A Lot Can Happen in 9 Days (Sept.17)
just over a week since my last post. let's catch everyone up.
when i last blogged, we had gotten through our hellish tech period and opened to a wonderful audience and some great reviews. the weekend was rough getting through, but we all pulled together thanks to the love and support of our crowds...and the day off we clawed our way through on Monday.
monday's day off was...relaxing. i don't recall everything that happened, but i'm sure it had a lot to do with lounging by the pool, having one of the best burgers of my freaking life at The Squeeze Inn
(no, seriously, if you live in the Sacto area and love cheeseburgers, why aren't you there already?), and then Miles, Nate, Steve, Bates and I heading to the Thunder Valley Casino and having our asses handed to us in blackjack and Pai Gow poker.
and as nice the day off was...soon it ended. then the fun started.
tuesday started our 17-show run in 12 days without a day off. again, that's 17 SHOWS IN A ROW WITHOUT A DAY OFF. and then when we get our day off, it's to travel 10-12 hours driving to Tempe.
in any event, this is how the week went - the highs and lows:
tuesday was kind of a black day because we all knew what we had ahead of us. there was lots of complaining, but then again, when is there not with a group of actors. Miles was lucky enough to go on as Gyp (this whole week because Joe Siravo is on vacation) so it was fun to have him doing a principal role.
wednesday started great because Sarah and i finally got to have the chicken pot pie at The Real Pie Company. i say "finally" because their chicken pot pies are so popular, that many times you have to put an order in days or weeks in advance. let me tell you, it was well worth the 7-day wait. this chicken pot pie was freaking unreal. and what's more, for desert they even had a fresh butterscotch banana cream pie just calling my name. i think i ate everything in about 7 minutes flat.
thursday was a change of pace because we had two shows that day. thursday matinees are pretty uncommon, yet there we were...doing the show...twice. great audiences though...that helps.
friday night was interesting simply because after the show, Erich Bergen says to me, "get some sleep tonight, i think i'm losing my voice."
...and he did.
so saturday matinee, without having much time at all on stage with the new blocking and pallets and rabbits all over the stage, i went on as Bob Gaudio. it was a pretty good show i think, nothing really comes to mind of any funny problems. i do remember that i was so aware of those pallets though because even at times when i knew that there was nothing coming stage left or right, i still felt like i was going to get run over at any time.
he was back Saturday night (guess it was just a bug) and we had some fantastic people in the 2nd row cheering us on with huge signs saying they loved Jersey Boys (thanks Ron and Karen for bringing the "lunatics" over for a show).
sunday it turned out it wasn't a bug. he was sick again. and so i parted my hair on the left side yet again to play Bob twice that day. the matinee was rough (the second show in theatre is known to be a bad one - some people call it "second show blues" or "sophomore slump"). also, we had signers in the audience for the hearing impaired and i kept seeing them in the corner of my eye in every scene signing and it threw me a few times because i was just not used to it.
and though i was utterly exhausted sunday night, i felt the show was fantastic. i hit a great stride and really just had a great time out there on stage.
and now we are at Monday. Bergen was feeling much better...
...Deven was not.
i got the call around 4:30 or so. Deven's back and ankle was really hurting him so i was on. i grabbed my script, headed down to the pool to have a quiet atmosphere, and went over my lines. the show was good. as those of you who have seen the show know, once the show starts, Tommy is on a freight train for a good 30 minutes without stopping...so that was pretty much an out-of-body experience. but it was great being in charge as Tommy. plus, i love the hair i do for Tommy...kind of a pompadour fro. also, because of Miles now being on vacation and our usual guitarist having to call out last minute, my good friend Nate got to make his debut on drums for the end of Walk Like a Man, the beginning of Dawn and Who Loves You...and he was fantastic!
so what's next? i assume Deven and Erich will both be in tip-top shape for the rest of the week so i'm suer i will finish off these last 7 shows in my usual track before we head off to Tempe.
also, for you Tempe folks that read my blog. i don't know if i'm allowed to post this but whatever; while Deven is on vacation our last week there, I am playing Tommy Oct.9-12 and Bates is playing the last 4 shows on Oct.13-14.
before i end, i want to send HUGE congratulations to my good friends Jarrod Spector & Michael Ingersoll and the rest of the Chicago company of Jersey Boys who performed on the Emmy Awards on Sunday night. we are all so proud of you all and can't wait for you to get to Chicago for a true opening and sold-out run! Check out their fantastic appearance here!
hope to blog before the end of Sacramento. if not, see you all in Tempe! i need to get some freaking sleep.
when i last blogged, we had gotten through our hellish tech period and opened to a wonderful audience and some great reviews. the weekend was rough getting through, but we all pulled together thanks to the love and support of our crowds...and the day off we clawed our way through on Monday.
monday's day off was...relaxing. i don't recall everything that happened, but i'm sure it had a lot to do with lounging by the pool, having one of the best burgers of my freaking life at The Squeeze Inn
(no, seriously, if you live in the Sacto area and love cheeseburgers, why aren't you there already?), and then Miles, Nate, Steve, Bates and I heading to the Thunder Valley Casino and having our asses handed to us in blackjack and Pai Gow poker.
and as nice the day off was...soon it ended. then the fun started.
tuesday started our 17-show run in 12 days without a day off. again, that's 17 SHOWS IN A ROW WITHOUT A DAY OFF. and then when we get our day off, it's to travel 10-12 hours driving to Tempe.
in any event, this is how the week went - the highs and lows:
tuesday was kind of a black day because we all knew what we had ahead of us. there was lots of complaining, but then again, when is there not with a group of actors. Miles was lucky enough to go on as Gyp (this whole week because Joe Siravo is on vacation) so it was fun to have him doing a principal role.
wednesday started great because Sarah and i finally got to have the chicken pot pie at The Real Pie Company. i say "finally" because their chicken pot pies are so popular, that many times you have to put an order in days or weeks in advance. let me tell you, it was well worth the 7-day wait. this chicken pot pie was freaking unreal. and what's more, for desert they even had a fresh butterscotch banana cream pie just calling my name. i think i ate everything in about 7 minutes flat.
thursday was a change of pace because we had two shows that day. thursday matinees are pretty uncommon, yet there we were...doing the show...twice. great audiences though...that helps.
friday night was interesting simply because after the show, Erich Bergen says to me, "get some sleep tonight, i think i'm losing my voice."
