"IT'S SO HARD TO SAY GOODBYE"

Our final group hug :(

The end of our 24,000+ mile tour had brought us to Akron, OH for 3 shows. A cast party on Friday night after the show and 2 shows on Saturday with an early flight home on Sunday. Gail was flying in on Friday to see the show but got held up in bad weather. Little did I know, she was living a scene from "Planes, Trains and Automobiles" to get to Ohio. Thank goodness she made it, just as we started the cast party! Boy we were excited to see her! Quentin flew from the table like Superman when he saw her.

We all had a great time just taking pictures and not thinking much about goodbye just yet, we still had 2 more shows on Saturday. Gails friend Gretchen who had come to the show in Toledo came to the afternoon show. More friends, Brenda and Larry came to the to the evening show. It was so nice to have friends with us for this final weekend. Their support, love and warmth was exactly what we needed at that time.

I admit I got pretty choked up during both shows. I tried so hard to carve the memory of my little man singing, dancing and perfoming into my brain. It has been an amazing trip, but thats for later. After each show we took pictures in the Green Room, Backstage, Hallway, and anywhere else they let us. It got pretty emotional for all of us as we left for the hotel and took our final pics there. It's really over!

Quentin went right back to school on Monday less the 2 hour delay for snow. Go figure we get snow in Virgia Beach! Nonetheless we are HOME and it is wonderful to be home. It's been a week or so and Q is loving school and I have put our Duffel Bags in the attic :) I must admit though we will miss the ROAD (a little) we will miss the friends/road family (a lot). It was amazing watching everyone grow a little more everyday on stage and off stage. And ....Me offstage, in other ways (not funny though). The stories we all shared and places we have seen will stay with us forever. I must give a Shout Out to everyone who came to see what I thought was an amazing show; eventhough I am biased. Thank you road Mom's for being the awesome "RENTS" that you are. Quentin and I will always remember what great fun we had. "It's so hard to say goodbye", and so I won't. We hope to see you again, we will keep in touch, we'll "be back soon".

Love ya,

John & Q

Friends in Akron, OH

Thank You Larry and Brenda for comming to see the show
Thank You Gretchen for coming all the way from Toledo

A blog from Mom!

I felt the need to write a little something from my perspective. It has been a long separation and I am so happy my boys are home, however, at the same time, I am so sad that this adventure is over for my son.

My daughter and I stayed home while Quentin and John went on this 7 month excursion. Someone along the way asked if I was jealous because my boys were on this outing, traveling and seeing the country. There is no way in the world I could be jealous! My son received an education that is priceless. This opportunity is something that only few get to experience and at such a young age. He has grown so much as an actor and a young man. I am so grateful! Grateful that my husband was able to join him in this experience, grateful for the other parents, for their kindness and their encouragement, grateful for the cast for their discipline and for the director for taking this chance on Quentin and giving him this unbelievable opportunity. I am so proud of the show and of everyone involved. Jealous – no! I am overwhelmed with pride, love and amazement. Thank you to all our friends and family!

10 memories from Mom's perspective:

• 5 am - coffee and blogspot/facebook - where is my baby boy today??
• Holding my breath while reading reviews.·
• Finding a "Google Alert" in my email inbox.·
• My hug in Pembroke, NC. It had been over 4 weeks since I had last seen him and the way that hug felt will stay with me forever.
• My (heart) belongs to Oliver and Tiny Tim! I had 2 Dickens boys!
• Mikey's rendition in sign language of Mr.Bumble's "lovey, chubby, hubby" – so funny!
• "I miss you Mommy" the ending of many conversations. I missed you too, more than life! I hope you know that.
• Reina and I flying to Reno, NV. Her final words "Thank you so much Mommy for taking me with you. I had a great time!"
• Reina explaining to the passenger next to her on the plane home from Reno that she (this passenger) was sitting next to a STAR's sister. This was the first of many intro's of "My brother's a star!"
• Arguing about how many inches he grew…In total he grew 3 inches!!!
  

Houghton, MI

Well, It's Happy 100 for the cast. Yup officially the 100th performance. The design team at the venue had made some amazing banners and posters. This time with our cast and kids on it.So how excited were we when he was able to get some for us. The house was so full I had to watch from the Green Room. It was a late show so we were able to get some pool time in the morning actually afternoon. We havent been able to get too much time for that either. We now have embarked on an extremely long 1082 mile ride to Reading, PA with a stop in Elyria, OH again. Yes, again. We were there just a little bit ago. We have a couple of real early bus calls. Might I add a snow storm is following us. We cant wait to see Gail soon. So I will post to you soon.

