Golden Boy of the Blue Ridge: Interview with Director John Fionte

Next Thursday night, Golden Boy of the Blue Ridge opens at Cumberland County Playhouse. This Appalachian twist on Playboy of the Western World was written by Cara Reichel and Peter Mills. Set during the Great Depression, this show is sure to please a wide variety of audiences.

This is the first production of the show outside of New York, making it special to Cumberland County Playhouse’s New Works Director, John Fionte. John was kind enough to answer a few questions about the show, despite his hectic schedule!

What brought Golden Boy of the Blue Ridge to your attention?
The Playhouse asked me to attend the National Association for Musical Theatre's Festival of New Works last October. "Golden Boy" was presented as part of the festival. Jim was aware of the show and had spoken to the authors' agent about it a couple of years before, so he asked me to pay particular attention to the show.

What was the first thing that caught your attention when you saw the show performed in New York? Peter Mills' brilliant score. The music grabbed me immediately, which surprised me since I'm not a particular fan of bluegrass. But this music is just so irresistibly good, I simply can't imagine anyone NOT liking it. And the lyrics are equally brilliant... and wickedly funny.

How does it feel to have the regional premier of a new show?
I'm truly thrilled to be the first director aside from the "Golden Boy's" co-writer Cara Reichel to stage this remarkable musical. We have a long history of fostering and developing new work here at CCP, and it's always wonderful to watch an audience react to a brand-new show for the first time.

What influenced your design (costumes and sets) for the show?
Well, certainly the fact that the show is an adaptation of "Playboy of the Western World," which is a deeply Irish play. The Cumberland Plateau is a part of rural Appalachia,a region fiercely proud of its rich musical heritage... and of the Scots-Irish roots of its culture. Peter Mills' compelling score celebrates both the contemporary bluegrass musical idiom, along with that music's deep Celtic roots. And while it's not particularly present in "Playboy," Synge was part of an Irish literary tradition that was steeped in a sense of enchantment, of magical realism. I've tried to bring a sense of that to "Golden Boy." Pete and Cara have written a play that's an intricate blend of the traditional and the contemporary, so I've tried to give equal weight to both of those things in terms of the production. The choreography, staging, design aesthetic... all those choices are filtered through a contemporary eye. The look of CCP's "Golden Boy" is as similar to "Spring Awakening" or "Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson" as it is to "Smoke on the Mountain" or "Big River."

Do you have a favorite moment, or musical number from Golden Boy?
I love virtually every moment of the show, Cara! If I were forced to pick one, I'd have to say that there's a moment of transition in the finale that never fails to give me chills. And to describe it any more would be to completely spoil the surprise. :)

What kind of audience do you hope the show attracts?
Obviously, as the company's Marketing Director, I hope the show will appeal to the broadest audience base possible! "Golden Boy" has a lot of elements that will appeal to fans of "Smoke On The Mountain"... onstage musicians, bluegrass-influenced music, a rural, period setting. But I also think that because of its contemporary sound and humor, it will appeal to a broader audience as well. Especially a younger one.

If you had to describe the show in five words, what would they be?
Hilarious. Tuneful. Smart. Edgy. Rockin'.

Cast of CCP's Golden Boy of the Blue Ridge

Personally, I'm really excited about this show. John's enthusiasm for the show, just makes me all that much more excited. Also, as a social media type person, I'd like to let you know about some of the things that CCP has going for this particular show AND in general.

Cumberland County Playhouse can be found on Twitter HERE (@CCPlayhouse)

CCP's production of Golden Boy of the Blue Ridge can be found on Twitter HERE (@CCPGoldenBoy)

The Cumberland County Playhouse blog is located HERE

CCP's production of Golden Boy of the Blue Ridge has a blog located HERE

Golden Boy of the Blue Ridge opens August 23rd and runs through October 26th. Tickets are available by phone at 931-484-5000 or on the CCP website by clicking HERE.

