1/18/10 – 01/20/10 – In a New York State of Mind, sort of…Brooklyn and Flushing, NY

Happy Martin Luther King, Jr. Day! From wet Williamsport, PA, we trekked to Flushing, NY and tried to prepare both mentally and physically for a busy upcoming week. Unfortunately, my cold had not gotten any better and left me feeling sad, homesick and lonely. Nothing is worse than being sick, without the creature comforts of home, in a strange city by yourself. I was definitely bummed when I had to stay at our hotel by myself while the rest of the cast got to venture into Manhattan. Thank goodness our hotel, the LaGuardia Courtyard Marriott, had a nice workout facility and a T1 internet connection, two things to keep me sane and healthy.



The next day was the first of two ‘hell’ days for the week, complete with an early morning load-in at one theatre, two performances, load-out and another load-in at a different theatre. Our first stop - the Walt Whitman Theatre at the Brooklyn Center for Performing Arts in Brooklyn, NY, which opened in 1955. Recently refurbished in 2004, the Whitman Theatre is a beautiful three-tier, 2350-seat venue that features an ornate art deco interior and has been graced by Tony Bennett, Itzhak Perlman and The Beach Boys, among other artists. We performed two sold out shows at this venue. Although I was still sick, I made it through both performances, but unfortunately could not stop sneezing and felt vocally tired.



And our second New York stop? The Kupferberg Center at Queens College in Flushing, NY. We performed one sold-out show the following day at the 2124-seat Kupferberg Center. I was feeling much better this day and the performance was good. I was still disappointed that my first tour encounters with the Big Apple had been hampered by sickness, but was pleased with the performances that I was able to produce despite my illness. If I could make it through one ‘hell’ day while I was sick, I could make it through anything!



Next stop – The Egg in Albany, NY. Until the next adventure…

Ciao!
XOXO-
Janine