Love Ya,

John & Q

Merilleville, IN

Hello all, 7 days and counting. Totally enjoying a Golden Day, albeit a very cold day we managed to pick up Quentins Backugans and check out a movie with Sue and Mikey. We later met up with Missy and Colin and went searching for a restaurant "again" and showed off some new puchases. The show today went well and we even got free popcorn and soda with flashing our pass. That never happens! Directly after the show they held a Q & A with the cast and the kids. Who you know truly enjoy doing those.The kids would answer every question if you let them. Being that it was a 3 o' clock show. We returned to the hotel and walked to Red Lobster. Q has been begging to go for a while. He loves his crab legs. We also enjoyed that Rhianon and Chaz joined us for the festivities. Well we are off again in the morning. So I will blog to you soon.

Love Ya,
John & Q

Salisbury, MD

Hello Everyone, Oh Happy Day. Papa Nanny, Grandpa and Grandma all here. Unfortunately we had got into town much later than we had expected due to rain so, Q and I had literally 30 minutes to drop our stuff off and get something to eat. Thank goodness papa ran to Wendy's for us. We had left pretty early from Springfield so Q needed a quick shower. Anyway the hello's went pretty quick and back on the bus to the venue. The show went well and Gail's parents, Papa and Nanny sat there laughing along and getting choked up during "Where is Love" and "Who will Buy".It was fun watching them enjoy what I have been able to see for the past six months. I cant even begin to explain how proud Ive been but that's a story for another time. I truly loved having my little girl Reina sitting beside me during the show. She has also grown so much during this trip. Anyway, we were in an arena so being on the floor sometimes can be tough especially sitting behind tall people but it all worked out. Quentin was also really excited because Eric and Susan had also drove in to see the show. They where staying overnight in the same hotel so we all had planned to meat up there and go to Denny's for a late night breakfast. Unfortunately we had a 8:30am call the next morning for another 783 mile trek to Indiana. So it was short but sweet and nice to have a quick coffee and orange juice with the family before we headed off. It was a little sad saying bye but we are almost going home. With that being said I will blog to you later from Indiana. Check out Picasa Web Albums for new pics.




Love Ya,
John & Q

Springfield, MA

Hello, hope all is going well. We want to thank Cousin Pat and her friend, Melissa and her friend for coming to see the show in Springfield. They truly seemed to enjoy it. Q and myself met up with them in the lobby after the performance and you know Q is always happy to sign some autographs and say hello. Our stay in Springfield was short and sweet not too much to blog on. Although Jen who plays Colin’s understudy as Dodger went on for him today and she did a wonderful job. Colin is fine he just took the night off. She did have some relatives at the show so that was a bonus for her. We will be on our way to Salisbury, MD in the morning and cant wait to see Papa, Nanny, Grandma, Grandpa and of course Reina. We had hoped to hear from some of our friends from Hurrah but being this show is in the middle of the week we understand. Our stay in Maryland will also be a short one but the tour is almost over and oh what a trip it has been. We cant wait to get back home and into our normal routine what ever that may be. We still have quite a bit of miles left on the tour but truly about 7 more performances in 4 more states. Well that is about all I have for today. I will blog to you later.

Love Ya,

John & Q

Lowell, MA

Hello, Hope all are doing well. We would like to thank all our family and friends who came out to see the show. We were all excited for them to see the show. I think it was the first time they got to see Quentin in a show. So Q was extremely enthused to give a great performance and so proud to know he had family and friends in the crowd. Following the show we first met with this incredible little boy who was waiting at stage door and so excited to see the cast and kids he just made our day. We then moved out to the lobby for Q to say hello to the family. It was nice and quick as we are getting accustomed to that. But not for much longer.We were sad to see the family go. They all had to gat back home and we had to get back to a meet and greet up on the third floor. Once we were done it was back to the hotel to drop off our stuff and go to dinner. We had gone to a great little Italian restaurant the night before in which Q was my Valentines date and decided to go back again with Chaz accompanying us this time. After dinner we all walked back to the hotel and watched “Oliver” on TV the non musical version. We will enjoy a golden day then travel to Springfield. I will blog to you soon.

Love Ya,

John& Q

Morganton, NC

Hello again, we got into Morganton on Thursday and enjoyed the evening off. On Friday the kids had school early and I finished our laundry, isn't life grand. The show that evening went very well and Quentin had a couple of visitors come to the show. We would like to thank Georgia and her husband for coming to the show. We were all staying at the same hotel so were able to talk a little after the show. Georgia had been in Hong Kong on Monday and had dinner with Gail. They enjoyed the show and it was great spending some time with them. But as usual we had an early call the next morning and had to retire for the evening. Although we did get to see them again in the morning before our shuttle took us to the airport. Oh, I forgot to tell you that we got a break from the bus. The kids and parents actually were offered to fly into Boston and shuttle to Lowell so we took it. The remainder of the cast has to ride the bus to NJ for a layover then to Lowell. We will blog to you again from Lowell.

