A Conversation

So we did our show today - and then everyone pretty much CRASHED all afternoon. These beds...GLORIOUS! So I don't have a lot to report on our day. BUT - I did forget to recount a conversation that I had at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Gift Shop yesterday. I was looking for postcards, and they had 2 racks of postcards of different artists who we had just seen throughout the museum. I was interested in getting a Bee Gees postcard to send to my buddy Darren. So, not seeing one, I decided to find an employee and ask if they had one...maybe I was just missing it. I looked and found a young, very eager guy who we will now refer to as Champ. (That's not really his name...but I can't remember it and Champ seems to do the job.)
Our conversation went as follows:

Matt: Excuse me, Champ. I'm looking for a postcard of the Bee Gees, but can't seem to find one. Do you know if you have one?

Champ: OH no man...we don't! We should, though. A lot of people ask for them. They were one crazy band.

Matt: (a little perplexed...wondering how CRAZY they really were) Well, I guess you could say that.

Champ: I mean, that song of theirs....Rock Lobster. That was crazy.

Matt: (with a sudden light of realization) OH....gotcha. You mean the B-52's. And yeah, they are pretty crazy. I'm talking about the Bee Gees. Like, Saturday Night Fever, Stayin' Alive...that stuff.

Champ: (clearly confused...and a tad bit embarassed) OHHHHHH! The Bee Gees. Yeah man...they were crazy, too.

Matt: (cricket!) (cricket!) (cricket!) OK. Thanks then. (exit to continue shopping)

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(Matt approached cash register to pay for purchases.....)

Champ: (approaching cash register) You ready to check out sir? (looks up and sees that it is Matt approaching cash register - smiles) Hey sir...you know what is so crazy? About 3 minutes after you walked off, someone ELSE came up and asked me about the Beattles, too!

Matt: (cricket!) (cricket!) (cricket!) Um...OK. Crazy. Thanks.

(Matt pays, turns and walks out of Hall of Fame.)

Champ: Have a great day, sir! Come back and see us again soon.

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Thanks, CHAMP...for a great laugh!
Everyone else have a GREAT day.....
G

Cleveland ROCKS!

Howdy Blog-Faithful!
Today's entry is completely and utterly caught up. It worries me a little....because I've been behind for so long...but I am not going to fight it. We made it to Cleveland on Sunday...we had Monday off and Tuesday, today, we started our week of shows here at the Allen Theatre - part of Playhouse Square in Cleveland. The MAGIC of our shows this week? We only have 1 show every morning - at 10:30am! Let's do the math here:

1 show @ 10:30am. 1 show = 1 hour, 5 minutes. work day ends: 11:35am ROUGHLY.

You will get NO arguements from me on this schedule. PLUS, as the luck of the draw would go, we are at the RITZ CARLTON Cleveland for the week....so yeah...right about now, things on the Wonka Tour are going pretty dern well.

After our 10:30am show today, everyone went their own way. Jonny and I packed up our stuff and headed down the street to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and Museum - right here in Cleveland. I'm going to be honest - it was a pretty kick-ass museum visit! We were there for about 3 1/2 hours....and if I wanted to, I probably could've spent a couple more hours! Did anyone know that Jimi Hendrix was a BUDDING artist as a little boy? You gotta see his pics of various college football players! And wait until you see some of the clothes in this place! For me the highlight of the museum is the access they give you to the MUSIC of the inductees. Jonny and I spent the last 45 minutes or so at the Inductees Jukebox - listening and dancing away to the hits of Prince, Elvis, Gladys Knight and the Pipps, The 4 Seasons, and the list goes on and on and on. Cameras aren't allowed in the museum....but did I care? Not really. I snapped a couple SECRET SHOTS...so enjoy them!

Cleveland evidently IS the birthplace of Rock N Roll. Read all about it! And check out the exterior of the museum!

Jonny gives up a little rock....

...and a LOT of roll...before we enter the buildling.

L: my FIRST attempt at a stealth picture of Jonny rocking out to the music. No luck. R: my SECOND successful attempt!

