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This is a week for the "Evita" Tour record book. We've got at least 15 people with some version of a head cold or flu, all at different stages of illness. Yesterday, I was out of the show, as well as my friend Mary. So, one of our female swings filled in for Mary and the male swing, Halden, went on for me for the first time. At intermission Sarah (Eva) dropped out of the show and Dena took over for the second act; Wendy, our second female swing, went on for the rest of Dena's regular show. It was nuts in wardrobe for a bit!

Tonight, Richard, Mary and Sarah were out of the show and all swings on. I didn't realize that our conductor, Elaine, is also ill and so is our company manager, DeAnn. I guess the temperature changes in San Antonio did more of a number on the cast, crew and orchestra than I realized. I think that I've not been quite as bad off as some of the others because I got a flu shot last week. (At least, that's what I'm telling myself:) I felt all right doing the show tonight ... just a bit of a headache ... and sniffles. Contributing to everyone's malaise is the very dry climate in Tempe and record setting pollution numbers leading to poor air quality. It's hard to imagine since it's beautiful here ... 72 degrees and sunny ... it's been sunny all week.

Harold, our Production Stage Manager, was understandably on edge leading up to tonight's curtain. Four of our cast members are sharing a house 30 miles from the venue. Andrew plays Magaldi, Rob is his understudy, Candy is the tango dancer and Laurie is an ensemble singer. They gave themselves two hours to drive to work, but still didn't arrive till 10 minutes before the show was to start. There was a shooting today on one of the main freeways in Phoenix. A guy was just driving along and was shot to death, killed at the wheel. His passenger managed to steer the truck to the side of the road and bring it to a stop. Needless to say, traffic was snarled for hours.

On a slightly different note, I called my friend Marybelle in Houston this afternoon. She answered the phone sneezing and coughing. I asked her how she came about her cold. Her answer shocked me. She stopped briefly at a CVS Pharmacy near the medical center last Thursday. She locked her car, but left her school satchel in the back seat (plus her purse underneath it). She was gone only for two minutes. She came back to find her window smashed and everything stolen out of the car. Within two hours, the thieves had charged $3000 worth of merchandise in an area near the Astrodome and had tried to cash checks using her ID. Unfortunately, crime is way up in Houston since Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Marybelle thinks the stress of the robbery, and driving her car with a broken window, led to her cold. Marybelle never misses work ... or shows ... Yet, she had to take a day off to regain her identity.

As stressful as is the revolving door at work, I'll take the changing weather as a reason to be ill .... over being robbed ....

Date: 2005-12-10 04:17 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] mrdreamjeans.livejournal.com
I will pass along your greetings to Chip. I'm looking forward to seeing him again after meeting John and him when I was in rehearsals for this tour. Time surely has flown ... here we are 14 months later ...

Getting the flu shot last week in San Antonio was my way of trying to avoid the situation we're in now. You put 55 actors, crew and musicians together in a theater, a hotel, on a plane, it's a recipe for passing along germs ... and not necessarily from each other. The plane rides are the worst. I read, that if the person on a plane next to you is coughing and sneezing, that you have a 75% chance of catching their cold/flu!!!! This entire week, during quiet moments in the show, you can hear audience members hacking and coughing ...

Glad to hear Seattle is going to have some cleansing rain... Where I live in Texas has been cold and there's been a lot of rain too ... at least the air quality will be improved. Hugs!

Date: 2005-12-10 04:20 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] ciddyguy.livejournal.com
Thankfully the tempurature inversion we are having began I think yesterday so not a long lived one.

Yes, I can understand how easy it would be to get a cold etc, especially while on a plane.

Get well!

Oh, just so you know, it's currently 30 Degrees and clear outside. Brrr! :-)

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