Broadway Nightmares

Three days until my solo show, and I am once again second guessing my song choices.  There are so many people that want me to sing Music of the Night, but I simply am finding it one of the most difficult things to sing.  I sound awful, and I need an uptempo song to put in its place.  I am thinking "On Broadway."  It's catchy, uptempo, a good transitional song for the second half of my show.  I'm nervous.

In other news, I missed my deadline for the final draft of my script.  I thought it was the 16th, but I found out just moments ago that it was indeed, yesterday.  Yikes.  Hopefully the powers that be won't be too judgmental, and they will give me a couple days' extension.  I mean, they literally gave me a month to write a full script.  It's not my fault.

Oy.  Stress.  Piano Man opens in just two days, then my show, then I am singing at the Ultimate Deck Party, then Shimmy.  That's a lot of singing.  I'll let you know more later.  I should probably get to finishing the script.

JMB

Aloha!

It's been a while!   We are in the middle of installing our new cast on the Sun Princess.  Four shows down, two more to go.  Exciting stuff.  Stressful stuff, though, too. 

Spent the first night in NYC, saw Sister Act, which was very cute.  Sorry if I am repeating myself...  I guess I will just give you all an update on what is happening nowadays.  I am in the process of opening my solo show, Broadway Dreams, which goes up on the 16th of August.  It is kind of scary.  Putting myself out there for everyone to judge.  I have a great set list, I think, and I hope the audience will enjoy listening to some Broadway show tunes. 

My sister did an amazing job of putting together an awesome CD package for two CD's I have now to sell.  LIVE! and A PLACE CALLED HOME.  They look incredible, and I can't wait to get them out there for everyone to see.  Hopefully I will be able to get some extra money to spend so I can save my entire salary.  We'll see.

My book is a disappointment.  I'll be honest.  I went through Blurb.com and the product is not the quality I had hoped.  The full page photos have white edges on them, and there are still some typos (my fault).  The folks in the home office seem to be dragging their feet approving it, so I have not been able to sell any of them on board yet.  I did put a segment in my show with photos behind me from the book.  We'll see if they can sell.  Thankfully I only have seven copies to sell, so it's not like I am going to put the shops on board out of business.  Oy.

Honolulu was nice today.  Spent the morning doing some errands, spending money.  Had to get a new pair of jeans and khakis, because my jeans went missing after the country show, and my khakis are torn and falling apart.  Not to mention I am just simply fat.  More on that later.

I have started visiting the gym, so I am trying to get rid of this inner tube that has appeared in my midsection.  So far, I have lost four pounds, and hopefully I will be able to get myself back to my ideal weight of 175-180.  I didn't think I would like going to the gym, and I must say it is very intimidating when there are all these young hotties working out and here I am the Pillsbury dough boy doing crunches in the corner.  I'll let you know how the weight loss and diet go. 

My set list so far includes opening with Tonight from West Side Story, Prologue/Any Dream Will Do from Joseph and the Amazing technicolor Dreamcoat, Corner of the Sky from Pippin, Sweet Heaven from Copacabana, Every Single Day from Harmony, Bring Him Home and Stars from Les Miserables, The Impossible Dream from Man of La Mancha, This is the Moment from Jekyll and Hyde, On The Street Where You Live from My Fair Lady, Music of the Night from Phantom of the Opera, Never Land from Peter Pan, What I Did For Love from A Chorus Line, and Love Changes Everything as an encore.  Lots of music.  I will probably cut Music of the Night, because as I sing it, it sound horrible in my voice.  It's a hard song to sing, and right now the song owns me, not the other way around.  Working on it, though.  It will probably be a last minute adjustment. 

The next show we install is Piano Man, and we go up on the 15th.  So basically I am rehearsing two shows at once... and then I have to sing two shows in two days.  Nothing new, but very stressful.  I hope my voice stays healthy and I am able to pull this off.  If I can, it may mean a solo show  and a solo career.  Here's to the future!

I miss my cats, Hamlet and Othello. 