Sights from the Signature Wall of all inductees. L: Elvis and Prince share a space. R: The Bee Gees trio signatures!

Tonight, another 'as luck would have it' situation...our cast ended up getting together with some of the OTHER Kennedy Center Tour cast...ALICE! They are in the greater Cleveland area, performing their show tomorrow...so our old friend, Chris Schardin (Puppetmaster from the 2005-2006 Wonka Tour!) brought Nate, Brad, Rachel and Jeremy from THEIR tour into town and we spent the evening eating, drinking and laughing at the Winking Lizard Tavern in Cleveland. Thanks for coming, ALICE! All I'm saying is....Wednesday Night at Flannery's!? I'm pretty sure Nate's Irish...everyone else can just come along!

The meeting of the casts! L: Nate, Katie, Rachel, Jodi, Rachel and Brad (in the back) stop and pose. R: Jeremy, Brad, Felicia, Jeffrey and Nate get close.

Chris and Roe catch up on life.

I don't know what is going on...but MAN I love these faces.....

So...um...if anyone needs a ketchup bottle...check in Felicia's purse. I think she carries one around.

Felicia says good bye to the ALICE Crew outside the Winking Lizard.

Roller Mania: Lincoln 2007

So....if you're in Lincoln, NE and you have some free time on your hands...do WE have a solution for you! Hop in your car and head down to the National Museum of Roller Skating - and then TELL ME that it doesn't change your life. Somehow. Randomly.

Although our time in Lincoln has drawn to a close, I thought that it wouldn't be fair to clump our trip to the NMoRS with all of our other adventures in Lincoln! So, since today was a day off in our next stop, Cleveland, and because I slept until 2pm today and don't have a lot to report, I figured I would be able to pay the FULL attention to our day...er...our afternoon...er....our 45 minutes at the Roller Museum! It's a look at the history of roller skating, and...other stuff relating to roller skating. But instead of me boring you with all the details in written word, enjoy seeing our time at the museum through the magic of the Canon Powershot!

And until next time...roll on!

G

Some of the cast at the headquarters of the USA Roller Skating Confederation...which houses the museum. One of the most interesting parts of the trip was walking into the building - walking through the work place of the Roller Folks to the back corner/conference room where the museum is housed. We knew at first STEP into the building that we were in for a treat.

Roe takes a moment to learn the various developmental phases the roller skate has seen.

L: Jeffrey shows off...um...a wheel. It had some significance...but it's eluding me at time of writing. R: Some pretty old-ass skates.

A look at some of the ROLLER ART gracing the walls of the museum. Evidently, Jodi has a great interest in ROLLER ART...as I caught her in 3 of the 4 shots. And then I ask....well who DOESN'T like some good roller art?

You KNOW a good Roller Museum is going to highlight some GREAT roller threads! Steve, Jeffrey and Roe take a moment to highlight some of the better pieces in the Roller Costumes Wing of the Museum.

Felicia stops at the 'Famous People In Roller Skating History' wing. It was a pretty short exhibit...registering just one famous skater. And as you can see, even SHE abandoned roller for ice.

Katie, Mike, Steve and Felicia stop at the whimsical exhibit...looking at the roller-themed toys to come out over the years.

Felicia spends some time looking at the various medals won over the ages...and considers entering the sport after the tour ends.

Need I say ANYTHING here?

Jeffrey and Steve stop to celebrate Skate Lincoln - and shed a single tear upon realizing they will be missing it AGAIN this year!

Here's an interesting question. WHO knew that Miss Arizona 1989 was a ROLLER SKATER? And not only that she was, BUT that she performed it for her talent at the Miss America pageant? And not only that she did, BUT that she won a non-finalist talent award for her roller dance of joy? And how did we know!? THE MUSEUM TAUGHT US!

On our way out, Mike, Felicia and Jonny stop to reflect on our day...er 45 minutes at the museum...and what it meant to each of them.

What's UP In Lincoln?

