...yet I haven't seen a single trolley since we arrived in St. Louis. I'm going to have to re-enact Judy Garland's famous moments by hanging out the passenger window of our Dodge Avenger.
We've only been here for a day, and it was a day off from the show. Grocery shopping, prescription filling, a massage and a pedicure - that's all I've got for you. Understudy rehearsals start Wednesday, so you'll just have to wait for exciting St. Louis stories.
In the meantime, let's catch up on our final days in big, bad, New Orleans:
Opening night went off swimmingly - such a supportive, responsive audience. I was seated in the same row as most of the Telsey casting office, which was wild. It still wows me a little to be talking to the casting directors with no table between us and no job on the line. I have to say, Justin Huff is a sweetheart and I've really enjoyed getting to know him better from this experience.
Rebecca's soon-to-be husband was in the audience. His flowers were the prettiest in our dressing room. I received a bouquet from my agent, which was completely unexpected and lovely. The whole cast and crew was gifted Addams Family messenger bags from the producers, as well as a dress bag that converts to a laundry bag. Sergio sent us all little travel-size, digital alarm clocks (which, when you think about it, is a brilliant idea for tour), and there were various flowers, cards, and knickknacks in-between.
Myself, I went back to an old tradition I started when working with Prospect Theatre Company on their glam-rock spectacle, "The Rockae:" A compilation of music disguised as "trunk songs" from the show. Here's a track list and an explanation for the song choices:
1) “History Repeating” – Shirley Bassey & The Propellerheads
~ A little foreshadowing to kick off the evening...
“Wednesday is you! Isn’t it wonderful?”
2) “Minority” – Green Day
~ The Addams Family dances to the beat of its own drum.
3) “(Love Is Like A) Heatwave” – Martha Reeves & The Vandellas
~ Wednesday on her relationship with Lucas.
4) “It Should Have Been Me” – Yvonne Fair
~ The Bride reveals her jealous streak.
5) “The Girl From NYC” – Troop 47
~ Lucas tells his friends about Wednesday.
6) “Gee, Officer Krupke” – Salt-N-Pepa, Def Jef, Lisa “Left Eye” Lopez, The Jerky Boys, & Paul Rodriguez
~ Pugsley, reeling from Wednesday’s dismissal, contemplates a life on the
harsh streets of New York City.
7) “Hard To Handle” – Patti Drew
~ Grandma’s OkCupid profile.
8) “Changes” – Butterfly Boucher (feat. David Bowie)
~ Alice’s inner monologue just after chugging acrimonium.
9) “That Old Black Magic” – Sammy Davis Jr.
~ Cousin It tries to articulate his love for the lovely lady Tassle.
10) “Gotta Move” – Barbra Streisand
~ Wednesday and Morticia, fresh from arguments with their respective
lovers.
11) “Dancing In The Moonlight” – King Harvest
12) “Ma Belle Evangeline” – Jim Cummings
~ The “Fester Loves” Medley
13) “Just As Long As Me” – Jonathan Coulton
~ Lurch takes a moment to lament his single status.
14) “I’m Gonna Live Till I Die” – Frank Sinatra
~ The non-vaudeville option for Morticia’s big solo.
15) “Make Someone Happy” – Jimmy Durante
~ Cut solo for the Conquistador.
16) “Here We Go” – Jon Brion
~ Gomez explains the nature of life and love.
17) “Modern Girl” – Meat Loaf
~ Lucas, before turning to apples and archery, tries to win Wednesday
over with some choice 80’s rock.
18) “Play That Funky Music” – Wild Cherry
~ Mal and Alice reminisce about their crazy beginnings.
19) “Try A Little Tenderness” – Amber Riley
~ The Ancestors coach Gomez on how to regain Morticia’s trust.
20) “I Want It That Way” – Backstreet Boys
~ Gomez’s last chance.
21) “Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood” – Santa Esmerelda
~ The Merengue de Amor? Salsa? Definitely not a Tango.
22) “(The Night Time Is) The Right Time” – Ray Charles
~ The Addams, Beinekes, and Ancestors celebrate their darkness.
The after-party was fancier than I'd expected - huge tables of food, open bar, fake cobwebs draped on all the candles - very Addams chiq. We even had gravestones marking the dessert bar:
There was dancing and schmoozing, and I even managed a quick photo with our very own leading man, Doulas Sills:
Afterwards, a bunch of us hit the town in our best dress. We wandered from bar to bar, finally resting at a hookah joint a few blocks from the hotel. There may or may not have been a belly dancer. She was okay, but did not compare to our food runner's outfit the next day:
Yes, friends. To celebrate the end of our run, our designated food-runner dressed in full "lunch-lady" garb, complete with fake derriere. A little humor goes a long way with us theatre people.
New Orleans treated us well on and off the stage. Audiences were supremely generous, and the bars were appropriately divey:
Thank goodness dive bar food is the BEST:
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So here we are in St. Louis. Will it live up to the debauchery of New Orleans? Probably not. They serve vegetables that aren't battered and fried, after all. But they also have the Gateway to the West!
Will Gil and I have the guts to climb to the top of this monster? No, but we'll trail along if peer pressure is strong enough. There are little, itty bitty windows at the top of the arch, my friends, and I'm pretty sure I'll faint or puke if I look out one. The things I do for the "full experience" of a city...
I'll leave you with this: massages and pedicures are all well and good, but there's nothing quite like discovering your friends in the centerfold of a Star Magazine. Congratulations, Mitch! You're famous!
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