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You are here: Home / Archives for Escape to Margaritaville

Just One Big Sigh

July 5, 2018 at 8:41 am by Claudia

With last night’s performance, the fact that the show has closed will – has – hit the cast. Even though it closed on Sunday, they were on a train for DC the next morning and, for the next three days everything was about the performance. And the horrendous heat. Don said: “It’s all about the heat.” They are exhausted. Today, they’ll ride back to NYC and there will be no performance tonight. Or tomorrow night.

They are extraordinarily close.

I will drive into the city in our old CR-V on Saturday morning. I’ll help Don pack and clean the apartment, we’ll spend some time wandering around and on Sunday? We move Don back home.

With the humidity and high temperatures here, I’ve had to have the A/C on 24 hours a day. I haven’t been able to do anything outside, except water, water, water. It’s been brutal.

I’m over everything.

But this happened the other day. I spotted a monarch butterfly which landed on a black raspberry leaf. She stayed there a long time. It’s the first monarch I’ve seen and I’m convinced she had just emerged and was drying her wings. I was able to get very close to her, which is usually impossible.

The monarch stayed there for about ten minutes. Later, I spotted her flying around the big garden bed, even doing a little circling, playful dance with this Great Spangled Fritillary:

The advantage of having a lot of milkweed: you get to see the monarchs when they first emerge. Maybe I’ll actually see one as  it emerges someday.

I took the day Tuesday to clean out our bedroom closet. It’s a small closet, shared by both of us. It’s tucked into the eaves, so it’s deep but not wide. It had become a depressing black hole. Except for cleaning the bathroom (which I also did yesterday) it’s my least favorite thing to do around here. I now have three bags of clothing to donate to the Salvation Army, two bags of crap to go to the dump, and countless cardboard boxes to recycle. Now Mr. Hawaiian Shirt with the Snazzy Shoes will have some room for his new clothing.

We won’t talk about the fact that very little of the clothing I had in the closet fits me anymore. That’s too depressing.

Also, I wrote about this last week on IG, but if you missed it, I was standing by my car with my iPhone in hand (I’d been taking pictures) when, for some reason, I glanced back over my shoulder and saw a full grown black bear walking across the grass on the back forty. I gasped. Couldn’t believe my eyes. For the three seconds or so it took the bear to walk across the grass and then into our woods, I was frozen. Completely forgot I had a phone which could take a picture in my hand.

Whoa Nellie.  He or she was beautiful, by the way.

As Don said, “I won’t be taking out the trash at night anymore.”

Happy Thursday.

Tagged With: black bearFiled Under: black bear, butterfly, Don, Escape to Margaritaville, monarch butterfly 32 Comments

Closing

July 3, 2018 at 8:49 am by Claudia

Right now: Nothing but sadness.

It’s been an emotional roller coaster and continues to be. Yesterday, I cried off and on all day long. The premature ending to something so dear necessitates a period of mourning. I’m in mourning. Don is in mourning. The cast, the crew, the producers, stage management, director, choreographer and Jimmy are in mourning.

I’ve never encountered a performance like the one on Sunday. The theater was packed with fans. Many had come back for a second, third or fourth time. Everyone wanted to see it one last time. Thunderous applause and cheers as the lights went down. Applause for Paul’s (the lead) first entrance. Singing along with every song. Spontaneous hand clapping to the beat of Jimmy’s music. Cheers. Tears. A cameo by Jimmy in the second act (that was a first) and stomping, cheers, singing and Jimmy at the curtain call. He sang Margaritaville, the cast and audience sang with him, and then he sang a song that he dedicated to the cast. Everyone was crying – onstage and off.

I have a story about three women who were sitting next to me but I don’t have the energy to share it again. I shared it on Instagram yesterday and if you’re interested, go to my feed, or scroll down to the Instagram feed on my sidebar and click on the picture of three women. It’s a good story, to put it mildly. It also will give you an indication of my emotional state during Don’s final performance.

The cast can’t believe they will no longer be working together. Alison, the lead actress, wrote a song for everyone that is heartbreakingly beautiful.

I hate that this is ending.

The enormity of it hasn’t hit Don yet because everyone had to travel down to DC yesterday, where it is even hotter than it is here and they are exhausted and are rehearsing and dancing and singing. It’s rather surreal because the show closed, yet they have one final gig together. Reality won’t begin to hit him until he comes back to the city and we pack up everything. He will miss his life there and that apartment. This will be an enormous transition for him.