Well, we've been in Lincoln for 3 full days now....and I think the HIGHEST we've seen the temperature get is 11 degrees. That's right. 10 + 1. 11. Mmmmmm. We've been keeping busy...wether it's been sleeping, or eating, or sleeping, or going to movies or you know...hanging out inside - so as not to freeze outside. We have had a COUPLE of outtings...which have all proven to be exciting and fun!
Tonight, as is the case with this hotel, I've had problems uploading pics....it has ended up taking a LOT of time....but I got my pics from 3 of my 4 outtings posted! The last one, the National Museum of Roller Skating, is going to have to wait for next time. It's a LOT of pictures and they are worth the wait.

THE D-D-R EXTRAVAGANZA

ok. The truth here is that Jeffrey, Jonny and I went to a double-feature one night...but the movies were all just SO-SO. The REAL highlight was between movies when Jeffrey and Jonny hopped on the DDR machine in the game room - both for the first time - and I stood back and spun the HITS as DJ Jazzy Matt! I took some video - that I'm having trouble uploading to YouTube but as soon as I do, you will get! And I snapped some pics of the guys in action.

ENJOY!

The montage of pictures I like to call "DDR. Changing Lives."

COSMIC BOWLING

Here's the excitement of our Valentines Day. (After the Roller Skating Museum, naturally.) We all got in the van and went to COSMIC BOWLING at Sun Valley Bowling Lanes. The lights were dimmed, the music was blaring, and the beer was flowing freely for everyone. A GREAT time was had by all. I do have to report that I was SUCH a failure as a photographer - I only took 1 picture and it's not even very good. BUT - it's docoumentation that we went COSMIC for Valentines 2007...and it was GREAT!

I think that's Felicia, showing off her form on the lanes. You can almost FEEL the party just by looking at this picture!

EXPLORING DOWNTOWN!

So on our last day off, TODAY (Thursday), I headed downtown Lincoln to walk around and shop and check it all out. When I got down there, it was really cold, as I suspected, so I went to a movie first. Then I went out and exploring. The HIGHLIGHT of my exploring day was finding a store called LICORICE INTERNATIONAL - in the Haymarket District in downtown Lincoln. This place is NOT a joke, peeps. We're talking 130 different kinds of licorice products from around the world! AND - they have a HUGE internet based business! Don't have the internet? NEVER FEAR! Just call 1-800-LICORICE (542-6742). I'm telling you what - it was a fascinating stop and I made friends with the sales woman AND the owner...and walked away with some licorice selections from Austalia, Finland and Germany. And I'm taking cast friends BACK tomorrow!

Here's a look at the selection of 130 world licorice products.

Gussy and the Licorice Ladies!

The fun NEVER stops with the Wonka Gang! Tune back in to experience the National Museum of Roller Skating with our stories and pictures! And beyond that, have a GREAT Friday. And stay warm.

CIAO!
G

2 Weeks In February

Warning: Today's entry clocks in at 'REALLY LONG'. My apologies...but I'm SURE most of you will appreciate the tool it becomes to passing time along. Enjoy.

* * *

So what I'm learning, after 18 months of blogging life on the road, is that I'm starting to become REALLY good at catching up. Keeping up...not so much. And I'm ok with that. As is the current practice, this entry is going to go back over the first couple of weeks of February and some of the fun AND SUN that some of us have experienced. There are a couple of points in here where either myself and one other person OR just myself separates from the rest of the group. I'm sorry for the personal nature that these points will take...but since I was not with the rest of the cast and crew while I was away, I figured the only fair and accurate way to report would be from my perspective. You want to know abuot everyone else...let me know and I'll give you Roe or Jonny's phone numbers.



COLLEGE STATION

So...College Station, TX. Home of Texas A&M University. And. That was about it. But it turned out to be a great, fast little stop. The venue we performed at was great and I think everyone had a good time in College Station. A few of us EVEN got to give ourselves a private tour of the Texas A&M Football Stadium...thanks to a few open gates and Roe's quick thinking.

CAST OF WILLY WONKA? PLEASE TAKE THE FIELD!

A couple of different views from the field.

Felicia and Jonny celebrate being on the 50 yard line.