Love Ya,

John & Q

Jacksonville, FL

Hello All, hope everyone is doing well. Where do I begin?  Well, from Georgia we enjoyed a stay in Clemson, SC for one night and a performance. Thank goodness the hotel was 100% cleaner and we at least got a decent night sleep. Then off again the next morning. We could now enjoy the next two days off in Florida. Sue’s husband Mike came to visit again and brought Maria with him. Unfortunately she had come down with a bit of a cold. She probably caught it from Mikey who caught it on the bus. We have all had some aggravating cough that we just cant get rid of. Mike had rented a minivan so we all could get around for the couple of days off. Monday we were all able to get on the bus and head to the beach for a few hours which was nice just to sit on the beach and relax. The kids of course loved that they could just run some energy off. After eating down by the beach we all went back to our hotel rooms and pretty much crashed and retired for the evening. On Tuesday we headed to the Museum of Science and History in Jacksonville along with Jeremiah the tutor for a field trip which was a nice change from having class on a bus. Thanks again to Mike for providing the transportation. We then again headed back to the hotel for some r & r. That evening Mike & I took the kids to the movies to see Coraline in 3D which is great movie if I say so myself. Sue had stayed back with little Maria who was still not feeling well trying to fight off a cold.  Today the cast had 2 shows in which the first was a school show at 10am with about 1800 kids showing up with a Question & Answer session after the show.  Needless to say the kids loved the show and all the little girls were going crazy for Oliver and Dodger even asking them if they were available.  Available for what, I ask?  The kids were even more pumped up when the 3 boys started signing autographs. The 7pm show went well but without all the screaming for the boys. That concludes our stop in Florida and it is about that time I say goodnight. We are off in the morning to Morganton, NC I hope to see some of you there. Please give me a call so Q and I will take some time to say hello after the show on Friday.  I am also excited to be seeing my cousin Gerry and his family, Gail’s sister Brenda and Brother Evan and his family in Lowell. I will take tons of pics and post them later. I have added updated all the pics up to this point in Picasa Web links below so check them out. Blog to you soon.

P.S. We all hope Maria gets well soon.

 

Love Ya,

John & Q

Statesboro, GA

Hello everyone, Today's news from Georgia. It was actually warmer today here than it was in Florida yesterday. A bit of bad news on the way to the hotel we were supposed to stay at. It so happened that the brand new Ramada Inn had no reservations for us and no space to accommodate the cast. So instead we got to stay at the not so new and pretty shady Howard Johnson. Yuck, and to make a long story short it sucked big time. As for the show that was quite interesting also. The show itself went well, but about fifteen minutes prior to the top of the show the fire alarms went off. It seems that the fog machines had set them off and the fire marshal and trucks had to come out and everyone had to evacuate the building. After about 20 minutes we were able to return and the show went on. When we returned to the hotel most of the cast was hungry so we visited the Sonic next door. If you know Sonic then you know that its a drive thru spot and we do no have vehicles. What a funny picture that was, all of us standing in front of the boards with a few cars in the mix. I wish I had my camera for that one. Anyway we are all excited to leave and 8:30 cant come fast enough. Blog to you soon.

Love Ya,

John & Q

Gainsville, FL

We have arrived, Yeah. What a trip! We psyched ourselves up for the worst and it ended up not being as bad as we had originally thought. Its crazy how at this point we think 500+ mile trips for day for 3 days is not too bad. Another bit of the stomach bug had struck again and Will had to miss a show. Adam stepped in and did a great job in 2 roles as Grimwig and Sowerberrry. We are getting excited to see family and friends in some upcoming venues. It seems like forever since we have seen you all. The cast has about 15 more shows and I think it is starting to sink in that the end is near. Bitter Sweet it is. Blog to you soon.

