Just Another Meeting with Royalty...

I haven't been blogging as much lately, since of course we're in the end of the week again, and that means we've got a lot of shows. It's totally the opposite of a regular work week, since my weekends are the busiest, and I get Mondays off! However, I'm hearing from some semi-reliable sources (my mom, mostly) that I never blog about the show. Since I'm actually here in KL to work, and not to party or lay by the pool (as much as I'd love that) I'll tell you a little more about what I spend my time doing, and the special touch that's been added this week.

If you're not familiar with The Sound of Music, then you are already behind the entire population of Asia. Even if you've seen the movie though, you might not remember everybody, and you will definitely find differences in the stage show. In Asia, everyone expects Julie Andrews on stage (she sings on all our radio commercials) and they are shocked when songs from the movie are in a slightly different order or sung by different people. However, this is the way theatre goes, so I'll explain it to you. Here's the summary of the stage show, in a very brief form.

Curtain up on the abbey, nuns singing latin music. Maria's missing, they're pissed, they leave. Maria shows up in the hills and sings "The Sound of Music". She leaves. I (the Mother Abbess) and some nuns show up to talk about how Maria is a bad nun, so we sing "How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria". I send the nuns away and Maria comes back. We sing "My Favorite Things" and then I send her away to the VonTrapp family. Maria shows up at their house and is introduced to the mean captain and his kids. He leaves, she and the kids sing "Do A Deer" to teach them to sing. They leave. Lisle and Rolf horse around outside the house and sing "Sixteen Going on Seventeen". It rains, so they leave. Maria is in her bedroom when Lisle sneaks in. They make friends. It starts to thunder and all the kids come to Maria's room, where they sing "The Lonely Goatherd". Meanwhile, the Captain and his friend Max and his girlfriend Elsa are hanging out. They sing a lame song about how the Captain and Elsa are too rich to be passionate called "How Can Love Survive". The Captain comes home from a trip and finds the kids wearing curtains. He yells at Maria until the kids start singing "The Sound of Music: reprise". He un-fires Maria and asks her to stay. They sing "The Sound of Music: reprise two". There is a big party at the Captain's house. Maria dances with the Captain and then Brigitta tells her that they're in love. Maria freaks out and runs away while the kids sing "So Long, Farewell". The party ends, and Maria comes to the Abbey. She and I talk, I tell her to go back to the Abbey, and then I sing "Climb Every Mountain." Curtain down, INTERMISSION.


OK, so this is only the first act - done quickly! It's pretty amazing to me that I know the show as well as I do, but considering I see it on TV and hear it over the monitors every night, I guess it's a given. The only part of the show that directly concerns me is the time when I'm onstage. As you can see, I am on in the very beginning for about 15 minutes, then I have a forty-five minute break! During this time it's pretty easy to entertain myself with books, knitting, music, or gossiping.

When you do a show as long as we have been doing it, there are a lot of things going on backstage or onstage just to keep us paying attention. For example, every time before I go on for the top of the show I stretch backstage to make sure I'm physically awake. Then when I come off as Maria sings "The SOM" I walk around the back of the stage to enter from the other side, and I do some face warm-ups and tongue twisters so I don't flub my lines. The other things that happen are pretty funny, like when I find funny names written in my postulant record book, or our costumer Deb lifts my skirt up backstage. Before my big song I'm offstage while the party scene is going on, and I'm always tempted to join in full nun gear. Unfortunately we can get fined or fired for doing stuff wrong.

Anyway, this might be the most boring entry in the world, but I'll give you more if you want it. For now, I'm off to take advantage of a giant party that's brewing at Malaysian designer Peter Hoe's house. Talk to you later!

P.S. The royalty, I almost forgot! I got to meet the King, the Prime Minister, and the ex-Prime Minister (he's as important as the president of the US). After the shows this weekend, they rolled out a red carpet, and the leads were squirreled into the lobby to shake hands and take pictures. It's pretty cool!

Elephan-tastic!! (i know i'm a dork)

Today was amazing! It all started at the break of dawn, when I went to bed to get my customary four hours of sleep a night. I had to get up at 8:30 – an absolute travesty in my world, but I did it for one special reason…today I was going to see the elephants!!

One of the amazing things about KL is that there are such an amazing variety of things going on, all within a close distance of the city. About an hour and a half from downtown is a small town that is actually in the middle of a rainforest like climate. It is the home of the Kuala Gandah Elephant Sanctuary!

This elephant sanctuary has been around since the 70’s, when a bunch of guys got together and tried to solve a problem. The problem was that more and more people in Malaysia were taking (rain) forested area and turning it into farmland. Because of this, the elephants that were native to the area were forced into smaller and smaller patches of living space. And because of this, the elephants were trampling farmland and being shot by farmers. Any rogue elephant found ruining farmland was shot on the spot, and this was a tragedy! As the elephants became less and less, these guys decided they had to do something. So, they set up a sanctuary to keep elephants that had been forced out of their natural habitat.

Today, the sanctuary does a number of different things. It goes on-sight to farms where elephants have done damage to track and capture them. After capture, some are moved to the Tanjung Sanctuary (a large protected rainforest), and some come to the Kuala Gandah sanctuary for training. At this sanctuary elephants are trained to help the workers capture rogue elephants out in the field. For example, when the leaders of the sanctuary go to rescue an elephant that would otherwise be shot, they bring one or two of their elephants to calm the elephants and help them with the transfer. I had never realized how smart elephants were, but as I learned more I was truly amazed.

I knew that elephants have been assisting humans for hundreds of years, as evidenced by ancient Asian and Indian cultures that would ride them through forests instead of horses. They have also been used to carry heavy loads and assist in building projects. Little did I know though, that they can do so much more. One of the newer elephants in the sanctuary was a middle aged female who had been recently saved. I was sad to see that unlike the other elephants (who are kept running free in a large natural habitat with a pool and trees and an electric fence all around) her legs were chained together so she couldn’t run fast. I later learned though, that she was one of the smartest elephants around. Somehow she had learned how to break the electric fence with a stick held in her trunk, and had taught the other elephants how to escape this way!

We got to see the approximately 6 elephants that are at the sanctuary now in their home, and then the fun began. Lizanne, Maria, Radar, and I all brought picnic lunches, so we ate them by the bank of the river of the sanctuary. Then at two o’clock, the elephants were brought out for their feeding! We watched them get a hose bath, and then we actually got to feed them!! We were pretty hesitant at first, considering I’ve never gotten to go up and touch an elephant before, but pretty soon we were experts. We started out holding out the watermelon, sweet potatoes, mangoes, and papayas so the elephants could grab them with their trunks. Pretty soon we were using the Malay work for "up" and getting the elephants to lift their trunks, so we could slip the food right into their mouths! It was pretty sticky, but I definitely got licked by a big elephant tongue. We fed them for probably 30 minutes, and then we moved on to the next step.

We got to ride the elephants! I know, this is unbelievable. I can’t tell you how awesome it was! We climbed up a bunch of steps, and Maria and I hopped onto an elephant for a ride around! You actually ride an elephant by sitting right behind his ears, kind of on top of his neck. These Asian elephants are actually closely related to wooly mammoths, so their backs are covered with a prickly hair. We had to grip really tightly with our thighs, because as the elephant’s big hips swayed we thought we would fall off! It was incredible. The last person to ride the elephant was Radar, at which point it took off from the group and actually walked right into the river! It dumped him in the water, and came back for more.

A lot of the people there were hesitant to get wet, so we all got to ride the elephants in the river, and they would eventually tip over and dump us! Maria got sprayed by a lot of water and gravel through the elephant’s trunk – it was so cool. After we rode, we got to go back into the river and play with two of the elephants. We splashed them, and rubbed their backs with sand and scrub brushes. We slapped them all over their bodies to help with circulation. Plus, we climbed on top of their trunks and they lifted us, catapulting us onto their backs. It was fantastic. I can’t really explain how awesome it was, because it was the best ever!!! I have used so many exclamation points!! After that, a normal day of the show is pretty boring!

Food, Fun, and new Friends

OK, that's kind of a lame title, but this was not a lame night. It actually happened on our day off, Monday, when I usually take a day trip or do something exhausting. However, this Monday, we had planned this canopy walk through the rainforest, that actually ended up being closed on Mondays. So... I spent a lazy day by the pool and had a very interesting night!

It all started a few weeks ago, when Maria's friend Lizanne took us to this famous Malaysian store. It's called Peter Hoe's, after the man whose designs are displayed there. I'd have to call the store a cross between Pottery Barn and Pier 1, with it's own Malay flair thrown in. Regardless, it's a gorgeous store full of clothes, furniture, housewares, and much more. The day I went I spent about an hour looking around and... dun dun dun... didn't even buy anything - I was too overwhelmed by liking everything so much!! But anyway, we recommended the place to all the people in the company, and a few days later some friends went back.

When Joel, Alyssa, and Dana went back, the designer, Peter Hoe, was actually in the store. Joel is really cute (and gay) and of course caught dear Peter's eye. Because of this, the four of them got to talking about the store, the Sound of Music, and everything under the sun. Basically an hour later (after some wine and quiche) the SOM kids had a date with Peter for Monday night. So, fast forward to Monday night, when I'm also invited. I was especially important to this party because apparently we were going to some restaurant where you needed to have your own knife, and I'm the only one who carries a (mini)pocket knife - it has my dad's company on it. So we headed out on Monday night, pocket knife in hand, and wearing the dress code that Peter had devised, of denim and white.

From what I had heard about him, I knew Peter would be a character, but nothing could have really prepared me. I got to meet Peter and his assistant/friend Hirwan (it rhymes with Pier 1) and we all had drinks in the store. Peter is hilarious and ridiculous at the same time, while Hirwan is very down to earth and responsible. Some people say that Peter reminds them of the role B.D. Wong played in the Father of the Bride movies, so does that give you an idea? We all talked for awhile... of course Joel, Dana, and Alyssa had told the boys all about the drama and the people in the cast, so we had to gossip for a while. It was raining, so we chilled while we waited for it to stop. Eventually it did, and we headed to the new hot part of town, Bangsar, for some eats.

When our cab pulled up outside the "restaurant", I was pretty skeptical. Here we were in front of one of those restaurants I had seen all over China and Malaysia. There is basically a doorway, and then lots of plastic tables and chairs outside. People are eating, and there's sometimes some kind of outdoor grill or food cooking station that looks pretty sketchy. We sat down in the doorway, and I proceeded to find out that my knife was supposed to be used to cut the banana leaves that would be used as our placemats. Of course it was tiny and useless, so my position as knife wielder was taken quickly, as we paid extra to get the leaves cut by the restaurant. As dinner progressed though, I soon forgot the sketchy restaurant and banana leaf plates, because the food was great!

