Emcee Marc T. Engberg talks oligarch-style tipping, the lame/cool continuum, and adjusting our rider at Ohio Northern University.
Posts filed under Travelogues
Travelogue: Hillsdale, MI 2017
Once a month we have a company member report to us about life on the road. This month, it's performer/producer/director Rob Schiffmann sharing with us his experience on our recent tour to Hillsdale College in Hillsdale, MI.
Travelogue: Bradford, PA
[Once a month we have a company member report to us about life on the road. This month, it's Robert Z. Grant sharing with us his experience on our recent tours to the University of Pittsburgh in Bradford, PA]
Shows are Blurs
I love touring with Broadway’s Next Hit Musical. Especially in the fall when the foliage and crisp air makes for a refreshing change of scenery. In the northwest corner of Pennsylvania sits Bradford, PA, south of Buffalo. You barely have to leave New York State. Home to the University of Pittsburgh - Bradford. As happens on most tours, the show we did is now a blur to me, but we had a particularly fun time chatting with the students after the show. Most of them sat front row, and many of them belong to the university’s own improv group. And many had done a workshop with Greg Triggs prior to sitting down for the main event.
I presented first in the show. (After Greg had gotten the show rolling in his inimitable way, of course.) My suggestion was “Lampras.” The Pokemon reference was lost on me, but I came to know later when I spoke with the title’s author after the show. My story took place in the world of middle-aged hoarders and recluses — just what the kids of today are wondering about.
Wandering About Town
Speaking of wandering about… Bradford is a really charming little town. It reminds me of my own home in the midwest, minus the hills. It evoked many classic images for me, as though it could have been the bustling Main Street from "It’s a Wonderful Life” or a diner after dark in an Edward Hopper painting. Except in this version, there was a “Beef on Weck” sign in most windows. Deb Rabbai and I ate at a local restaurant called Beefeaters our first night venturing out from the hotel, and somehow managed to get through heaping plates of Bradford's celebrated roast beef — mine “au jus” and hers with gravy. The Beef on Weck (or Wick, depending) is made with roast beef on a kummelweck roll. The meat on the sandwich is traditionally served rare, thin cut, with the top bun getting a dip au jus and topped with horseradish. Always worth it to try local recommendations.
Small town charm. Oversized plates. Wind gusts and downpours. All this culminated in a musical story of Bratwurst for a terrific Bradford audience. Because at the The Phony Awards, everybody’s a weiner!!
More from Broadway's Next Hit Musical at the University of Pittsburgh in Bradford, PA
Travelogue: Madison, WI
[Note: once a month we have a company member write a Travelogue piece about experiences on the road. For full highlights of these shows - including streaming the winning songs - head here.]
Broadway’s Next Hit Musical just did two wonderful shows in my hometown of Madison, WI. It was a whirlwind, bracketed by obligations on both sides of the trip but a short time in Madison is worth more than a long stay in many other places. Walking around the Square, taking friends old haunts, reliving stories of my Uncle A.J.’s unsuccessful bid for mayor, a reunion with Mrs. Jung, my 3rd grade teacher – it was magical.
In the short time we were in Madison I was able to show my friends some of my favorite haunts – the Brat Haus, the Shamrock, Rare Steakhouse and the Chocolate Shoppe where I worked scooping ice cream when I was in high school.
Robert Z. and I grabbed a cone between shows. I got Almond Fudge Delight. One scoop. Wafer cone. Classic. Watching students working hard, earning money to pay for their education or a new Pentax SLR as I always was when I was a scooper was a time traveling trip.
They use the same cleaning products. The air still carries the same chill from the freezers. They have the same fashionable smocks we wore way back when. For a minute I was 18 again with skin slightly sticky from the residue of the best ice cream in Madison, WI.
Walking around the Farmer’s Market with Deb Rabbai was the highlight. Time and time again I was reminded how lucky I was to grow up in Wisconsin’s Capital City. Boring Deb with stories of my mom taking me to political rallies, telling her about Old Abe the (taxidermy) Eagle that protects the rotunda and remembering that Madison was organic before organic was organic organically reminded me what a great town Madison is and what an honor it was to come home to perform in the beautiful Overture Center.
Seeing my 3rd grade teacher, cousins, high school friends, family, neighbors and the lawyer that handled my Mom’s estate made it all the better. You can go home again.
Thanks Madison!
