I haven't been to the pool in days

It's true. I haven't! Here my cute sister is, blogging about being jealous of me floating on my back all day in the sun (www.katherinekirkpatrick.blogspot.com) and in reality I've barely been outside in days. That's because - we opened! We opened on Friday, after a long day of rehearsal, and since then we've had two shows a day until today, Monday, when we have our first day off.

First of all, the show's going great. It could always be better, but it's doing pretty well. We're selling awesomely, and it's great to see packed houses after coming from the disappointing sales in Hangzhou. The audiences speak more English too, so they're actually laughing at the right times, and paying attention to what's happening on stage, not just the subtitles. Unfortunatly we've had some sick people... our Maria has been out for two of the matinees, and our Elsa claims to have a bad cold. Luckily though, everybody's sticking it out and the show is going on nicely.

So basically my weekend, which for normal people is a time of rest and relaxation, was spent being busy, busy, busy! All I remember is a lot of shows, a lot of Euchre, and some occasional eating. Overall, the food in Hong Kong is great. We did Mexican this weekend that was awesome, plus I've had some decent pizza, some Chinese,dim sum, Indian, and lots of room service that's divine. We had an opening night party at the hotel with some delicious snacks, and big time Broadway producer of Hairspray, the Producers, and tons of other shows was there. Of course everyone had to kiss up to him, and although he didn't say anything about my performance to me (I swear he doesn't know who I am when I'm not wearing pounds of old-age makeup and acting like a nun) our director Dal claimed that Tom raved about me when the curtain went down.

The only sad thing about this weekend is that we're losing some people who have been with the tour for a long time. Last night we had another party for them. Clogger, our longtime Head Carpenter is leaving, as are our Head Electrician Swing and another crew guy who just joined us on this leg, Brian. Clogger and Swing are both super-nice guys who are great to work and play with, and even though we haven't known Brian as long, he's a great guy who will also be missed. Those of us left are hoping that they people (locals) who have been hired to take over are going to be able to handle this, or Tuesday's show will be a bit hectic. It's a bit strange that these guys are leaving, but since the tour is over in eight weeks when we're done in HK, I guess it makes sense that everyone can hold it together. Anyway, last night was a crazy party that I didn't come home from until 9 am, so it's no wonder I have a sore throat today. I slept until five and just got back from dinner. Thank goodness for days off.

In other unrelated news, I have an apartment! Since tour is not being extended (until the spring, when I have no intention of signing on again) I know that I'll be back in the states by December, and I'm going to be able to live with two old college friends! I'm so excited!! Even though HK is really amazing, I really miss New York and everyone there, and I can't wait to be back in the swing of things. You're welcome to hang out on the UWS anytime!