T.O.

T.O. -- this is apparently what people call Toronto, if you are "in the know" or Canadian. I assume it means Toronto, Ontario, but I have not inquired about this yet.

Well.

Here I am, back in T.O., this time for the "long haul" part of the production process: rehearsals through to opening night. I have an apartment in a fabulous condominium building, which is attached to the Soho Hotel... which means we have access to the hotel bar, room service, gym, and the pool. It is just around the corner from the Le Germain Hotel, where we have always stayed when in Toronto, so I am quite familiar with this neighborhood. I am also quite familiar with the bar at the Soho, and, sure enough, on my first night at the bar for some wine and food, the manager said, "You look familiar."

Finding a home away from home, as it were.

My apartment is a spacious one bedroom with great closet space and superbly comfortable leather couches, but it has a sad excuse for a kitchen. It is impossible to be inspired to cook in it, even less so than in our New York apartment (which is small and has no dining room table, but has a proper kitchen and counter space). Clearly, this is more a posh bachelor pad than a space of domestic comforts and duties. While it is fine for me by myself, I hope to move into a larger apartment with a better kitchen before David arrives in T.O. There is also not enough desk area, which is already a problem for me, and it will be a nightmare when David gets here as we will be swamped with our respective work paraphernalia.

Otherwise -- things are moving steadily along. The cast is gorgeous, and we haven't even got all of them in yet. This week we are working with the ensemble and Baby, Johnny and Penny. What a beautiful, lovely company we have here in T.O. We are all thrilled and look forward to the rest of the company joining us next week (mostly the actors and singers).

And so it all begins again...

On our London days before being apart again...for a little bit.

(David making salad at the London flat... he has mastered the art of salad making and dressing...)

My stay in London flew by, it seemed, and there never seemed to be enough time to do everything, work or play, get enough sleep, see friends, etc. David and I had a lovely time together despite the initial bumps with the computer. It was rather mellow, perhaps due to the perpetually gray and rain-prone weather and our domestic cookery. It was nice, and I am glad and grateful that I was able to spend the past week and half with David in London.

I really hadn't blogged anything, busy as I was attempting to be useful around the house. But here are a few updates and snapshots:

On David's computer:
It's working for the time being, albeit with some damage to the screen, which is a bit blotchy. David has decided to keep using it for now, and we shall cross our fingers that it continues to work until he's back in New York and can take it to Tekserve to get it fixed. Fixing the computer in London costs an absurd amount of money (when we take into consideration the current exchange rate)... so, we shall believe and wish for the best.

(David toasts one of my other favorite comfort food concoction -- French onion soup.)

On the flat and cooking meals at home:
The flat is lovely and cozy and we had a terrific time eating at home. It may very well have been one of our more healthful eating weeks we have ever had. I made a couple things that turned out very well: a whole roast chicken; organic miso-glazed wild black cod with shitake mushrooms; melanzane alla parmigiana (of course - I made it not once but twice!); French onion soup; broccoli soup (of which I made a massive batch of, so that I could freeze it for David to eat after I'd left). We found it very easy to find organic produce in London, especially with a few trips to Whole Foods, so I tried to cook everything as organically as possible.

(My whole roast chicken...very much comfort food style!)

(A bit of an experiment... whole roast sea bass in parchment paper... turned out quite well, although I was slightly taken aback handle the whole fish-ness of it all. But it is hard to go wrong when cooking fish en papillote!)

