Goodbye San Francisco (May 16)
well kids...it's about that time. time to say goodbye to San Fran as Sarah and i start our way down the coast to Los Angeles.
before i bid the city by the bay my official goodbye, let's get you up to speed with the past week:
New Haven went well overall. it was actually quite nice having the creative staff there and really taking the time to go over all our choreography, all our blocking and all our character choices. just hope as a group, we can stay sharp and build on what Des, Sergio, Ron and Kelly helped us with...Los Angeles certainly deserves it.
the greatest thing about New Haven was by far the audiences. it was almost like opening night all over again. it blows my mind that we were essentially doing a techincal run-through (without costumes mind you) and yet Saturday night and Sunday matinee, there were over 1,600 patrons in the audience. truly, we were sold-to-the-rafters-standing-room-only type of audience. and when the last pose in the show hit, right after "Who Loves You", i literally saw half the audience jump to their feet for us.
and what was even nicer was the beautiful reception they had for us after the show on Saturday. the entire cast and crew was invited to a mezzanine full of patrons and some delicious passed appetizers, some of the best deserts i have ever had, and an open bar. we did some schmoozing with a bunch of people and before you know it, we're all on our 4th drink and the entire place is pretty much cleared out except for the cast (theatre folk love free drinks). then things just started getting silly and we all decided to sleep it off before our matinee the next afternoon.
i do have to mention my dear friend Doug Crawford (one of our fabulous swings) who, as he was getting the car seat onstage from the wings for the Donnie/Stosh scene, smashed his knuckles against one of the light rovers that was offstage and ended up fracturing his index finger. he went the the hospital at intermission and Erik Bates had to finish the show. but i just want to give him a quick "hello" to say that he is my hero that he finished the act with a horribly swollen finger that almost broke and i hope that his pain meds really help him enjoy his layoff week.
once New Haven ended, i took the bus back to NYC so i could see some old friends and enjoy the city i loved and lived in for 5 years.
best part of going back to NYC...? seeing Spring Awakening! the night before they were nominated for 11 Tonys, myself, Erich Bergen, Nate Klau and Courter Simmons and his husband got in line at TKTS and 15 minutes later paid for our 14th row orchestra seats.
for any of you living in NYC reading this, or going to visit in the next few months - GO SEE THIS SHOW! the songs were soaring and beautiful. the acting was strong and tender. and the performances were fantastic (two cast members were nominated for lead and supporting Tonys). it was a great piece of theatre and a huge congratulations to everyone involved with the show on its success and certain future Tony wins.
and after a 6 1/2 hour plane ride in a very cramped window seat, i am back with my beautiful wife and my crazy little dog.
we spent all day today doing laundry (5 loads) and packing up our entire life to stack into our Jeep Grand Cherokee tomorrow to head to Carmel for a night (kind of a mini-honeymoon), San Luis Obispo (to spend some time with mom and Jeff) and then a final night in Santa Barbara before we start unpacking in our little guest house in Encino.
also got to share a final San Francisco lunch with my good friend (and Frankie Valli) Jarrod Spector at this amazing place called Swan's Oyster Depot - a truly remarkable raw food bar where i had probably the best crab salad i have ever had.
that's the other thing i will miss about San Fran - we had some pretty good food here. we weren't able to go to all the places we wanted, but i will certainly miss that Broasted chicken place in north beach, Pearl's Burgers at Jones and Post, Mama's breakfast place, Foreign Cinema in the Mission for a GREAT brunch and lastly Kara's Kupcakes near the marina.
...i also forgot to mention our final San Fran show that we did on May 4.
it surely wasn't a sold out crowd - most of May has been smaller crowds. but by far, it was one of the most loving audiences we ever had. everyone of our "regulars" was there - some rushing the first row as early as 10:30am to get their seat...
every entrance was met with a scream or a holler. every song was ended with a thunderous amount of affection and love. and the final curtain call was met with about 20 pairs of red underwear thrown up on stage. and as we left the stage door, with the rain falling on our heads, the alleyway was filled with people asking for last autographs on their playbills, CD's and posters. it was like a rock concert but with some of your closest friends meeting you afterward. and the best part was...everyone there knew our names. it wasn't "hey, did you play Frankie...?". it was "hey Eric, just wanted to be there for the last show". and that was the best part - knowing that the ones that stayed and watched that night were the ones who this show meant the most to.
so i end this blog tonight i suppose on a little bit of a bittersweet note. San Francisco - thank you. Thank you for taking this show and embracing it (and us) as much as you did. You made our run easy in the fact that even on those hard days (usually Wednesday matinees), we always had you there applauding and screaming for us.
so come see us again sometime. Los Angeles, Sacramento, Costa Mesa, San Diego...we'll be around...don't be strangers.
good night San Fran.
before i bid the city by the bay my official goodbye, let's get you up to speed with the past week:
New Haven went well overall. it was actually quite nice having the creative staff there and really taking the time to go over all our choreography, all our blocking and all our character choices. just hope as a group, we can stay sharp and build on what Des, Sergio, Ron and Kelly helped us with...Los Angeles certainly deserves it.
the greatest thing about New Haven was by far the audiences. it was almost like opening night all over again. it blows my mind that we were essentially doing a techincal run-through (without costumes mind you) and yet Saturday night and Sunday matinee, there were over 1,600 patrons in the audience. truly, we were sold-to-the-rafters-standing-room-only type of audience. and when the last pose in the show hit, right after "Who Loves You", i literally saw half the audience jump to their feet for us.