I'm not really into Indian food, but I must have been hungry because I ate it all. We got white rice, with fish and chicken curry. We had curried lamb, and some kind of seaweed vegetable. We ate a bitter root that had been fried, and some lightly battered calimari. We also had some spicy chutney, boiled chicken, and cucumber salad. I finished it off with my favorite drink in Malaysia, iced lemon tea. Before I knew it my banana leaf was bare, and I was stuffed. Because we had all eaten so much, we decided to stop at a low-key lounge bar before heading to the swanky bar with the dress code. A few minutes later (after stopping to buy some pirated DVDs) we were sitting at the best spot in the bar - as Peter's a local celeb this goes with the job.

We drank cosmos and mojitos and actually played a long game of Monopoly as Peter's friends would stop by for a chat. When we tried to order dessert - an amazing chocolate cake - and were told that it wasn't served in the lounge, Peter asked to speak to the chef, who was a close friend. Soon we had some piping hot cake in front of us. It was truly an experience. After hours of this though, we were all exhausted. We never even made it to the next bar because we were so tired!! Luckily, though, we're supposed to see more of Peter. He's invited his whole staff to the show on Wednesday, and he's invited us to a party at his house on Saturday (the dress code this time is "Easter colors" and there will be no food that makes crumbs). Can't wait!

Happy St. Patty's Day!

I have to first of all apologize for posting this a bit late, but after you hear about the nights I had, I'm sure you'll forgive me. It all started the morning I woke up to celebrate the joyous Irish occasion of St. Patrick's Day! Since Kirkpatrick literally means "church of Patrick" I feel a special connection to this day.

I woke up and made sure to wear some green. Not that anyone in Malaysia would really care, but the whole company was looking out for some brutal pinching threats that were supposedly going to happen if people were caught out of the spirit. The day was pretty normal, grocery shopping, catching lunch, and dropping off laundry. Then the night rolled around, a special show attended by a Sultan!

Although that sounds very exciting to me, I guess you do have to take into account the fact that there are a few Sultans (and their wives the Sultanas) in Malaysia. However, it's still a big deal, and the show was held for his heighness. I was also feeling the pressure because I had just gotten my best review ever! It appeared over the weeked in a paper called "The Sunday Mail" and (excuse my bragging for just a minute) this is what it said: "...I'm saving the bulk of the praises for Mother Abbess. Words can't tell. Just go and watch and listen to what totally floored the audience. At curtain call, Mother Abbess recieved the biggest applause when she appeared on her own. Even response to the children bowing as a group couldn't compare. Nor could Maria's reception, as unaimously decided and spontaneously shown by the whole hall." I thought that was pretty cool, and floated through the show with that in mind.

After the show, we popped home on the bus, and quickly got ready for a night on the town. Now, when I say that we didn't get home till 5am, it sounds better when you understand that we didn't get out until 12:30am. The show ends so late that our hours are totally messed up! Luckily the biggest Irish pub in town is only a block from the hotel, so we were there in record time. Finnegan's was hopping - luckily it's half indoor, half outdoor and there was plenty of room to spread out. There wasn't any green beer, but there were more international people than I've ever seen in my whole life! It was like a day at the UN with people from all over Europe, Americans, Malays, Indians, Chinese, and anywhere else you could possibly think of. There's also a massive car racing thing going on in KL this weekend (Formula 1 Racing is Huge here) so we got to meet people who had come in town for that, and even some New Zealander racecar drivers!

There was a group of about 20 of us from SOM, and we all had an awesome time. Walter, our company manager, is great with a camera, and the pictures that he took are excellent for documenting the passage of time. I especially love seeing my white shirt get browner and browner as more people spill Guinness down my front. When we finally walked home (stopping at our favorite convienience store for water, chocolate, and ice cream) we were exhausted, but that never stops us from heading to our Hospitality Room (provided by the hotel for us to hang out and watch movies in) to talk until the wee hours. Although I was pretty tired the next day, it was an Awesome St. Patty's!

Of course, the next day I had to wake up early (and you all know how much I love that) to take a trip to the International School of Kuala Lumpur. Maria's friend Lizanne's children go there, and it just so happens that they're all interested in theatre! The youngest boy was in the junior high school's production of Peter Pan, and a few of us volunteered to go speak to the cast about what it was like to work professionally. So Maria, Radar (stage manager), Joe, Dana, and I headed out around noon. Before we spoke, we got a tour of the school, which was AMAZING. There's a climbing wall, a pool, state of the art facilities, and the kids regularly take trips all around Asia. After being totally impressed, we got to speak to the junior high kids - which was great! They were so inquisitive and adorable! Even better though, was that afterwards we got to talk to the high school music students. They were so fun, and they asked awesome questions. We all had a fantastic time kind of hanging out and telling stories. I can't wait until they come to the show and we get to show them around.

After a few hours of storytelling and sharing our immense knowledge (hee hee) we all went out to lunch with Lizanne. We had an awesome meal, and the headed to the show. After another fun show, which Lizanne's family was at, we met up with them and decided to go out. The kids went home, and the five of us headed to a jazz bar with Lizanne and her husband Vince. There was an amazing guy singing, who sounded just like Sinatra, but spoke with a big old accent! It was hilarious. We shared a few bottles of wine, some cheese platters and cake, and then decided to call it a night around 2am. However, when we dropped Lizanne off she invited us in for another drink, and we all accepted. Their house is gorgeous, spacious and open and white, with a great porch that looks out out on the once tallest buildings in the world, the Petronas towers.

