After a brief stay in Virginia Beach, we hit the road again, this time bound for Williamsport, PA. Located in northeast Pennsylvania, with a population of around 30,000, Williamsport is the home of the Little League World Series, the headquarter of the ShopVac Corporation, and the birthplace of the national newspaper, Grit. At one time, Williamsport had more millionaires per capita than anywhere in the world.
Upon arriving in Williamsport, my initial impression is that it is a very quiet and sleepy town – at times, it seems like we are the only people in this soporific village. Our hotel – the Genetti Hotel and Suites – looks like it is from Stephen King’s ‘The Shining’, with its ballroom and side-by-side elevators in the lobby. Throughout my stay here, I had the feeling that I would turn a corner and encounter the Grady twins, beckoning me to come and play with them. A bit too creepy for my taste, but comfortable nevertheless…
On our first night in Williamsport, we had dinner at Franco’s Bar, a cozy Italian family-style restaurant decorated with posters for Liquore Strega. The restaurant owner said that the liqueur was from the town from which her family came in Italy. Liquore Strega is a yellow, herbal liqueur from Benevento, Campania, Italy, that has been produced since the 1860s. This 80-proof digestif counts saffron among its 70 herbal ingredients and is often called “The Witch”. With its Strega-inspired decor, I felt that it was serendipitous that we had stumbled upon this restaurant…kismet!
Unfortunately, the dry throat which I had attributed to the cold climate and heating turned out to be sickness. Blech! Luckily, I had an entire 36 hours off before performing in Williamsport, so I spent my entire time holed up in my creepy hotel room, trying desperately to get better. Not the way that I wanted to start the tour off and hopefully, the only time that I will be sick on this leg, fingers crossed.
We performed one show in Williamsport to a small, but appreciative audience at the Community Arts Center on an extremely cold, rainy day. The Community Arts Center is a gorgeous, converted movie theatre that has been in existence since 1928. This 2100-seat, two-tier theatre is a synthesis of ornate Spanish, English and Oriental décor and is one of the top venues on the Eastern Seaboard. Overall, my performance felt off as I was not in the best vocal health and felt mentally dull due to the cold medications. I have got to shake this illness and shake it soon.
Next stop – the Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts in Brooklyn, NY, and the Kupferberg Center in Flushing, NY. Until the next adventure…
Ciao!
XOXO-
Janine
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