On dining out for a romantic dinner:
We did manage to go to a couple of notable restaurants as "de-stressing" outings. On Saturday, which we had a leisurely lunch at Gordon Ramsey's Claridge's restaurant. It was a very gilded and proper sort of weekend lunch affair. We had a delicious time, each one of the 3 courses were executed with great precision and flair. David had wanted to go to a Gordon Ramsey restaurant for some time, and each time he'd suggested it as a "special event" type occasion (couples lunch or, last year, our anniversary), I'd sort of balked at it, as Gordon Ramsey just didn't seem like my kind of a chef. Having gone to lunch at Claridge's, I must say I was impressed with the food -- each dish was elegant and "masterful." Yet I still do not think he is exactly my kind of chef. Having thought about it, I think his dishes are more about his flourishes than about the people eating them; while beautiful and impressive, I am not exactly sold on his having a soul about cooking for people who enjoy good food. It seems more like cooking to showcase his talents, and while I find this aspect interesting and am impressed with his restaurant, I don't particularly warm to it.

On my final night in London, we splurged on a very romantic and elegant dinner at Rousillon. Absolutely splendid. I think Rousillon is one of the better fine restaurant experiences David and I have had. The restaurant is classical French cooking with an emphasis on using fresh and seasonal British produce, and their menu ranges from a 3-course a la carte, a vegetarian tasting menu or a non-vegetarian tasting menu. (Note to my vegetarian girl friends: THIS is the place to be taken to on a date!) Dinner there was a magical time, and we had a fabulously memorable tasting menu. One of my favorite dishes of the evening was a risotto dish covered in black truffles. It was simple yet delicate, and it made me want to swim in a whole tub of it:

(The fabulous dish of risotto with shaved black truffles... delicious!)

And so went our week and a half together in London. It was packed, I suppose, looking back at it. I also had a few sessions with my osteopath while David was at rehearsals, which were useful and helpful, especially before I begin rehearsals in Toronto. I hope to get back to London at the end of September, as the new cast gets ready to go on stage -- I have booked flights on miles (thank you work trips that gives me airline miles!). It's good to have this return trip to London, to which we can look forward when we start to mope about being apart. Thankfully for web camera and so long as David's computer holds up, we can see each other over the internet, which is nice. We can work while we hang out with each other web-camera-ically, as it were. This makes a great deal of difference.

Of course, we'll both be very busy in the coming weeks that we are apart. David is in Amsterdam as I type for the weekend, working on a big gala that showcases bits from our show on television. I am packing frantically (yet again) to leave for Toronto tomorrow afternoon. I start rehearsals on Monday! Yet another production of DD kicks off... it will be my first production without David there, too, which will be strange, but I suppose as our show spreads around the world, we may have to get used to it... (but we hope it's not too necessary, crossing fingers).

TM

On settling into London after bit of a shaky start...but getting it back on track

David and I hit a significant obstacle late last Sunday -- the eve of David's first day of rehearsal as an associate choreographer -- when David's computer broke due to wine spillage. We accidentally splashed some white wine on the keyboard -- the computer just shut itself off in response and then repeatedly tried to re-start itself, at which point David very wisely unplugged it and took the battery out. The computer has become an integral part in David's preparation process, from storing invaluable information about the choreography to allowing David to notate the show, review, etc. It was a disaster.

It was a stressful experience, to say the least.

Fortunately, David made do with my less powerful and older laptop. He had to re-do the work he'd done on the airplane but had not backed up on an external hard-drive. (And ever more fortunately, he was smart enough to have backed up his entire laptop just recently before this fiasco). His rehearsals went smoothly and well despite the lack of his computer. Very unfortunately, we have just discovered that to fix the computer here in London would cost nearly as much as a completely new laptop. Yikes. We're now mulling over what to do...

It's been a learning experience, though, coping with a work disaster, the stresses thereof, making through it and trying to take something positive out of it.

Besides this computer bump (which hasn't exactly been sorted out, but with which we are at least coping), things have been busy this week. David's rehearsals have gone very well and productively; I have been busying myself setting up his apartment with necessary basic items, cooking lunch and dinner, doing what spouse-ly duties I might take on to assist David with his first week in rehearsal as the associate choreographer. Although it has been busy, this past week has also been one of the most domestic weeks we have spent together. David comes home for lunch (the rehearsal studio is around the block), we eat dinners at home, relax, do a bit more work, et cetera. We had our friends Katie and Magnus over for melanzane alla parmigiana on Tuesday, which was lovely. They have recently moved into a cottage just outside of London, by the water, and it was nice to catch up with them and to have an evening with another couple.

