Russian weekend

This weekend I went to Tatiana's, a Russian nightclub / showroom / restaurant. I had heard from many people that it was a great experience. And it sure was. Some of the best food I've had in years. The performing area was slightly more than a glorified dance floor, however they spent a lot of money on lighting and rigging which made up for it. After dinner, performers came down from the 20' high ceilings, and the stage itself raised and lowered via hydrolics. Quite a set-up they had... too bad only a small portion of the audience can see it properly. Most of the tables had obstructed views because of the very wide support beams scattered through the seating areas. The show itself was mostly un-inspired yet fun enough to enjoy. The frequent costume changes and lighting effects were nice, but the show lacked substance and personality. More than you would expect at a restaurant; not quite what you would expect if you were going a theater show. I would go again for the food though. It was fantastic and worth the price alone. Check them out at www.fltatianarestaurant.com

Tomorrow it's off to the Carnival Triumph again... Long flight there, 3 shows, no sleep, long flight home... I need a nap just thinking about it.

Thanks to these great people for coming to see us at the Deauville on Saturday!

Hello

Our trip home from the Carnival Triumph this week was brutal. Minutes before landing in Miami, the plane went back into the sky. The pilot announced there was some sudden weather and MIA was temporarily closed. After circling for another 45minutes, we were told the plane was running out of fuel. We ended up in West Palm Beach to refuel, which took 2 hours, then finally back to Miami. Our normal 4 hour travel day had turned to 10, which explains why I took Thursday off completely for some fun skating and watching TV - including the series premiere of "Viva Laughlin" - which I loved! The critics didn't agree: The New York Times claimed it "the worst new show of the season" and "comes close to the worst show in the history of television". The Washington Post called it "awkward and absurd." Ironically, that's why I loved it - because it was indeed awkard and absurd; and my new Thursday night guilty pleasure.



Two more standing ovations this week on the Carnival Triumph - thanks to these great audiences!
8:30pm show:


10:30pm show:

Older

A quick thank you to everyone who sent me birthday e-mails and comments. It really was a great birthday - or should I say birthday week. After getting home from the Triumph last week, I went to Orlando to experience my first "Halloween Horror Nights" at Universal Studios. More about that in a minute. My little birthday trip also included a visit to my favorite water park, and dinner at a fantastic Mexican restaurant. That in itself was worth the drive; it's very hard to find good Mexican food in South Florida.

Halloween Horror Nights was visually much more than I ever expected. Every square inch of Universal Studios has been transformed into your most detailed nightmare. They truly spared no expense, with far more blood & guts than you would expect even at Halloween. The rides and haunted houses were also well inspired, particularly the one you wear 3D glasses which I just loved to death.... (insert groan)

Unfortunately the real horror starts the moment you pull in to the garage... and mind you this was a Thursday night. Parking was horror-able. The line to get in was horror-able. Trying to get seats to the shows was horror-able. The attraction lines were horror-able, and the way they rushed you through the haunted houses was also horror-able. Then need to put a "cap" on the number of people they let in, because although the place looked great - the experience itself was very impersonal and borderline annoying.

I got back home Friday night, then on Saturday we had our show at the Deauville. A full house, and smooth performance. The slight technical problems we had with the projectors will be fixed in time for next weeks show so I wont stress about it.

Tomorrow, off again to the Carnival Triumph in St. Thomas.
Now; Sleep.

Thanks to this audience for coming to see us at the Deauville Resort this last Saturday!

Triumphant

Another travel week ended today with our return to Miami from the Carnival Triumph. The shows were above average this week. No particular reason, maybe just something in the sea air. We tried out a new ending to the Snake Box routine - and it was successful enough to become a 'keeper'. On the suck-ccessful side, my "nursery rhymes" gag in the midnight show continues to bomb. I vow to replace it quickly.

I'm getting more and more excited about the new website launch coming soon - David showed me some working previews today. I really want to post some screen shots, but I've been forbidden!!! Lucky for David I understand the artists point of view when it comes to revealing unfinished work... so we all will just have to wait, albeit some more patiently than others!

Thanks to these great audiences on the Triumph this week:
8:30pm show (oops, camera slipped!)


10:30pm show:

zzzzzz

It was a quiet night at the Deauville Hotel, probably our slowest night since we opened - just barely over half full. Unusual, but it didn't matter because the crowd was great - obviously having a great time which makes it so much easier for us on stage. It was a very tough show physically. The humidity inside the theater unbearable. The walls were literally dripping. So bad, in fact, our video projectors wouldn't even turn on due to high moisture inside. Come to find out, the hotel was having an issue with the air conditioning system that probably won't get resolved until Monday. Crossing my fingers for next weeks show, and luckily no one complained.

Time for bed, it was a long day.

Thanks to these fine people for coming to see us tonight:

Preview

We're getting a new website next week. I'm peeing with excitement. Even though I change the photographs and format periodically, it always ends up looking the same because of my limited knowledge of web-site programming. Like when you move around furniture in hopes of giving new life to a room... it only kind of makes a difference.

Fortunately David is going to a fancy-schmancy art school and has graciously taken our website as a project for one of his classes. I saw the drawings the other day - wow!!! Beneath a thin layer of jealousy will lay to rest my grade school hodgepodge of skewed and stretched graphics and links that for the last 10 years formed our corner of cyberspace.

Check back next week to see for yourself - but until then, here is his initial sketch:




The shows on the Triumph this week were great, and these 2 audiences were kind enough to be part of them:

8:30pm show:

10:30pm show:

Hello Monday

It was another busy weekend for me. Saturday was exhausting - I had forgotten about several maintenance issues at the theater that I had conveniently procrastinated the week before. By the time I fixed, painted, tested and cleaned up - they were ready to open the doors for seating. The show went great - another full house, and no technical problems. I slept off and on until 1pm Sunday, thanks in part to a persistent and noisy electrical storm. As a result, my internet connection was out for most of the day. A disguised blessing that gave me time to run a few errands and catch up on some TV and reading - two luxuries that too often get lost in the shuffle of 'stuff' that colours my normal day-to-day life. I'll pay for it today - the mess of paperwork on my desk predicts how my Monday will unfold.

Another great audience Saturday night at the Deauville: