Selling Out on a Monday

[mrdreamjeans]

Who knew that the Proctor Theater in Schenectady could sponsor a near sell-out on the Monday after Christmas, that nearly 2,000 folks would come out in freezing weather after a night where the town had six inches of snow? But, this was indeed the case. The Proctor is an old vaudeville house. The backstage is so tiny that some props and set pieces were actually taken out into hall of the building during the show. The wing space is non-existent. The house, where the audience sits, is lovely. I'm in a dressing room named the "New York". Our "facility" has an actual bathtub...odd:) The theater is just hanging in there, serving as an anchor for the redevelopment of downtown Schenectady. The city center is really struggling to re-purpose itself.

There’s not a lot to do without a car in the “Electric City”. I walked around the downtown yesterday morning in gusty, tear-inducing cold. I was wrapped up in sweats, a topcoat, gloves and a scarf, but the cold still cut through me. I took pictures of the old state legislature building, the Proctor Theater building and the General Electric facility (at a distance). GE was founded by Thomas Edison in the late 1880s in Schenectady and a sign marks the initial spot. Everywhere I looked there were empty buildings or elegant buildings with marginal tenants.

I bought rubbers on Monday (the galoshes type:) to put over my cowboy boots. I don’t want the leather of my boots to be ruined by wet snow and salt. It’s odd to own a pair. I haven’t had need of them since I was a small boy in rural Pennsylvania. I spent yesterday afternoon indoors reading a new novel by a favorite author. I read the book in three hours. (I love uninterrupted reading time:) Funny enough, one of the book’s main character’s last names was MacDiarmid, very close to the surname of the intrepid lowfatmuffin.

I received one of my missing suitcases this morning and picked up the second at the theater tonight after the show. I missed my plaid flannel nightshirt last night. It was cold...five degrees ... It was the “I need someone to cuddle up with” kind of cold.

Today will be another long day in Schenectady, a town laying low ... for winter and because of the slow economy. I’ll just be spinning time till the second and final performance of “Evita” at 8pm. Some of us may ask for the hotel shuttle to take us to the mall or to the movies this afternoon, but I’m not even going to unpack, just pull things from the bags. We leave early Wednesday morning for Florida, no need to make myself extra work.

Wednesday will be a long travel day. We’re flying Southwest Airlines from Albany to Orlando with a change of planes in Baltimore. After we arrive in Orlando, a bus will take us on the final 90-minute drive to Sarasota. I guess it was impossible to book 60 people on a flight to Sarasota, Florida leading into New Years weekend. As you all are partying away, send some sympathy this way:) We have a five-show weekend beginning at 9pm on Friday night, then double shows on New Years day and two more on Sunday.

At least, we should have another full house in Schenectady tonight. That’s the advantage in being the only game in town:) Safe travels to those returning home after Christmas and to those heading out of town to ring in the new year!