Moving Day

Moving Day
Monday, March 19th

The last weekend in Baltimore was a busy one. Friday night I did, in fact, head out to Bertha’s for some of their famous mussels. I went out with Mike (electics/pyro), Josh (electrics), Michael (a.k.a. Cuz – sound) and Pam (hair). We took taxis over to Fell’s Point, the Williamsburg-ish neighborhood on the waterfront. We had a really great time. We polished off 5 big bowls of the mussels; who knew mussels are such good bar food? They give you something to do (like peanuts), have a fun condiment (garlic butter), and take a long-ish time to eat (so you keep drinking). Unfortunately, they don’t soak up any alcohol in your stomach and I had plenty of time to drink. By the time we piled back into taxis, I was the proud owner of an “EAT BERTHA’S MUSSELS” bumper sticker AND t-shirt. The upshot is that we may have sold some tickets to the show; the bartenders were big Monty Python fans…

The bartenders at Bertha's & one of their infamous bumper stickers.

(One now graces my trunk.)

Tony (sound) and some other members of the Spamily edited one of the bumper stickers on an earlier visit ...

Saturday and Sunday were two show days. Sunday began with a bang, though: just after I got out of the shower, the Radisson had a fire alarm. It turned out to be a false alarm, but I was out on the street with many of the hotel guests for about ½ an hour. Thank goodness it was a clear and sunny day! Hannah came up from D.C. to catch the matinee on Sunday. We had a quick bite between shows and continued to catch up gossip. And then, of course, load out on Sunday night. My part in the load-out is brief: Ken does most of the packing while Francesca and I run the show. By the time the show’s over, all that’s left to do is pack up the lobby board (the company listing that sits in the lobby), collect the valuables bags and lock up our road boxes.

My Sunday morning wake-up call.

This morning, I finished packing up my suitcases and we boarded a charter bus for Philly. Much of the cast had headed back to NYC for their day and a half off (the crew left on a sleeper bus after load-out) so there was plenty of room to spread out on the bus. The trip was brief, only about 2 hours. We arrived in Philly around 2:15 PM. I checked into the Residence Inn across the street from City Hall. I LOVE MY ROOM! I’m in a corner studio on the 16th floor with windows on two sides overlooking City Hall. I have my own little kitchen (a dishwasher but no oven). Not only do they serve a hot breakfast every morning, but Monday thru Thursday they offer a “social hour” with free hot entrees and a bar. As fun as the mac ‘n cheese and wings they’re serving tonight sounded, I was too excited about cooking for myself to head down there. There’s also a full-on Laundromat in the basement. (There was a single washer in the Baltimore Radisson.) I’m digging this hotel a lot.

The Reading Terminal Market is right around the corner from my hotel. Even better than the Lexington Market in Baltimore, the Reading Terminal Market is a farmer’s and gourmet market with restaurants. I got nearly everything I need for the gorgonzola/sausage/broccoli pasta and salad I’m planning for tonight. I can’t wait until later in the week when the Pennsylvania Dutch bring their wares to the market! I’m awfully glad to have a kitchen with such an exciting culinary resource nearby.

Philly feels much more like New York than any of the places we’ve been on tour thus far. Though we’ve been in the downtown areas of many of the cities we’ve played, but this is the first time it feels like that there’s everything you need in walking distance and there are not big weird gaps along your walking route. Though Atlanta turned out to be very walkable, it was clearly a driving city and there were some sketchy low-rise areas along the way. In Baltimore and Memphis the downtown area had very clearly gone downhill and hadn’t rebounded all the way yet. (In Memphis it may have still been declining.) Though I enjoyed all of those towns, I feel the most at home here.

Tomorrow’s the long day. (The presenters are throwing us an opening night party after the show.) Wednesday we have two shows. Thursday there’s a full company brush-up in the afternoon and a one-year celebration party after the show. So, Friday will be my first real opportunity to get out and see the city. Sheila’s coming down this weekend with Andy D. and I can’t wait! With just one matinee on Sunday, I should be able to be back in NYC for a late dinner. It doesn’t look like I’ll be seeing much of the Philadelphia this week, but we’re here for a total of three weeks, so I’m sure I’ll be able to get a good taste.

I compared the baseball schedule to my tour schedule and was a little disappointed with the results. There’s only one game I can get to here in Philly. It’s a 3 PM matinee on the last Thursday we’re in town. I’ll probably go, but will have to leave early to make show call. After that, we’re in a bunch of towns with no major league team (Hartford, Rochester, Buffalo, Indianapolis, Louisville) until we’re in Texas. Even then, there’s only one game each in Dallas and Houston. I had hoped to see a lot more games and stadiums while on tour… Oh well, I’ll be sure to go to some minor league games. (I am home for the Yankees home-opener, but the game is, of course, sold out.)

JV