Another little "suprise" is also available. If you have a twitter account, have a blog, or a tumblr account, you are invited to a preview of Golden Boy on Wednesday, August 22nd at 7:30. Send me a tweet, email, or comment here if you are coming, and let me know where I can "find" you online!

Once: A New Musical

Back in January I wrote about several different shows that I wanted to see in the spring. Sadly (or not, depending on how you look at it), I have not been able to get back to New York since last October. The first national tour of American Idiot kind of took over my life and sucked away all my money (not that I would have traded the experience for anything).

That being said, I've been wanting to see Once since it was off-Broadway. Since it made my Spring Wish List, I knew I had to get to New York to see it...after all, SUMMER is nearly over!

I pulled a crazy trip to New York this weekend, in which I didn't sleep in a bed for over 48 hours, got very little sleep in general, and only spent 11 hours in New York City. I missed my city. It was nice to be back. Even if it was for such a short amount of time.

This show has been so popular that it was nearly impossible to get discounts, even when it opened. After winning the 2012 Tony for Best Musical, discounts pretty much disappeared. It shows up occasionally at TKTS, but I wasn't about to risk not getting a ticket after that crazy trip, so for the first time in nearly 3 years, I paid full price for a ticket to see a show on Broadway.

Let me just say this...it's worth it. I have not seen the movie on which the musical is based, so I have nothing to compare it with, but I do believe it is one of the most beautiful pieces of theatre I've ever seen.

The show, set in Dublin, is about two characters known only as Guy and Girl. Guy is a broken-hearted Dublin native, and Girl is a Czech immigrant. Their story is as much about the love and power of music as it is about the love between the two characters themselves.

Visually, this show is stunning. The set is simple and intimate, much like the show itself. Scenic design by Bob Crowley and lighting by Natasha Katz married perfectly, helping to shift the mood and emotion throughout the show. The back wall of the set was covered in old mirrors, but instead of distracting from the action on stage, it helped enhance what was happening. One point that I remember vividly, Guy has his back to the audience watching Girl as she plays her piano. I could see him, perfectly reflected in one of the mirrors. As I watched his expression in the reflection, I couldn't help but think how perfectly it set the mood of the scene, and how beautifully it had been done.

Guy, played by Steve Kazee, is heart-broken and ready to walk away from his guitar and his music forever when Girl walks into his life. Played by Cristin Milioti, Girl is a Czech immigrant with a love for music and a broken vacuum cleaner. But most importantly, Girl recognizes the talent and soul in Guy’s music and does everything she can to keep him from walking away from his music and from giving up on love.

Kazee brings both chills and tears when he sings. I am quite positive that everyone in the theatre could feel the emotion rolling off the stage when Kazee sang. Milioti’s Girl is funny, sweet, driven, and serious. After all, as she says many times, “I’m always serious. I’m Czech.” Together, they have an on stage chemistry that reaches all the way to the back of the theatre and makes you root for the happy ending that could be.

The rest of the cast is equally as talented and amazing. Each actor has created amazingly in depth characters, while also playing instruments to give the show its music. There is no separate orchestra, only the actors themselves. One of my favorites was Paul Whitty, as music shop owner Billy. He had some of the best one liners in the show and was a constant source of entertainment while he was on stage, even though his character was very serious. Two other sources of great talent, and wise characters, were David Patrick Kelly, playing the role of Da, and Anne L. Nathan as Baruška.

This is not to leave out any of the other amazing actors in the show. Each one brought life and depth to this beautiful story. Each one brought amazing musical talent to the stage. I’d list them all, but this post might go on forever.

 I do feel the need to point out the beautiful choreography in the show. There is no dancing, so it’s actually listed as “movement” in the playbill. Each scene change, each moving of set pieces, every step during the songs were beautifully choreographed. Most notably during the song “Gold,” which closes out the first act, but in many other times during the show, you see the grace and thought out actions that are taking place on the stage. The movement was done by Steven Hoggett, who happens to be the same person who choreographed American Idiot.

