The FABULOUS Fox Theatre

Oh, my sweet theatre nerd God, this is mecca.

Gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous, GORGEOUS.  This house is to regional theatres what Sunset Boulevard was to Broadway sets.  Thousands of red velvet seats in a sea of gold detail work - stunning.  And not only is the house itself a work of art, backstage is a maze of murals painted by touring companies over the years.  I kid you not, there are hundreds of paintings lining the halls, dressing room doors, wig shops, management offices, and entrances.  I photographed a gallery: Enjoy!

(Love this one.)

(The Producers: A little old lady's bag full of checks.  Genius.)

(Possum!!)

(Sergio Trujillo, our choreographer, in Kiss of the Spiderwoman)

(And Chita, of course.)

(There are multiple A Chorus Line murals, but this is my favorite.

It also has the signature of our ensemble member, Rebecca Riker!)

(I mean, its gorgeous.)

(Seriously?  Seriously.)

(OBSESSED.  Hand-painted.)

(Just above the title you can see another of my castmate's 

signatures: Geo Seery!)

(Not hand-painted, but still really cool.)

(LOVE this.)

(Travis Greisler?)

(The view from my dressing room station.)

Needless to say, this inspired my long-dormant painter's passion for one-of-a-kind, hand-painted art.  I scoured the theatre for possible mural spots for our little show, and I came upon this:

A wrought iron door, complete with padlocks.  SO ADDAMS.  I was inspired to draw this:

Pretty nifty, right?  Company management will provide me with paints and supplies, but first we have to get permission from the theatre to use that particular location.  I hope they say yes, but if not I've also started a plan for an under-the-stairs mural similar to the one Avenue Q has:

I prefer the door design, so I really hope that works out.  I also hope we get permission with enough time for me to execute the drawing.  I know I can do it (all those years of art class, plus summers of painting sets in a similar fashion must count for something), but its been a long time since I've had a real project with staying power.  Pencil and paper is all well and good, but paint requires more planning.  I need to get started as soon as possible.

Understudy rehearsals start tomorrow, and so off to bed for me.  More to come!