sketch some of the priceless paintings. Taylor chose a 1903 painting of a woman in a blue gown by John Singer Sargent. Her rendition was really nice ---she showed a lot of attention to detail in her work.
Other highlights of the tour can be found in my photos for the week at:

http://www.kodakgallery.com/gallery/creativeapps/slideShow/Main.jsp?token=317889071803%3A1736011037

Our trip from Fayetteville to Omaha was pretty much uneventful but long and tiring. We had to journey by way of Dallas-Fort Worth airport which about doubled the “as a crow-flies-mileage” of 430 miles.

We were greeted in Omaha by lots of snow on the ground but temperatures above freezing for our week in Nebraska. It has been in the minus double digits for several days the previous week.

Little House played to good crowds in the Orpheum Theater that was originally built in 1927 and retained its early century splendor during a $10 million renovation in 2002. It was originally built as a vaudeville house.

Five huge chandeliers hang from the ceiling in the seating areas and smaller versions are present throughout the lobby.

Being an inquisitive guy, I had to find out how they clean the chandeliers inside the theater. The Orpheum’s production manager said that each light was originally fitted with a hand crank cable system to lower the entire light assembly. The system was retained during the renovation to maintain the historical integrity. He said that all of the chandeliers are lowered, cleaned and bulbs replaced once a year—generally during down times in the summer.

All of the major touring companies have played the 2,600-seat Orpheum. Little House got a good review from the local Omaha World-Herald:

http://www.omaha.com/article/20100113/ENTERTAINMENT05/701139876

The acoustics in the hall are spectacular. We were sitting in the upper reaches of the balcony for sound check prior to the opening night performance on Tuesday and we could hear routine conversations going on at stage level between songs. Sound travels very well in both directions inside the theater. This is something the production manager says they need to be aware at all times while inside the theater—you never know who may be listening.

Tomorrow we head for Madison, WI, for a week-long gig before a five-week run in Toronto.

Little House Survives the 'Cold Snap'

2010-01-10T19:08:00.000-08:00

How’s the New Year 2010 treating you so far? For the cast of “Little House on the Prairie The Musical,” the first week back from a post-Christmas break has been both good and bad.

We’re deep in the heart of “Sam Walton Country” in Fayetteville, AR, just a few short miles from Wal-Mart’s world headquarters. LHOTP played this week at the Walton Arts Center. We were treated really, really well by folks at the Center and the crowds that cheered the eight performances.

On the other hand, the weather was not very hospitable early in the run. The “cold snap” that’s talked about in the play hit us right between the eyes, driving the temperatures into the low single digits and well below zero when you factor in the wind. It was so cold that they closed the schools in Fayetteville for a couple of days.

Our play, however, didn’t miss a single performance because of the weather—theater folks come from a hearty stock and apparently, so are the theater goers, who braved the elements.

The first couple of shows in Fayetteville were extra special for granddaughter Taylor Bera. She got to sing and dance the part of little sister, Carrie Ingalls. Her dad Joe made a really quick trip to Fayetteville to be there for her first show on Tuesday then drove back to the airport in the wee hours to catch the only direct flight back to New Jersey.

We knew when we were home on break that Taylor would get to play a main role for at least the opening show in Arkansas, and fortunately she was able to share this news with family and friends who gathered on January 2 at a party welcoming her home. She was really surprised when she walked into the Main Street Playhouse in Parlin, NJ, expecting to perform at an “open mike night” --instead, it was a party for her.

Taylor donned the ‘Carrie-garb’ for the Wednesday show in Fayetteville too.

She performed very well, but that’s not just a doting grandfather’s opinion. She received lots of congratulations from the cast and crew. It was really great seeing her name posted on the performance board and hearing her name announced to the audience before each show.

Here are some pictures from Taylor's Welcome Home party and our time in Fayetteville, AR:

http://www.kodakgallery.com/gallery/creativeapps/slideShow/Main.jsp?token=164429041803%3A1789742871

The weather didn’t affect the school for Taylor and her co-performers. Fortunately, school was held this week in the hotel, so they didn’t have to venture outside into the biting winds.

Taylor’s new laptop computer functioned well for her but the wireless internet service only extended for the first three floors. The rest of the hotel was supposed to be hardwired but our first room on the sixth floor was without service of any type. We got moved down a couple of floors where both the wired and wireless versions worked most of the time.

There was no time for a class trip this week but Taylor did get to perform a science experiment testing the effects of vinegar on a shiny penny. After it was removed from the solution, the shiny penny turned a dull blue-green. Interesting—something to do with pennies that no one wants any more expect to pay sales tax with.

Many in the cast say the Walton Arts Center was a friendly place to play. They liked the feel of a smaller 1,250-seat venue---no matter where you sat in the auditorium, patrons had a great view of the entire stage. Believe me; I viewed the show from every possible venue during the week. The cast liked the acoustics.