I could tell you the entire storyline, but for those of you who don’t want to know all the special parts, I’ll just say this: Once took me through a spectrum of emotions, each one more powerful than the last. It made me want to pick up the fiddle I got for Christmas 3 years ago and actually learn how to play it. It made me want to love. It made me want to cry. It made me want to laugh. It DID make me feel. And isn’t that what good theatre is supposed to do?

I could go on and on about how great the show was, but instead I’ll just note that it was announced on Monday, after I had seen the show on Saturday, that Once has already recouped it’s investment. To put that into perspective for you, in 21 weeks, this show has earned back all the money that people put into it to get it going. It was also noted that Once recouped faster than any other musical in the past decade. There’s a reason for that.

Please go see this show if you get the chance. It’s worth the money. It’s worth the time. It’s worth the trip, if you must travel. You won’t get big and elaborate, but you will be moved.

The Nutty Professor: A New Musical

When I first heard that someone was turning The Nutty Professor into a musical, I cringed inwardly. I am not about to lie about that. Truly dating myself, the only version of The Nutty Professor that I had seen was the slap-stick comedy version that came out in 1996 starring Eddie Murphy. And to be honest, I never actually sat down and watched that entire film; only bits and pieces of it.

I discovered quite quickly that there had been an ORIGINAL version of the movie in 1963 starring Jerry Lewis, comic extraordinaire. My interest was raised at this point…. I am well aware at how “re-makes” of movies often bare any resemblance to the original versions, so I wondered what the Lewis version was like. I didn’t take the time to hunt it down and watch it, but I kept my eyes on the Broadway world, waiting to hear more about yet another movie-turned-musical.

Finding out that the out-of-town run was going to be in Nashville was pretty amazing. I may be wrong in this assessment, but I don’t believe that I know of Nashville EVER hosting the out-of-town, pre-Broadway run of a show. That on its own made me want to see the show. Add in the fact that the music was written by Marvin Hamlisch and the show was directed by Jerry Lewis, and I was hooked.

A couple of weeks ago the twitter accounts for both TPAC and The Nutty Professor itself, gave out a “tweet seat” discount code for their previews (in TPAC world, that’s simply a discount for people on twitter & NOT actually encouraging tweeting during the show). The deal was great and it was much easier on my budget than paying full price after the show opened. I snapped up a couple of these tickets and one of my dear friends went with me.

One of the very first things I noticed, when the proverbial curtain came up, was how similar in style (set, lighting, costume) the show seemed to be to several other shows I’ve seen on Broadway in the past few years. Catch Me If You Can, Promises, Promises, and How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying. Obviously, all the shows are from the same era, the 50s & 60s, which I’m sure lead to the similarities in color and tone. The great thing about that was that it gave me a feeling of comfort. Like I knew what I could expect from the rest of the production.

The basic run down of the story, if you’re like me and you’d never seen the movie, is Professor Julius Kelp, teacher at Korwin University and his quirky differences. Professor Kelp walks outside the “norm” and pretty much no one likes him. Enter bright young student Stella Purdy, whose dreams are larger than life, and who wants nothing more than to know everything she can. Miss Purdy likes Professor Kelp’s quirkiness and doesn’t mind being a little different herself, much to the dismay of her fellow students.

While the story was building through the first act, I was feeling a little TOO much like I’d seen the show before. I kept waiting for something new to pop out at me, but it didn’t quite happen the way I wanted it to happen, though there were some stand-out moments still present. Stella, played by the lovely and terrifically talented Marrisa McGowan, sings a beautiful number entitled “While I Still Have the Time” that speaks to her wide-eyed innocence as she enters a world filled with promise.

Another great point of the first act was seeing the transformation of Julius Kelp into Buddy Love. Michael Andrew does and amazing job of creating two totally different characters. So different in mannerisms, walk, stature, and facial expressions that it was very easy to forget that it wasn’t two separate people on that stage. Even more amazing: Michael Andrew created two totally different singing voices. As Julius Kelp, he sings “Stella” after meeting the lovely Miss Purdy. Later in the first act, as Buddy Love, Andrew sings “(Hey Is It Me or) Is it Hot in Here” and it’s like a totally different person is singing as well.