Cocoa Crispy

Man, it is HOT here in Cocoa.  Started my journey this time around in Raleigh, North Carolina.  Spent the night before (4th of July) with my folks and my cats (Hamlet and Othello), and basically took all my clothes with me.  I had been cleaning and doing laundry during the day.  The look on Mom's face was one of slight overwhelm-ment.  I could see she was thinking "There is no way all that is going to fit in your suitcases."  Well, of course, she was right.  It took me several times to pack, and eventually, I ended up packing six or seven basic outfits.  The way i see it, if I need something else, I can buy it once I get somewhere.  Dad won't like that statement, but I will try to live below my means.

So then comes the plane ride.  All was fine until there is this weird vibrating sound, then the bar near the window and ceiling two rows behind me comes crashing down.  Are we going down?  No.  Just the A/C.  Ah well.  Of course, then comes all the cell phones taking photos, and the comments about how "This'll get us a free ticket somewhere."  Jeez.  Get me to Cocoa already.

I arrive in Cocoa okay, and our costumer, Rex is there to pick me up.  We have to wait at the airport for Darian's flight, which was set to arrive about an hour after mine.  Hers was delayed by maybe 20 minutes, but she showed up and we had our happy reunion.  We have not stopped laughing since.

Today is Sunday, our day off.  Most of the cast went to Disney today, but I stayed behind to live below my means.  Besides, I have a play to write.

Went to the pool, got some writing done, now just blogging to see what new things are in store for me and this cast.  We did a run through of Piano Man yesterday, and strangely, it seems like everyone and their mother was there to watch.  But... not bad for one day of rehearsal.  The show went well, and I realized that I am WAY out of shape.  Got lots of work to do.  Thankfully I have been eating well and walking every morning.  More later.  See ya!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Not much to report. Still homesick, but here are some of the latest photos from Akaroa, New Zealand. Next time I am here, I will be revisiting Christchurch, so expect some photos then as well. These photos are for Grama and Gerry.

What a ride!

It has been an interesting couple of days, let me tell you! First off, one of our dancers was out of the show British Invasion because of a foot injury. Strangely, the day after it happened, she was up and already decorating her cane for the Halloween party the dancers were throwing. Interesting, huh? I might also add that the lack of communication is still going strong. The way I found out about the party the dancers were throwing? I saw a poster on the wall advertising it. You would think that as one of the cast of singers and dancers I would have been notified? Of course not. The cruise ship world doesn't work that way.

So, said dancer was out of the show. But she still showed up with a drink in hand to the disco! Any sort of reprimand? Of course not.

Just one of the many reasons why things don't make sense. Bad things will always happen to good people, and the bad guy will always get away.

Speaking of the bad guy getting away, I finished my first draft of Dr. Merlin's Magic Shop, a musical I am writing. The lyrics are there, sort of, and the book is pretty strong, I just need some written music to accompany the lyrics. This is what I suck at. My theory is rusty, and I have no access to a piano on a regular basis to plunk out melodies.

Ah well. I am not in the best of moods lately, am I?

Yesterday I was asked if I wanted to participate in the "Secret Santa" thing with the cast, and I said no. What is my problem? I guess I really don't understand why these folks are the way they are. I have no desire to hang around them, see the world with them, even sit and eat at the same table with them. They are vindictive, selfish, and basically young children who need everything done for them, and expect everything as well. They have no work ethic, or if they do, it is one of "I don't want to work, just party." Obviously. It will be nice to get back into the professional performing business.

So last night around 11:30pm, the captain interrupts everyone with an announcement... due to the engine failure, we are running on only one engine, and with the headwinds, we are going to be delayed arriving in Sydney by TEN HOURS! What? Are you kidding me? Then I looked outside. We were crawling... no, LIMPING through the Tasman Sea. We finally got in around noon, and I got off the ship as soon as I could. I am in an internet cafe typing this as we speak. That makes no sense, but you get my drift...pun intended.

