Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Life in our little cottage in the country

You are here: Home / Don / Closing

Closing

at by

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.

Comments

  2. Happy Birthday to your wonderful sister! I want to say something comforting about what you, Don, and everyone associated with ETM are experiencing, but I just don’t have the right words.

  4. I will forever be sad that I could not go to see the show when it was in Chicago. It was #2 on my bucket list . #1? See Don perform live! He just has this aura about him that is so genuine, so kind, so truly happy. I have watched every clip of the show I can find over and over. I will be watching the PBS special. Hopefully I will be able to see it through my tears 😢.
    I hope that one day I will be able to have the privilege and honor to see him perform in person.
    Wrapping you and Don in a virtual hug.

  5. wishing you and don lots of peace and, when you’re ready, another great opportunity to do what you both love and do so well. good things are ahead … but the meantime stinks and i hate that you all are going through this.

    best wishes to the rest of the “etm” cast and crew and jimmy, too.

    hugs,
    kathy in iowa

  8. It’s all as bad and wonderful as I think we anticipated The End would be from everything you’ve told us. Indeed an emotional rollercoaster for all involved and, as previously said here on the blog by readers and you, it’ll be a period of adjustment. How perfect for you to make a photo to frame of this amazing shot of Don onstage. That stage is HIS in that moment.

    I’m sorry you two have to go through all of this, Claudia. I wish it could have been different for you.

    Don is now probably going to be both physically AND emotionally exhausted just to have been traveling and performing in the outdoor heat. We’re following suit out here in SoCalif; forecasted to be 109 degrees on Friday (this is the beach, for Pete’s sake; it’s not like I’m 50 miles inland or something!), so we’re making what preparations we can and altering some plans to instead stay indoors with cooling. My husband is saturating the fruit trees and landscaping in advance of the heatwave. I always expect 4th of July to be hot, but not like this…

    • It was in the nineties here today but felt like it was 107. Worse in DC – it feels like it’s 112 and they’re dancing and singing outside. This heat wave is endless.

      Thank you, Vicki.

      • I just scanned an online piece from The Washington Post that talked about how hot it is all over the WORLD right now; a red-hot planet. Maybe this is just how it’s going to be now.

        • It’s been just as hot in England – that I know. But there’s no climate change, right?

          • Exactly – – it’s just a big joke according to you-know-who. (Haha; hear me NOT FUNNY laugh.)

            I’ve been running around since lunch trying to fit a huge freecycle, insulated dog house in my car; had to call the husband; wouldn’t fit in his car either; I need a truck, 10,000 times I say I need a truck; I have passed by SO many things at curbside that I have wanted but couldn’t fit in a darn car. Anyway, this shelter will either go in my yard with a tarp over it for the feral kitties, or I’m giving it to either of two rescue organizations, the manager of one happens to live in my neighborhood – -so, to good, recycled use. But I got darn hot. We are warming up fast on 4th of July!

            • And how nice is this – – the homeowner who put out the dog house offered to bring it to us tomorrow in HIS truck on his way to work. I was glad to talk to him, like to know an animal hadn’t died in it or something so that I don’t have to bleach it out.

              Odd story of how this goes; this guy lives in a beautiful hillside home, just up the street from where we used to live. My husband was walking OUR dog, oh about 7 or 8 years ago, and this particular house was ON FIRE. The people were gone; there was a fireplace problem. My husband didn’t have his cell with him at the time but pounded on doors to alert neighbors and was one of a couple of people who then got the fire department out there soonest; they saved the house although I don’t think the people could live in it for a year or more. And ‘the people’ is this guy & his wife & kids; who’d put out the dog house at the curb. So, in the end, we all had a lot to talk about today! Small town for you…where you’re sometimes led to connections like this…

            • Same here. We could really use a truck. Maybe someday, when the CR-V hits 300,000 miles, we’ll get a new truck. Or a good used one.

  9. This is just heartbreaking! I hope kept his eyepatch; maybe put it in the frame with this great picture! Goodbye JD, it was great to know you.

    • He’s going to keep it. And maybe his hat as well. He already has some of the Hawaiian shirts he wears. Thanks, Dottie.

  10. no words. I can’t think of any good enough. and they’ve all been said anyway.
    it is most certainly a loss in so many ways. and to be mourned like any loss.
    take time if you can afford it to just rest. you both need it.
    sending you both love and hugs. xo

  11. just came back from Instagram and the three ladies and you.
    tears streaming now.
    how I wish I could have seen it.
    that’s why I will most definitely be watching tomorrow night… just to be able to hear the music.

    • It’s a medley of songs with most of the cast singing and dancing. Thanks, Tammy.

  13. I find myself crying as I read your thoughts…saw the pic of the 3 ladies and bawled some more. I can only imagine the heartbreak you and especially Don must feel. The entire cast for that matter. Sending lots of hugs! ;)

    • Thank you, Donnamae. I go between crying, being angry and feeling just plain exhausted.

  15. At a time when just day-to-day life is more than enough for most people in this country to cope with, you guys have this too. Sure wish you didn’t. All I can offer is a line from Dr Seuss, who so often has a good plan:

    Don’t cry because it’s over.
    Smile – because it happened.

