Hartford - A Second Time

Our return engagement in Hartford, Connecticut was one of the weirdest weeks of the tour. During our Philadelphia engagement, Karl announced to the company that the week in Hartford had been shortened to 6 shows - our Tuesday and Wednesday evening performances had been canceled. Through some combination of bad marketing on the part of the local presenter, a general economic slow-down and our having already played the Bushnell for two weeks, they were having difficulty selling tickets. While that's not an encouraging sign, most of the company was happy to take two more days off and go back to New York. The crew got a bit screwed, though: seeing an opportunity to cut costs, the folks in Philly postponed the load-out until Tuesday (our usual Sunday night/Monday morning load-out would have run into Labor Day holiday pay). The crew had to hang around Philly and wait for the load-out at 8 AM on Tuesday - at least they got a good night's sleep before the load-in at the Bushnell on Wednesday.

I took advantage of the extra time and returned to New York. I was happy with a couple of extra nights in my own bed. I did the short drive up to Hartford on Wednesday night.

TVFMHRW - Hartford

I could see the hotel I stayed in last time and the Connecticut River in the distance

Thursday night's performance marked the debut of our newest King Arthur: Jonathan Hadary. Jonathan performed the role of King Arthur with the Broadway company for nearly two years. He's a pro with more than a half dozen Broadway and several touring credits on his resume. It's been interesting to see four different performances put their distinctive spin on the role of the King. It's also been interesting to see what, if any, changes these men engender in the other performers on stage each night. Jonathan's opening night went quite smoothly (it's noticeably easier to teach the show to a local crew that has past experience with the show) and we celebrated with a champagne toast after the show.

Remnants of our previous visit to Hartford - the killer rabbit at Trumbull Kitchen

Friday morning, before rehearsal, Karl and I took a tour of the Connecticut state capitol. The Bushnell Memorial Auditorium is right across the street from the capitol building, yet I didn't make it inside for a tour last time around. While the Connecticut capitol is wonderfully different on the outside from many of the other capitol buildings I've visited (I think it looks like a giant French chateau, our guide described it as Victorian with Moorish influences), it's interior spaces were much like all of the others. Under the lofty dome is a magnificent open space displaying artifacts from the state's long history - including a hall of regimental flags. The state's two legislative bodies have ornate meetings rooms, though the House of Representative's chamber isn't air conditioned. The tour was an interesting peek into a beautiful building, none the less.

Karl and I were the only people on our tour - so we got a few extra perks.

Here I am sitting in the Lieutenant Governor's chair in the State Senate.

The chair is carved from the remains of the "charter oak" (the tree where the colonists were alleged to have hidden the colony's charter when King George tried to recall it).

The Connecticut State Capitol building as seen across Bushnell Park.

Sheila Marie arrived in Hartford Friday night after a publicity gig for Scholastic on the Connecticut shore. She met up with team Spama-management as we all traveled over to a party hosted by Ken and Geoff at Geoff's apartment. (Geoff is a professor at the Hartt School and resident of Hartford.) They provided a nice spread of hors d'vers and a really lovely evening - though I did think that Sheila Marie was going to steal Jeff's cat...

On Saturday, tropical storm Hannah blew through Hartford. It started to pour during the second show on Saturday evening and by the time shot night was over, water was leaking into the theatre all over the basement. I got soaked to the skin on the trek across the park and back to the hotel. Mercifully, Sheila Marie was waiting for me with a bottle of wine and some room service desserts!

Sunday morning dawned bright and sunny. Sheila Marie and I headed for breakfast and walk in the park before work. The carousel in Bushnell Park looked awfully inviting, so we stopped in and took a ride. The carousel was built in 1914 and features some 48 hand-carved carousel horses and a Wurlitzer band organ. It was brought to Hartford in 1974 by the New England Carousel Museum. For just a dollar a piece, Sheila Marie and were kids again!

Sheila rides the carousel

While I was going round and round, I got a text message from Francesca: "Is it true that the power's out at the theatre?" As we walked across the park toward the theatre, it became clear that something was, indeed, up at the Bushnell. The crew was gathered around on the lawn outside the stage door, milling about. It seems that the heavy rains from the night before flooded the theatre's transformer pit outside under the street and knocked out the electricity to the whole backstage. As a safety precaution, none of us were allowed into the dark building. After we stood around enjoying the unexpected time in the sun for a while, the theatre's management announced that both performances would be canceled. We took the performers in to pack up their dressing tables and trunks while the wardrobe and hair crews started their load-outs. We packed up our offices with flashlights in hand and set off to enjoy the rest of our Sunday in Hartford. The rest of the crew returned to the theatre at 5 PM to start their load-out with several generators lighting the way.

Cast and crew mill about near the capitol while the lights are out inside the Bushnell

Sheila Marie and I got a few more hours to spend together before her train left to take her back to New York. We got lunch and looked, in vain, for a way to stay together even longer. Too soon, Sheila Marie was on a southbound train and I was at liberty in Hartford.

I started packing, but temptation came a callin'. Since I had already picked up my rental car for the trip to Toronto, it was suggested that we make a trip to Mohegan Sun, a scant 45 minutes away. David, Wayne, Roy and I loaded up the car and paid a visit to some of the Indians of Connecticut. Though none of us proved to be very lucky, we had a great time. The casino is quite a place. It's enormous and fancifully decorated - there are sections representing the "air" and the "earth". Connecting the "air" and "earth" is a giant, and very high-end, mall. We whiled away several hours before we all returned to Hartford, poorer monetarily but richer in spirit.

Bright and early on Monday morning, I finished my packing and loaded up the rental car for a trip northward to Toronto.

Sunrise over the Connecticut River on Monday morning.

JV