and what was even nicer was the beautiful reception they had for us after the show on Saturday. the entire cast and crew was invited to a mezzanine full of patrons and some delicious passed appetizers, some of the best deserts i have ever had, and an open bar. we did some schmoozing with a bunch of people and before you know it, we're all on our 4th drink and the entire place is pretty much cleared out except for the cast (theatre folk love free drinks). then things just started getting silly and we all decided to sleep it off before our matinee the next afternoon.
i do have to mention my dear friend Doug Crawford (one of our fabulous swings) who, as he was getting the car seat onstage from the wings for the Donnie/Stosh scene, smashed his knuckles against one of the light rovers that was offstage and ended up fracturing his index finger. he went the the hospital at intermission and Erik Bates had to finish the show. but i just want to give him a quick "hello" to say that he is my hero that he finished the act with a horribly swollen finger that almost broke and i hope that his pain meds really help him enjoy his layoff week.
once New Haven ended, i took the bus back to NYC so i could see some old friends and enjoy the city i loved and lived in for 5 years.
best part of going back to NYC...? seeing Spring Awakening! the night before they were nominated for 11 Tonys, myself, Erich Bergen, Nate Klau and Courter Simmons and his husband got in line at TKTS and 15 minutes later paid for our 14th row orchestra seats.
for any of you living in NYC reading this, or going to visit in the next few months - GO SEE THIS SHOW! the songs were soaring and beautiful. the acting was strong and tender. and the performances were fantastic (two cast members were nominated for lead and supporting Tonys). it was a great piece of theatre and a huge congratulations to everyone involved with the show on its success and certain future Tony wins.
and after a 6 1/2 hour plane ride in a very cramped window seat, i am back with my beautiful wife and my crazy little dog.
we spent all day today doing laundry (5 loads) and packing up our entire life to stack into our Jeep Grand Cherokee tomorrow to head to Carmel for a night (kind of a mini-honeymoon), San Luis Obispo (to spend some time with mom and Jeff) and then a final night in Santa Barbara before we start unpacking in our little guest house in Encino.
also got to share a final San Francisco lunch with my good friend (and Frankie Valli) Jarrod Spector at this amazing place called Swan's Oyster Depot - a truly remarkable raw food bar where i had probably the best crab salad i have ever had.
that's the other thing i will miss about San Fran - we had some pretty good food here. we weren't able to go to all the places we wanted, but i will certainly miss that Broasted chicken place in north beach, Pearl's Burgers at Jones and Post, Mama's breakfast place, Foreign Cinema in the Mission for a GREAT brunch and lastly Kara's Kupcakes near the marina.
...i also forgot to mention our final San Fran show that we did on May 4.
it surely wasn't a sold out crowd - most of May has been smaller crowds. but by far, it was one of the most loving audiences we ever had. everyone of our "regulars" was there - some rushing the first row as early as 10:30am to get their seat...
every entrance was met with a scream or a holler. every song was ended with a thunderous amount of affection and love. and the final curtain call was met with about 20 pairs of red underwear thrown up on stage. and as we left the stage door, with the rain falling on our heads, the alleyway was filled with people asking for last autographs on their playbills, CD's and posters. it was like a rock concert but with some of your closest friends meeting you afterward. and the best part was...everyone there knew our names. it wasn't "hey, did you play Frankie...?". it was "hey Eric, just wanted to be there for the last show". and that was the best part - knowing that the ones that stayed and watched that night were the ones who this show meant the most to.
so i end this blog tonight i suppose on a little bit of a bittersweet note. San Francisco - thank you. Thank you for taking this show and embracing it (and us) as much as you did. You made our run easy in the fact that even on those hard days (usually Wednesday matinees), we always had you there applauding and screaming for us.
so come see us again sometime. Los Angeles, Sacramento, Costa Mesa, San Diego...we'll be around...don't be strangers.
good night San Fran.
posted by The Guter at 5/16/2007 11:58:00 PM
7 Comments:
Thanks for the kind words and glad you enjoyed what SF has to offer.
Be safe and Enjoy your mini-trip down the road to L.A.!!!
Have a great time down in L.A! Glad you enjoyed your time in S.F.
Yeah, the panties were fun. The plan was to throw them individually on stage at everyone's bow, but no one could see the names we'd written, so they just got thrown up in a lump.
We miss you guys! But the next cast is awesome, too.
Carmel is wonderful! Be sure to check out the Laurel Birch shop if it's still there. :)
Have a great trip to LA...and a great RUN in LA! SFers miss you already! Can't wait for Sacto.
Can't wait to see you and Sarah tonight. We are so excited to spend a couple days with you (and Toby, of course) before you head off to L.A. The Superintendent of our school district told me that he is finally going to see you in the S.F. show! He didn't realize that you were done there and on your way to L.A. Oh well, I'm sure he will love the show anyway. See you guys tonight!!!! Love, Mama xxooxx
You guys are coming to Sacramento?! That's where I live! Oh my goodness, that makes me so excited! I felt all sad reading about your final SF performance, and then I read Sacramento, and I suddenly became very cheerful. Well, it's safe to say that I WILL be seeing you again! : )
Spring Awakening sounds amazing! I can't wait for the Tony's! I actually just got back from my first trip to New York. What a WONDERFUL city! I saw Wicked and A Chorus Line, and I loved them both. I saw the theater for Spring Awakening, and, like just about every show there, I wish I could have seen it.
Anyway, best of luck with the rest of your tour. Thank you for your updates!
haha. i ditto karen. we couldn't read the names on the panties! miss you guys.
be swell, Jess
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