We sat and drank and talked until about 4:30am, when we finally called it a night. I couldn't believe that these people my parent's age were staying up this late drinking! We had a fantastic time though, and even though the next day was a two-show extravaganza and we were exhausted it was all worth it. What a crazy two days!!

Monkey See, Monkey I Like You!

Now that I've been told that I write fascinating blogs (take that English teachers who told me I suck!) the pressure is on to keep doing interesting things so I have something to write about! Although lying by the pool every day and watching Alias every night sounds good to me, I bet an episode summary is not really what you're looking for. So, today I went to KL's famous Batu Caves.

The caves were actually only discovered about 100 years ago, when an American naturalist (as the story goes) stumbled upon them. Now they're one of the biggest tourist attractions in KL. We headed out midmorning (Maria, Radar, Joe, and I) in a cab that took us the 20 minutes to the caves. When we arrived we decided to take the audio tour that was being pressured on us, and we saw our first rabid dog. I'd always heard that there were wild animals in the places I've been visiting, and luckily my rabies vaccine is in full swing, but most of the ones we see just look like strays. However, at the Batu Caves I saw more wild animals than I've ever seen outside of a zoo. The rabid dog drooling blood was just the beginning. We started up the 272 steps that led into the cave, pausing along the way to catch our breath or take pictures of monkeys! They were everywhere, climbing up alongside us, or stopping to pick nits off themselves and have a snack. The monkeys would run up to people and steal their food, or shiny souvenirs. We saw tiny baby monkeys and some hunched over old man monkeys. It was great!

At the top of the millions of stairs was the actual cave. It was huge and gorgeous, with a few small holes that let in sunlight and vegetation. There were stalactites (i think, they hung from the ceiling - stalagmites?) everywhere, and the cave was filled with small scenes with Hindu shrines and gods. It was so cool and peaceful that you could understand why it's an important place for the Hindu religion. In fact, every January or February there is a giant festival in KL called Thaipusam, where Hindu men attach weights to their bodies by piercings, and drag them up the hill or the steps of the temple. We were too late in the year for that, but the pictures are pretty frightening. Remember Red Dragon? Think of that.

All together there were three main caves, and we got to visit them all. One focused mainly on the Hindu artwork of the gods, and explained a lot about the different ones. It's interesting how different Hindu families choose a god to pray to, and there are different gods for different professions and everything. The main cave was attached to another huge cave that had an open top with trees growing around it. It was amazing! Just to see a natural formation that is that huge and overpowering is awesome. The third cave was smaller, and only about 20 feet high as opposed to the hundred feet of the others. It was filled with more Hindu prayers and devotionals, including paintings of the important Hindu gods and goddesses. Overall though, I think my favorite part was the monkeys - they were everywhere!

We could see them scaling the cave walls, and walking around among us. Maria was a little afraid of them after seeing the rabid dog, and when one monkey bared his teeth at us she decided that she was not going to get friendly with them. They loved the garbage, and we got to watch them play and fight over scraps of food and wrappers and bottles of water. Hilariously, there was actually a statue with the classic, "see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil" in the cave where most of the monkeys were hanging out. It's nice to know that the Hindu people have a sense of humor. We also saw a man with a giant python of some kind, charging 5 ringgit to take a picture with it. Plus, there were wild dogs in the forests around the caves, and you could see them sunning in the afternoon light. I loved the monkeys best of all, and I took some adorable videos of them "fooling around" just like adults...

After this hot day we headed back to central KL to grab some Thai food for dinner before the show. On the way back Radar chatted with our cabdriver, who told us that he had actually lived in the US about 20 years ago. Apparently he lived in the Shenandoah Valley and was trained at some kind of customs center to work with drug dogs - you never know who you're going to meet! After lunch, Joe and I took a dip in the pool - it's my favorite place in the world after a hot day - and now I'm here blogging before I head to the theatre! Now I've got to go because I've got to pop in the shower before the show. Bye!

P.S. Now that we're in Malaysia where people like me (almost) as much as the kids, I'm finally getting reviewed! This appeared in KL's The Star today: "And special mention must go to Mother Abbess (Beth Kirkpatrick) for a powerful rendition of Climb Every Mountain, and all the nuns whose choral renditions of various sacred songs were outstanding." Yippiee!

Malacca lacca baby...

Our day off! Glorious loveliness! It's amazing how much we look forward to that one day a week that we have totally free. It's pretty sad, because here I am, typing after a full day, and I'm actually home in time to go do a show, but I relish the fact that I don't have to! Not that I'm not loving it - because I am! The audiences are so amazing that it is really bringing a special joy to our performances here. However, a day off is a pretty exciting thing.

Unfortunately I didn't spend the day sleeping in. We've been so keyed up with the show opening and starting showtimes later than we're used to (8:30 curtain rather than 7:30 in Korea or 7 in Japan) that we never get to bed early, so getting up early is never easy. However today I was able, because I had places to go! My good friend Maria has met up with a family here who actually are her are her grandmother's best friend's children. Does that make sense? Any way you say it, this woman Lizanne is being very sweet to us. She's living in KL with her family (her husband is in advertising) and she offered to show us around today. We decided to go to a city on the Western coast a little South of KL, called Malacca.