On Monday, we pack up and head to Omaha, NE—of course, to get there we have to fly first to Dallas-Fort Worth Airport, and change planes. This is not new to us—we flew to Charlotte, NC, to get to Fayetteville last week. It’s great for frequent flyer miles—if only we’d use the same airline all the time.

Oh well---the weather is better, so I should stop complaining.

Two Weeks in Denver

2009-12-31T08:15:00.001-08:00

The bad news is that we had to end two beautiful weeks in Denver, but the cast and crew of Little House on the Prairie The Musical, was overjoyed because we were able to head home for a week with our families.

Most of us missed Christmas with our families although some families were able to trek to Denver on a snowy night to get here before Santa arrived.

Granddaughter Taylor Bera and I got to spend Christmas Day with her parents, Kelly and Joe, and my older granddaughter, Maggie. But Helen and the rest of the family, daughter Terri, her husband Jeff and grandsons, Jake and Christian continued the tradition of awaiting Santa’s arrival at our house.

Through the “wonder” of webcam, we all got to hookup on Christmas Eve and Helen even got to visit with some folks in Denver, whose father was born in Lefkada, an island in Greece, where Helen’s father Nick was born. Helen’s family had last visited with the Denver family 60 years ago, so it so nice they could talk face-to-face after so many years. It was great I was able to hookup with them during our stop, but it’s too bad Helen wasn’t able to be on the tour at this time. The two families share the same Greek last name although it’s spelled a little different---probably due to translation when they immigrated to the U.S. some in the early 1900s.

Back to details about the tour. We had absolutely wonderful weather for almost two weeks in Denver. The snows and cold weather didn’t arrive until Wednesday, the second week. Before that it was cold but sunny –some days just a sweater would suffice until the sun went down.

Here are some pictorial memories from of our two-week gig in Denver:

http://www.kodakgallery.com/gallery/creativeapps/slideShow/Main.jsp?token=810268390803%3A42522120

The Denver Performance Arts Complex is something to see. Press kits say it is the largest performing arts complex under one roof, and the second-largest center of its kind in terms of number of venues and seating capacity. Connected by an 80-foot-tall glass roof, DPAC houses ten performance spaces on its four-block, 12-acre site. It hosts a Tony Award-winning repertory theatre company, Broadway touring productions, contemporary dance and ballet, magnificent chorales, a major symphony orchestra, internationally-acclaimed opera and more.

Our show was in the Buell Theater and we competed well with the Nutcracker that was next door during the run and the Denver Symphony Orchestra and related musical program in the concert hall across the way.

There was lots of comings and goings at the complex. The restaurants were full before and after

The Buell was a great venue for the cast and crew—lots of stage space that permitted easy access and changes by the cast during a show. The dressing room areas were probably the largest and best situated of those we’ve encountered at any venue during the four months so far in the tour.

Best of all we stayed at a hotel that just across from the Buell and there are lots of shops and restaurants within easy walking distance. Urban renewal has done wonders for downtown Denver. The 16th Street mall runs is about 10 to 12 blocks long ( 1 ¼ miles) with free buses running the length of it everyday—just hop on or off at each street corner from Union Station on the south to the Capitol Building on the north. “Winter in the City” is its theme this year and they’ve even placed pianos in five outdoor areas where you can sit down and play if you’re so inclined.

One good time about a two-week gig in a city is that the whole cast and crew gets Monday off the second week. Some went skiing, tubing or just took the day for shopping, resting, etc.

Taylor and I hopped a regional bus with the Enghs (cast member Kurt and his father Scott) and spent the day in Boulder, CO—about 30 miles away. We just wanted to get away from the hustle and bustle of the daily grind of school for the kids (Kurt is in high school and does all of his class work on the computer while Taylor has 5 hours of school with two other kids in the play).

Boulder was a great place to relax–the kids got to skate on the city rink twice. The Pearl Street Mall runs through the center of town. Great shops—we spent an hour in a toy shop where I found out that I haven’t forgotten how to play with a yo-yo although they were much more costly than the one I had as a kid. These models ran from $18 to a $100. I liked on that was $22 but didn’t opt to get it.

The cast has been running a Secret Santa exchange for the past two weeks—we drew names in Tempe—and we were able to find some “great gifts” in the toy shop. We liked them and hope the people we have liked them as well. Everyone will found out who their Secret Santa was at the cast party on Christmas Night. And yes, if you’re curious, the cast had a show to perform on Christmas night too.

Taylor’s turned out to be Melissa Gilbert and Tay was like a star walking the runway in her gold-sequined Dolce & Gabanna that her Secret Santa gave her. My SS was Gayle and I got some favorite reading material, some “suds” at a local in-house brewery, a collapsible brew cup, and plenty of my favorite candy treats. It was lots of fun.

