snapshots of Berlin

Few photos from the last days of our time in Berlin...

David near Alexander Platz

Dinner with the gang at one of our favorite restaurants in Berlin (Bocca di Bacco)

David with a massive schnitzel at Borscht Restaurant...supposedly the best schnitzel in Berlin! (And we believe it)

At Alexey's birthday party... with lots of fabulous Russian food and vodka in a cool funky Berlin basement bar/club...

And here are a few photos from Opening Night Berlin --

With Daniel ("Johnny") and Charlotte ("Penny") in the middle...

We had an excellent Premiere in Berlin... the cast is fantastic and we hope the show is a big success!

A Photo of the Two of Us from DD Chiago Premiere

Because we were always taking photos of each other with other people, David and I realized after the Chicago Opening Night that we had no photos of the two of us, together! Luckily, we had some press photos taken when we arrived at the party by a professional photographer, so we were able to acquire some for our keepsake:

We cleaned up nice. x

Last Days of Chicago (at least for now)

So David and I are in Berlin (Germany) as I type, packed up to travel back to Hamburg for a couple of days tomorrow... but this is the first moment (at 3AM here) we have had time to post some photos of our Chicago days leading up to the opening.

We very much enjoyed our time in Chicago -- Chicago is a friendly city with beautiful architecture, atmosphere, as well as some impressive restaurants and cultural life. Most of all we loved our US company, had a fantastic time working with the people, and formed some very special friendships and connections we hope to keep for some time to come. The two of us also received great recognition and appreciation for our work on this production, louder and clearer than ever before -- if I may say so myself, the casting was good (ahem) and the dancing was better than ever, exciting, beautiful, emotional, and, of course, dirty/sexy.

David and I have some photos taken by the company we shall post when we receive it, but for now, here are a few snapshots from preview time through the opening:

At the First Preview cocktail party... David and Elsie find a "stage" and perform...


Cheese!

At one of our favorite Chicago restaurants, MK... where one may bring a bottle of wine of their own to drink (for a corkage fee) -- David and I brought out the MAGNUM we purchased in California to celebrate our friend Valerie coming for a weekend visit, to kick off our pre-Opening Night festivities... the wine was FABULOUS and we had some good times (and kudos for Val for going out on the day she arrived from London -- what a rock star)

Me & Val... this time in Chicago! Val flew in from London for the weekend, the night before our Opening Night. She has now been to DD Opening Nights in London, Utrecht and Chicago! x



OPENING NIGHT PARTY!!! David and me with Amber

David and Easton, one of our ensemble dancers... (his wife is in the show, too) He is a wonderful dancer and company member -- he would call David himself for dance notes, which is rare and great (from David's perspective).

FROM LEFT: Jane (our company accountant), Valerie, Davd, me, Tarlan, and Penny

Me and James Powell, the director

We did a spouse-swap photo... me and Easton...

... and David and Haley, Easton's wife. Haley and Easton are THE tallest couple we know.

FROM LEFT: Britta (who plays "Penny"), Eleanor, Michael, me and David

FROM LEFT: James, Amber, Ben Mingay, and me

With the girls of the cast... and a few others...

After-party at Ben Mingay's apartment... me and my favorite girls (Valerie and Tarlan), with John Antony

David and Val get their groove on...

David and Tarlan act "(they're) too hot for the party"...

DD Utrecht Premiere

Last night was the premiere of Dirty Dancing Utrecht -- and the evening was wonderful. The show was fantastic with high energy, the audience response was excited, eager and extremely positive, and everyone was in fabulous spirits. My friend Abbie and her fiance live in Amsterdam, so they came to the premiere as well. It was great for us to have friends not involved in the theater be there supporting the show and partying with us in celebration of opening. Valerie attended the London premiere as well, so it was interesting to get her reaction and feedback on how much the show has evolved since London.

Here are a few snapshots of the premiere:

(David, Valerie, me, Michael Conlon and producer Kevin Jacobsen in front of the DD photo-op banner)

(Me and Kevin)

(David, Abbie's fiance Derek, and Abbie)

(Abbie, me and Valerie)

(David with the ladies)

(Crazy musicians perform lying down on the floor to get the party started)

(Alice from the London DD office -- without whom I would lose my mind and certainly lose track of time and travel itineraries. She is a star.)
(David rocks out with James, our director)

(David and Michael both sported Paul Smith suits, and were very excited)

(With Penny and Conrad)

(David with Eleanor and Michael)

(Valerie and me)

(Cheesy? For sure... but funny, and priceless)

Another photo from T.O. opening night... in black and white

xx

A Look Back... Toronto Opening Night!

(David and I partying with Monica, my pilates teacher -- long blond hair -- and Shirley, Monica's friend.)

The Toronto production of Dirty Dancing opened successfully on November 15th. David and I spent hours writing cards and organizing little presents for everyone in the cast that day. We had slept very little, I felt slightly delirious, even, being on the last bit of fuel after living in Toronto for about 12 weeks. BUT -- we cleaned up nicely and found that reserve energy for Opening Night.

A funny thing happened on this particular opening night: Amber -- our producer -- and I wore the SAME DRESS. What are the chances? And it is a dress that is difficult to acquire this season, being so popular. Amber and I are friends; we often discuss our opening night dresses long before the big night. We didn't have the chance to do so this time around. We are also of very different body types. But somehow, we managed to wear the same dress, slightly differently -- I had mine shortened and Amber kept a structural detail at the bust tucked in. It IS a beautiful dress, and we ARE fashionistas... We were happy that of all the people we might wear the same dresses with, we wore it with each other. And we rocked it! Much fun was had, and the dress was quite a success.

(Me and Amber with our fearless director, James Powell...)

(James and the fabulous Ben M. flanked by me and Amber... party on...!)

(David posing with Jeffrey, our "Robbie"...)

(Sarah Murphy-Dyson, me, Chris Tierney, his girlfriend Amanda, and David...)

(David and Amber... whether he is dancing with her or trying to squeeze her to death is unclear.)

(Rachael, Bob -- our musical director -- and me...)

Hurrah! Much fun was had Opening Night -- we were HURTING the next morning, but alas, it was worth it!