When the second act began, I wasn’t sure what my thoughts were on the show. I’m glad I waited to tweet my judgments because the second act is what pulled the show together and made it shine. The story, at its heart, is about accepting yourself for who you are AND not being afraid to be a little different. Julius Kelp needed to see how a change in his personality could take away all the things people DID like about him. Even Buddy Love himself sings a song called “I’m Trouble.” When others start to get annoyed with the Buddy Love that they….loved (sorry for the pun) so much, Julius Kelp gets the chance to see where he is special in his own way.

One of the things I feel that needs to be highly praised for this show is the choreography. Any of the group numbers had some beautiful choreography (reminding me again of the recent revival of How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying). It was classy, graceful and was very aesthetically pleasing. When an entire company is dancing a number, it can be beautiful, or a complete disaster. I really LOVED watching these group numbers. It was something that made the show, especially the second act very much appealing.

As wonderful as Michael Andrew and Marissa McGowan were as Julius Kelp and Stella Purdy…. For me, the stand out performance of the entire production was that of Klea Blackhurst, as Miss Lemon, secretary and assistant to Korwin University Dean, Dr. Warfield. The character of Miss Lemon could have easily become a cliché or a flat character. But Blackhurst takes this role and turns Miss Lemon into a woman of depth and fun. You relate to her. You understand her unrequited love for Dr. Warfield and you want her to win. You cheer her on, even as she rolls around the bust of Dr. Warfield with her where ever she goes. And I couldn’t help but smile as she has her shining moment with “Step Out of Your Shell” toward the end of the second act.

Overall, I think this show has great potential. It’s “classic” Broadway, and while I would probably tidy it up a bit (I could do without the cheerleaders in the first act), I think this show could make a go at a decent Broadway run. This is the kind of show that a classic theatre lover will appreciate, but still has enough glitz and glitter to appeal to a younger audience that might be experiencing live theatre for the first time.

My suggestion: Go see this one in Nashville while you still can. Then you can say you saw it when. The Nutty Professor: A New Musical plays at Tennessee Performing Arts Center thru August 19th. Search around on the internet and you might even stumble across a discount or two. You can order tickets on TPAC’s website by clicking HERE.

Backwards in High Heels

Just last week, Cumberland County Playhouse opened another musical on their Main Stage. Backwards in High Heels: The Ginger Musical is exactly what it says it is. The story of the ever famous, ever elegant Ginger Rogers. The title of the show comes from a quote that Ms. Rogers is famous for (I only found out recently she never actually said it). She does everything Fred Astaire did, “Only backwards and in high heels.”

I’ve always had a place in my heart for the beauty of choreographed dance, but what drew my interest in this piece was the music. Much of music for the show was composed of songs by George and Ira Gershwin. I’m a sucker for the standards, Gershwin in particular. I knew that I would love this show if for nothing more than the music.

I was expecting a show more about Ginger Rogers and her most famous dance partner, Fred Astaire. Instead, I got an intense look at Ginger Rogers and her relationship with her mother, Lela. From the first scene, a fifteen year old Ginger has a spark about her and a need to break away from her small town life. Her mother, Lela, played by Weslie Webster, is raising Ginger, still known at Virginia, on her own. Lela tries to discourage Ginger’s big dreams, but you can tell it’s only because she worries about the hard life that Hollywood would be for Ginger.

The typical “stage mother,” Lela throws herself into her daughter’s career, yet she struggles to stay involved in her daughter’s live as Ginger’s audience and fame grows. Weslie Webster does a wonderful job of bringing the necessary vulnerability to the role, and yet showing what a strong and determined person that Lela must have been.

