After the wonder and beauty of Adam and Kara's wedding, I departed Chicago on Monday, but not before grabbing a handful of cinnamon rolls from Anne Sather's--best cinnamon rolls EVER. I had had brunch with my friend Katie here on Sunday and had been told I would fall madly in love with the cinnamon rolls; oh, how well the wedding party knew me in such a short time... It saddened me slightly to leave Chicago because I've come to really appreciate the simplicity and beauty of the midwest's best and only true "big city". Chicago is what NYC could be if people cared a little bit. Honestly, I look around Chicago and I can see how much care its residents take care of the city. New Yorkers seem to not give two shits because all you see is trash everywhere, not to mention the constant chip on their shoulders (and not the good "chip on your shoulder" in LEGALLY BLONDE the MUSICAL). If New York didn't have such an unbelievable theatre scene and the family I've surrounded myself with, I could very easily see myself moving to Chicago. But that is neither here nor there, at this point.
From Chicago, I drove the lovely route into southwest Michigan to visit some of my favorite people: Barnies! If you're not up to snuff on the lingo, Barnies are members of the company of actors at The Barn Theatre in Augusuta, MI. This is the summer stock I've spent two summers at performing and NOT serving tourists;) There's a certain pride I feel in the Barn; almost an innate and very acute connection. The two summers I spent there saw some of the best and worst memories of my life unfold. I won't delve into all that now because, well, I'm sure you're all aware.
So, my first stop was in Marshall, which I called home for a couple days. This is a beautiful little town where my friend Shawn is now residing while he's performing at Cornwell's Turkeyville Dinner Theatre through December (CONGRATS ON THE EXTENDED CONTRACT). Currently he's performing a musical revue titled "Boogy Woogie Swing Time" in which he plays injured soldier Pt. Ryan Davies in World War II that awakes in a hospital under the care of three sisters that sing--a lot. A couple dozen classic jazz/swing tunes later (SPOILER ALERT), Pt. Davies seems to be off to live happily ever after with the shy sister. It's a really cute show and Shawn is having a blast, so I couldn't be happier for him.
That night Shawn and I drove into Augusta to see The Great Big Bar Show at the Barn and got to see some of our best friends Bethany, Kevin, Eric, Jillian, Sam, Patrick, Melissa, Parker, and the ever lovely Meg, just to name a few. This year's GBBS is themed "Rock on Broadway" and the new apprentice company can definitely ROCK! What an incredibly talented group. If you're in the area, be sure to check out a show or two or three or the whole season at the Barn. The GBBS runs through this Sunday, June 8. Check out their season and tickets here: www.barntheatre.com
Next up: family's in different states...
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