Hello from Icelandic Air! We鈥檙e looking down on tons of snowy mountains because we鈥檙e flying over Greenland. So cool!
We鈥檙e finally heading for home after our 半岛体育 cruise all around Iceland and here are the highlights of a Broadway-packed week:
The first show featured (four-time Tony nominee) Judy Kuhn, who sang songs from all almost all of her Broadway shows including 鈥淚 Know Him So Well鈥� from Chess (joined by Sierra Boggess).
She just walked by my seat on the airplane and I told her I wanted to tell a fun story about her for the column but I feel like I鈥檝e written all of her show biz stories. She agreed. However, I added, I have not told our latest adventure.
Last week, James and I joined Judy plus an older couple from the cruise on what was billed as a three-hour hike, difficulty level three. The use of 鈥渢hree鈥� in both descriptions was erroneous. We first met our tour guide who assessed our physical capability for the hike by asking if we could walk. He set the bar high! Judy was so happy that she recently bought waterproof boots, but I suddenly realized鈥攖hough my sneakers would be fine for a hike in a temperate climate鈥攖hey were not ideal for one of snow and ice. I 苍补颈惫别濒测鈥攁nd I mean 苍补颈惫别濒测鈥�hoped my socks wouldn鈥檛 get wet. Within three feet of starting the hike, I had stepped in an area that looked like land but somehow was a sponge. It was 鈥渇un鈥� having wet socks for a hike in cold weather. After around an hour, we approached what could possibly be described as Mount Everest. I soon realized we were expected to climb it. What happened to 鈥渃an you 飞补濒办?鈥�
I鈥檓 not saying it was as scary as the mountain I ascended with Vanessa Williams in Arizona, where I was laying completely flat on the ground, hoping not to plunge to my death, but I was certainly crawling on all fours for a lot of it.
Finally, finally we reached the top. I was excited to celebrate our ascension by lazily walking down the other side of the mountain, which would undoubtedly be much easier. Well, I didn鈥檛 realize that the other side of the mountain was, what looked like, a wall. It wasn鈥檛 straight down鈥ut it basically was! We were told to grab a rope (!) and use it to hold ourselves as we went down. At this point, I was wondering if a med-evac helicopter could get me. And more importantly, James! He just had shoulder surgery three weeks ago and couldn鈥檛 use his left arm! Who the hell knew we had to hold a rope to lower ourselves down a mountain?!?! Difficulty level three! 鈥淐an you 飞补濒办?鈥�
We finally got to the ground and I was overjoyed! We then started walking through a snow-covered field. Where was Judy in all this? Turns out, she鈥檚 a nature girl.
All I heard was a torrent of non-stop 鈥淚sn鈥檛 this beautiful?鈥� And 鈥淲ow! Look at that view!鈥� I get it. You played Pocahantas and want me to take in all the 鈥渃olors of the wind鈥� around me. Well, I鈥檇 had it. It鈥檚 been three hours and鈥ait. I realized it 11:30 am. We started at 8:15 and the literature on the boat said we鈥檇 be back by 11:45 AM. How would we finish and be back on the boat in 15 minutes when there was nothing resembling civilization anywhere near us? When we inquired, our guide told us he was under the impression that was supposed to get us back on the boat by 2 PM! What鈥檚 happening!?
I鈥檒l tell you what鈥檚 happening: We started crossing streams that had cropped up everywhere because snow had melted. Soon, we had to get into the actual river itself. Seriously! It was 鈥淐limb Every Mountain Ford Every Stream鈥� style. Literally walking in a river (which, if you don鈥檛 know, is made of water).
The end of the story is: We got back to the boat by around 2:30 and as Judy 鈥淧ollyanna鈥� Kuhn just confirmed to me in the airplane aisle, it was her favorite excursion of the week. If you want to get a sense of the Icelandic terrain, my crankiness, and Judy鈥檚 non-stop joy, watch some of the Facebook live video we did:
P.S. Also! If you want to see Judy sing up a storm, come see us !
Anyhoo, Paulo Szot performed the next evening and beautifully sang tons of Broadway songs, including Rodgers and Hammerstein classics with a samba sassafrass in honor of his Brazilian heritage. He鈥檚 about to perform in Sydney and Melbourne, Australia, as Per贸n in a new production of Evita directed by Hal Prince! And Evita will be played by Tina Arena. I know who she is because she sang 鈥淓nough Is Enough鈥� with Donna Summer on the live album that came out around 15 years ago. She鈥檚 great! .