It's actually quite nice for me to be able to be in London and not exactly working. I still have work items to take care of, I've watched the show twice now, and such, but mostly, I have been able to commit my time making sure David gets settled into London properly before I head off to Toronto. It's a different way of spending my days... and it feels like a treat of a life experience, as well as a learning curve.

Back in London

David and I arrived in London last night, and we are speedily getting ourselves settled into our "new" flat in Covent Garden. It's a nice one bedroom with an open kitchen plan, lots of comfy and cozy wooden furniture and strangely or cleverly or both, many many mirrors. David is very pleased with the apartment, and I am excited to cook up some dinners in the kitchen (I think another attempt at perfecting my melanzane alla parmigiana is not too far off...).

Today we slept in and then went on a big grocery shopping spree at the new Whole Foods in Kensington. The London flagship store is MASSIVE. We bought plenty of organic food products, from fruits and vegetables to condiments (oils, salt, pepper, things one takes for granted at home but must purchase when setting up "house" abroad) and even cheeses and wines. Cooking and eating organically has never been more accessible and easier than with the invention of Whole Foods markets.

Tomorrow David begins rehearsals, and I will set up an "office" at home and visit the Dirty Dancing office here in London to do a bit of work, etc. The weather's not too bad at the moment in London (crossing fingers), so I will continue to do a bit of "house set up" shopping... so that by the time I leave for New York in a week and a half, David will have most everything he needs for his stay here. (And I get to play a bit of London "house wife"...! Although I am sure I will have plenty of work-related things to do.)

Anyhow, so it goes, and here we go back in London again. I must say I prefer this apartment than the one we stayed in during rehearsals last year. We haven't got an extra room for the office, but the location is TOPS. (As David would say.)

And here we go again...

David and I are leaving for London insanely early in the morning tomorrow. I will only be there for about a week and a half, after which I must return to New York so that I could gear up to relocate to Toronto for 3 months. David will remain in London until early October, when the London recast rehearsals will complete and the "new" cast goes on stage. At that point, he will join me in Toronto.

It's all a little bit daunting.

The positive side of seeming always to be living out of suitcases these days is that we have, in fact, contrary to my own sense of things, gotten better at packing. This progress, of course, is in no small part due to the fact that we are basically in a constant state of packing/unpacking -- this trains the most inept packer and traveler to learn which items are useful and which items, despite all wishful thinking, one never uses while abroad. And some cities are easier to pack for than others. In London, we know that, should we have forgotten something, we could, if necessary, always buy another (albeit at ridiculous London prices); same goes for, say, Toronto. This knowledge eases up the packing process significantly.

And so we are doing last bits of work, organizing aspects of our lives, and packing again to kick of rehearsal processes. It will be a change from casting (sometimes we forget that all the casting is to come up with a cast to rehearse into an actual production!),

VERMONT!

(The beautiful mountain house in Vermont, as photographed from the back.)

The day after we returned from Hamburg, David and I packed our bags (yet again), rented a car, and drove up to a small mountain town in Vermont, where Eleanor and Michael rent a house each summer. The few days' break from the city heat was just perfect. David fell in love with Vermont and the mountain house last summer, and had been looking forward to this year's trip all year long. Unfortunately, due to our work schedule, our stay in Vermont was not as long as we'd originally hoped -- but fortunately, we were able to spend a solid 4 days, inhaling clean country air, reading or doing a bit of work on rocking chairs on the porch, swimming in the White River, cooking up hearty meals over bottles of white wine, playing table tennis... and we even managed to fit in a game of kickball with a few other local grown-ups and their kids. (We were sore for a couple of days afterwards from all the base running!)

We had only one day that truly rained. Otherwise, we had terrific weather and were able to swim and play in the river just a short drive from the house.


