The Maine Thing...

Hi everyone. So sorry about yesterday. Here is the tragic story of today: Last night, I was typing up this whole thing about our time in Keene, NH and here in Maine, and I just got so tired that I decided to cut and paste it to a Word Document and finish it today. So I did that...and tonight while I was doing some iTunes stuff, my computer froze and I had to shut it down, AND I LOST THE WORD DOCUMENT. Like it's GONE. I've looked and looked. So all the great stories about Keene and Portland are gone into the deep abyss of lost word documents...maybe floating around out there in Cyberland. Forward it to me if you find it.

KEENE, NEW HAMPSHIRE

Let me just sum up the Keene-thing by saying it was great. Quick...but great. We had 2 great shows in Keene...one school and one public performance. And both audiences were REALLY great audiences. It's hard to explain the difference between a great audience and a not-so-great audience...it's just one of those things that you have to experience. But I would have to say that our 2 audiences in Keene were 2 of our best audiences. NOWHERE near Fayetteville-Great, by any means. But still pretty great audiences.

L: Here is the marquee of the Colonial Theatre. That's US. R: Here is the poster I saw all over town of our show. Please notice that the publicity photo is STILL of the original cast that played at the Kennedy Center in Nov 2004. Don't look for all of us too hard.

Just some cool shots of downtown little Keene. It's a beautiful little city that actually sports a Pumpkin Festival every year. Lucky.

Also in Keene, while our crew was loading the show out, our cast had one of the most fun times we've had together in a long time. We went to Chili's, and everyone was in a really great mood. It's kind of like the 'Great Audience' thing...in the sense that it's hard to explain WHY it was so great...but it was. PLUS everyone got to experience the amazing Molten Lava Cake...so right THERE you know it was a good night.

L: Here is the gang at Chili's. Sorry Eric's eyes are closed. R: So this is from the dessert page at Chili's. Read that closely. Cheesecake (which I LOVE) was first served at the OLYMPICS (which I LOVE)? What are the CHANCES? I wish I were an Olympian in 778 B.C.

SO....what are these pictures? Well, this has a little history. When we were in Staten Island (BLECH) there was a organist that played music before the show. One show, when we were all onstage waiting to start the show, he started to play The National Anthem. And without even being cued, we all started in, singing along. And it was really good. And it delighted us all. Fast forward a few weeks. I'm playing on iTunes, and I find an album of 67 National Anthems of the World. SO I buy it - because I love stuff like that - and this night, we're driving back, and I sneak The National Anthem on, and LIKE CLOCKWORK, everyone starts up. SO I snap some pics. And the rest, as they say, is history. Now it's a little game we play. Called 'When Matt Plays The National Anthem AGAIN, We Sing AGAIN, Even If It Bugs The Hell Out Of Us.'

One other thing about KEENE! I was interviewed by the Keene Sentinel while we were in New Haven, and they ran an article after that about the show! The article was in ARCHIVES when I went looking for it, but I finally found it and purchased it and now have a copy of it. Best $1.95 I EVER spent. Anyway - it's a pretty funny article, because I feel like the girl who wrote it just was all OVER the place! So if you want to see it, just leave me a comment and I will forward it to you for your reading pleasure. I'm a PRETTY big deal in Keene because of it.

PORTLAND, MAINE

Saturday we drove to Portland, and for me, on my list of 'States I've Visited In My Life', Maine brings my total to 48! And guess what 2 I'm missing? NEBRASKA and ALASKA. How poetic. But I digress. So we got to Portland, and because of a schedule...snafu through the Kennedy Center, we had less than 24 hours in the area. Which I soon learned was VERY sad, because Portland is cool. I have a friend from where I used to work in Virginia (The Washington Speakers Bureau) named Darlene Chasse Ash. And Darlene is actually FROM the Portland area! And Darlene is so cool that she came up to Portland this weekend to show me around and see the show! So Saturday, after she arrived, Darlene picked me up and gave me a tour of the main points/areas of Portland. One of my most favorite places was the Portland Head Lighthouse out on Cape Elizabeth. It's beautiful. And because I love it, I actually went 3 times in the 24+ hours we were here (Saturday night with Darlene, Sunday morning alone to see the sunrise, and Sunday after our shows to show the rest of the cast.) After the lighthouse, we drove around Old Portland and its surrounding area, and ended up parking and doing some walking and shopping and eating, too. We went to Bull Feeney's - and Darlene did the 'Maine' thing and ordered lobster...and I went out on a brave-limb for myself and ordered Maine's Best fish and chips. And they were delicious. And LUCKILY, with the temperature in the balmy mid-teens that night, we were able to find a Coldstone for dessert.

This is from the trip from Keene to Portland. Evidently, there was a pita party. And we were all invited.

Top L: The sign at Bull Feeney's. I don't know why, but it made me laugh. Top R: Darlene and Hector. (I didn't want to tell her, but I named him when he arrived. I also don't know why...but when the waitress set him down, I thought to myself, 'Hector is here.' And then Darlene cracked him open and ate him.) Bottom: More Hector. (Did you know that when people EAT these things they have to clean its POOP out of it? NO THANK YOU!)

AND NOW....A SELECTION OF PICTURES FROM THE LIGHTHOUSE

My first view of the lighthouse on Saturday night, when I was with Darlene.

These are shots from the SUNRISE trip on Sunday morning. Hoops and Yoyo loved this place, too.

Here are some shots from the SUNSET trip on Sunday evening. That's me, Jen, Jill and Chris. LOOK at the blues and pinks in that sky! Amazing.

Some ART SHOTS from the Matt Anderson B&W Collection.

A couple of random shots from the lighthousee area. L: So this is painted on some rocks below the lighthouse. At first I was like, 'That Annie lady traveled with some STRONG paint for it to last and be so vibrant from 1886 to now!' But then I did some research and it wasn't a LADY, it was a ship named the Annie C. Maguire. So what I learned it it was the SHIP crew that traveled with paint that strong. R: Some plaque thing at the lighthouse. Good ol' Longfellow...WHO walks from Portland out to this lighthouse? He PROBABLY asked the passing ships to take him BACK to Portland. I'm not joking - that is SOME walk.

Jill and Jen brave the cold at the lighthouse during our SUNSET lighthouse trip.

It was SO great to spend some time with Darlene - and reminds me how BLESSED I am with the people who support me in this adventure. I think all of us, as a cast, have GREAT support systems out there...of family and friends. And that makes the daily struggles/hassles so much more worth it! Darlene and some of her family came to the show on Sunday, and it was great to have them there! Our audiences here in Maine were ON PAR with the 2 great audiences we had in New Hampshire. This leads me to make this blanket statement: Audiences in New England ROCK!

Here is Darlene and her cousin and her cousin's daughter and friend after the show. I am a hot mess here...because I have just come off stage and changed and ran out to see them. And look how cool Darlene looks in her coat! Girl's got style AND attitude!

And then, as soon as we were done in Portland, it was time to leave! We packed up and headed Northeast to the Bangor area...to a small city called Orono, which is home to the University of Maine!

ORONO, MAINE

We arrived in Orono Sunday night, and everyone quickly got to a television to see the end of the Academy Awards. And then today was a day off. So guess what we did? Most everyone slept, ate and did laundry. Because we're JUST that exciting.

SO - although I lost the original posting, we are NOW caught up! OH! Except for ONE THING! The WINNER of the Matt-Factor Quiz! Well, I can't figure out how to put the graph into my blog page....so it will have to wait until MIDDAY Tuesday, when we're back from our shows.

And with that, FINALLY, I bid you ADIEU!

G