Godspell National Tour: the final update!

The Godspell National Tour is now officially over. My heart is full and running over. And I'm not the only one. This will be a long post...

Over the past two weeks, we performed 16 shows at the Winspear Opera House in Dallas, Texas. We were then supposed to have our final performance of the tour last night in Tyler, Texas. But miserable weather conditions barred our route from Dallas to Tyler and our final show was cancelled.  We only found out on the morning of.

What that means, is that our final Godspell performance was on Sunday night and at the time, we didn't even know it was our last! It breaks my heart until I remember that nothing can change or take away what has already taken place. WE DID IT! It may be done, but it will always be OURS. I can still smile about that.

Thank you to our extended Godspell family, friends, fans and angels who became a part of our journey in loving & encouraging ways.

I extended this final Godspell post to include some of the thoughts and reflections from our cast & crew. Read it and weep (perhaps literally): 

***

"This whole experience has been like a magnificent Dream! One that I know when I wake up from it, I'll be laying in my bed at home, crying like a little baby."

- Jake Stern (Jesus)

"I'm going to miss seeing my family everyday on stage. Whenever we felt anything negative, we shed it off through performing our story about love.  The best part about the tour was creating this incredibly unique and heart fulfilling experience with this small group of people. Nobody will ever know what this experience was like accept for us. We will treasure it and keep it so dear to us for the rest of our lives. The good, the bad, the ugly, the cold- we lived and lived it in style! This experience will have a piece if my heart forever.." - Graham Parkhurst (John The Baptist / Judas)

"If I could describe in words the way this tour has impacted my life, I would. But I can't. I could never possibly do it justice. So much love, so much joy. This is not the end, thank you all." - Alex Baerg (Guitar 1)

"I will miss the laughs. Most of them at inappropriate times... But I have never met a group of people who could make me laugh so hard!!!" - Stacey Kay

"Since we started this tour my days have been full of belly laughs and smiles. I feel like we are all a part of something so much bigger than just this show. A community. There is an unspoken support and understanding that unites us, and to me that is so special. Years from now when you are all doing meaningful and marvelous things, I know I'll still have a place in this community. You are all the older brother's and sister's that I never wanted (seriously... I'm a bossy first born) but always needed. Thank you." - Rebecca McCauley

"Oh my heart I'm so sad... I'm trying to think of words to send to you and I can't even... How do you possibly explain how special this situation was? Maybe that can be my quote lol..." - Alessia Lupiano

"Thank you all for the love.  Many, many memories... It has been an incredible journey that will not stop here. The family connection will continue for many years to come. Thank you to everyone that made this journey possible... An experience that will never be forgotten. Love." - Janelle Murray 

"On this tour I found my soul, lost then wandering from city to city it came to rest at home. A family on the road, faith and adventure. My soul came alive and learned to love again." - Kirsten Upchurch (Swing Tech)

The quote above says: "The Artist must be sacrificed to their art.

Like the Bees, they must put their lives into the sting they give" - Ralph Waldo Emerson (added by Ivan Lo)

"Thank you Godspell Family - for the hope this work has brought to my life and those around us, the flood of memories I deeply cherish and more love and friendship than I could have imagined." - Lauren Karbowski (wardrobe lead)

"I got a gift. It came two years ago from one of the craziest auditions I've ever done. I sang every song in my book, jumped on a trampoline, sang like Sinatra, spoke like Katherine Hepburn and then I prayed...publicly. Then I smiled at Janelle and left the building.  Then I got the job. WINNING!  This experience made my heart bigger, it restored my faith, it made me redefine the word 'family' to myself.  I found the light in my world because of 15 minutes in a room. An arbitrary 15 minutes of audition that could have led nowhere. But instead, it led me to you.  Thanks for letting me play."  - Michael DeRose

" I can think of only one time where the performers were all immensely talented, the music was exhilarating, and the audience was completely breathless. It happened in an unlikely town called Petrolia [where we had our first run of Godspell].  Then we showed them, all over North America, our love for theatre, our love for music, and our love for each other. We sang about love.  I got to do what I love, with people I love, giving love to our audience, and getting it right back again.  I have one hell of an awesome job." - Daniel Baerg (Drummer)

"The Babel was explained, and we've been saved and prepared. Day is night. Lessons learned. The Lord has been blessed, and it was all for the best. Our gifts have been received and our light shines towards the new.  The Ol man has turned his final time, Alas. He was by our side the whole time. No more need to Beseech. It was a Beautiful city of men, with willows at it's gates... Every soul on and off stage, left their eternal mark on the history that is GODSPELL.  And as we take one more close look at the face  of our subject, we notice that Godspell has also, left a life-long mark on him." - Michael Hogeveen

~ Lisa Michelle

Twitter: @itslisamichelle

www.ThisIsLisaMichelle.com

Godspell National Tour: Week 11

We've reached our final stop on the first National Godspell Tour! We arrived in Dallas, Texas on Sunday February 16th for a two-week run at the Winspear Opera House.