We had fun but we still were able to give back to the community during our visit. One morning the most of the cast piled into a bus and headed to the south side of town where we were to put the finishing touches on a duplex built for two families by Habitat for Humanity of Metro Denver. We cleaned floors and windows while the kids of the cast and others decorated cookies for the party later that night when the keys for both houses would be turned over to their new occupants. One of my jobs was to lay down walkway paper upstairs so the people who were to visit later won’t re-dirty the floors we cleaned—you see it’s too cold here to grow grass in wintertime and we didn’t want the dirt tracked in.

We got to meet one of the families getting their first house. Each one spent well in excess of 250 hours working on the construction themselves. The kids seemed real happy to have their first real place to call home and one of the little ones learned how to “lock a bathroom door.” The mother had to scramble to find the key to open it after a little panic. It was a good lesson for all—everyone’s kids have done that at one time or another.

The Habitat homes are considered “green.” Everything in the home is as energy efficient as possible. One thing I found interesting is the “hot water on demand” system. The foreman on the project, Trevor, who has built more than a 100 homes for Metro Denver Habitat, demonstrated the Rinnai tankless system, which provides hot water almost instantly when you turn on a spigot or turn on the shower. When the demand for hot water ends, the tankless unit shuts down and uses no energy.

Of course, the system requires that all of the home’s water use locations be situated in same section of the house so the unit powering the energy efficient system doesn’t require the water to travel great distances.

Our two weeks in Denver ended on Monday (December 28) and the cast scattered ‘hither and yon’ for visits with family and friends. Fifteen of us came back to the New York City area. We’ll all join up again in Fayetteville, AR., on Monday for a week in Wal-Mart headquarters and University of Arkansas country.

We hope all of our friends and family have a wonderful Happy New Year and a great 2010.

On the Road Again--In Tempe, AZ

2009-12-13T20:37:00.000-08:00

We’re back on the wagon train with the cast of “Little House on the Prairie The Musical” but the “we” is only one for now. Helen remains in our New Jersey home for continued recuperation after a bout with pneumonia knocked her for a loop in Springfield, MO.

She’s much, much better now and thanks everyone for their calls, e-mails and cards. She even received some from folks we befriended along the trail.

I rejoined the group in cold and blustery Detroit last week and fortunately only had to spend a couple of days there in 20 degree weather before heading to the more “balmy conditions” in Tempe, AZ, some 2,000 miles away. Actually, the folks here think its cold, but I’ll take the sunny 60s in December any day.

Our hotel is adjacent to Arizona State University and the Sun Devils have a great looking campus with palm trees and orange trees lining the sidewalks and mountains in background.

It’s a beautiful area and a couple of high school classmates, who live in the area, campaigned for Helen and I to join them in this sunny clime—at least for part of the year. I got together with two of my classmates and their wives. We spent an evening reliving the good ole days. We had so much fun that none of us remembered to take out a camera and record the event.

Little House on the Prairie was performing this week in the Grady Gammage Memorial Auditorium on the ASU campus. The hall was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. People on the street giving you directions to the auditorium say you can’t miss it---“just look for the building that looks like a birthday or wedding cake,” the say.

They’re right---as you’ll see in one of my pictures. It’s round and has ramps on each side on the outside of the building leading to the “upper deck.” At night, the lights on the ramps give the appearance of candles.

I reserve judgment on the architectural merits of the building, but I can say that I that I sat in the next to the last row of the upper deck for last night’s show, and had a great view of the performance. I couldn’t get into the filled last row—I guess it’s like some sporting events where it’s cool to be as far away from the field as possible. The sounds from show were great---I heard every word and the music from the pit was fantastic. The cheap seats aren’t so bad unless you’re prone to nosebleeds.

This is just one of the perks of being part of the traveling tour. You get to know the people running the facilities where the cast is performing and can experience many things that you otherwise wouldn’t.

Some of these aspects are just fascinating to me—a novice in the world of theater.

I was lucky enough the other day to sit in on a rehearsal session for “understudies.” I really enjoyed seeing another side of cast members who play regular roles on a daily basis, but who could be called upon at any time to perform a “leading role.” One of those, of course, is granddaughter, Taylor Bera, who is the understudy for little sister, Carrie.
And, that same day, the whole cast also had a two-hour rehearsal for the director and choreographer to “fine tune” various aspects of the show.

If it was me, I’d make a show about these kinds of backstage aspects to a show and sell tickets to that one---kind of an updated version of “A Chorus Line.” I wonder . . . . .??

The cast has been having a great time in Tempe otherwise. There’s been mountain climbing at Camelback and skydiving from 13,000 feet for the older members of the cast—yes, the director knew about the latter (or heard about it later) and wasn’t too happy. The dozen that went (not including me) say they’d go again in a heartbeat. I can almost imagine what a minute long freefall from 13,000 feet to 5,000 feet would feel like. WOW!!!

Meanwhile, Taylor and her classmates continued the schoolhouse grind, both for real and in the show itself. No class trips this week. They did have fun times at “Meet and Greets” for several groups, including a contingent of “military families,” who attended the shows. The also had a special event night for kids prior to the show.

