"Miss Montana! 'A beaut from Butte'...Miss North Carolina! 'Nothin' could be finer'....Miss Delaware! 'uhhhh......good for her' "

Two little peregrine falcons over looking the park near our hotel

A statue of patriot Caesar Rodney across from our theatre 

The lobby of the Hotel DuPont 

The DuPont Theatre 

The side of the Queen Theatre 

Right on the heels of my Madison blog comes my "exciting" blog from the metropolis of Wilmington, DE.  The title of this blog is a line from one of my favorite Simpsons episodes, where Homer is watching a beauty pageant and commenting on what the commentator is saying.  No offense to the 1st State, but Delaware isn't exactly known for being exciting.  Wilmington, however, has a reputation for being a bit...shall we say...dodgy.  So, here we go!!

With very few hiccups, I flew from Portland, ME to Philadelphia on Monday afternoon.  Once I arrived, I waited for the prepaid shuttle that would take me on the short 40 minute drive to my Wilmington hotel, where I was joined by Brian, our sound man.  After checking into our modest hotel in the heart of downtown, I walked around a bit, trying to find some sights and/or meal spots for the week; the area had very little to offer.  However, I did find a great sushi restaurant, Mikimoto, near the hotel for some expensive but fantastic sushi.  I spent the majority of the evening at my hotel before heading to the Washington Street Ale House (what would become a popular hang for the week) by myself for a late night snack and a craft beer.  

I walked around town trying to find some things to do and running quite a few errands on Tuesday morning and afternoon, before heading to Presto for a nice sandwich for lunch.  Ironically, the three places I frequented this week were all connected and on the same block.  Go figure.  After chilling in my room for the rest of the day and eating a wrap I had bought earlier for dinner, I made the short walk to the DuPont Theater (above) for our opening night.  A beautiful, historic and intimate little theatre, it was a great fit for our show.  The audience was quite good that night, and following the show I went to the Ale House for a little goodbye party.  Domenica Boscardin, our master electrician was leaving us.  She had been with us from the very first load in nearly 3 years ago in Cleveland, and if you recall the hellish trip I made from Minneapolis to Peoria in the middle of the night during the Polar Vortex portion of our winter, you will recall I made it with my "special friend" Nica.  When you make a do or die drive like that in the middle of the night with someone, you kinda have a bond for life.  Though it was under some terrible circumstances, I will always look back fondly on that drive with Nica, and I was quite sad to see her go.  But, as is often the case on this or any tour, people come and go.  We welcomed Emily Stamm back into our midst for the remainder of the tour, and also Nicole from her recent hiatus to continue hiking the Appalachian Trail.  

The boys and I were supposed to play a promo at a farmer's market on Wednesday morning, but it was cancelled due to rain.  Which just meant that I had more time to sit it my room before our odd two show day.  I say it's odd, but it really isn't.  It's a pretty standard Broadway schedule, but we don't often have week day matinees.  So, it was a bit different for us.  Both shows went swimmingly though, and in between I ventured to nearby Presto to grab a sandwich with Kelly.  I had a bit of time to chill before heading back for another great show, and that evening I ended up joining Tyler and some "fan boys" of our show at the E and S Taproom (a bar in an old bank) for a bite to eat and some conversation.  

I did very little on Thursday, save heading to Brew Ha Ha for some coffee and a chicken salad sandwich in the afternoon.  The show went well that night (despite my frustration over a box that went missing that was supposed to be delivered that day) and a few of us met at the Ale House afterward; their garlic soy flank steak salad had me hooked.  

Sadly, Friday was a tin type of Thursday, adding only my frantic search for my box; thus continuing my need to call UPS Unwanted Parcel Search.......but at least we had a kick ass show that night.  I had a delightful chicken quesadilla at the hotel bar that night, and then turned in.  

Saturday was another busy two show day, and in between we took part in a little project.  W.S. "Fluke" Holland (who I have brought up several times in past blogs, so shame on you if you don't remember who he is ;) ) is celebrating his 60th year in the record business, and a friend of his, Tim Forrest contacted me about having some of our cast film "shout outs" to Fluke in celebration of his milestone.  After setting it up with our marketing folks, I took it upon myself to gather the troops and film all of us.  Tim is planning on making a documentary about Fluke's career, so hopefully we make the cut!  Both shows went quite well, and the Ale House became our home for the night again.  

Sunday was another odd day with only a matinee, leaving the evening free do with as we pleased.  It was really nice to not have a show that night (though, don't get me wrong, I LOVE this show), which gave us time to get dinner, lay low, and regroup at the Ale House for the last time before heading out in the morning.  

Sorry for the quick blog, but in all seriousness, there wasn't a whole lot going on during our time in Wilmington.  Time is growing short on tour, as we have two split-weeks coming up, followed by a week in Dayton, OH; and then, well....a lot of things change.  So, thank you for tuning in yet again, and keep your eyes peeled for yet another story from the road soon!!