I couldn't think of a better way to close out this experience: a two-week stay in a great hotel and 16 shows at what is agreeably the most spectacular theatre we've performed in for this entire run.  The Winspear Opera House seats 2200 and is adorned with a six million dollar chandelier that raises into the ceiling at the top of each show. For real.

Winspear Opera House

Top Balcony view

Our first show at the Winspear was on Tuesday night and was rife with emotion and adrenaline as it was the first time we've performed Godspell with our understudy David Cotton. He came in for Michael Hogeveen a few minutes into the show, and did an amazing job! The presence of a new soul on stage heightened our focus, as we took care to ensure that this new audience received the same magic all our performances have bestowed. Mission accomplished. Check out this sparkling REVIEW!

Michael Hogeveen & David Cotton

So what's so great about being in just ONE city for two whole weeks? For starters, most of us have UNPACKED for the first time since October! We also hit up a nearby grocery store and requested mini-fridges for our hotel rooms so we can eat like happy, healthy people - hummus and veggies and fruit, oh my! It's like we've arrived in the land of milk & honey. (We were able to buy and refridgerate those too).

We're blissfully located right downtown here in Dallas: steps from the theatre, minutes away from restaurants, and a quick train ride to some really good shopping. I MAY have indulged in some retail therapy since we've arrived, but only because I'm going to need some TANGIBLE memories of my tour experience, right? ;-)

Speaking of which, I complimented an audience member on her sparkly, faux diamond ring as I was handing out kool-aid ("communion") during an intermission last week.  This was at the Rushmore Plaza Civic Center in Rapid City. The woman later had it sent to me backstage to keep! Such a sweet gesture and one that I'll never forget:

My new Godspell bling

Lots more to do in Dallas between shows, and many of us have our plans laid and ready: trips to the aquarium, the art museum, the North Park mall, The Little Mermaid stage production (nothing like seeing another musical to stir up some inspiration) and who knows what else!

Rebecca & Stacey being themselves on one of the hotel's poolside canopy's

Jake in the Dallas wind, lol

Mark & Alessia in front of a giant... eyeball park?!

This family affair we call "Godspell" has almost reached it's end. That final scene where we say our goodbyes* just might get harder and harder as the days go by (*I was going to say "spoiler alert!" but I know you know how it ends). 

Anyhow, I refuse to get ahead of myself. We still have 13 more shows to knock out of the park and many legs to break.

See you next week for the final blog post! FYI, it will likely come out after our final show, which is not next Friday, but rather Tuesday March 4th in Tyler, Texas.

Until then.... Xoxo

~ Lisa Michelle

Twitter: @itslisamichelle

#GodspellNationalTour

Godspell National Tour: Week 10

It's the end of Week 10 on the Godspell National Tour.  I was feeling a little more homesick than usual these past few days.  We travel more than we perform, have no home cooking, sleep in different beds almost every night and live out of our suitcases.  Add to that the obvious difficulty of being apart from loved ones for so long, and you can see how even an extraordinary experience such as this can take it's toll. But that's just it. Touring is an EXTRAORDINARY experience.  It has it's cost, but it is unlike anything else I've ever done. And Lord knows, it's everything I've ever wanted to do. And it's Godspell. And it's us. :-)

Soundcheck!

Airport naps 

Party? Always.

Last week, I left off telling you about our time in Milwaukee. We celebrated our 100th performance of Godspell there! 

Our 100th Godspell Intermission :-)

Then it was off to British Columbia. Although I've never been to the province before, it was still kind of like being home, just being on Canadian soil. We flew into Vancouver, arriving quite late on Monday night and drove to the city of Vernon on Tuesday morning. The long bus ride took us through the mountains and treated us to breathtaking views. Like these:

We performed at the Vernon & District Performing Arts Centre shortly after arriving on Tuesday night, and all too soon, our trip to BC came to a close. There's been so many great city stops on this tour, but this is definitely one that I'll be revisiting on my own in the near future.