They also got to meet a distant relative of the Ingalls’ family---Laura Ingalls Gunn. She is related through her great-great grandfather Lansford James, the brother of Charles Ingalls, Laura Ingalls Wilder’s father. She is actually is a fourth cousin of Laura Ingalls Wilder, who wrote the Little House books. She came backstage after the opening night show and then showed up the next day for kid’s day in a traditional prairie dress. She wanted to be our friend on Facebook and we agreed.

It’s hard to recap what happened since we left the tour in Springfield and rejoining it in Detroit, but my picture gallery attached will do that through the courtesy of shots taken by Taylor; her father and mother, Joe and Kelly Bera, and Carolyn Dunning, the tutor, who travels with the show.

Check out this site:

http://www.kodakgallery.com/gallery/creativeapps/slideShow/Main.jsp?token=648785820803%3A701487783

My last blog had pictures from the stop in Tulsa. Joe went there with Taylor following Springfield and stayed on through Oklahoma City and St. Louis. Kelly and granddaughter, Maggie, joined them in St. Louis for Thanksgiving and then Kelly went with Taylor to Detroit.

In Oklahoma City they visited the Cowboy Hall of Fame Museum and the memorial at the site of Murrah Building bombing. In St. Louis, the when up in the Arch overlooking the city and the Mississippi River. They also went through the St. Louis City Museum.

In Detroit, they toured the Ford Museum and Hitsville USA.
Here’s a review of the play while it played in Detroit: http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-29085-Detroit-Performing-Arts-Examiner~y2009m12d2-Review-Little-House-on-the-Prairie-The-Musical-at-Fox-Theatre-in-Detroit

The next stop is Denver for two weeks where spend Christmas—hope Santa follows Joe, Kelly and Maggie to the “Mile-High City.” The company gets a break in time to give us a chance to ring in the New Year at home, and then we head off to our next stop in Fayetteville, AK.

LHOTP in Springfield and Tulsa

2009-11-15T15:45:00.000-08:00

Well, we’ve had to detour from “The Prairie.” Helen and pneumonia collided while we were in Springfield, MO for the second half of a split week. Little House on the Prairie, the Musical, did four shows at the Juanita Hammons Hall for the Performing Arts but the illness bug hit Helen really hard after the next to last show.

She ended up in the emergency room at Mercy St. John’s Hospital in Springfield after we watched the Saturday night performance. She was in the ICU for the next 2 days and in a regular room for one day. We then drove to St. Louis for an evening non-stop flight and we’re back home in New Jersey for follow-up treatment.

Meanwhile, the LHOTP cast and crew packed up after the Sunday matinee and headed by bus for a week in Tulsa, OK. Fortunately Taylor’s family (including older sister, Maggie) had paid a surprise visit in Springfield, so Taylor’s father, Joe, was able to accompany her.

Helen had been fighting the “cold bug” for a while and coupled with the heavy and tiring travel schedule, it caught up her. Don’t know if it was the rain and snow in Minnesota or the rain in Nashville that were the culprits. Of course, we were in confined spaces on five airplanes and six different airports, so that may have contributed.

But, before the detour to the hospital, we were able to do some good things. Joe found a Japanese hibachi restaurant in Springfield and Taylor, who loves the food but hasn’t been able to partake in sometime, got her fill. The folks at the restaurant and the “in-house Dragon” surprised our daughter, Kelly, with a birthday cake. Then we all went to see Taylor perform in the evening LHOTP show.

Helen and I celebrated our 47th anniversary on Monday and the hospital personnel saw that we had a cake. We both had a slice—at least I ate all of mine. Actually, we celebrated our 45th two years earlier with friends a few miles south—in Branson. That was a much more enjoyable time.

The tour went on without us. The Tulsa Performing Arts Center was host for the eight performance week. It got the following good review from the local paper:

http://www.tulsaworld.com/scene/article.aspx?subjectid=371&articleid=20091111_371_0_Thatwa862153

You can also check out the following You Tube site for a promo made about the show:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a2zoQcxoEM4

Taylor can be seen in a number of scenes in the video—she’s the little girl with the glasses and yellow dress dancing behind Melissa Gilbert in the curtain call dance.

Here are a collection of pictures that I made while in Springfield and some that Joe and others made in Tulsa:
http://www.kodakgallery.com/gallery/creativeapps/slideShow/Main.jsp?token=634952629703%3A1553952249&cm_mmc=site_email-_-new_site_share-_-core-_-View_photos_link

Next stop is a week in Oklahoma City (where I hope to rejoin the tour). Visits to the West Heritage /Cowboy Hall of Fame and the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building Memorial and Museum created in memory of those killed in the 1995 bombing are being planned for the school-age cast members and others who want to go too.

Little House in Little Rock

2009-11-05T22:08:00.000-08:00

We’ve just completed the first half of a split week. Four shows in Little Rock, AR, and the cast of “Little House on the Prairie, the Musical” will have another four shows in three days in Springfield, MO following a bus ride tomorrow morning.

