September 2012

BACKSTAGE BANTER: Meet MUFASA!
Actor Dionne Randolph as you’ve never seen him

September 28, 2012

You think you know the Big Daddy of the Pride Lands… but you don’t. Dionne Randolph is the longest continuous running Mufasa that Disney has employed, and at nine years with The Lion King, he is one of the most veteran on the Gazelle tour. The beefcake actor with the silky, heartbreaking voice who rescues […]

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Keeper of the Plains — and Flames

September 25, 2012

Wichita has surely bewitched us. Hero, Max and I make a pilgrimage to the Keeper of the Plains every night. Is the Great Spirit calling us? The 44-foot tall Keeper of the Plains steel sculpture stands at the confluence of the Big and Little Arkansas Rivers, with hands raised in prayer to the Great Spirit. […]

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St. Louis’ Greatest Hits

September 24, 2012

The Hollicks’ Top Ten in St. Louis, MOThe saying really is true: It’s not quantity but quality that counts. Our short three-week St. Louis stay could have been disastrous, from many accounts. We kept noticing one annoying thing after another in our dismal vacation rental. My neck was still a-killin’ me. And oh yes, there […]

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Pit Stop: Talkin’ Civil Rights in Memphis

September 20, 2012

A guest blog post by Amy CordileoneAngela’s note: To say that Amy Cordileone is an amazing multi-tasker would be a bit of an understatement! This wife to Nick (who plays Timon on tour with The Lion King) and mom to 10-year-old Hero lives in New York City while teaching at New York University, and then […]

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St. Louis’ City Museum: the best stop on tour ever?

September 15, 2012

A photo essay by Nick Cordileone Angela’s note: Our good friend Nick Cordileone, who plays Timon in The Lion King on tour, went back to City Museum with his daughter Hero FOUR times within one week during the show’s short 3-week stint in St. Louis.  Nick takes incredible photos on his iPhone, so I recruited him […]

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The Insta-Home Challenge: Wichita

September 13, 2012

If you were to splurge on a penthouse suite somewhere on tour, would you pick Wichita, Kansas? Ang has been “toiling away” (her words) at finding us affordable yet appropriate and comfortable housing as we travel from city to city. Wichita was evidently very difficult because of the lack of vacation rental listings in general. […]

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Houston’s Greatest Hits

September 11, 2012

The Hollicks’ Top Ten in Houston, TXAfter five weeks in Texas, I’ve learned my share of local idioms, so you shall see them respectfully peppered throughout this Best Of post in italics. And when I look back on how fit to be tied I was about the problems in our corporate apartment in Houston, I […]

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Detour: A Girls’ Weekend in Portland

September 4, 2012

Tell me, friends: what’s the best destination for a God-I-need-a-break-from-touring mommy, to celebrate the bachelorette-hood of her college best friend? Miami. Vegas. New Orleans. Atlantic City. Portland. Duh! This was our magnificent view of Mount Hood from Portland’s Council Crest Park. Since my bestie Anita wanted a “chill, nature-filled foodie retreat” and our other best […]

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The Insta-Home Challenge: St. Louis

September 3, 2012

You’ve read about the most alarming part of living in St. Louis — the crime in our supposedly posh Central West End neighborhood.  Now for the not-so-bad-but-still-questionable part of our housing situation: our actual housing. I had found our 2 bedroom/1 bath apartment to split with the Cordileones on Airbnb, after zeroing in on the […]

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Backstage ghosts at The Fabulous Fox Theater

September 2, 2012

One of the coolest things about touring is working in different theaters all over the country. All have their own identity, and The Fabulous Fox in St. Louis is worthy of its name. But as beautiful and ornate as the front of the house is, the real magic is backstage. Many theaters preserve a simple […]

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