So, I don't have to be back on board until 7pm tonight, which is kind of a nice change, and tonight's welcome aboard show has been either canceled or postponed. I have no idea when we will sail. Would have been nice to have an overnight in Sydney, maybe catch a show or something, but no such luck this time around.

I have posted picture on my Facebook page, because for some reason they upload faster than they do on here. I will be posting more on this site soon, though. You just need to continue to be patient with me.

Two outta Three ain't bad!

So, the photos I entered into the 2011 Photofest show and contest were judged for the entry into the show, and two of the three I entered got in! Very exciting! Here they are again...

Thanks to those of you who helped me pick on Facebook... and here as well! I will send more news later! The show is in November at the Tallahassee Int'l Airport terminal. It runs through the new year. See you soon!

It has been a while

And for that I apologize. I have been battling insomnia, homesickness, a bout of depression, and anxiety over a missing package. My apologies.

So, here is the story from then until now. Things are going pretty much as expected. It is our second month plus some, and the cast is getting on each others' nerves, as expected. My leading lady is a gem, but then again, she is also very young and has a lot to learn about how to play the "cruise ship game."

Shows are going well, and I feel like they are new, due to the new leading lady and a new cast. I wish I could say a lot of great things about them, but overall, I think they are in this for the money, and for the job, not for the passion of performing. This is nothing that I wouldn't say to their faces, so I don't mind posting this online.

I am spending more and more time alone and behind the lens of my camera, which is fine for me. I have read four novels since coming on board, which is two a month. A record for me, I think. I read the three Hunger Games novels, and enjoyed them, though I think the criticism over the amount of violence is a little overdone. I found them not at all violent, comparing them to Where The red Fern Grows and other novels I read at that "age level." Sorry. I enjoyed them. Had a tough time getting through the third one, as I felt the author needed a "screenplay-type" of ending. Ah well. Read Clay by David Almond... it was good. Could be a good movie, but needs work in my opinion.

Just finished the most recent book in the Tales of the City series by Armistead Maupin. Mary Ann In Autumn it was called. Loved it. I read these books on the first ships I worked on , and I feel like it is coming home, in a way. The characters are real, and the situations are somewhat far-fetched, but somewhat believable. I envy how the author is aboe to have all these different characters scattered all over the globe, and yet there is a common thread that brings them all together. I wish I could write like that.

In other news, I have not heard from a certain M.S., and I am starting to worry. This is the guy whom I have spent a lot of my adult life thinking about, worrying about, caring about, and I feel like I have been abandoned by him. Facebook does no good, and though it is probably my own fault for not calling, I have not heard from him. If anyone does, please let me know. I am worried.

Have met some amazing people in the past few weeks, some of whom I have cruised with before, others I am meeting for the first time. It makes life bearable. Spent a wonderful day with Sally in Melbourne, and though it rained and we did not get a bright green footie ball, it was well worth the amazing day. We saw the King Tut exhibit, went to a brothel for a glass of wine, laid down at the museum, got amazing chocolates, and basically turned Melbourne upside down. She is incredible.

My friend Merle is doing well. Her chemotherapy is working, and she is anxious to get back to cruising. She will be heading out November 15th, I think. She and I are hopefully going to meet up on the 14th in Sydney. She is also a very strong and incredible woman.

I have entered my photographs in the Photofest contest in Tallahassee, Florida, and the judging is on the 17th of October, i think... I'll let you know the outcome. Last year, i had all three submitted photos in the show, and this year, who knows... it is a different committee doing the judging, and well, who knows!

Not much else to report. There was a package issue, but it has been resolved. Long story short, I sent myself a package to arrive prior to my own arrival in Los Angeles on August 15th. It arrived in LA, but never made it to the ship. I was told by someone in the home office that it would be forwarded to Hawaii. It never arrived. When I tracked it, it had never left LA. I was then told it would be forwarded to Sydney. It never arrived. Got Dad to see what he could do about it, and gee, it was still in LA. I really dislike liars. Sucks. Story of my life.

I miss my family, my cats, my friends, chick-fil-a, the kids at Wakefield, North Carolina Theatre... and then some.