Jessica Wockenfuss shows enough versatility that she grows from a fifteen year old Virginia Rogers to an Academy Award winning Ginger Rogers, and she does it convincingly. While she both acts and sings with grace, Wockenfuss’ talent lies most prominently in her dancing ability. From her first dance steps on stage, I wanted to watch what she was doing.

Jessica Wockenfuss & Douglas Tieman as Fred & Ginger
Picture courtesy of Cumberland County Playhouse

Playing a multitude of roles in the first act, and Fred Astaire in the second act, Douglas Tieman is also an amazing new talent to grace the CCP stage. A talented dancer, he’s also such a good actor that he convincingly plays several roles, including a lead, and I almost didn’t realize it.

Mixed into the cast was an assortment of very talented people, some new to the CCP stage, and others were staples to common CCP patrons. Britt Hancock takes on a variety of roles, including the first husband of Ginger Rogers, Jack Culpepper. Also in a variety of roles through the show are CCP regulars Austin Price, Daniel Black, Lindy Pendzick and in-house comedian Jason Ross.

One of the guarantee laughs of any CCP production is…well, anytime Jason Ross is on stage. This production is no different. Ross plays a variety of famous women in the show, including Ethel Merman. Strangely enough, while these cameos got plenty of laughs, even from me, they felt slightly out of place in the show. I wonder if it wouldn’t have been better to have women (or a single woman) to play these roles instead. Not to say anything bad of Jason Ross and his acting ability, because he shines on stage every time he’s there. I just wonder about the casting choice in general, as it felt a little odd to me.

While I’m sure that book writer Christopher McGovern took more than a few liberties with this portrayal of Ginger Rogers’ life, it was nevertheless beautifully staged and directed by Jeremy Benton. This show is worth the time. The two main stars of the show: First, the beautiful and tumultuous relationship between Ginger Rogers and her mother, Lela. Second, the dancing. Combined, you get a beautiful production and something that will sweep you away to a different time, and isn’t that what any good musical should do?

Backwards in High Heels is on the Main Stage at Cumberland County Playhouse thru November 2nd, so you have plenty of time to catch it. You can buy tickets HERE or by calling 931-484-5000.

See Rock City

Just a little over a week ago I made my way back to Cumberland County Playhouse to see their most recent play production, See Rock City by Arlene Hutton. This is the second in a trilogy of plays by Hutton, set in the thirties and forties and following the lives of young couple Raleigh and May.

With a small cast of only four actors, it seems fitting that CCP would have the production in their smaller Adventure Theatre. Placing it there lends intimacy to an already intimate play. The set, designed by John Partyka, puts you in the era immediately. Only the front porch of the Gill home is seen, but above the house you see World War II era posters in the background. Add to that the music playing (all from that time period) and the audience has no doubts as to where their mind should be when the production begins.

Raleigh and May are a young married couple, played by real life married couple, Greg & Lindy Pendzick. Greg brings a level of comedy and laughter to the first several scenes of the play that made me wonder if it was going to turn out to be a comedic fluff piece. Sure there were laughs. Good ones. But I wasn’t sure I was expecting comedy. Very quickly, though, the tone of the show changed, becoming a serious piece that examines the time period and life-style of the era and Greg Pendzick added many layers to his character.

Lindy Pendzick’s May is beautifully elegant. She takes the character and makes it entirely apparent why May works, thinks, and acts the way she does. The time in which Raleigh and May live would have the two living opposite lives, but circumstances leave them in reverse of the “typical” roles for the time period.

Throughout the show, you see how Raleigh’s mother has been a hurdle for him, and May’s mother has been a help for both of them. Patty Payne as the all caring Mrs. Gill, May’s mother, is near perfection as she never shoves herself into the relationship of the young couple, yet obviously understand what they are going through and the emotions they deal with. On the flip side, Carol Irvin attacks the role of Mrs. Brummett making what could be a very disagreeable character into one that you simply feel sorry for. That alone is a special talent. Mrs. Brummett is abrasive, rude, and often downright mean. But through it all, Irvin makes you see that she’s living the only way she know how.