L: Felicia, Roe and I enjoy our time in the stadium. R: Roe, Felicia, Jonny and I get a final shot in at the goalposts before we leave the field.

THANK YOU AND GOOD NIGHT!

SO...after our shows, Felicia and I packed our bags and headed for the West Coast. That's right - it was time for us to hit the Avenue Q audition that we had decided to go West...not East for. But first, we had to make it through the College Station Regional Airport experience. And what an experience it was! The man who ran the ticket counter said to us after we checked in, 'See you at the gate.' We walked around for a few minutes looking for security - until Felicia went back and asked him where it was. And he laughed and pointed to the end of the ticket counter and said, 'Right there. I'll be there to open it in a few minutes.' SO. We waited for him to open it. Once through security...where they CONFISCATED MY LIP BALM...grrrrrrrr...we went into the 2-gate departure area. Once all 6 of us who were on the flight were in the area, the gentleman from the ticket counter and the security gate looked at his watch, picked up the microphone and made an annoucement that we would begin the boarding procedure. For 6 of us. And as we boarded the plane and sat down, Felicia leaned over to me and said, 'I'm pretty sure I just saw the ticket counter guy loading our bags on the plane.' As luck would have it, he did NOT end up flying the plane for us...but chose to wave to us as we taxi'd out and took off. One stop in Dallas...and then we'd be on our way to our 48 hours in the greater Los Angeles area!

The ticketing area. Felicia waits.

Felicia waiting for security to open. In the same area as the ticketing area above.

The boarding area of the entire College Station airport. Gate 1...meet Gate 2.

L: My last Texas Sunset out the plane window. R: Felicia, still in full show makeup, gets ready to take off for LA!

LOS ANGELES: WORK & PLAY

So it's true. The actual purpose of our trip to LA was to go to the West Coast Avenue Q auditions they were holding for the National Tour AND future B'way replacements. And like all auditions, who shows up and how they handle it is a crap shoot. And as mentioned previously, this go-round was a GREAT crapshoot for Felicia...and a crap crapshoot for me. There is a type of audition-procedure they will sometimes employ called 'TYPE AUDITION'....where they will normally line you up, come through, look at you and either release you on the spot or ask you to stay to sing and/or read. All of this is done based on your look for the show ONLY. It's brutal...yes...but these shows are products...and with shows that have been running, they know what they are looking for LOOK-wise. The SURPRISE in the LA/AveQ audition was that they decided to TYPE...but only on HEADSHOTS. Which turned out to be NOT so great a thing for me. Let me tell you WHY. Ave Q is a show about CHARACTERS...and the one specific character that I think I'm perfect for is BRIAN. He's a shlub. He describes himself as 'broke, and unemployed and turning 33.' He wears shorts through the whole show. He's kind of an oafish loser-type. And in PERSON, I can convey that great. HELL, I live it. BUT - my headshot doesn't. And before you all start saying, 'OH! It can't be that bad', just take a look.

I mean, ACTUALLY, for the kind of pictures I normally get, THIS one actually looks fine. BUT - it's just too much....serious. Too much....glare. Too much....forehead. It's just too much. And when they have a stack of 300+ headshots they are TYPING through...there is NOTHING in this one that screams BRIAN! I AM BRIAN! So...I didn't get asked to stay. So my 'work trip' to LA was over. Felicia, THANK GOODNESS, did NOT get typed-out. She got asked to stay - she got to sing her little heart out - and she got asked to stay and sing from the show and read from the show. And then she was free to start HER portion of the PLAY part of our trip, also. She doesn't know if or when she'll hear anything...but the GOOD THING, wether she'll admit it or not, is that she has been SEEN by them. She's on their radar. And I'm sure they put her in a 'future consideration' folder. She's the real deal, folks! And it was a BLAST going to the audition with her!

The morning OF the audition. Flea and I kick it at Starbucks before heading down the street to hop in line with 300+ of our closest friends from the LA Theater scene.