Malacca is famous because it is an amazing historical place in Malaysia, and because it is a specific hub of cultural blending. Malaysia is a big mix of all the Asian cultures, and nowhere is this more apparent than in Malacca. Not only did Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and Indian people settle there, but as early as the 1400s the Dutch were coming to visit. Because of this, the architecture is amazing. A lot of buildings are original, and when you walk down the streets it's like another world. You smell a mixture of incense, cooking food, and the incredibly fresh greenery everywhere. The storefronts are charming, some looking Japanese with the curved roofs and dragon decorations, others classically Dutch with European styling, and others looking Moroccan or Indian. It's definitely a tourist destination, but the stores aren't junked up yet. They sell Malaysian crafts, like wooden bowls or hand made wind chimes. The people are friendly but not overpowering, except for the men who drive the three-wheeled rickshaws that are playfully decorated with plastic flowers and blinking Christmas lights.

We drove the two hours there, and our first stop was one of the oldest standing churches in Malaysia. It's from about 1500, and it was the original resting place of St.Francis of Xavier. The church stands alone on a hill that overlooks the whole city. The weather was beautiful, sunny and blue, and there were people lounging on the hill around the ruins of the church. It basically stands like one large brick box, with the ceiling missing. There are tombstones inside in memory of Dutch settlers, sailors, and local people, written in Latin, Malay, Dutch, and English. We walked around the hill outside, meeting local artists and families who wanted to take pictures with our blonde hair, before we headed back in the chapel one more time. Right before we left we stopped to listen to a man playing on his harmonica- this lovely song called "Oh Susannah". Since we were with Dana, who's from Alabama, she stopped to sing with him and get a picture.

After that we walked through the streets for a while, until we came to one of the most famous Malaccan restaurants. It's actually a house that has been converted, and we got to eat in the central courtyard, where the family would hang out to spend quality time. We all ordered the iced lemon tea (a Malaysian favorite that is sooo good on a hot day) and the special, which was a sampling of local foods. After some garlic rice, marinated chicken, chilied greens, curried prawns, and black peppered lamb, we enjoyed my new favorite Malaccan dessert. It's coconut milk that has some kind of barley in it - and it's delicious! We finished lunch and continued exploring the city. We stopped at a local woodworking shop that made the most beautiful furniture, and some souvenirs that I picked up for you! I also picked up my new favorite souvenir. At an antique shop I bought what I first thought was a pendant to wear around your neck. I quickly learned that it was an ancient boy's penis cover! For real, it's like a silver fig leaf. I can't wait to wear it!!! In the end, we visited a few of the temples, mosques, and shrines that dotted the streets. Our last important stop was one of the most amazing parts of the day.

Everyone knows about the old Asian custom of binding feet. It was done mostly in China, and the practice is largely dead today. It was originally performed on almost all middle to upper class women, since the bound feet were considered precious and lucky (the binding would make the feet look like lotus flowers, which are very lucky). However, it made walking and life extremely painful, and so it slowly died out as practicality and common sense won over. When it was popular, the best shoes a bound woman could buy came from specific famous shoemakers who designed especially for the tiny foot. One of these shoemakers was a Chinese man who is from Malacca! He has outfitted some of the famous women of the golden days of China, but unfortunately passed away two years ago. However, his shop still exists in Malacca, and his son carries on his tradition.

We stopped by to meet the famous man and see the shoes, and we got a lot more. We spent almost 45 minutes there, reading articles and seeing pictures of women with the tiny deformed feet. He still has a few customers with bound feet, but told us that they were very old. Now he spends his time making modern shoes or shoes for decoration. We shared some tea and took pictures of me trying to fit into the tiny shoes. By the time we left, we all had a pair of handmade shoes signed by the shoemaker. They're pretty creepy, but I like to think of them as how far we've come. We eventually came home, tired and sweaty and happy. What an amazing day!

It's the day of the show y'all

Now that we’re here in Malaysia loving it, our presenters are asking a bit more from us. Since the show’s presales have been going so well, they’ve decided we need to open a day early! Our first performance will only be for special guests of Malaysian Airlines (our presenter), but it will be full like a real show. Because of this, I had my first Malaysian rehearsal on Thursday night.

After having this rehearsal, here’s what I’ve learned. A. The traffic in Malaysia is horrible! During rush hour, it’s some of the worst I have ever seen. The cars drive on the wrong side of road here, and the roads are as wide as the highways in LA… I’m talking at least 12 lanes across, with people weaving and merging like in China. It’s Nutso. B. People in Malaysia do not account for traffic. Apparently everyone in this country has the same idea as my dad and I. We think that if something is fifteen minutes away, we can get there in fifteen minutes. This helps to make us consistently late when traffic adds the extra five minutes. In Malaysia, no one accounts for the extra time in traffic, so they’re always late! When crew people were fifteen minutes late to our rehearsal, our stage manager Radar talked to them, and they were like, "uh, sorry, there was traffic." He was like, "Isn’t there ALWAYS traffic?" and they were like, "I don’t know, um, there was just some traffic". This is one of the reasons our shows here start at 8:30pm, because apparently the presenters said that if we started at 8 everyone would be late. C. Cab drivers in Malaysia are lazy. Whenever we try to get a cab here, you’re supposed to get them to run their meters. However, a lot of cab drivers won’t, so you have to bargain ahead of time about how much it will cost to get to where you’re going. Sometimes though, cab drivers will just not want to drive you where you’re going, especially if it’s the Istana Budaya (our theatre) and they will have to drive in traffic.