He is so loved by the company. We were talking to Jimmy and Frank Marshall, one of the producers (look up his name and see just what he has produced in Hollywood – a true legend) at the party. I was on the receiving end of several hugs from Jimmy, I even got to kiss him on the cheek – he’s a wonderful person. Anyway, he loves Don and loves what he does in the show, but he also thanked him for being such a great influence and inspiration to the cast. One of the producers said he was a consummate professional. He is. And the director quietly told Don that he was his hero.

My heart was overflowing. So why does it have to end? This show is pure joy.

I’m sorting through my emotions and I realize that this has been such a hope for Don and me. A hope for a long run, for a beautiful adventure that started over a year ago in LaJolla to continue. For my husband to enjoy a long stretch in the city performing his favorite role ever. And now it’s gone.

I know you understand. I want to protect my husband. I don’t want to see him disappointed or sad or heartbroken. And he is all three. I’d do anything to keep that from him. I’d do anything to keep that damn show running if it was at all in my power. But it isn’t.

We had a lot of dreams connected to a long run of ETM. They’ve had to be shelved.

As I read tribute after tribute by cast members on Instagram Sunday, as I listened to them speak from their hearts at the party after the performance, I realized just how heartbroken everyone is. To a person. No one wanted it to end. Everyone feels like the rug has been pulled out from under them.

I don’t know what else to say. I’m going to make a copy of this picture today and frame it for Don. He is my  hero, too. In every way. I’m enormously proud of him – not just of his acting chops, which are considerable – but of his integrity, compassion, humor, and love for his fellow man.

More later.

It’s my dear sister’s birthday today. Wish her a happy one.

A year ago today, I was flying out to LaJolla to see ETM for the first time. Sigh.

Happy Tuesday.

Filed Under: Don, Escape to Margaritaville, life 62 Comments

Saturday

June 30, 2018 at 9:02 am by Claudia

A view from just inside the front door since I haven’t shown you many house pictures lately. That always happens when it’s garden time. I tend to neglect the inside of the cottage because my focus is on the outside.

Speaking of the outside, I weed whacked early yesterday morning, did some more chores and then, after looking at the weather forecast for the next week (temps in the high nineties through Friday) decided I should mow the front lawn.

Completely exhausting in the heat and humidity, but at least the front of the property will look good this week. I watered everything about 3 times and I would be lying if I said I wasn’t worried about tomorrow when I’m in the city and the temperature reaches 100 degrees. Instead of going in today, I’m going in early tomorrow morning, so I can water everything before I go. I’ll move plants on the porch to a shadier place (if there is one) and hope for the best. I’ll either come back tomorrow night or early Monday morning as Don and his cast mates take the train to Washington DC that morning.

Escape to Margaritaville story: about a week or so ago, a patron arranged a surprise. During the curtain call, he came up onstage and one of the cast members called his girlfriend up (she was completely surprised) and the entire theater got to witness his marriage proposal and her acceptance. Romantic.

I’m sort of numb now, just keeping it together until I watch tomorrow’s closing performance. I know I’ll be crying. It will be sad and beautiful and a bit of a relief. It’s been looming over the cast for a month now and that’s a hard thing to deal with, day after day. One of Don’s fellow cast members said it was like ‘being in hospice.’

It’s also surreal that the show closes and the cast immediately travels to Washington DC for A Capital Fourth. They are performing a medley of songs from the show with new choreography. I don’t think Don has a solo but he’ll be there, my dancing boy.

This is the milkweed growing in front of the porch. There are at least 12 different plants. I’m hoping I can see a monarch butterfly caterpillar. I spotted one last year. I must be diligent and check the stalks every day.

Okay. Have to go. I will probably take tomorrow and Monday off as they will be travel days. And full of emotion. I’ll see you on Tuesday.

Happy Saturday.

Filed Under: Don, Escape to Margaritaville, flowers 30 Comments

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Welcome!

Welcome!

I live in a little cottage in the country with my husband. It's a sweet place, sheltered by old trees and surrounded by gardens. The inside is full of the things we love. I love to write, I love my camera, I love creating, I love gardening. My decorating style is eclectic; full of vintage and a bit of whimsy.

I've worked in the theater for more years than I can count. I'm currently a voice, speech, dialect and text coach freelancing on Broadway, off Broadway, and in regional theater.

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