Godspell National Tour: Week 8

Another Friday has come... It's the end of Week 8 of the Godspell National Tour!

If you've been following along, you know that last week (our first week back from the Christmas hiatus) landed us in Florida. Leaving our Canadian winter for the Sunshine State had us all very excited, although it wasn't quite as hot and balmy as we'd hoped. We most definitely made the best of it though, still dressing much more summery than the locals (shorts, tees, tanks, dresses) making us highly identifiable as foreigners. We're performers though, so not only are we used to getting extra attention... we bask in it, lol. All the strange looks and queries we got while we sunbathed and "they" bundled up, bothered us none.

Last Friday, we made the long drive from Bell Glade to Orange Park, Florida.  We had little more than an hour in the hotel we arrived at before having to dash off to the Thrasher Home Center for a 7:30pm show. 

On Saturday, we made another long drive, this time to Miami where we'd be staying for 3 days! We had two performances at the South Miami-Dade Cultural Arts centre: a Saturday night performance and a Sunday matinee.  

The theatre was bright, colourful and fun, much like our production. Even when we're tired or a little under the weather or our bodies are a little banged up from the last performance, our Godspell is always, always a great show - truly! Somehow, we are always moved by some energy or force that's larger than us, even when we're not sure how it's going to be possible. I like to call it, "blessed"! :-)

The blessed faces of Rebecca, Janelle, myself and Jake

Monday January 20th was our first day off of this tour leg so far, and coincidentally, it was also the HOTTEST day we had in Florida - about 25 degrees (Celsius, obvi)!  Most of us spent the day and night in South Beach, Miami: sand, sun, shopping, dining, and club-hopping. I even started my day with mimosas and scrambled eggs because... why the hell not? It was amazing how such little time off can feel like a full-on vacation when you're in the right location and with the right people.

Our bassist Mark Laidman and Alessia Lupiano working hard in Miami

On Tuesday, we got up to drive to our last stop in Florida: a performance at Youkey Theatre in Lakeland, Florida. This venue was literally attached to our hotel, which was pretty cool because a) it was a really nice hotel and b) we had more time to lolly-gag before sauntering over at the last minute for our soundcheck. 

That night after the show, we had a little soirée in Jake's room. Drinks, hummus, jokes, friendly massages on grateful shoulders, more jokes and as always, crazy amounts of laughter. It was a much needed get-together after a full week of performing and city-hopping with little rest and stability in between.

Wednesday afternoon, we braced ourselves for the cold and flew to Ohio. We arrived around dinner time, so some peeps immediately dropped their stuff and headed out for food. Others called it a night and knocked out almost upon arrival. Ok, I knocked out almost upon arrival. 

Our stay in Ohio was a quiet one until our Thursday night show at Kent State University's Performing Arts Centre.  They were a lively crowd that gave us lots of boisterous laughs and loving appreciation. 

Kent State University - another beautiful venue

As I write this, we're making our way to Toledo. Just three more shows until we have another, albeit shorter, hiatus beginning on Monday. Though we were just home two weeks ago, I think we're all still looking forward to seeing our families and sleeping in our own beds. It'll only be a week off this time, then we come back for our 3rd and final leg of the tour. 

That being said, I won't be posting another Godspell blog update until we complete our 9th tour week... So that's two Fridays from now. 

Most of the cast is on Instagram and Twitter, so you can keep up with us there in the meantime!

Much love and talk to you soon!

~ Lisa Michelle

Twitter: @itslisamichelle

#GodspellNationalTour