hey, check out the new fan page i have dedicated to tale of two cities!

www.myspace.com/taleoftwocitiesmusical

my story!

firstly, i was hoping, since my trip to nyc went off without a hitch, that travel delays would no longer be plaguing me. well, i was wrong. i left the house a little before 5am on tuesday morning, i had to be at the airport by 730 for a 9am flight, and it usually only takes about 2 hrs to get to new orleans from mobile. well, we ran into weather and rush hour traffic, and i got to the security gate about 5 minutes before my flight was scheduled to start boarding. and my b/f is all "with the weather, your flight is going to be delayed". well, it wasn't, so i just barely got to my gate right before boarding began. i got to atlanta on time and had a three hour layover. kristin arrived from newark about an hour and half after me, and we got a bite to eat before our flight to sarasota left. we got to the airport, and kristin had a bit of an issue with her bags. we thought the airline had lost them, but low and behold, they did appear! we got our rental car (a fabu "chad" blue pt cruiser...check out my pics!) and headed to the hotel. after getting slightly lost, we arrived at the hotel. the room was very clean, save for one spider that kristin had to kill. (i'm horribly afraid.) we toyed with the idea of going to the stage door that night, but we were both so tired, we just stayed in. later on, we were talking about how we should have gone over there that night! so, instead of going out, we stayed in and watch dracula 2000 on my dvd player. i have never seen it (yes, a vampire movie i hadn't seen) and, as kristin repeated told me, gerry butler makes quite a tasty dracula. it's a great movie, and i highly recommend it.

the next day was show day! we both wanted to look fabulous (since kristin lo-oves derek, and i had been developing a mad crush on kevin over the past several weeks) so we headed to the sarasota mall, where i bought new shoes to go with my fabu new dress, and then we went to macy's and got our make up done. we then headed back to the hotel to get dressed. we looked HOT!

so, we arrive at the theatre a bit early (even though it was just up the road, i was quite paranoid about getting lost, since every other time we had gone anywhere, i managed to get us lost). we were suprised to find that not only were we the only young people in the crowd, but we were two of only a very few people who dressed for the show. needless to say, we stood out. it was champagne wednesday, and we both decided to indulge in a free glass of bubbly. kristin didn't finish hers, and since i used to be a bit of a lush once upon a time, i gladly finished it for her.

before we knew it, it was time for the show. the show was amazing. the sets and costumes were unbelievable. this show is going to be a hit on broadway. although, there are a few things i'd like to see changed before it hits the great white way. at the very beginning of the show is a bit of background, which the show really needs, but the way parts of it were handled, i didn't really care for. for instance, there is a bit where mr. lorry passes off young lucie to miss pross, and then lucie grows up. i can't put my finger on it, but there is just something about that scene that i don't care for, although i don't think the show can do with out it. one thing kristin and i are insistent on that the show does not need is the title of the show being projected onto a scrim. as kristin says, people know what show they are going to see. that little "effect" or whatever, is, well, lame. all of the performances are amazing. my favorite was natalie toro as mdm defarge. as of the show, i had only gotten half way through the book, and she was already my favorite character, but natalie toro really brought her to life. she was just so...so...there are no words! she is just one of the most amazing performers. james barbour as sydney carton was fabulous as well. he gave the character a depth and sympathy i didn't necessarily notice in the book. jessica rush as lucie manette was quite good. it seemed at first she had a bit of trouble getting into character and being emotionally available, but as the show went on, she totally drew me into her character. i'm not going to deny that the primary reason we saw the show in the first place is because of derek keeling and kevin greene. derek keeling is wonderful as charles darnay. i have to admit, in the book i was a bit bored by this character, but derek really brought him to life. i saw quite an improvement in him from the tv show. derek is really becoming quite a great performer. now, let me take some time to gush about "the fox" kevin greene. during the run of the tv show, kristin and i and a few of our friends would poke a little fun at him because of how stiff he appeared on the screen. well, that most definitely was not an issue in this show. he played gabelle, the man servant to charles darnay's uncle, but he was also in the ensemble, so he was in quite a few numbers. he was quite impressive in the scene where the french revolutionaries were putting on a show mocking the monarchy. he played a revoluntionist who dressed up as king louis with a large monkey head. and he danced quite well in that get up! the show was amazing, and i thoroughly enjoyed it. i cannot wait to see this show on broadway. the cast they have now should stay intact when the show makes the move! it won't be the same without them!

after the show, we went to the stage door, where we were immediately recognized by a few of the cast members as "the screamers" (we cheered quite a bit during the curtain call for both kevin and derek). one of the cast members (who is also a producer), walter, escorted us to a picnic table near the stage door where we chatted while we waited for kevin and derek to come out. kevin came out first, and kristin introduced us. i insisted he take a picture with me, and after ward, i totally embarrassed him, me, and probably kristin when i said to him "i can't believe it took me this long to realize what a fox you are!" he blushed, laughed, and booked. i really do think i scared him. derek came out several minutes later, and we chatted with him for a bit before he had to leave.

anyway, after we did our stage door thing, walter invited us out for drinks so he could get our opinions on the show. he seemed really interested in what we had to say, and seemed genuinely surprised that we are both working in retail and not in the arts. after that, we went back to the room, packed, and slept. we were wiped.

the next day was frought with travel delays. we got to the airport on time, dropped of the rental car, and made it to the gate in plenty of time. we boarded the plane on time, and just as we were getting comfy for take off, we were immediately deplaned. we were delayed at the gate for, like, two hours. it didn't really affect me, since i was looking at a 5 hour layover in atlanta, but kristin had to be rebooked onto a later flight into newark. once we finally got to atlanta, we got a bite to eat, and kristin then found out her flight was delayed. i think she got home like, 5 hours later than planned.

oh well, it was a great trip and totally worth all the travel issues we experienced.

-- Edited by Andromytta at 03:43, 2007-11-05

-- Edited by Andromytta at 03:51, 2007-11-05

What's happened with "Tale of Two Cities"...and with Derek and Kevin?

Barbour Pleads Guilty to Lesser Counts in Exchange for 60-Day Sentence

I don't know how this will affect the show and Barbour's presence in it. From all reports the producers have been very supportive of James but will they want to open in March with someone who just got out of jail in the lead? At the same time will they want to go through the casting process again? We may find out soon.