    Here’s hoping something wonderful is just around the corner. Peace.

    #Resist
    #ProtectMueller

  18. Oh, Claudia, I’m just so sad for you all. It’s baffling and I don’t get it. Hugs to you and Don.

    K

  19. I was watching our local news from Washington DC and they were showing what was going on down town . I saw Don on stage wearing a blue shirt and strumming. I saw his face for a second and I knew it was him. Thanks for sharing your story with us. Yours truly, Elaine in Luray Va.

    • So glad you got to see him, Elaine. Wave hello for me!

      Thank you so much for sharing that. xo

      • I went ahead and have all set to record two back-to-back showings of the Capitol Fourth so that I don’t miss anything in case the dog goes crazy with fireworks outside and I get interrupted. We’ve had ‘way too many fireworks here already in the past few days…and they’re illegal but, worst of all, we’re not ‘out of the woods’ on wildfire (despite already getting burned up in December, here where I am in SoCalif); we’re dry, warm, getting hotter and in for a brutal Thurs/Fri/Sat/Sun ‘dangerous’ heatwave. Just praying for people not to be stupid. But one firework went off on our street about 10pm last night and it felt like it blew out one of our windows yet it didn’t. And one went off in a store parking lot just as I was getting out of a car and it was so loud/violent that I screamed. What is the fun of that for people? I’d rather watch a professional fireworks show on TV or even in person which has the fountains and sprays of color and light in the sky instead of these ‘explosions’ on the ground that come out of nowhere, hurt the ears, scare the animals and – – as my husband says – – stops your heart for a moment (as in a really bad way).

        • We always stayed home for the dogs on the Fourth. Collies, especially, have very sensitive ears and Scout was a Border Collie. She went absolutely nuts – there was no consoling her. It’s all so loud and intrusive.

          • It was so bad tonight. Some of the worst illegal fireworks I can remember, from pre-dusk to still going on as I sit here at 11pm. It actually drowned out the LEGAL fireworks show the City puts on, the whole reason for which is to try to cut down on the illegal fireworks and instead give everybody a free show…but, no, for some, still not good enough. My dog has been barking nonstop for probably five hours now–we’ve spent the entire evening consoling her and jumping out of our own skin with the loud booms–and if we’d known it would have been this bad, we would have driven to a nearby town with her in the car or else bought tranquilizers from the vet; already put on the calendar to not take anything for granted next year on this subject.

            I laboriously climbed our steep hillside as evening came (not my smartest move) to see just where all these fireworks were coming from and it was so many explosions southeast of us that there was clearly no way our small police department could keep up with any 911 calls. Do I really live in such a dumbed-down town, with a recent wildfire still at the forefront of any intelligent mind, from just 7 months TO THE DAY, that they’d risk catching us on fire again with illegal fireworks? Our hills have gone brown and dry; we’re too crisp and fire-ripe for people to be SO stupid. I’m actually floored (and infuriated).

            What I also don’t get is that, first of all, fireworks are expensive to purchase. They’re available to buy in a nearby town which permits fireworks. But my town is largely poor; we have a high degree of unemployment and the largest amount of people ‘on the dole’ in our county. How do they afford it?

  20. Dear Claudia, You go ahead and””Mourn Big”,you do what you have to do(,I’m sure you don’t even know what that is yet )and take as long as it takes, you will, and Don too and hopefully come out at the other end better for having been there.
    You are a very Loved couple, and I for one am very glad I know both of you!
    My Love thoughts and prayers,are with you until you can stand on your own and face the world once again,Lean on me, andI’m sure a lot of these good people will share your pain as well. X0X0O Judy A.

  22. I just keep thinking about you and Don. The 3 ladies were angels sent for you:)
    I’ll be praying for both of you for peace and comfort. And I truly believe there will be something coming in the future, because God has a plan for all of us. To prosper us!
    Hang in there, Try to find some joy in each day to help you get through the pain.
    I know we have never met, but I really feel for both of you and wish God’s blessings for every good thing❤️
    Sending Hugs,
    ❤️ Deb

  23. I admire Don so much…not only for his acting but also for the wonderful man I have grown to know that he is over the years…I wish so much that they could make ETM into a movie so that those of us who didn’t get the full experience and even those who did could enjoy it for years to come…Hugs to you both!

  24. So sad. I am hoping that another great opportunity will come along soon. I just don’t get this theater management.

    • Thank you, Kay. By the way, it’s all about money. If they’re not making enough, eventually the show has to close.

Please check back to follow the conversation!

Lambs Like to Party

Lambs Like to Party

A Note

Thanks for visiting! Feel free to browse, read and enjoy. All content is my own; including photos and text. Please do not use anything on this site without permission.

Disclosure/Privacy Policy can be found in the Navigation Bar under ‘About MHC.’

Also, I love receiving comments! I do, however, reserve the right to delete any comment that is in poor taste, offensive or is verging on spam. It’s my blog. If you’re a bot or a troll you’ll be blocked. Thanks!

Archives