Closing Night and Cast Party

I can't believe Les Mis is over! It's been a great run. It went by fast and slow at the same time. It was a ton of work because there is so much playing and it's a really complex show. But it was fun and I'm glad I got to do it. And it was the last show before they tear down the place and build a new one! Before the show, there was a ceremony onstage with the mayor and other important people to celebrate the important turning-point in Moonlight's history. We all received goblets and made a toast. It was really neat. A few minutes before the show was supposed to start, one of the patrons fell on the concrete, hit his head and had a heart attack (not sure which came first.) He ended up going unconscious and we had to call the paramedics. Luckily, we have an EMT on the crew who was able to help out while we waited for them to arrive. They did 20 minutes of CPR before they took him to the hospital. It was scary. We couldn't do anything but watch because it would have made things worse if we had to usher 2,000 people off of the premises. Last week (Thursday, I think) another man had a heart attack after the show (after most people were gone) and the paramedics had to be called. I couldn't believe there were 2 heart attacks in 2 weeks! So, we ended up starting the show 25 minutes late (what a way to start closing night.) I switched places with my stand partner so I could watch the show. I'm at an angle facing away from the stage in my normal seat. Most of it I could watch while playing but of course I had to keep glancing at my music to make sure I was playing everything right. We've had a problem with spiders (HUGE ones) during the performances, but this was the first I noticed 2 onstage building webs (I'm getting shivers just typing this.) One of them was hovering about a foot above someone's hat and the girl standing next to him starting slowly shifting her way away from him. Apparently, it landed on his hat right before a blackout. So, I'm not sure what happened after that. A few days ago, there was one right above the music director and it landed on someone's music. Yuck! Besides the spiders, it was a really good show and tonight was sentimental for a lot of reasons. After the show, we had a cast party at Feliccia's (the restaurant on the premises.) I said goodbye to everyone and went home. I'm sad that it's over, but I'm relieved because I have been SOOO stressed lately. I guess because I was supposed to do another show right after this and for some reason couldn't handle it (I'm not sure why.) Anyway, I don't have to do the show after all and now I have a nice long break and I'm ecstatic!

Another NORTH COUNTY TIMES article
http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2008/09/03/entertainment/backstage/z009ee3244e875dde882574b70063fb89.txt

When "Les Miserables" closed its mostly sold-out two-week run at the Moonlight Amphitheatre in Vista on Sunday, it was more than the end of the show and the summer season. It also marked the end of the old Moonlight stage, which will be torn down next week to make way for a new state-of-the-art stagehouse (scheduled to reopen next July).

To "salute the past and toast the future," Moonlight officials handed out plastic goblets (each emblazoned with the Moonlight logo) to every one of the more than 1,800 people who attended Sunday evening's show. After an onstage, preshow ceremony attended by Moonlight staff and city officials, the assembled crowd raised their glasses to collectively toast the theater's upcoming transformation.

The new stagehouse ---- which will include a much-needed fly system, orchestra pit, light and sound canopy, and backstage dressing rooms and storage ---- will be built with city funds raised through Prop. L, a voter-approved sales tax increase that will also pay for a new city hall and two fire stations.

Vista Mayor Morris Vance praised city taxpayers for their foresight and sacrifice.

"It's almost unheard-of for people to tax themselves for something like this, so I think the public should congratulate itself," Vance said.

City Councilman Bob Campbell cheered the fact that the Moonlight renovation project will feature more public restrooms, long a problem for showgoers (particularly women) who often stand in long lines at intermission. "Les Miserables" drew some of the biggest crowds in Moonlight's history and the need for lavatories was especially critical. Additional restrooms were trucked in for the "Les Miz" run to handle the crowds. The need was even more critical last Saturday, when a temporary water outage shuttered the bathrooms for the show's first half.

The ceremony (that's my stand partner's face on the left)

The music director and director onstage during the toast

The toast! (I'm WAY down there in the pit)

The "old" Moonlight before they tear it down

The "old" pit

My last night in the pit

The erasing party! We all have to turn in a "clean" book after the run. Good thing I used my stand partner's music and was able to erase mine the day before

My "official" pass that I had to turn back in tonight :(

At the party with "Javert" and "Jean Valjean"