This year, the "river beach" had transformed into a velvety sandy beach (as opposed to a more stony, rocky one), due to the heavy rainfall in the area a couple of weeks ago. The water was pristinely clear so that we could see right to the bottom, and the current was not as strong as last year. David threw on his snorkel mask and flippers and thoroughly explored the river looking for fish. He discovered several, most of which we believe are a type of trout.

Some of the local kids found clay in the river bank, which they used to play some sort of mud-hogging and mud-flinging game. The older folks on the beach used it for self-beautification purposes instead, as clay mask:

(David covered in clay, which he explains made his skin very soft by drawing out impurities.)

What I love about the house is the open-plan kitchen and dining area. It's a great place to cook -- sure beats our small New York City kitchen and no dining table living! I had a great time cooking, and feel that I made my best yet melanzane alla parmigiana this weekend in Vermont. The dish was consumed by everyone with delight, and not an eggplant slice remained:

Although the turn around of coming back to New York, driving up to Vermont (6 hour drive), coming back to New York again only to leave for London in a couple of days (we leave very early this Saturday) is rather demanding and strenuous, the trip to the country was worth every moment. Our time there sort of caused us to slow down a bit, breathe, and take in nature. We saw a gorgeous deer and fawn, who casually leaped towards the house one day; we saw hundreds of stars, and David saw the Big Dipper for the first time; one day the sky was as clear and blue as can be, and by dusk mist enveloped much of the field behind the house that we couldn't see the mountain beyond.

We were very happy and grateful we were able to go (frankly, David would have been inconsolable).

(A field just below the house we stayed, by the White River.)

(Misty dusk... photo taken from the back porch of the house.)

Snapshots of Hamburg

(A view from the ferris wheel at the DOM, a famous and massive fair that comes Hamburg several times a year...)

As blogged before, our time in Amsterdam and then in Hamburg was rather hectic and loaded hours and hours of casting. Casting can be exhausting because we must be absolutely focused and attentive to what each person may or may not bring to our production. And casting our show is an intricate puzzle and balancing act. Although I am seated all day long (unlike David, who has to teach choreography and oversees the dancers on foot), casting is mentally strenuous, and often we return home ready to go to bed (after a dry martini).

David and I did managed to squeeze in a bit of fun amidst all of the casting. For one, we spent an evening on rides and eating bratwurst at the Hamburger DOM. This was a treat, as we have lovely memories of going to the DOM when we were in Hamburg two winters ago, often to escape the terrible cantine food at the theater for the rehearsal dinner break -- a quick cab ride and we were able to ride a couple of rides and eat bratwurst instead, and return to the theater in time for the evening sessions.

We also managed to go back to the East Hotel restaurant, which we have come to like very much. There, we found a flier for a BBQ the restaurant hosts during the summer time. It gave us a chuckle:

(Grillen und Chillen... grillin' and chillin', ever so un-German like phrase in, of course, German.)

Here, there, feels like everywhere...!

David and I have been doing a bit of European traveling the last week, since our trip to Mustique. First, we went to Amsterdam for 3 days, doing more casting for the Utrecht show -- we're not finished casting it yet, but we're nearly there! After Amsterdam, we have been in Hamburg for the last 4 days casting through the fruits of the "European casting tour" David did about a month ago. The days have been productive in each of the cities with their fair share of good fun, but we have been pretty flat out. We are currently packing at 1:23AM Hamburg time, to be picked up by a car at 6AM to go to the airport. Yikes. But we are happy to be going back to New York again. Of course, Friday (the day after we are back) we go to Vermont, but that is for a long weekend holiday, to which David has looked forward all year round, so that will be nice... but the next couple of weeks will probably be mad, basically, with David "moving" to London, me going to London with him, back to New York for a day or two and then "moving" to Toronto... yikes!

But, so it goes... and I had some very nice chicken wings at the Madison Hotel today.