Life Among The Cheeseheads!

Here is our whole crew with our visitors tonight! Read on to find out WHO our visitors are!

Happy Sunday from the city of Green Bay! What a day. First of all, it was COLD! COLD! COLD! And it was more due to the wind. I mean, the temperature was cold, but the wind made it even COLDER! So my trip home to pick up my coat and some scarfs and gloves was NOT a waste.

Chris was so cold at one point that he had to borrow Tara's hat to warm his bald head back up. Being the expert photographer I am, I caught the moment.

This morning was a lazy morning for everyone in the cast, while the tech crew went and loaded in the show. I slept until about 11am...and then just lay around until it was time to get ready and go. We headed out into the wind, loaded into the van and then headed up to the Weidner Center, the venue we are performing at. It is a BEAUTIFUL space! About 3,000 seat auditorium - and I love it! I meant to take pictures today, but I didn't. So tomorrow, you will get to see the space. And the best part about it - TV in the dressing rooms...so we watched the Packers play the Falcons while we got ready for the show!

This picture is just Eric, chillin' in the green room after the show - waiting for everyone so we can leave. He was just playing around with his ear-warmer-thingy...and I caught him with this look.

The show today was a public performance, and I think we had a great house on hand - EVEN with the Packers game going on! The show went well...like when I stepped on Tara's heel during the opening number and she couldn't get her shoe back on in time and so it made her late coming on with the grandparents bed. But that's about it. And our audience seemed to really enjoy the show. It's always interesting to see the difference between PUBLIC performances and SCHOOL performances. The PUBLIC shows get laughs and responses at totally different places. And with the Public shows, the people even actually seem to be entertained by Augustus. The SCHOOL shows? Forget it! Since he doesn't kick or pull karate moves on anyone, the kids find him a huge bore! Oh well.
After our show today, we had a Meet & Greet for about 20 minutes, and so we all headed up to meet a bunch of kids and their families who had come to the show today! We all had a great time meeting the kids, and came away with some great stories!
-One little boy had us all sign the bottom of his portable CD player. I said, 'I have never signed one of these before.' And the boy said, very curtly, 'I didn't think you had.' ALRIGHT then!
-Another little boy came up to Charlie (Eric) and asked him to sign his arm with his Sharpee. Like a good adult, Eric looked for the boys mom and got the OK. Weird.
-Chris asked a little boy if he liked Mike Teavee, and the boy said, 'NO!' His mom went on to tell Chris that he scared the boy and he only wanted Charlie's autograph.
-A family came up to me and asked me to sign their programs, and I asked them if they liked the show, and the boy said, 'I was just in a play of Willy Wonka.' I said, 'GREAT! What part were you?' The boy said, 'I was Augustus!' Very excited, I replied, 'Well that's exciting! I bet you had fun. But I bet your costume was different.' And the boy wrinkled his nose and said, 'Of course it was. How would I have the same one?' (Good question, BRAT! JUST kidding....)
-Tara made a new friend named Jordyn. Jordyn was a very confident little girl...and she came right up to Tara (who plays Veruca) and asked: "So why didn't Violet get the Golden Ticket?"
-Jordyn also asked Tara, "Why were you so mean and then so nice?" Tara said, "Veruca acts sweet to get what she wants. You don't do that, do you?" And Jordyn answered, without even hesitating, "All the time." (And Jordyn's mom nodded in agreement.)
-Tara's LAST Jordyn funny is as follows: Tara turned to her and said, "You have beautiful hair, Jordyn. People must tell you that alot." And again, without hesitation, Jordyn said, "Yup. Everyone who passes by me."
-Charlie had a slew of kids who came up to him and when he said, "How are you doing?" They replied by giving him their home address.
-We ALL agreed that our favorite kid of the day was DAVID - a smiley 3 year old who just stood and smiled and smiled and smiled!
After our show tonight, we went to a local brew pub and had dinner/drinks with Tim McDonald, who wrote the script for our show, and Dominick (sorry I didn't get your last name, Dominick! My bad!), who is with the Roald Dahl Estate. They got into town today and will be coming to see the show tomorrow! We had a great time with them at dinner tonight - and spent a lot of time laughing and answering questions about the show and the tour. We also had fun passing around Tim's nephews Flat Stanley! It was a great, relaxing dinner - and we REALLY appreciate the hospitality, Tim! Thanks for everything. We look forward to you seeing the show tomorrow. OH! And readers - I tried a new cheesecake....get a load of it below.

The group - both sides of the table - at dinner tonight.

Dominick and Tim show off FLAT STANLEY - who looks positively THRILLED to be in Green Bay! How thrilled? Why THIS MUCH, says Flat Stanley.

The Mint Chocolate Cheesecake at Titletown Brew Pub. Do NOT let these tantalizing pictures deceive you. This cheesecake, presentation aside, scores a LOW 7 on the MASE. Another good idea not executed well.

This is a statue out front of the restaurant we ate at.

The rest of the night, everyone was on their own - and Tara, Chris and I went on a tour to take some pictures at Lambeau Field - and then at some other locations around town. Because we are just wild and crazy like that.
Tomorrow - 2 school shows and then we pack it all in and head to La Crosse!
Enjoy our pics.....


Elisa and I, taking a picture of ourselves, at Titletown Brew Pub. Why? Um...why not....


This was part of our little SIGHT-SEEING TOUR tonight. This is the Green Bay Memorial to those who have served and those who have lost their lives in our Armed Forces. It is right across the street from Lambeau Field.


Me and Chris at the Natural History Museum. Chris was a LOT braver than I was - and climbed up the Mama T-Rex. We sure know how to live it up!


Tara at the Natural History Museum. Um...you know...just posing and what not.....

THE LAMBEAU VISIT:

Looking at the Atrium-Portion of the Stadium. This place is BEAUTIFUL!


Here is some more views of the stadium. And here we are...inside the Atrium...thanks to a nice security guard! Just let Chris Sizemore do his smooth Southern-drawl-talking, and access is YOURS!


And the sign, showing us we are on Lombardi Avenue!


Here Chris shows us the Hall of Fame, from INSIDE the Atrium, and one of the Gates into the stadium, from OUTSIDE the building.


Tara and Chris strike like-poses infront of the Lombardi Statue (on the Left) and the Lambeau Statue (on the Right.)



I'm always trying SOMETHING artsy with my pictures. That is the moon, readers. The Moon, The Stadium, The Coach. Profound.