Vernon & District Performing Arts Centre

Wednesday morning we had another long drive to Seattle. We spent a night there before flying to Rapid City, South Dakota the next day. And here we are! In the most beautiful boutique hotel with uniquely decorated rooms. Life ain't so bad...

My room

Mark's room

We had our first show here in South Dakota already, at the Rushmore Plaza Civic Centre. Fun times! The crowd had as much energy as we did, so it was a beautiful exchange. We get to do it to the South Dakotans (Dakotians? Dakoes?) twice more with two shows and then... TEXAS!!!

You know what to do. See you next week, right here ! Love to all those who care enough about us to keep on following along! We'll be home soon...

Xox,

~ Lisa Michelle

Twitter: @itslisamichelle

#GodspellNationalTour

Godspell National Tour: Week 9

I won't lie. I almost forgot to write this blog today. It's Friday already??? Time flies when you've taken four flights in less than a week. After a 7-day hiatus, the Godspell cast, crew and band are back to put forth the last 4 weeks of a 13-week National Tour.

We left Toronto on Monday February 3rd, the beginning of Week #9.  Two flights and a shuttle bus later, we made it safely and soundly to our first destination: Newberry, South Carolina.

But not before earning free bottles of Jack for belting out a Godspell tune on the flight!

We jumped right in with not one, but two shows on Tuesday at the Newberry Opera House. It was a sweet little theatre conveniently located right across the street from our temporary home at the Hampton Inn.

Newberry Opera House

Inside the Newberry Opera House

 After the matinée performance, the kind people at the theatre had a southern-style dinner prepared for us: fried chicken, green beans, green salad, macaroni salad, mashed potatoes & sweet tea. Perhaps not the leanest meal a group of performers could/should choose for themselves, but hey... a kind gesture is a kind gesture. And it saved us both time & money between shows, so no complaints here.

We also had extra special guests in the audience: a group of new friends who had already seen our production of Godspell when we were in Charlotte, North Carolina before our Christmas hiatus in December. They loved it (and us) so much that they made the two-hour drive to come and see it again! They're a bit* younger than us (*tee hee) and will be putting on their own production of Godspell in March. We met them after our Charlotte show and again after this one in Newberry.  Both times they expressed how much we inspired them with our performance.  So sweet!

Some of us with some of them

Wednesday was another travel day... a very, long travel day as we had two flights to get is to Milwaukee and there were some lengthy delays and a layover in between.  But we're a funky bunch, so we tend to make the most of our down time.  For instance, Ivan was crowned "Sauce Boss" for dancing in a Buffalo Wild Wings restaurant at the airport. He kept the crown on for hours. We laughed at him. He threw the crown in the garbage. A good time was had by all.

Ivan The Sauce Boss and our Wardrobe Queen, Lauren

We eventually made it to Milwaukee.  It is FREEZING here, but our hotel is beautiful and there are so many things to do in the city. We had yesterday (Thursday) off, so between our arrival here on Wednesday night and this Friday afternoon, our group has had quite the itinerary. Brewery tours, trips to the art museum, bar-hopping, live theatre ("Evita" and "In The Heights" are playing nearby), figure skating, good eats and...

Hotel-lobby-ping-pong

Mark Laidman, Alessia Lupiano and myself starting from tha bottom

We have our first show at the Milwaukee Theatre tonight, so hopefully everyone saved enough energy to do what we always do - bang out a kick-a$$ performance. 

That said, it's time for me to annoy the hotel guests next door with some tongue-trills (an obnoxious, yet effective vocal warm-up). 

Come back next Friday for another update!  And you might want to look for us on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram if you haven't already, as there are always wayyyyy more stories and happenings with this tour that I couldn't possibly fit into each blog... or wouldn't dare too ;-).

Til next time ... Xox,

~ Lisa Michelle

Twitter: @itslisamichelle

#GodspellNationalTour

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

Godspell National Tour: Week 7

... Aaaaaaand we're back! 

I'm one of ten cast members on the first National tour of the musical Godspell, and we're back on the road after a 5-week hiatus over the Christmas holidays. We all live in Ontario, where the weather has been cold, dry and icy for a good chunk of that break. So you can imagine how excited we were that our first stop on this second leg of the tour is in freaking FLORIDA!

(Sorry, I don't know what the question marks on this poster mean. Not sure if anyone does. That's why there are question marks)

We flew from Toronto's Pearson International Airport into the warm, welcoming skies of West Palm Beach.

*Sidebar: why doesn't anyone clap for pilots when the plane lands anymore? Like "hooray, we didn't die! Great job!" Stacey Kay and I are reeeeeally trying to bring that back.

