A lot has happened in the past few days!  I’ve been a busy bee, but have enjoyed flying around.

Cast Jackets

Friday, we had a special delivery.  Our cast jackets arrived!  We spent the morning learning a quirky, “rock and roll” style girl number, rehearsed our Cell Block Tango monologues on mic, and ran the Broadway show.  We hadn’t rehearsed that show in almost a week, so the run was a bit under par.  I have a lot of notes to apply and details to review before our next run!

Saturday I was able to sleep in before rehearsal.  The morning was mostly review time, and in the afternoon we ran what we had learned of the Movies show.  We had exciting guests in the audience: my family!  They will not be able to come see me perform on-board, so I was thrilled that they were able to watch rehearsal and see what I’ve been up to.  After rehearsal, I met back up with my family for dinner in Miami with an old friend of my dad’s.  We had a lovely dinner outside in the Design District.  Since my parents had woken up early to catch a flight, I parted ways with them just after dinner.  I rejoined some of my cast mates for a Lipstick and Lashes party at the apartments.  It was a great night!

Lipstick and Lashes

Waking up Sunday morning was a little challenging, but the rest of the day was pretty near perfect.  I met the family at their hotel, and after a tasty brunch and about 4 cups of coffee, we hit the beach.  It was wonderful to be able to catch up with everyone without the usual interruptions.  As usual, we laughed a lot!  I had to cut off my fun in the sun (or, more accurately, fun in the shade) to run home and deal with laundry and groceries.

Sisters on the beach!

I was picked up later for dinner with the family.  We drove into Fort Lauderdale for a delicious meal at Market 17.  I spent almost half the meal close to tears from laughing so hard.  Our waiter got quite a kick out of us, and gave us some great recommendations.  Saying goodbye to my parents after dinner was hard, but I hope to meet up with them in Asia!

The whole family

Luckily, I had one more day with my sisters!  I only had rehearsals before lunch on Monday, so I was able to meet up with them relatively early.  We wandered into Downtown Hollywood, and found a great little happy hour spot.  Before stopping for dinner at a sushi restaurant, we strolled through the downtown area.  I love my sisters’ husbands, but it was so nice to have the time and privacy for girl talk!  My single girl stories kept them thoroughly entertained.  After dinner, we grabbed ice cream and walked through the food trucks set up in Young Circle.  I never knew Hollywood was so hopping on Monday night!  Parting with them was rough, but I know we’ll be in touch.  I’m so happy they were able to come spend time with me!

Sisters!

Tuesday was a long day!  We learned the finale for the Movies show.  It’s a Bollywood number, so there are a lot of details and unfamiliar hand positions.  I love it though!  It’s a fun way to end the show.  It isn’t too technically difficult, but is still interesting.  After learning the finale and bows, we ran the last 3 sections of the show, in order to become more accustomed to the transitions between each.  I was worn out by the end of the day, so I was thrilled to partake in Take Out Tuesday and watch a movie with my cast.  Mean Girls and Ramen?  Yes.

The song below is one of my “happy songs”.  I’ve been listening to it a lot because it always makes me smile!  I first heard Lord Huron during an emotional time back in November, and was able to see them live at The Independent.  They’re amazing!  Since I’m gearing up to disappear for awhile, I like that this song is about searching for the girl that got away.  I am that egotistical…

The next few days are going to be pretty intense.  We have a lot of cleaning to do in rehearsals, and will be running the full shows frequently.  Monday will be our last day in the studios, and then we’re off to Korea!