Sound like fun? The cast thinks so, although it’s somewhat tiring for all concerned.

The production crew and the musicians have had to set up for shows in two entirely different venues in two cities in a seven-day period. That means tearing down and loading up after tonight’s last show in Little Rock and getting to Springfield in the wee hours Friday to get ready for an 8 p.m. show. Four semi-trailer trucks are needed to hold all of the gear, costumes and scenery.

It really needs to be set up earlier in the day because the cast needs to familiarize itself with the new stage and dressing areas much earlier. The traveling orchestra (the musical director and three musicians) has to spend the entire day with the musicians they pickup in each city to familiarize them with the score.

Then there will be a cast meeting at 5:45pm, followed by a sound check, which leaves less than an hour until the curtain goes up. Two shows are scheduled on Saturday and one Sunday afternoon before we hit the trail for Tulsa by bus Sunday night. At least, we’ll be in Tulsa for a full week and some regularly in the day’s schedule/

Enough detail on the work and the downside of the musical game!

The kids (and the grown-up kids accompanying them) had a great time in Little Rock. Pictures of some of the adventures can be found at:

http://www.kodakgallery.com/gallery/creativeapps/slideShow/Main.jsp?token=298945198703%3A1365255720&cm_mmc=site_email-_-new_site_share-_-core-_-View_photos_link

There were a couple of highlights of the time spent in Little Rock.

1. Our granddaughter, Taylor Bera, and two of her schoolmates, were named “Honorary Duck Masters” at the local Peabody Hotel. If you say you’ve never heard of such a job, you may not be alone. It seems that one of the original owners of the first Peabody Hotel thought it would be neat to have ducks (real ones) swimming in a pool in the lobby of his first hotel, but he knew they couldn’t stay inside all the time. So he needed a way to get them to and from the pool every day. The owner created a formal ceremony –one in the morning to get them to pool and another in the afternoon to return them to their overnight home.

Taylor and her classmates got to escort them on the “red carpet” after they marched out of the pool, to the elevator, and then rode with them up to the second floor. They assisted them into a cage, pushed the cage to their rooftop “home” and then escorted them into the home.

They each received a formal certificate from the “head Duck Master” designating their status. A lot of the spectators looked a little jealous. The morning and afternoon ceremonies are held 365 days a year and draw quite a crowd at each ceremony. Taylor thought it was a lot of fun.

2. The kids’ other special treat in Little Rock was being special guests for the day
at the Clinton Presidential Library. They received had dinner at the Library and then a guided tour of the facility honoring our 42nd president. After they completed tour, they were given a bag full of mementos from Ann Kamps, manager of the Volunteers and Visitor Services for the Clinton Library. The guardians and many of the cast were also given passes to visit the library.

The show was well attended by Little Rock residents and the mayor of the town issued a formal proclamation making November 3, 2009, Little House on the Prairie Day in the city.

The play shared the spotlight in the city with the start of the trial of a man accused of October 2008 killing of a popular Arkansas television personality, Anne Pressly. The trial was being held in at the Circuit Courthouse just across the street from the Robinson Center Music Hall.

Little House in "Music City"

2009-11-01T20:18:00.000-08:00

“Little House on the Prairie, the Musical” fits in pretty well in Music City. Nashville has received the show and the cast very well. Too bad the weather hasn’t been so nice.

We flew out of Minneapolis-St. Paul on a dark and dreary Monday, then had to change planes at Chicago’s O’Hare moving from Terminal B to Terminal F—about a ¾ mile walk, at least. The Little House cast of 30 filled half of the plane for the Chicago to Nashville leg—that should give you some idea how big the plane was.

We were greeted in Nashville by sun!!! Our spirits were immediately buoyed after six hours of travel!

We’re staying at Sheraton in downtown Nashville and just across the street is our play’s venue, the Tennessee Performing Arts Center. It’s located just in the shadow of the State Capitol Building. TPAC seats nearly 2,500 and attendance has been great—near capacity many times.

The sun stayed behind the clouds most of the rest of the week—warm and shirtsleeve weather some of the time, but rained a couple of the days and got cool. Some Georgia Tech fans got real nervous Saturday night when they saw me with an umbrella in hand on the elevator. They were heading off for Tech’s game at Vanderbilt (just down the road) and I had to explain to them that I was just getting back from a morning affair when it had been raining. I think the Tech fans had been partying all afternoon anyway and a little rain wouldn’t have bothered them anyway.

Forget the weather—we’ve had a great time in Nashville! Helen and I were able to relive some previous memories when we visited here years ago, but we’ve found that passage of time has brought some changes in former haunts. Some years ago we “line-danced” at the Wild Horse Saloon and ate great “pulled-pork sandwiches. Now they put tables on the dance floor so more people can drink and listen to the bands (the sandwiches weren’t as good either).

