September 2012

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

September 28, 2012
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Tweet 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 […]

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Keeper of the Plains — and Flames

September 25, 2012
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Tweet 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? IMG_0403 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 […]

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St. Louis’ Greatest Hits

September 24, 2012
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Tweet The saying really is true: It’s not quantity but quality that counts. IMG_9773 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 was that shooting just 2 […]

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Pit Stop: Talkin’ Civil Rights in Memphis

September 20, 2012
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Tweet Amy_Cordileone Angela’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 hops on tour with […]

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

September 15, 2012
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Tweet   nick cordelione 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 to […]

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The Insta-Home Challenge: Wichita

September 13, 2012
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Tweet If you were to splurge on a penthouse suite somewhere on tour, would you pick Wichita, Kansas? apartment-250 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 […]

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Houston’s Greatest Hits

September 11, 2012
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Tweet After 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 feel ashamed. I’m not gonna […]

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Detour: A Girls’ Weekend in Portland

September 4, 2012
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Tweet 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. IMG_9598 Since my bestie Anita wanted a “chill, nature-filled foodie retreat” and our […]

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The Insta-Home Challenge: St. Louis

September 3, 2012
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Tweet 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 […]

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Backstage ghosts at The Fabulous Fox Theater

September 2, 2012
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Tweet 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. Interior of The Fabulous Fox But as beautiful and ornate as the front of the house is, the real magic is […]

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