Most of my cast mates learned their lessons well from the first leg of the tour and packed lighter this time around. For some, that meant bringing only ONE super-sized suitcase instead of their previous two. For others it meant leaving the beloved, yet non-essential ukelele at home. Be the star of a post-show jam session or lug less weight around from hotel to hotel? Priorities.

From the airport, we were reunited with our tour bus (aptly crowned "the Soul Bus") as well as our favourite driver, Robert. It was a short drive to our hotel in Fort Pierce, and we were settled into DAY 1 before dinner time. 

By settled, I mean it almost felt like no time had passed since we'd seen eachother last. Yes, some of us saw one another over the break, but I still thought it was pretty cool how quickly we got right back into the groove. Ugh, it's probably that 'love' thing again. It won't really leave us alone ;-).

A bunch of us headed across the street to Red Lobster for dinner that evening, but overall it was a quiet night. We all wanted to be rested and ready for the rehearsal AND show we had the next day.

Enter Tuesday morning: hotel breakfast, sunny walks and poolside chillin. We all did our own thing, but most of us partook in some combination of the aforementioned activities until rehearsal began. It went great. Then we performed in front of a full, enthusiastic crowd at the Sunrise Theatre that night. Also great. I said "we're back!", did I not?

Sunrise Theatre

Wednesday morning, we drove to Sarasota. Sadly, we've been experiencing unseasonably cool temperatures in the Sunshine State. Gladly, it's still warmer than it is at home. So, there's that. And in Toronto, we don't have mini-putt courses with live alligators, either.  Jake (Godspell's Jesus) was all about it, but the nearest alligator-captivity-golf-course was a bit too far from our hotel. Also, it's weird.

In Sarasota, we performed at the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall: all-purple everything! It's my favourite colour too, how did they know?!?!

Thursday we drove to some other town in Florida. I'm really not sure where the heck we were, but it wasn't a long drive, the theatre was small but nice, and they kindly prepared dinner for the entire cast and crew before the show. We like food. Especially of the 'free' persuasion, so thank you Dolly Hand Cultural Arts Centre.

*Another Sidebar:  I don't know what Lauren (our wardrobe lady) was doing to Jake's costume here... but I AM certain that taking this picture and putting it in the blog was the right thing to do.

It's super-early on Friday morning right now (some might call it "Thursday night"), and we'll be making the long drive to Orange Park, Florida, where we'll perform inside the Thrasher Home Center. Sounds intense. Surprisingly, I don't really dread the longer bus rides as much as I thought I would. I've got books, movies, games, music, snacks, a pillow, blanket and good company.  Just yesterday, I turned around in my bus seat and saw this staring back at me:

That's Michael Hogeveen. He enjoys acting, singing and long walks in and out of Crazy Town  (...and no, the picture has not been photoshopped. His head is indeed floating between the seats, lol).

So! That sums up our first week back after our big break... Making it officially the end of Week #7 on the Godspell National Tour. Remember, I'll be posting Godspelly updates every Friday, so come back and read it! :-)

Ciao for now,

~ Lisa Michelle

My Twitter: itslisamichelle

Tweet us! #GodspellNationalTour

LIVE @ The Drake!!

!!!!!!

I'm excited about two things. One: that I'm actually using my blog to talk about something other than Godspell (although I really, really love Godspell). And two: 

I HAVE A SHOW COMING UP!!!! 

On Thursday January 9th, I'm performing with my band at The Underground inside the Drake Hotel (in Toronto)! We'll be bustin' out a full one-hour set of originals from my albums This Moment, Love Lessons & Rebound (all available on iTunes, btw). And maybe a cover or two, 'cause we can ;-). 

Since October, I've been touring the US with the musical Godspell (lucky, blessed ME!), and just came home December 9th for what will be our 5-week hiatus/break.  We hit the road again for Florida, Texas and a few other spots beginning January 13th. Which means, I should probably be using this time off to rest.

BUT... knowing I'd be HOME for FIVE long weeks... I couldn't resist reuniting with my band members (love them), my fans (the real and the imaginary), and the taste of R&B Soul on the tongue. I missed my music!

So here it is... If you can be in Toronto on this night, know that you are invited and that I would LOVE it if you came! I won't be able to perform at home again until the spring/summer, so this gig is special!

All the details are in the beautifully designed flyer below (thanks Ashley!). 

See you there!

Xo,

~ Lisa Michelle

@itslisamichelle

www.ThisIsLisaMichelle.com

www.facebook.com/lisamichellemusic