We checked out the Ryman Auditorium, the original home of the Grand Ole Opry. Last time there, we just walked in the front door, wandered around the theater, walked backstage and onto the stage. Now, they’ve built a new visitors center complete with a gift shop and a $12.50 per person admission charge ($16.50, if you want a backstage tour). We were content this time to take a picture of life size bronzed Minnie Pearl and Roy Acuff statues sitting on a bench in the foyer.

I’m happy to say that Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge-just across the alley from the Ryman—is just like we remember it. It's famous! Legend has it that country stars appearing at the Ryman slipped across the alley to have a quick drink while shows were going on. I don’t know about that but it’s a great to have a beer while watching fledging country bands perform in the front window.

Of course, neither Taylor nor her school chums visited these haunts. They don’t have time with five hours of classes, Tuesday through Friday. Next week is going to be really tough for them because we’ll be in two separate cities---four shows including a matinee in Little Rock, AK, and four more in Springfield, MO, later in the week—with a bus ride at midweek. I guess they’ll do some reading too on the bus ride.

As tough as it is though, none of them are ready to call it quits. They’re having too much fun.

They attended a party in the TPAC museum on opening night Tuesday, then another on Thursday hosted by The Seeing Eye, a group that provides support services for the blind. We were very fortunate to meet at the latter party a couple of parents who brought their 10-year-old daughters to the show. Taylor had a great conversation with the girls and Helen mentioned that we were not sure how Taylor would get to dress up on Halloween and “trick or treat.”

The next thing we knew Taylor was invited to join the girls at a morning party on Saturday at their church in downtown Nashville. Taylor dressed up as “Alice in Wonderland” costume that we bought in St. Paul. It was a holiday festival with games, prizes, several inflatable slides and bouncers plus a real good magic show. There was plenty of candy, food and soft drinks for all. So Taylor got to be a kid before heading back to TPAC for two shows on Halloween. The older members of the cast also made Halloween better for the kids with candy bowls in every dressing area-although I think they enjoyed he candy as much as the kids.

Earlier in the week, Taylor’s schoolmates, Carly and Michael plus the 16-year-old in the cast, Kurt Engh, visited the Belle Meade Plantation outside of Nashville. The humble beginnings of the plantation trace to the 1820s in a small cabin. The owner became a wealthy race horse breeder and the mansion that remains today was built in 1853. In its prime, the plantation occupied 3,000 acres of land and was maintained by 132 slaves.

The owner was a Southern States sympathizer and was thought to have contributed $500,000 to the Dixie war chest prior to the war. He spent a year in Union jail at the beginning of the war, but his wife appealed to the Union Army, paid a $20,000 fine and the plantation was given an exemption for the length of the war. Fighting went on all around the plantation but only one skirmish was reported on the property during the war.

Accompanying the kids were Scott Engh, Kurt’s father; Bruce Boxleitner, Michael’s father, and myself. Don’t know who had more fun—the kids or the chaperones. Boxleitner and I found out we had a lot in common—both born in Illinois although a decade apart and he says he probably was a participant in some of the ’68 Days of Rage protests that I covered while working for the Associated Press in Chicago. He, of course, survived those days very well and went on to a continuing career in movies and TV. He is really an interesting guy. He’s also a fan of country music and is really knowledgeable about the civil war.

I got to experience one of the LHOTP shows in a whole new way during this stop—the percussionist made special arrangements with the musical director to allow me to view their work and the show itself from a different perspective –from the orchestra pit. Wow do they work really hard there during the show!

Here’s a collection of pictures from our time in Music City:

http://www.kodakgallery.com/gallery/creativeapps/slideShow/Main.jsp?token=122166778703%3A1576417321

We head out Monday morning for our next stop—Little Rock, AR.

Flying Fun, the Aquarium and Science Museum

2009-10-24T20:39:00.000-07:00

What a week!!! Started out with a “day off” on Monday that turned out to be really action-filled and at mid-week, granddaughter Taylor Bera let me tag along with her school class for a day at the Minnesota Science Museum.

The tour is wrapping up two weeks in St. Paul, MN, this weekend with matinees today and Sunday and evening performances both days.

At 8 a.m. on Monday, we’ll load up with the cast and head for a week in Nashville, TN. Thank God—they can stop making fun of my accent (somewhat Southern, they say, left over from my days in the hills of Southern Illinois). Pretty soon, everyone will have a southern twang and mine will be forgotten.

But we can’t leave Minnesota without recapping our last week here.

While on location for more than a week, Mondays are a “real day off” for the cast. There’s no school, no travel and no practices.

So we headed for the Mall of America that I wrote about earlier. This time Taylor and Carly Sonenclar from the cast and one of her schoolmates, headed for the MOA “bright and early”—well I have to admit that 11 a.m. is bright and early for “theater-folk.” Helen and Carly’s mother, Terri (not to be confused with Taylor’s aunt, Terri, our daughter) went too.

I’ve heard the aquarium at the Mall was good but I was really more interested in tackling the amusement park rides that I spotted during an expedition there the previous week.