So after learning all that, we had our sound check and sitz probe with the orchestra. The funny thing about them is this: every time we arrive in a new city, our core orchestra starts rehearsing with the added local musicians two days before we open. Then when we have our sitz probe, they’re all ready. Here, the day our orchestra showed up to rehearse, there was no local orchestra at the theatre. One guy eventually showed up just to say that they had already practiced and felt ready, so they’d see us at opening. It made for a fun run-through right before we opened!

Honestly though, it’s all worth it. The theatre is absolutely gorgeous! From the outside it looks like a giant geometric flower blooming, and the inside is very Islamic. The house only holds around 1500 people, as opposed to the 3000 we’ve been playing to, and this makes it feel a lot more intimate. The space actually is used mostly for opera, and the acoustics are amazing. I’m glad to be back to having my star dressing room (hee hee) that I share with my ex-roommate Friesia (who plays Elsa). The best part of all though, is the audiences.

So all of this prepares us for...Opening night! "It’s the day of the show y’all!" We had to get to the theatre early this morning (early being noon) to run through the show and do our whole company soundcheck. We ran the show once, and then had a break. The downfall of the theatre is the fact that it’s kind of in the middle of nowhere, and the only food around is from street stands that I would gag at in the US. So, before the big show we ordered Domino’s just like home. Everything combined to make our opening show a fantastic success! I don’t think we’ve ever had an audience that is so fluent in English, that laughs all the time, that claps so loud that it makes your heart swell, that stand so quickly at the end. Our first show was a joy because of all the new energy coming from the audience, and I can’t wait to keep playing Malaysia!

Our first (and second) Malaysian Bar

After another hot afternoon at the beach, a bunch of us decided to meet up with our new friends to hang out at one of the new hot bars in KL. Our new friends are two guys, Garrison and Mike. We met them at the pool one day and have become buddies pretty quickly. Basically, they’re both from the states. Garrison met a Malaysian woman on a business trip and then got bored with his job as a Harley salesman and decided to pack up and move here for a while. Mike had met Garrison when Garrison sold him a Harley, and they had become fast friends. After living in KL for a month, Garrison called Mike and told him he should come on over, so he did! Now Garrison works as an Elvis impersonater, and Mike is his manager. They live together in the apartment tower of our hotel, and they're pretty ridiculous.

However, they are very nice, so we've let them show us the town a bit. Garrison and Mike happen to have made good friends with some Australian guys who own the new hot bar right by our hotel, called Carnegie's. So when they all invited us out for ladies Night... cheap food and free drinks... how could we resist?

We headed over around eight to find the bar already hopping. It's a pretty cool space, with two floors and a huge bar. It took forever to get our food upstairs, and by the time we were finished a lot of us were done for the night. However, Maria, Dana, Jessica, Nicole, Stuart, and I decided to tough it out for a little while longer. That is when the craziness started.

Stu is a big guy who talks more than anybody I've ever met. He's tons of fun and has boundless energy for going out and meeting new people, so when he disappeared for a while we weren't surprised. He's probably tied with another cast member (Todd - and of course company manager Walter) for having had the most Asian girlfriends while we've been on tour. However, the rest of us (including Mike) headed downstairs to tackle the bar. Thanks to ladies night we enjoyed two sex on the beaches and about five glasses of champagne before the party took off. We also got some free shots from the cute Australian that Garrison and Mike introduced us to. From there on out the night was tequila sunrises, jello shots, and eventually tequila shots. Of course this led to some dancing... some on the bar by some people, and some with some strangers.

One creepy guy there was a friend of Mike's named Joe (he insisted we call him Black Joe to distinguish him from our Joe in the cast). Of course he was Malay and loved the big ladies, so a lot of the night was spent dancing away from him and telling him about our jealous boyfriends. The other creepy thing was a lady that we all met. She was sitting at the bar and smiling at all of us, and we started to think that she was being oddly friendly. We asked Mike what was going on and were met by another fact of Asia - the prostitute! She eventually found Stu and let me just say that I have some pretty incriminating pictures!

At around one am we had been partying for a while and decided to head home. We got about a block before we happened on an Irish pub with outdoor seating. We decided to stop for some goodnight beers and fries, and we had such a fun time! We people watched and chowed down on the food (which you're supposed to dip in mayonnaise) for another hour until we were ready to get home. However, right as we're about to leave I decided to go to the bathroom. I head inside and up the stairs, and right as I finish peeing the lights go out! I had to find my way out in the pitch dark. The bar had totally lost all power, so everybody moved outside with us to finish their partying. It took us awhile to leave after that, since getting into a cast register with no power is apparently impossible in KL (even though this supposedly happens a lot). We staggered home exhausted and elated... what a great night!

The Most Stressful Day Ever!

Unfortunately since I'm writing this, it means that I am not on a tropical vacation. It's the craziest story ever, and it ends in heartbreak, but we all survived, so it's ok.

Five of my girlfriends and I decided to take a trip to the beautiful island of Langkawi, off the Western coast of Malaysia. The island is known for its gorgeous beaches, perfect for sunning or snorkeling, and also for its proximity to the rainforest. It is also a duty-free island for tourist purposes, which makes it much cheaper than the rest of Malaysia (which is already pretty cheap). Since we didn't have rehearsal until Thursday night we decided to take off on Tuesday morning and spend two nights, returning just in time for rehearsal. We planned meticulously, down to spending money for food and alcohol, transportation to and from the airport, and our hotel and flight. It was going to be amazing! We got a beachfront chalet that walked right down to the water, and a flight for only 62$ US! We were so excited, and then Monday night came.