Christine Ebersole was our next singer and I鈥檓 obsessed with how she uses her voice like a musical instrument. Here鈥檚 my deconstruction of her brilliance.
She is always cracking jokes about getting older and happy that Broadway welcomes her and how horrific Hollywood is about aging. She claims she used to be 鈥淏roadway: 40, Hollywood: 60.鈥� But now she鈥檚 鈥淏roadway: 60, Hollywood: In Memorium.鈥�
Christine is going to be performing with me soon in Provincetown, Cotuit, and Nantucket, AND at Steppenwolf in Chicago! .
Comedian Lewis Black was an amazing amuse bouche in the middle of the week. We loved how he deconstructed our tour guide from one of the eight-hour days we went sightseeing. Like when Lewis also gave details of the lullaby our tour guide told us about. If you don鈥檛 know, Icelandic people come from generations of hard weather and hard living. They have a very no frills view of life. The lullaby was a song that all parents sing to their children. The lyrics are about a mother who didn鈥檛 have the means to keep her child alive so (naturally) she threw the baby into a waterfall to drown. Sweet dreams! Lewis also performed his typical hilarious political humor and told us that interviewers have asked him if the current administration is good for comedy. He responds that this government is good for comedy the way a stroke is good for a nap. Brava!
Then the lovely Sierra Boggess did her show filled with songs from shows like The Sound of Music, The Phantom of the Opera, The Little Mermaid and a childhood film she loved, Tom Sawyer. Anyone remember that film? With Johnny Whitaker and Jodie Foster? Turns out, the songs were by the Sherman Brothers of Mary Poppins fame! Michael Jackson .
Sierra told us all about being flown to Andrew Lloyd Webber鈥檚 Sydmonton estate to sing for the Queen (of England). She claims the Queen鈥檚 skin is stunning and that is has no pores. If that鈥檚 true, I totally regret dropping off my birthday gift of Biore nose strips at Buckingham Palace. P.S. Sierra is also going to be singing with me in Provincetown!
The final show was Rob McClure, who the audience loved! He is charming with a capital cC (call back to his name). He came with his wife, Maggie Lakis, who just starred with him in the national tour of Something Rotten!. He told us about the two of them doing Avenue Q (he played numerous roles including Princeton/Rod) together and how Maggie would often play the second hand (when someone is holding/voicing a puppet and another person is doing the second hand on the puppet). The second-hand person isn鈥檛 voicing anything, she鈥檚 there to make the puppet鈥檚 other arm move. Well, Rob said that after one performance, someone came up to Maggie at the stage door and proclaimed, 鈥�You were the best one up there! You were the only one whose mouth never moved!鈥� Right. Because she wasn鈥檛 saying anything.
I also did Chatterboxes with everybody, including Lilla Crawford who talked about getting the role of Little Red Riding Hood in the film of Into The Woods. They had first cast another girl in the part and then, a few weeks into rehearsal, they called Lilla and offered her the part instead! They also told her she had to accept the offer by the end of the day because they had a second choice Little Red Riding Hood who was ready to go! AH! The pressure!
Well, she obviously accepted it and they were then panicked to get her into rehearsals right away. Everyone else had basically been staged in everything and Lilla had to learn it all as quickly as possible. But Lilla wasn鈥檛 nervous because during Annie (she played Annie) they completely changed 鈥淗ard Knock Life鈥� twice and then put it into the show on the night they taught it! So, she was used to learning stuff on the quick. She remembers doing a number with Meryl Streep, who played The Witch, and they told Meryl she could just mark it because it was really just for Lilla to learn her part. Well, Meryl did indeed mark it鈥ut Lilla said that Meryl Streep marking was at the level of anyone else give the best performance of their career! Here is Lilla鈥檚 fabulous performance in the film with Anna Kendrick as Cinderella, James Corden as The Baker, Daniel Huttlestone as Jack, and Meryl Streep (not marking).
The Broadway vet and hilarious Lee Wilkof, the original Seymour from Little Shop Of Horrors, did the Chatterbox, as well, and we closed the show doing my favorite thing: singing 鈥淪uddenly Seymour鈥� with me as Audrey!
Next up I鈥檒l be writing from Provincetown! Peace out until then!
