Courtney Jones worked at NYCPAS as Assistant to the Director for two years before embarking on the national tour of “WICKED” as an ensemble cast member. She is a graduate of SUNY Purchase College and has danced professionally in New York City with Jennifer Muller/The Works, among others. This is her fourth blog from the road.
I had no idea what to expect from Omaha, Nebraska, having never been there. I ended up having a lovely time in the beautiful Old Market of the city eating great food at Vivace and Stokes -- mmm yummy! Another great highlight was having my firsts guests see me in the show. My best friend and her husband made the 3-hour drive from Kansas City to see the show!
The Orpheum Theatre had quite a laid back atmosphere, one that took a little while to adjust to the WICKED "machine". We definitely had to iron out some kinks and to make some adjustments.
It’s common knowledge that WICKED uses lots of dry ice and fog machines, and when I say "lots" I mean lots. Walking in the basement where the dressing rooms were located, you wouldn't be able to ignore the smoky ambience -- it resembled my first attempt at cooking. Once your eyes adjusted to the smoke-filled dressing rooms and the Jekyll-and-Hyde temperatures, you could focus on the true convenience of the back stage area. During this month the tour was raising money for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS by auctioning off posters signed by the entire cast. We were able to raise over $50,000, which felt amazing!
Since this was our first time playing Omaha, we had a lovely opening night cast party at the Magnolia Hotel. Overall, our run at The Orpheum Theatre was filled with great times: Farmer’s Market shopping, Patrick’s Green Tea ice cream and late-night-snack shopping at Cubby's!
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