When we arrived in KL we did not have our work visas yet, and so our presenters (Malaysian Airlines) arranged for us to have four-day holiday visas while they processed the correct ones. We gave our passports to them the day after we arrived in KL, and hoped to have them back a day later, on Friday. When we didn't get them then we knew we'd have to wait until after the weekend, and were told we would definitely get them back on Monday. However, when Monday rolled around and there were no passports, we started to get kind of worried. We talked to a variety of sources on the Malaysian end who all claimed that we could fly without passports, and a copy would be fine for any travel within the country. This sounded crazy to me, and when I talked to the airline they agreed with me, and seconded that we could not fly without our physical passports in our hands. By Monday night when we didn't have our passports, and our flight was booked for ten am, we were very worried.

We contacted our company manager, Walter, who is very nice but not always on top of things. He apologized for the delay, and blamed it on the Malaysian consulate, saying that since the musicians had to work the next day at nine am, and they couldn't work without visas, we would have them in our hands the next morning. First we considered canceling our plans, but we decided that if we could change our flight to later in the day it was still worth going. Of course the airline was closed by now, so we decided to get up super early on Tuesday and try to change our plans then.

Tuesday morning bright and early I was on the phone with the airline, who luckily were able to change our flight until Tuesday night at 5pm with no problems. We all packed our bags and sat down to wait. We had to cancel shuttles to and from the airport, and alert our hotel in Langkawi, but we figured it was all worth it if we were sitting on the beach the next day. We finished everything just in time to pick up our per diem (food money for the week) and passports from Walter at the appointed 12:30 time.

Unfortunately a lot of the moms in the cast had been trying to travel too, and had been bothering Walter incessantly for their passports and to have him help with travel plans. Because of this, he was in a horrible mood and sent a nasty e-mail Monday night saying that all our requests to travel were ridiculous since we were in this country to work. He said that travel was "strictly forbidden" without passports and that if we were to attempt it we would be "committing career suicide". Now of course this email only served to piss us off, since we had been doing nothing wrong. Our contracts never forbid us from spending our time where and how we please, as long as we show up for our calls on time. However, we were a bit nervous approaching Walter.

When we got to his room, the six of us got our money and then casually asked for our passports. When he said they weren't ready, we got very nervous. Everyone left the room except Jessica and I, who are the most diplomatic. We joked around with Walter and got him to check on the passports and see what time they would be ready. After a phone call we discovered that they were still at the office, which was an hour away at the airport, but that they would probably be ready soon. We returned to our headquarters (my room) and tried to decide what to do. If we waited too long, eventually the possibility of Tim (the guy sitting with the passports waiting) having time to get to us and then us having time to get to the airport would be impossible. Pumped full of nervous adrenaline and a desperation to be on the beach that you've never seen, we decided to head to the consulate and meet Tim there to pick up the passports and hop on our plane.

To get there, we had to take the KL Monorail to the main train station, where you can catch an express train to the airport that gets you there in only a half an hour. We ran to the monorail and into the express train station only to see that we had just missed a train. We had fifteen minutes to wait, and our time was slowly draining away. Thirteen minutes later, I got a call on my cell phone. It was Tim at the embassy telling us that unfortunately, the passport visas would not be done until the next day, so we were out of luck. We headed back up the stairs... drained, exhausted, and disappointed we went home.

Unfortunately, by the time we get the passports (and who knows when that will be) it will be too late to get to Langkawi. The good part is that we got all our hotel and bus tickets refunded, and only had to eat the cost of the plane tickets. Luckily our hotel here is nice, and we haven't been too depressed sitting by the pool, but we are still sad that we didn't get to go.

After that long day, we spent the night shopping in a market by our hotel. Retail therapy is a proven form of anti-depressant. We all ended up at one man's stand buying about 20 pieces of pottery, vases, and candlesticks, and then bargaining our asses off. The man cried when we left, saying he had never had a better sale in his whole life. We ate at the Outback Steakhouse for a taste of home, and picked up some beer at the 7-11 to drink by the pool. We survived and we're hopefully better travelers for it. But I still wish I was lying on the beach at Langkawi!

Oops - I Feel A Tan Coming On

It's true, I might very soon be fired... Because I am getting tan! I tried my best to avoid it, with a surefire anti-sun routine, but it has surely failed. The 30 sport suntan lotion on my arms and shoulders, combined with the 20 on my legs and the 45 on my face has not helped at all, because today I am pink. OK, I have to admit I'm not too upset about this. Luckily in the show the only parts of my body that make contact with light are my face and my hands. Take into account that my face is covered with tons of old age makeup, and I'm looking pretty good. I guess I have other things to worry about... like planning a trip!

Since today is Sunday, and we don't open till Friday, I've decided to take a quick vacation. Although the weather and the pool here combine to make this paradise, there are some amazing beaches in Malaysia that are pretty close by and definitely worth seeing. My castmates Maria, Jessica, Nicole, Alissa, Dana, and I have decided to head to the tiny island of Langkawi for two nights and three days. Of course there was major drama (what world of theatre people is complete without it?!) because we don't have our passports, since they're off getting work visas put in them. Our company manager Walter, who is very nice but a little incompetent, told us that while traveling within Malaysia we would only need a copy of our passports, and this was echoed by our main translator here. This sounded ridiculous to me, and when I called around I discovered that it was complete baloney. So we almost left today, but we can't go till Tuesday when we get our passports back from the embassy or wherever.