Felicia on the street...after the FIRST portion of her audition. This time, she is listening to and going over the song from the show and the scenes they gave her. Soon after this picture was snapped, I left for lunch.

Here Felicia met my good friend, David Kopp! He lives in the LA area and he came to grab me after I got typed out for lunch. They are standing infront of the audition location...Millennium Dance Complex. For those MTV-heads out there...this is where J-Lo films her show DANCE LIFE. That's right. We were there. Enjoy.

Once we were both free, we spent some time hanging out with Dave Kopp...one of the coolest guys I know in the LA area or any area beyond. It's always great to see Dave...and it was great to introduce him to Felicia! We had a blast. Dave had to take off for a Persian Wedding...and it was Super Bowl Sunday, so we headed back to our hotel in Burbank to wait for the FUN of the evening to start. I had 2 buddies from SOUTH of LA coming up - Tom Benson and Nate Christensen - to watch the game and hang out. And Felicia and my friend, ASHLEY SPENCER was headed to the hotel to hang out, too. For those of you who are fans of reality TV...Ashley is BALLERINA SANDY on the current NBC show: Grease - You're The One That I Want! Felicia and Ashley were on the Barbie LIVE in Fairytopia Tour last year...which is where I met Ashley...and it is SO COOL to watch her fight for a role on Broadway on the show each week. A little plug for Ashley...be sure and watch each week and vote for her. If you don't want to watch, you can call Felicia or I and we will give you Ashley's number, so you can call and vote! The night was a blast...Tom, Nate and I watched the game while Felicia and Ashley went to dinner and caught up. And then we all headed to Westwood for dessert and Diddy Riese...and then to drop Ashley off NEAR her home...while we heard all the dirt and insider scoop from the show!

Super Bowl FUN at the Holiday Inn Burbank Sports Bar. L-R: Ashley, Felicia, Nate, Tom

Ballerina Barbie Sandy Sunday....meet Violet Topaz! Best friends FOREVER!

The REAL fun of the night was getting to know DIDDY RIESE...the magical ice cream/cookie sandwich place in Westwood. MAGICAL. Thanks for the share, Tom and Nate! It was a HIT!

I mean...look how happy they look to be at Diddy Riese!?!

Nothing brings NEW FRIENDS together closer or faster than a successful trip for something sweet and declicious! Felicia and Ashley look pleased with their ice cream sandwiches.

SUCCESS!

We spent the rest of our time together...um...evidently being LAME on the streets of Westwood. What the CRAP were we thinking?

Nate, Ashley and Tom say GOOD-BYE at the end of the night.

One last shot of the Barbie Girls together! Break a leg, ASHLEY!

EDMOND, OKLAHOMA

Our trip to LA was a success for each of us, on different levels. But more than anything, it was just FAST. We left LA...this time headed to meet our cast in Oklahoma City, OK. We had a connection - through Dallas again - but this time, our plane out of LA was delayed, which caused us to get in AS our plane was supposed to be leaving Dallas. LUCKILY, they held the plane for us, so Felicia and I ran through the airport to our gate and they closed the door after me. Nothing QUITE like the glare of a plane full of people who have been waiting for you. Even though it wasn't fault, I still felt so...uncomfortable. BUT...it was like a 12 minute flight up to Oklahoma City...so who cares! And my stay in Oklahoma City (North of it, actually...in Edmond) was all of about 18 hours! Just enough time to eat at iHop, have the airlines lose my bags, do 2 shows, and head BACK to the airport. THIS TIME - I was heading for Tucson to meet my newest niece and enjoy some SUN and honest-to-goodness free time.

As soon as we arrived in oklahoma city, and before we knew our bags didn't arrive, we got on an escalator heading to baggage claim and WHAT did I see right infront of me BUT...a football player from the University of Oklahoma. how did I know? he had his OU helmet tag on his backpack...his official ID for the 2007 Fiesta Bowl in Arizona. why did I care? I had on my BOISE STATE FOOTBALL hat...and Boise State BEAT Oklahoma in that same Fiesta Bowl. I didn't care. He didn't see me. But I STILL thought it funny.