...and he did.
so saturday matinee, without having much time at all on stage with the new blocking and pallets and rabbits all over the stage, i went on as Bob Gaudio. it was a pretty good show i think, nothing really comes to mind of any funny problems. i do remember that i was so aware of those pallets though because even at times when i knew that there was nothing coming stage left or right, i still felt like i was going to get run over at any time.
he was back Saturday night (guess it was just a bug) and we had some fantastic people in the 2nd row cheering us on with huge signs saying they loved Jersey Boys (thanks Ron and Karen for bringing the "lunatics" over for a show).
sunday it turned out it wasn't a bug. he was sick again. and so i parted my hair on the left side yet again to play Bob twice that day. the matinee was rough (the second show in theatre is known to be a bad one - some people call it "second show blues" or "sophomore slump"). also, we had signers in the audience for the hearing impaired and i kept seeing them in the corner of my eye in every scene signing and it threw me a few times because i was just not used to it.
and though i was utterly exhausted sunday night, i felt the show was fantastic. i hit a great stride and really just had a great time out there on stage.
and now we are at Monday. Bergen was feeling much better...
...Deven was not.
i got the call around 4:30 or so. Deven's back and ankle was really hurting him so i was on. i grabbed my script, headed down to the pool to have a quiet atmosphere, and went over my lines. the show was good. as those of you who have seen the show know, once the show starts, Tommy is on a freight train for a good 30 minutes without stopping...so that was pretty much an out-of-body experience. but it was great being in charge as Tommy. plus, i love the hair i do for Tommy...kind of a pompadour fro. also, because of Miles now being on vacation and our usual guitarist having to call out last minute, my good friend Nate got to make his debut on drums for the end of Walk Like a Man, the beginning of Dawn and Who Loves You...and he was fantastic!
so what's next? i assume Deven and Erich will both be in tip-top shape for the rest of the week so i'm suer i will finish off these last 7 shows in my usual track before we head off to Tempe.
also, for you Tempe folks that read my blog. i don't know if i'm allowed to post this but whatever; while Deven is on vacation our last week there, I am playing Tommy Oct.9-12 and Bates is playing the last 4 shows on Oct.13-14.
before i end, i want to send HUGE congratulations to my good friends Jarrod Spector & Michael Ingersoll and the rest of the Chicago company of Jersey Boys who performed on the Emmy Awards on Sunday night. we are all so proud of you all and can't wait for you to get to Chicago for a true opening and sold-out run! Check out their fantastic appearance here!
hope to blog before the end of Sacramento. if not, see you all in Tempe! i need to get some freaking sleep.
posted by The Guter at 9/17/2007 11:37:00 PM
12 Comments:
Eric, the tiny font size on this entry and white on black type gave me a headache.
Thanks for the update! Enjoy the rest of the country :P
Yay, thanks Eric for the new blog! "A Lot Can Happen in 9 Days." I'll definitely agree with that!
I'm already looking forward to you all in southern CA again! Lucky for me, I visit family down there every year for Thanksgiving. "Very dramatic!" lol.
By the way, I think the SF/Chicago cast did an amazing job on the Emmy's!
Eric, you talk a lot about Erich, Devon and Miles but hardly anything about Chris Jones?
What is going on with him?
Are you all staying with the show after Costa Mesa and where will you tour to then?
Thanks for these blogs, they are great! And further to the above poster's question about Costa Mesa, please don't let anyone in your cast leave until after the Cincinnati show next summer...come on, you know you all wanna stay!! :) I don't get to see your cast until then and it IS all about me, afterall. ;)
Hi Eric,
I had seen the show several times in SF. Saturday I was lucky enough to be at the matinee. Your Bob Gaudio looked seamless to me. Your comfort in the role was evident.
In a show with most songs sung as a group, there is limited chance to hear each Seasons' voice. It was nice to be able to hear you in "Cry for Me."
About the new set, the Four Seasons rising from below the stage at the end was far more theatrical. The rolling out is an unfortunate change.
JS
17 shows in 12 days! That's one hellish performance schedule, but you made it out alive. Thanks for keeping all the fans updated and have a fun at the tour's next stop.
Eric,
Thanks for another update =)
You sounded great as Bob Gaudio, hopefully I'll actually be able to SEE you perform as Bob or even Tommy.
Have a great closing week!
-June
Oooh, and I loved you as Hank Majewski and others as well, don't get me wrong =)
-June
you were great as bob gaudio on sunday! i saw your first performance as bob at the curran way back when, and it was great to see how you've really grown into the role.
anyways, your blog entry REALLY made me crave the real pie company, so I called in with my order and will pick it up later today. :) just for your info, they are open for chicken pot pie orders for friday, if you want to pick one up!
What an exciting week for you! My friend Kristen saw you on Saturday, and she said you were great. : )
Gutty, how wonderful that you were able to play both the Bob and Tommy roles last weekend. Sounded like fun. I loved the video of the Emmy's. All your food reviews make me laugh!! I think you should have a show on HGTV where you review restaurants during the tour. Any interested publishers out there???
I love you lots! Stay healthy during these grueling 17 shows!! I love you. Mama xxooxx
Post a Comment
<< Home