[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!!
