The Kravis Center for the Performing Arts, West Palm Beach
A beautiful little theatre in the CityPlace
Hello everyone! Sorry for the lack of pictures this time around, but I didn't stray all that far from the hotel this week. The weather was quite nice, but I think with all of our travel lately, I just needed another week to just sit and chill. And, to prepare for what promised to be a very crazy week in Nashville. So, here are the events of our week in West Palm!
We made the relatively short drive from Jacksonville on Monday with very little excitement, which is always good for a travel day. We got in in the mid afternoon, so we had plenty of time to get settled and enjoy the warm, albeit blustery weather. I had not mentioned it before, but two weeks prior we were joined by two new crew members. Dani and Robby V took two weeks off to head to Aruba for vacation and to attend a couple of weddings, so we were joined by Dan Krohne (he and his now wife Jillian were on tour with us for the first year and a half) and Emily Stamm; Emily was a completely new member of the crew, and it was a pleasure to have her out with us. I mention it now, because they were slated to leave us following load in the next day. Anywho, after chilling a bit I was getting pretty hungry, but also wanted to get some groceries. Our rooms were quite nice, and we had full kitchens. So my plan for the week was to get cozy and homey and make most of my meals at home. So, I ventured to the nearly Publix and grabbed a whole bunch of food to last me the week....and then some. Tara and Sam greeted James in West Palm; it was the first time we had seen them in months, and thankfully only a few weeks for him. They offered kindly to order some Thai food for them if I got them a few things at the grocery store, so when I returned I had a nice dinner with the Franklin-Barry's in their hotel room. And yes, Sam, your daddy's food was very spicy. After that, I laid low for much of the night in my room, snacking a bit as the night went on.
I stuck to my room for the most part on Tuesday, with a little stop in the gym for some overdue exercise. Following that, I made myself a nice sandwich and potato salad in my room and watched TV for much of the day before getting ready to head to work. The boys and I headed downtown to the Kravis Center (above) and made our way backstage. The theatre was quite nice, and thankfully our crew had had a pretty smooth load in. What wasn't smooth, however was a good amount of the show. After our usual 45 minute sound check in our first show in each city, all seemed well. We dispersed to our dressing rooms to prepare for the show. The curtain rose, and Blue Suede Shoes was met with thunderous applause. The show continued on well, but when James prepared to start Who Do You Love by grabbing the maracas from the drum riser (which he had checked, as always, during sound check)....they were gone. On the fly, he had to figure out what to tell Jerry Lee (John) to do. The awkwardness and maraca-less show continued as I entered, fully aware of the problem and prepared with alternate dialogue I had come up with; it was pretty obvious to all that there was a problem, as the crew was frantically trying to figure out where they could have possibly gone and how to fix it. Once we made it through the weird patch, the show went pretty well. But it will forever be remembered as the "missing maraca show". Following the opening night show, we headed home where I decided to stay in for the duration.
An uncharacteristic 2 show day greeted us on Wednesday, so there was very little else going on. Two great shows that day, and surprise visit from our very own director Eric Schaeffer (often known as just Mr. Phillips). We only saw him for a few minutes, but he was sticking around for another day, so I knew we would be seeing him again. Between shows I simply made myself food and stayed in my room. All in all a very low key day, minus having two shows on a Wednesday.
We had some early press on Thursday for the four of us....and rather than get negative....I will say it....could have gone better. Moving right along....
Because it was early, and press had been a bit stressful, I went home to nap for a bit before going about my day. I made food at home again, and made my way to the theatre with the boys for the show that night. The show went quite well, and I incorporated the couple of notes Mr. Phillips had given me from the night before. It was Kelly's birthday, so we all celebrated prior to the show with some cake and singing in the company/stage management office. Our plan was to take her out that night, but she wasn't feeling the greatest. So instead we headed to the Ale House that was very close by for some food and drinks with Mr. Phillips. Cody and Brad wandered to a western bar closeby, and coaxed us to join them. I wouldn't say it was all that "western", but we had a good time hanging for a bit before heading home.
Again I stayed in for much of the day on Friday, making my meals at home. I did, however venture out to buy a few things at Walgreens, and decided to stop in Best Buy on a whim. We had gotten $100 gift cards for doing the meet and greets in Jacksonville, and I also had a $20 reward for the store. Low and behold, they had a camera that I had been looking at on sale, and....I pulled the trigger. So I am now that owner of a beautiful new Sony camera! And though I only took some test shots with it, not to worry; you will see PLENTY of pictures in my next installment. After heading home to play with my new toy and making dinner, the boys and I headed to the show, where Robby would be taking over as Elvis for the rest of the weekend. We all had a great show that night, and Robby felt like it was perhaps his best performance as Elvis to date. I would have to agree. His nerves are gone, and he is able to let loose and enjoy himself while putting on a great and consistent show. Well done, my friend.
Saturday was the usual busy day with two shows, and along with making my meals at home (and sneaking in some McDonald's which I was craving for some reason) and getting a few things at Target that I had forgotten to get at Walgreens. Robby nailed both shows, and we all had a great double day at work.
Sunday brought only one show, and an evening off; something we very rarely experienced. Our closing performance went off without a hitch, and then it was back to the hotel to enjoy the evening. I dropped James off and decided to head downtown in search of makeup (I'm such an actor), browse Lucky Brand and grab some dinner. No dice on the makeup, as it seems the Macy's at CityPlace in West Palm Beach is the only one EVER to not have a MAC counter. Very odd. Undeterred, I went to Lucky Brand and looked around for a while. I ended up buying a couple of shirts, one for Robby in celebration of his successful weekend as Elvis. And then I headed to the Mellow Mushroom for what I had been craving all week....PIZZA. I ordered a bigger pizza than I could eat, knowing that I would most likely be hungry later on, and I was correct. I got home and spent the remainder of my night in my room, watching TV and movies and just generally relaxing. And I'm glad I did; the week that was about to come was going to be bereft of moments like that.
So, there's our week in West Palm. I know it wasn't the most exciting, but I ASSURE you that our week/my blog in Nashville will more than make up for it. Thank you for tuning in, and get ready for one hell of a blog next week!!!
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