Now although our bags never showed up this night, we DID be-friend 2 really funny high school guys who were also on our flight. They were the bearers of their high school dance teams winning trophies from the National Championships in Florida. The guys and the trophies made the flight...but the rest of the Dance Team got delayed in Cincinnati. These guys were happy to pose with Felicia and the trophies while we waited for luggage....some of which (ours) never arrived this night. Did I mention that yet? HAHA.

A sign I saw in the Oklahoma City Airport. I enjoy it.

TUCSON, ARIZONA

So I was back on a plane...connecting BACK through Dallas...and I made it to Tucson. Strangely enough, on my flight from OKC to Dallas, we made it IN in plenty of time, but there was some kind of security breach...so I couldn't get off my plane...and when I finally COULD...it was right when my flight was closing. SO....18 hours later, there was the fat kid from Wonka HOOFING it through the Dallas Airport AGAIN! NOT FUNNY, GODS OF TRAVEL! But I made it...with all those waiting eyes on me AGAIN. But I didn't care at ALL...because I was on my way to FAMILY FUN in Tucson. And I have to tell you, I went to Tucson with nothing really planned. I wanted to catch up on sleep...I wanted to play with the kids...and I wanted to get to spend sometime with the NEWEST niece, Sidney! Tim and Annie were the perfect hosts...and I had a ball being woken up by the kids early in the morning and just being part of their daily routines! AGAIN...excuse me for the personal indulgence...but from what I hear, I had a MUCH more exciting time than the cast did, for the most part, in Tulsa. (EXCEPT for dinner at Katie's brothers house. Sorry I missed it...I hear it ROCKED!)

The mardi gras beads I brought for Leah were a hit with her brother, Cole (center) and their friend, Benson (left).

Leah shows me one of her MANY dresses from the 'Leah Dress Up Collection'.

NEVER to be outdone by his older sister, Cole decides to show me stuff from HIS dress-up collection, too.

Uncle Matt was just happy to be in TUCSON!

Since I was staying in Cole's room, and that is where Cole plays, I got to spend a lot of one-on-one time with him, discussing the pressures facing 3 year olds today. I'm not sure I got it all, but I think a BIG thing for Cole was his need to wear basketball shirts and/or shorts all day, every day. Real problems. Real kids.

I showed Cole and Leah the opening to Disney's THE LION KING on Broadway one day on YouTube...and we ended up watching it about 300 times each day I was there. Big hit is what I call that.

Sidney was finally ready to meet me...but she wasn't TOO sure about me at first.

Cole jumped in front of the camera as I tried to snap a picture of Leah. And then I got a picture of Leah with a chip as big as her head...sitting in her mouth. Good times with Uncle Matt!

But soon enough, Sidney was getting in the FUN action...and we became FAST friends! Put your hands in the air, baby!

Leah's parade of fashion, song and dance continued throughout the entire week! LUCKY!

All 3 kids got to the 'NOT THE CAMERA AGAIN' face by the time my trip was coming to an end.

But there good enough sports to sit through a FEW more shots for me!

The kids spend some quality time with their dad...my brother, Tim.

Cole took some time off to hang out with me...but he was back into his training in no time flat.

Wow. That's SOME HAIR, Cole!

SPRINGFIELD, MISSOURI

So my Tucson-time wrapped up...and I hopped ONE more plane...connected ONE more time in Dallas (had 3 hours this time to connect...no trouble....) and ended up back with my cast in Springfield, MO. I was in shorts and flip flops from the 80 degree weather in Tucson...and it was a whopping 19 degrees when I stepped off the plane. We did ONE quick show in Springfield, and the next day, we were packed and loaded and on our way to Lincoln, Nebraska for a week of fun and relaxation before our next show. I did get to spend some time with my friend, Bill and his crazy-fun cousin, Carol, in Springfield...which was a blast. And now we're in Lincoln. And next time, I will tell you all about the crappy hotel situation, the frigid temperatures, the days off and the roller skating museum.

Thanks for being patient...I hope it was somewhat worth the wait!
Stay warm, friends.

G