San Fran and Costa Mesa!

Hello Kinky Readers!

HAPPY 2015!! 2014 was filled with a lot of wonderful memories and emotions. I started off the year newly married, fresh off of my honeymoon and ready to conquer the world. Waking up early and auditioning every morning, going to callbacks, dance classes, coachings, more auditions, etc. I adore being an actor, and I love working hard, but 4 months into 2015 and not booking job after job after job, I was starting to think that maybe 2014 wasn’t going to bring as much success in my professional life as I had hoped. But you just can’t think that way. I kept hustling and hustling and in April I found out that I was going to be part of this amazing KINKY BOOTS family- and I couldn’t be more grateful. So if there are any young actors out there reading this- don’t give up! Hustle! Learn! Work! Try! Fail! Get up again! Fail! Get up again! There are going to be peaks and valleys in any career. You’re working one day and the next you’re completely unemployed with no prospects. The key to this whole thing is perseverance , hard work, dedication, work ethic, talent, and then a tiny bit of luck. I promise if you commit yourself to busting your ass and absorbing as much knowledge as you can, something WILL happen:)

Anyway, I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season, New Year, etc! Ours was pretty fabulous.

End of San Fran

Where we last left off, Adam was about to arrive to SF to celebrate our 1 year wedding anniversary and spend 2 weeks with me. I won’t bore you all with the cheesy sentiments and details, but it was truly a dream. Adam arranged the most incredible anniversary weekend for us that included a 2 night stay at a beautiful resort/spa in Yountville, Napa, dinner at The French Laundry and Ad Hoc, various wine tastings throughout Napa, and a hot air balloon ride over all of wine country. ARE YOU SERIOUS?! What the heck have I done to deserve this guy? Just incredible. It was a picture perfect weekend, with incredible weather and some of the most precious memories I will keep forever. Here are some photos

– Adam and I got to see our good friends Eric and Emily and finally meet their beautiful baby, Ella! Gosh, she’s so grown up already and just so precious. Eric and Adam went to elementary-high school together and the last time Adam and I were in San Francisco, it was for their wedding! We got to spend time with them in their gorgeous home and have a yummy breakfast too! Then, they came to see the show. Truly, the best part of touring is getting to see our friends across the country!

-We had a company holiday party that unfortunately, I was unable to attend as it was the exact same night as my anniversary, but from what I hear, it was a blast. And we got some kick ass Kinky Boots holiday gifts, including a fleece vest with KB engraved on it. We sure will need that as we move onto Detroit next week! We also did Secret Santa during the holidays! So fun! I got Kate, one of our awesome stage managers, and I had fun getting her all of her favorite things- chocolates, wine, books, etc. Amelia Cormack, who plays Trish, had me, and she bought me some of my favorite things as well- A Chipotle gift card, wine, chocolate, and Amy Poehler’s new book!

-We celebrated Christmas at my cousins house- Scott cooked an amazing turkey sous vide with delicious sides and bread and cookies! I gained 5 pounds, but its FINE. Seriously, he’s such a talented cook, and I was so happy to get to spend the holidays with him and Howard. We also got to meet some of their friends who came over for the holidays. We had a lovely time.

-We were on a crazy busy holiday show schedule, so while it was lovely to spend the holidays in SF, we spent most of the time doing the show. It’s actually really enjoyable to perform for holiday audiences because they are usually extremely excited and upbeat. So while we got the day/night off on Christmas, to make up for that we did 2 Wednesday shows, 2 Friday shows, 2 Saturday shows and 2 Sunday shows. Rough on our bodies, but also really fun:)

– On the closing performance in San Francisco, Diane Keaton and Sarah Paulson came to see the show! We were all so excited backstage when we heard they would be there, and they were sweet enough to come backstage after the show and spend time with us/take photos, etc. They were both incredibly kind, generous, and complimentary of the show. I, of course, was freaking out like a little girl. Shocker. Then I got home to have a final dinner with Scott, Howard and Adam, and we (Scott) made homemade Cavatelli with Duck Ragu. You must be joking.

– Other fun finds in San Fran- Patxi’s deep dish pizza- OMG. RoliRoti Chicken-amazing. Overall, I have mixed feelings about SF. A lot of wonderful things happened there, and a lot of annoying things happened there (coughlosingmykeyscough, crappy weather, bad traffic). I also didn’t love the area of town that the theater was in. However, the theater itself was quite beautiful and we had awesome audiences. I would love to spend more time in San Fran and Oakland, where I stayed, in the future.

COSTA MESA

-We arrived to Costa Mesa on Monday evening after a long drive down the coast that I did with Adam. Beautiful views. By the time we got here, we were exhausted. The hotel is gorgeous and though it has been incredible getting to spend so much time with family and friends in their homes, there is nothing like being in a hotel and throwing your towels on the floor only to find fresh new ones when you get home. 🙂

-New Years Eve! We were thrown a wonderful party with the entire company at a great restaurant across the street from the theater after our show. Lots of food and drink and dancing!

-We were lucky enough to be asked to perform at a wonderful benefit for a charity called The Illumination Foundation  (www.ifhomeless.org/) which took place in one of the most gorgeous homes…well, mansions, I’ve ever seen or been in. We sang songs not from KINKY, which is always fun. On tour, we welcome any opportunity to continue honing our craft outside of the show, so getting to sing something from our own repertoire was really a treat. I sang “Back To Before” from RAGTIME. Here’s a clip! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rhAwzNaneT8 It’s really an amazing honor to get to part of these events. Even though we are usually quite tired on our night off, I know that I personally enjoy getting to sing anywhere and anytime I’m asked. And to get to give back in any small way is a privilege. Check out my instagram for some of the photos: http://instagram.com/blairgoldberg44

-We have a few more days in Costa Mesa to enjoy the warm weather before we head to Detroit- oh boy! I am not looking forward to the cold, but I have to say, getting back to the New York time zone is going to be AWESOME because it’s so difficult to speak to Adam when we are 3 hours apart. He wakes up so early for work and goes to bed early as well, usually when I’m just about to start my show. And when he wakes up in the morning, I’ve usually just fallen asleep, and by the time I wake up, he’s long done with his work day. So it’ll be nice to be on the same wavelength.

-We have 2 new cast members- Kenny Morris and Stewart Adam McKensy.  Kenny will be our new Mr. Price- David McDonald is leaving to join the cast of Broadway’s Dr. Zhivago. Stewart will be our new Angel swing/Lola Cover. Here’s the scoop. On Broadway, Billy Porter (Lola) will be taking a 3 month leave to work on some other projects. Our Lola, KTP, will be taking over for him in the role on Broadway and while he is there, our 2 Lola understudies, Darius Harper and J. Harrison Ghee will be alternating city by city in the role of Lola, which means we need a new swing. It’s wonderful to get to meet new cast members and rehearse with them. We have an understudy rehearsal today that they are present for, and a put-in rehearsal tomorrow for them as well. It keeps the show so fresh and exciting for us. Plus, it’s always fun to make new friends!

That’s about it for now! I am looking forward to all that 2015 has to bring 🙂 Thanks for reading!

xo,

b