Something I found to be very helpful to the understanding of the time period was a section in the program that included World War 2 dates that were relevant to the play. It’s been a little while since I had U.S. History, so some of the information had faded to the back of my mind. While I think understanding of the play would have still been fine, it helped having a quick review when I was skimming through the program before the show started.

This show is more than worth seeing. See Rock City takes you through a wide range of emotions, from laughter to deep sadness. In fact, at intermission, the person next to me looked at me and said “that got heavy quickly.” And so it did. But not to be disheartened, you leave the show wanting to know what happens next to the young couple and having hope that they will come through in the end.

Greg & Lindy Pendzick as Raleigh & May
Picture taken from CCP's facebook page

See Rock City only runs through August 17th, so I encourage you to grab your tickets while you still can. You won’t regret it. You can get tickets by clicking HERE or by calling the Cumberland County Playhouse at 931-484-5000.

The Music Man

Cumberland County Playhouse currently has a production of Meredith Wilson’s The Music Man running. I was lucky enough to get to see it on opening night, but due to travel and lack of writing inspiration, I’m just now getting to this post.

Picture taken from CCP's facebook page

I’ve come to expect great things from any production at Cumberland County Playhouse. The caliber of talent that is contained in the resident actors and CCP’s ability to bring in others to enrich what they already have has led to many, many great things.

One of the best things that I’ve noticed at CCP is that many of the actors wear multiple hats. Choreographer, set designer, dance teacher, director. Leila Nelson, who choreographs pretty much everything at CCP, pulls double duty with The Music Man. Not only is she choreographer, she’s also director of this beautiful production. 

Britt Hancock as Harold Hill; pic from CCP's
facebook page

Leading this amazing cast are Britt Hancock, as the wandering swindler Harold Hill, and Lindy Pendzick as River City librarian Marian Paroo. When you add in the large cast, many of which are children, it adds even more energy to the stage. Adding laughter to the stage are Jason Ross and Carol Irvin as Mayor Shinn and his wife Eulalie Shinn.

With a beautiful set, designed by Leonard Harman, and costumes by Renee Luttrell & Rebel Mickelson, this show is top notch. I’ve been known to say that The Music Man is slightly cheesy…and to a point, it is. But this production brings spark and life back to what can be an overdone and slightly worn out show. CCP has a way of taking something I expect and making it so much better.

Some of the stand out numbers during the show were the opener, “Rock Island,” the beautiful lullaby “Goodnight My Someone,” sung by Marian. Then there is the ever famous “Seventy-Six Trombones,” and one of my favorite silly songs, “Gary, Indiana.” The only number I’m not a fan of in the whole show isn’t because of the performance, it’s just because the word “Shipoopi” kind of freaks me out. :)

If you’re looking for a family oriented show that brings amazing talent and fun to life, this show’s for you. Don’t be afraid to bring your kids and don’t be afraid to see it if you’ve seen other productions. This one will leave you smiling and whistling or humming along.

The Music Man runs at Cumberland County Playhouse until September 1st. You can get tickets online HERE or by calling 931-484-5000.

Good Riddance

This is my third attempt at writing this post. The first two have come across as disjointed or unemotional. But it’s hard to know how to put my emotions into my writing when I’ve spent the past week trying to hold all of my emotions inside. But the truth is, they’ve been sneaking up on me for a while, refusing to be ignored. Sooner or later I have to deal with them and today’s the day.

I can’t help but feel a little emotional. Okay, if I’m being truly honest, I’m quite emotional. Sure, every tour must come to an end. But my emotional connections to this show, and more specifically, this tour are so strong that I am a mess of emotions right now.

A little over two years ago I saw a show that touched my heart in such a strong way that I felt the need to see it several times. The trip to New York isn’t an easy one for me. But I made it several times in a year, simply to see the show. And I loved the show so much that I planned on seeing it on tour, even though it came no closer than 6 hours away from my house.