But, I was talked into going to the aquarium first and as it turned out I was glad that they did. You’ll see in the pictures accompanying this blog that we saw some really interesting fish and the setup of the place is really fantastic. You don’t just walk by and look into fish tanks. The fish literally swim over, under and around you as you walk through the exhibit.

Taylor said it was really, real cool and it wasn’t long before I wore out the battery on my camera and had to rely my phone’s camera the rest of the day. Tip for future visitors—“Always recharge your camera the night before!”

The aquarium was so good that Taylor and I visited it a second time to see if we missed anything the first time through.

It was a great day to be at the mall. Most of the school age children in Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington area were in school, so we had the place to ourselves for most of the day.

Taylor and Carly’s enjoyed many of the roller coasters and I have to admit that I did too except I got soaked on the Log Flume ride. Helen and Terri meanwhile looked on or shopped.

Around 4 p.m., we left the MOA and headed for a cast party a nearby condo hosted by the parents of one of the cast members.

All of the “”kids (and I’ll include the cast members in that group) had a great time playing Beatles’ Rock Band. Taylor was right in the middle playing the drums or the guitar or singing.

Helen and I just ate and sat and talked with the parents and the rest of the chaperones.

The host then surprised us all by giving us all the opportunity to sit in the pilot’s seat controlling an Airbus 320 aircraft on takeoff and landing. That’s the same plane that landed safely in the Hudson River a few months ago. Of course, we only were in a flight simulator, but, it was amazing. Taylor’s a real pro and if theater doesn’t work out, maybe she can be the next Amelia Earhart. I didn’t see her in action directly because I was in a different simulator, but I’m told she landed right on line at San Francisco Airport after flying over the Golden Gate Bridge.

I, on the other hand, landed a little rougher at the Minneapolis airport after veering off onto the grass for a bit. I thought I did pretty well but the navigator sitting behind me said she’d had enough and got off before trying her hand on the joystick control.

Wednesday was a bit more controlled excitement for Taylor and her classmates and teacher. We all went to the Science Museum, saw a film on the IMAX dome screen about a Russian crew who explored the Titanic that sank in 1912 and then toured the Titanic exhibit. Besides the artifacts from the sunken pleasure ship, everyone gets assigned the name of a passenger who sailed on that fatal voyage. There were three classes of passengers on the ship and during the tour you get the see and hear about the types of accommodations and experiences your passenger experienced onboard.

At the end, you learn whether your passenger survived or perished. Taylor and her teacher, Carolyn, both had first class passengers. Carly’s passenger traveled in 3rd class. All three survived the sinking. Michael Boxleitner, Melissa Gilbert’s 14 year old son who in the cast and goes to school with Taylor and Carly, and I also had 3rd class passengers who didn’t make through the ordeal. We surmised that they spent their last moments together in the bar having a beer.

Here are some pictures from the MOA, Aquarium and the Science Museum (we were not allowed to take pictures inside the Titanic exhibit:

http://www.kodakgallery.com/gallery/creativeapps/slideShow/Main.jsp?token=513096058703%3A1416684581

So far, so good. Next stop is Nashville for a week of performances.

The Mall of America & the Little House Cast Party

2009-10-18T19:38:00.000-07:00

The kids in the cast of “Little House on the Prairie, the Musical” have to go to school every Tuesday through Friday, but the chaperones get most days off. Helen, Joe, Kelly and I were able to go to the Mall of America while Taylor “cracked the books. What a “place!” Here’s a picture of Helen and Kelly heading into the mall.

It has three levels of shops (some sections of the mall have four floors) –grounded by four major stores on each corner—Macy’s, Nordstroms, Sears and Bloomingdales. So what’s so unique about that? IT’S THE CENTER OF THE MALL!

It’s a real, big time amusement park with rides that accommodate young and “older kids” alike. The rides include several versions of roller coasters, a Ferris wheel, merry-go-round, a three-story skywalk—enough to keep you busy for a full day.

Movie matinees are only $6 for all ages and they have a free show on Saturday morning. There’s a full scale Aquarium located under the mall. What a place to spend a day!

Here are some pictures from the Mall and the opening night party at the Ordway Center for the Performing Arts:

http://www.kodakgallery.com/gallery/creativeapps/slideShow/Main.jsp?token=188628238703%3A1193848231

The three show kids finally get a day off on Monday (one cast member from the Minneapolis area is holding a house party for the cast.)

On Wednesday, the kids and some of the chaperones are going on a class trip to the Science Museum of Minnesota with an IMAX show and Titanic exhibit. I don’t know about the kids, but I’m looking forward to it!

Little House got a great review in the St. Paul Pioneer-Press. Here it is:

http://www.tcdailyplanet.net/news/2009/10/16/theater-classy-little-house-prairie-musical-ordway

On the Road in St. Paul, MN

2009-10-14T13:53:00.000-07:00

Our adventure is well underway. We’ve traveled 1,200 miles to the Midwest with the cast of “Little House on the Prairie, The Musical.” They had a preview performance last night at the Ordway Center for the Performing Arts in St. Paul, Mn, and the opening night show with a cast party afterwards is on tap for tonight.

