Postcards from BEAR--Touring the Nation!

[Erine81981]

That is neat Kate. Glad to see you got to meet Bryan. I hope i get to meet him in the near future.

 

[Ilikemuppets]

That's great, Kate!

 

[Fragglemuppet]

Awww, thanks you two!
Kyle, maybe someday.
Ryan, I have no clue what I've done to become one of your best friends here, but thanks! You're a terrific guy yourself!


Bryan, sorry for the muffin!

 

[Skye]

How cool that you got to meet Bryan and see his show, Kate!! That's awesome! Sounds like it was totally great, too. Yay!

By the way... *eats a muffin* I hope Bryan doesn't mind, too!

 

[BEAR]

Muffins are de-licious!! Hahaha!

Again, I'm sorry it's been a while since my last update. I'm actually planning to drop another postcard later tonight to catch up on everything that's been going on in the last month and to give a little preview of what's happening in the next month including a special surprise. My next post in here will be the postcard. I promise!!!

And by the way, I did get to meet Kate yesterday and it was wonderful. I'll get to that later though.

 

[theprawncracker]

Ernie: Bert, Bert, come quick Bert!
Bert: *runs out in a bath towl and hair net* What? What? What is it?!
Ernie: It's Bryan, Bert!
Bert: Wha- Where?
Ernie: I don't know. He said he'd be back though.
Bert: ...Ernie, you got me out of the shower to see Bryan, and he's not even here?
Ernie: I thought you'd be-
Bert: *goes to get back in the shower*
Ernie: Oh well, at least Bert will be clean when Bryan gets back. Khekhekhekhe!

 

[redBoobergurl]

Kate I am SO jealous! That's awesome that you got to see the show and meet Bryan!

Bryan, I'm glad to see you and I await your postcard anxiously and I know of a nine foot yellow bird who is also anxiously awaiting your postcard as well.

 

[The Count]

Uh Beth... He's more of an 8 foot tall bird. Well actually, per the measurement made by Gina and the kids in one episode, he's 7 feet and 9 inches tall.

 

[Ilikemuppets]

Will it more like 8' 2". Give or take a few, but who's counting.

 

[BEAR]

Hello Friends!

I'm writing to you from Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. I know what you're thinking. Last time you heard from me was waaaaay back a month ago when I was in Washington, DC. Much has happened since then and I will do my best to catch you up.

After DC, our next destination was New York. So we had a nice long drive in between. We were planned to get to NY on March 19th even though our first performance wasn't until the 25th (about a week later). So we had over a week off from performances and just travel and a week to play in New York. Well...I decided to take advantage of some of that free time and fly home to California for about 5 days. Part of that time was spent auditioning for shows, visitting my girlfriend, and something else that I can't talk about yet.

After that, I flew back to New York to meet my cast. I wanted to be able to enjoy the big apple while I had some free days off. And by that I mean take in some Broadway shows! I saw 3 shows very different from the other but all very enjoyable. I saw The Drowsy Chaperone, Mary Poppins, and Avenue Q.

The Drowsy Chaperone was soooo much fun!!! I'm not sure if any of you have seen this show, but I recommend it to anyone with an appreciation for musical theater. Heck, I'd recommend it to you anyway. It's basically about this guy who is in love with a musical. He puts on the record of his favorite musical and it comes to life in his livingroom. It's full of humor, slapstick, good old fashioned vaudeville humor. It's pretty silly. One of the stars is Sutton Foster (Tony Award winner for Thoroughly Modern Millie). Sadly she wasn't there that night. Her understudy went on, but was great. I wouldn't have known otherwise. One of the biggest reasons I went to see the show though was for Georgia Engel. Most people remember her as Georgette from The Mary Tyler Moore Show. Well, she plays one of the supporting parts and I was so excited to see her. I've always loved her. Well...I got to the theater that night and found out that she wasn't to be going on that night either. I was so bummed out, but then I bought myself a glass of champaign and some Reese's Pieces and I felt a little better.

Avenue Q was a lot of fun also. I really appreciated the puppetry work and seeing all the references and nods to the good ol' Sesame Street style. Though it was a show for adults. It is true...it was an adult Sesame Street. There were lessons for 20-somethings that were quite valuable underneathe some of the crudeness. The puppeteers were also incredible. Even though the puppet was the main spectacle, the puppeteers were very much visible and a part of the performance. They were expressive and animated. I wonder of Frank Oz and Jim Henson were just as animated physically as they are vocally.

The highlight for me was of course Mary Poppins. I loved loved LOVED this show!!! It is incredible!!! You all have to see it!!!!! Ever since they put this show on the London stage a few years ago, I wanted to see it. I was waiting anxiously for them to bring it to Broadway and finally they did last Fall. Mary Poppins has always been one of my all-time favorite films. It is a true classic. One that earned Julie Andrews an Academy Award and the film has been considered Walt Disney's greatest achievement (in film). Now, you all must understand that anyone who goes to the New Amsterdam Theater expecting to see the film come alive onstage will be in for a surprise. It is NOT the movie. And it shouldn't be the movie. It is it's own thing entirely. This new production is still partially produced by Disney Theatrical Entertainment and it does have many favorite songs written by the Sherman brothers such as "Chim Chim Cheree" and "Supercali..." but it also has new songs and new characters. There are elements from the 1964 movie along with many elements taken from the original books by P.L. Travers. It's still the basic storyline about the family, but there's just more to it. More depth. It's a little darker (there are a couple slightly creepy moments) and much richer, and the kids are a little brattier. They aren't the most well-behaved children, which gives Mary Poppins more of a purpose. One of the best performances was from Rebecca Luker who played Mrs. Banks (the mother). This character is much more developed than in the film. There is much more to her. She is not the same woman. There is also a villianess in this one and some other things that help explain more of Mr. Banks' situation. I'm pleased that the show wasn't a copy of the movie. It needs to be. Otherwise, what's the point? It was so awesome!!! There is also an amazing thing where during the "Step in Time" number with the Chimney Sweeps, Bert literally walks up the wall of the stage and tap dances in the ceiling. AMAZING!!!! I wanted to go back and see it again, but I didn't. I did buy a lot of souveniers from that show though, including an actual parrot headed umbrella like she used. It's a beautiful piece.

I also spent part of a day going out to Astoria to see if I could find the Kauffman Astoria Studios where Sesame Street is taped. It's a beautiful building. The most I got to go inside of it was just the lobby where the security was. I know that a lot of projects are filmed there but it seemed like a very quiet day. I also learned that Sesame Street only films on month out of the year and that's in July. Talk about a long vacation! Would have been fun to go in and see the set, but I knew that wouldn't happen. I was excited enough just to be close!

There was also ice skating in Central Park, Rockefeller Center...I almost got standby seating to see The View one morning, but it didn't work out.

I loved being in New York. It's a great city. My girlfriend and I have been talking about moving out there within the next year. I was scoping out apartments and neighborhoods. We'll see how that goes later.

I'm a little tired now and it's late. So I'll just leave it here for now. I'll catch you up on the rest later. This should tied you over til then.

Bryan