Other than the post I wrote about the American Idiot tour stop in Detroit that I attended, I’ve not written about the tour. But truth is my best friend and I have attended other stops. Detroit, Raleigh, St. Louis, Dallas, and finally, San Francisco. Each stop, other than Detroit, we saw the show multiple times.

Sure, people have made fun. I’ve been called a stalker by some co-workers and "friends" more times than I’d care to admit. I didn’t expect to love this tour as much as I loved the Broadway version. I wasn’t sure I would. But I fell head over heels for the tour as a whole. I love the cast, I love the show. I love the tiny changes I see each time I saw the show. I loved sitting in the front row and knowing that the cast knew we were there.

People used to sit outside the Nederlander Theatre for hours (sometimes overnight) to get rush seats for RENT (before it went to a lotto policy). I once met a kid that followed the Spring Awakening equity tour to several stops and then saw it every single performance when the non-equity tour came to Nashville.

Sometimes a show touches you that much. Can I say why this show and this tour touched my heart so strongly? Not really. I can’t say anything about the show that I’ve not said before. The show itself touched my heart. But when you add in the spectacular cast, who were not only talented onstage, but truly kind and caring off stage…you reach a level of special that I’m not sure many people ever get the chance to experience.

As I write this post, the tour has ended. I’ve made my way back home. I’ve had a few days to process. There are still so many things running around in my head, but the biggest thing is about the great relationships that American Idiot brought to me. I met new “Idiot” friends. People we sat next to in the St. James. People we met on twitter. People we met in rush line on the stops of the tour, right down to the last amazing stop in San Francisco.

I’m also so, so thankful that I got to know, however slightly, a majority of the cast members of this tour. They started out as faces on twitter, turned out to be amazing and kind actors, and ended up being people who know us, if not by name, at least by face. I hope that somewhere in their minds they remember those crazy girls who traveled all over the country to see them and smile (or laugh). One of the cast members said it best while we were chatting at stage door after the closing performance. They said there was something different about this cast. It was special. And it was. I have no doubts that such a spectacular cast of not only talented, but kind and funny and loyal people will be hard to find again.

There are a few things I regret. I won’t lie. I regret that I never saw Jarran Muse play St. Jimmy. I regret that I never saw Jillian Muller as Extraordinary Girl. I regret that I never saw Kelvin Moon Loh as Will. I regret that I didn’t get to see Tommy McDowell as Rock & Roll Boyfriend. Are you noticing a pattern here?

I don’t regret spending a majority of my time in San Francisco sitting on the sidewalk outside the Orpheum Theatre. I don’t regret the money I spent or the miles I traveled to see the show and the people in the show. I don’t regret the tears I cried each time I saw the show.

So what comes for me after this tour ends? I’m sure of this, I will be returning to New York more often. Pretty much all of my time and resources this year have been dedicated to seeing this tour. Because of that, I’ve not been to New York in months. Actually nearly nine months have passed since the last time I walked down the streets of my favorite city in the world. I miss seeing shows. I miss my bagels (they just aren’t the same anywhere else). I miss the quirkiness of the city.

What happens about my love of American Idiot? Well, there is the non-equity tour coming up. I won’t be traveling to see the non-equity tour in the same ways that I have traveled to see the equity tour. You guys have my heart. But when it comes only a couple of hours from my house each direction, I’ll be going to see it then. What do I expect? I’m not really sure. But I don’t expect to ever have a connection to the cast the way I feel like I connected with this cast.

One thing I can be sure of is that I will never forget the experience of the final performance of the first national tour of American Idiot. The conversation with the other people in the front two rows. Our decision to participate WITH the cast in their pre-show chant. The extra fun and silliness the cast put into the final performance. The walk on of all THREE swing members for the end of Homecoming and all of Whatsername. The final “Good Riddance” while we all stood and the flowers that many of us gave to the cast as we all cried. The stage door with all crazy fans that pushed and shoved, while those of us who had been in for the long haul simply stood off to the side, waiting patiently. All of these things are things that made this incredible journey worth every dime and every second of time that I invested.