However on Tuesday, we will enter paradise squared. I promise to write all about it! Until then I'm exploring the wonders of downtown KL, as Kuala Lumpur is commonly called here. Most of the company is still busy exploring the wonders of the giant mall next door, as well as the mall across the street and the one a block away. It's amazing how much shopping there is in such a small space! In actuality, we're located in what's called the "golden triangle", one of the best places to shop. However, there are places that are much cheaper, where the Malays shop, and we decided to head to one tonight!

We ended up in an area that sounded familiar, called Chinatown. Now it wasn't really like China, but there was some cheap shopping. It was a giant line of stalls, about five city blocks long. It's hard to explain the difference between an Asian market and one in the US. Before coming here I thought of the market that floated to different avenues every weekend in New York, but in reality it's very different. Here, the stalls are all about five by five squares separated by a sheet or a metal shelf. Stalls face each other going down a street that is very narrow, so when you walk down looking in all the stalls there is barely room for someone going the opposite way to pass. People are jostling you and yelling and bargaining and shoplifting left and right. It's exciting and a little scary, and you have to be on your guard at all times. You also have to be a good negotiator.

At every market in Asia that a white person visits, the price is marked up for them. You always verbally ask prices, and depending on where you are the price that they offer could be 2% to 200% higher than if you were native. Because of this, you should always wait and listen and never be pushed into buying. Because the dollar is pretty strong in Asia, it's hard for us to say that a watch that's being offered for five dollars is too high, but in Chinatown you could pay as little as a dollar for the watch if you bargained right. Sister Margaretta (Jessica, with her sweet innocent face) spent 30 dollars US on some scarves before realizing that others were getting them for a few dollars a piece. Eventually we caught on, and I'm sure when I go back I'll be especially savvy. At least they speak English here, so I'm not bargaining with numbers in a language that I've just learned!

After the market we stumbled on a tiny Chinese cafe for dinner, where we enjoyed traditional Shanghainese food. Since we spent so much time there last summer it's one of our favorite Chinese cuisines. We walked around more after dinner, and it's really amazing to see the architecture in KL. Malaysia as a whole is such a mixture of cultures and races that there really is a giant melting pot effect. Malays, Indians, and Chinese make up most of the people who are native to the land, but the influences in architecture are from all over Asia. It's awesome to walk down a street with giant skyscrapers, crumbling Moroccan storefronts, Chinese pagodas, and Indian decorations. This city is so beautiful and unique! I can't wait to see more of it!

If I have time between tannings...

Malaysia Is Awesome!!!!

Malaysia is awesome! After such a long, cold time in Seoul I cannot explain the utter joy that I felt as I walked off the plane yesterday into the muggy heat. Humidity is a blessing that my hair and skin cherish! Ah! To no longer bathe in moisturizer and lament the frostbitten ends of my fingers. It is happiness like I’ve never known.

For real, when we arrived it was like a giant weight had been lifted off of all of our shoulders. With the warm weather has come a new attitude and it is a good one. It only got better when we arrived at the center of Kuala Lumpur to find our hotel. Now I’m not really sure I can adequately describe this hotel, but I will try. Our hotel is only a year old, and it’s called the Berjaya Times Square Resort. It consists of two towers, with a giant island in between. The island in the middle is a bunch of meeting rooms, a gym, a salon, etc, with a HUGE pool on the top. The pool is like a beautiful lake surrounded by umbrellas, pool chairs, palm trees, and ladies carrying tropical drinks. The hotel itself doesn’t start until the 14th floor of the building, because underneath it is a giant mall. Fourteen floors of mall. This hotel mall is connected to another giant mall that contains… six movie theatres, an I-Max theatre, stores, and an amusement park. And it doesn’t stop there. Instead of living in typical hotel rooms, we all have suites. When I heard suites, I imagined the Jones dorm rooms at Northwestern, when in actuality I have my own APARTMENT. My roommate Susan and I share a room with beds, but then we have a giant family room, a dining room, a kitchen (bigger than any I’ve seen in New York), a walk in closet, and two bathrooms.

Even though I’ve only been here for a day, I’ve already been shopping and swimming… twice. The other interesting thing I had to do was my first hardcore Malaysian press conference. Most of the time on tour the only people who are important are the children. Asian people eat American children whole, and anything they can do or say is the cutest thing on earth. At all of our press conferences so far, the kids and Maria do all the talking, performing, etc, and the rest of us just sit around and smile. However, in Malaysia, I am suddenly popular. Today my presence was specifically requested at our official press release. It started out with the kids and Maria singing, and then we were all introduced and answered questions. I got asked specific questions, and people in the audience requested that I sing! It was pretty hilarious, since they had 6 TV stations there, and lots of microphones in our faces. I had to present free tickets to a Malaysian orphanage, and pose in front of boards advertising our sponsors. Now I know how celebrities feel! Haa ha. Honestly though, it was a lot of fun, and the free food afterwards made a great lunch.

I can't write much, because I'm busy slathering on 30 sunblock - do you believe it's actually written in my contract that I'm not allowed to get tan?! I'm heading to the pool again before I go for some shopping in Little India. Anyone who has some free time should totally come visit! I can put you up on my pull-out couch and food is very cheap and plane tickets are apparently around $500 US! This place is paradise!