The Ordway is a beautiful venue for performances, the cast tells us. Our granddaughter, Taylor Bera, has a huge dressing room that she shares with Carly Rose Sonenclar, who is the regular Carrie in the play. Taylor is her understudy besides appearing with the ensemble and as Ruby, one of the Brewster school children. Taylor’s bright face seems in be there in most of scenes. There’s a picture of the dressing room in the slideshow of pictures found at:

http://www.kodakgallery.com/gallery/creativeapps/slideShow/Main.jsp?token=634147128703%3A2107805754

Everything connected with the show had been packed up after it closed at the Paper Mill Playhouse in Millburn, NJ, last Saturday night and was here when we arrived on Monday evening. We were surprised to learn that included the stage floor used at Paper Mill. It’s a linoleum-type flooring that comes in sections and already has the markings needed to tell the actors were scenery needs to be located and other markings to guide them through the show. They lay the flooring on top of the regular stage. At the end of the two-weeks here, they pick it up and take it to Nashville, our next stop.

It’s cold in the 30s, but, comfortable in St. Paul where the Ordway is located and where we are staying. The snow came and mostly went before Helen and I arrived. Our daughter, Kelly, Taylor’s mom, arrived some hours later because her flight from Newark was delayed by the Midwest storms and the need to get a new crew for her flight. Taylor’s father, Joe, arrived last night. They’ll be here a few days before heading back to New Jersey.

Not much else to report at this point. The school kids (Taylor is one of 3) are locked in a pretty tight schedule. Five hours of school a day—Tuesday through Friday—with one performance each night, then on the weekends-a matinee and evening performance on Saturday and Sunday. They get a school break next Wednesday when they go on a field trip. We’re lucky because we get to go too.

So far, Taylor says she’s having the time of her life while big sister, Maggie, at home is preparing for her opening night this Saturday as the third sister, Chava, in “Fiddler on the Roof,” at Main Street Theater. That play runs for the next three weekends and it’s the first of Maggie’s show that Helen and I will miss. We did get to see some of her rehearsals and will have to be content with only the DVD versions this time.

The Journey is Ready to Begin

2009-10-07T10:38:00.000-07:00

Well, we’re finally ready to head off to the Prairie. In some respects it seems like only yesterday that our 11-year-old granddaughter, Taylor Bera (then 10), found out she had been selected to be a member of the ‘Little House on the Prairie, The Musical’ cast and that she would be going on the national tour.

That was in July. Then in August, she had 6 days-a-week practice in New York City with the cast headed up by Melissa Gilbert, who played Laura when the show was a hit in the TV lineup in the 80s and 90s. Melissa plays “Ma” in this musical version of the show.

Taylor was picked to understudy the role of Carrie, the youngest of three daughters. She also has a regular role in the ensemble where she sings and dances in eight performances weekly. The picture above shows her dressed for one of the scenes.

Her schedule has been rather hectic. The show opened September 8 for previews at Paper Mill Playhouse in Millburn, NJ, and had its official opening night September 20 with a party later where they walked the “Red carpet."

Most of the shows have played before sold-out audiences.

Taylor was pre-scheduled to play “Carrie” on September 27 and about 150 friends and family members were there when she took the stage. Here’s a slideshow of pictures from that night:

http://www.kodakgallery.com/gallery/creativeapps/slideShow/Main.jsp?token=972933308703%3A1188547254

Actually, she got in some unexpected “practice” when a traffic jam in the New York area stranded the “regular Carrie” and the stage manager told Taylor 30 minutes from curtain time that she’d be going on as Carrie. That was a “understudies’ dream night.” Shades of ‘42nd Street.’

Besides the 8-times-a-week schedule, Taylor has to “do” school, which means she cracks the books on the weekends too with the other two school age members in the cast-Melissa Gilbert’s son, Michael Boxleitner and Carly Rose Sonenclar, who plays Carrie. A tutor accompanies the show.

The local papers have written about Taylor’s adventure. Here’s a link to one of the stories: http://www.mycentraljersey.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2009910020304

The show closes this Saturday (October 10) at Paper Mill. They’ll pack up the sets, costumes and the rest of the scenery and transport it to St. Paul, MN, the next stop on the 20-plus city tour.

Helen and I will be touring with Taylor. We’ll meet up with the rest of the cast in New York City on Monday (October 11) and fly out that morning. The show is scheduled to open Tuesday night in the Ordway Center for the Performing Arts. We’ll be there for two weeks before repeating the whole pack up and flying process to head for Nashville, TN.

We’re looking forward to a real exciting time the next few months and I’ll try to keep you updated through this Blog and pictures throughout the trip. Since this is my first attempt at a Blog, I’d appreciate any comments.