Love Ya,
John & Q

OH Canada

Hello Again, Last time I blogged we were in Canada just on our way to St. John for weekend performances. I must admit I truly enjoyed staying in one spot for a few days. We truly did not do much, it was cold and we were truly beat. We pretty much stayed in the hotel for dinner and just left for the shows. Sunday was even more enjoyable because it was a day off without travel and Superbowl Sunday. WOW, even though the Cowboys aren't there I still get to watch. No big party or anything like that but, we did have a 50 something inch flat panel TV in our room. Don't be confused though the beds looked like a skate ramp and the hotel looked like it was from the 70's.(not retro, just from the 70's) I guess they got a deal or something on the tv's. Anyway the weekend did not go without a hick up or two. Clare our tour manager got sick, I got and gave bad directions to the theatre and we left a man behind. At the hotel that is not in Canada. We now have a wonderful 3 day 1783 trip back to Gainsville, FL with stops in Norwalk, CT and Fayettville, NC. Half the cast have bought out their rooms and decided to fly home for a few days and meet us in Florida, but Q and I will tough it out and ride. I will post again when we settle somewhere.

Love Ya,
John & Q

Kingston, Ontario

Bonjour, nous sommes au Canada. In English hello from Canada hope all is going well in the states. We are travelling through some crazy weather. Quentin and I have seen more snow in two days than we ever saw in Virginia. Last time we blogged we were in PA. We have gone through Ogdensburg, NY which is across the St. Lawrence river looking into Canada. We spend the next few days here in Canada traveling to New Brunswick near Nova Scotia. I have been able to use some of the French I learned when I was a kid. It has been very trying on this leg, but we are getting excited to be coming home soon. I have updated all the pictures so please take a look, leave a comment. I will post more when I get a chance, miss you all.


Love Ya,
John & Q

Williamsport, PA

Hello again, We are now traveling through the mountains and snow of Pennsylvania. It has been a little tough lately to remember where we are, what day it is and where we are going. Thank goodness for our trusty itinerary which I am looking at right now. Last we spoke we were leaving Michigan. From there we had an evening show in Springfield, OH that went well. One of the cast members Erin is from Ohio and so her family held a little reception at the hotel after the show on Sunday. Her family and friends were very nice and everyone enjoyed themselves but again we had an early call the next morning. Now Monday was a tough day the crew bus broke down and they all had to fly out to Williamsport and go straight to the theatre so they got no sleep. One of our tour trucks got into an accident,the driver is OK but the costumes and some props and such was delayed and made it a mess for the crew. To top that all off Chris(Bill Sykes) went down with a stomach virus and could not perform. Well, the show must go and the shift of characters made for an interesting show. Shout out goes to Will who did a great job as Sykes and everyone else that had to pick up their game. We are now heading to Ogdensburg, NY then into Canada for a week. It is that time to say goodbye and I will post the pics as soon as I get to a good hotspot. We miss you all and to those in VA hope to see you in Salsbury, MD or Morganton, NC and our family and friends in MA hope to see you in Lowell or Springfield. Please don't forget to call me on my cell (you should know the #) so we can make time to see you after the show.

Love Ya,
John & Q

Kalamazoo, MI

Hello Again, Check out the billboard we saw on the way to the theatre. It was pretty cool to see our kids up there. Anyway the show was great and everyone enjoyed it. Although Erin (Mrs. Sowerberry) was not feeling well and her understudy went on for her. Michelle did a wonderful job as Mrs. Sowerberry and also Ashley as Old Sally. It was interesting too see them just jump right in and do the show. It was also nice to stay at least a couple of nights in the same hotel. But we are off again in the morning. I have added some new pics and a couple of reviews and interview. So check them out. We are also hoping to get out of all this snow in Michigan. Not much more to add for today so I will blog to you tommorrow.

Love Ya,
John & Q

Muncie, IN

Hello Everyone, Hope all is going well? It has been quite a grueling week . We have been to Indiana, Kentucky, a stop finally at the St. Louis Arch and show in Missouri, Iowa and now back in Indiana. Thank goodness the temperature has gotten a little warmer or at least warmer compared to Ohio. The show has been going great and still well received wherever we go. Like I had said before its all been one nighters and making it hard to settle in anywhere. So everyone is tired and trying to fight off colds. the only day off was the day we stopped at the Arch in St. Louis. It was a lot bigger up close! We had driven by the arch about 3 times on this tour making it fell like we were going around in circles. Finally we got to stop a see it up close, and I didnt even know that you can take a ride to the top, there is even a gift shop and museum underground. You can take a look at the pics as usual in my web album link below. We only have 201 miles to travel today and so we actually get to sleep in a little longer today and leave the hotel at 10:30am. Although they do perform in Kalamazoo tonight and tomorrow. Well its that time to get to the bus. We will blog to you soon.

Love Ya,
John & Q

Lima, OH

Hello all I'm back. Our day started early today, a new 7 am bus call in what felt like -40 degrees with a 307 mile trip Lima (like the bean) Ohio. Where again its COLD and thank goodness our hotel is attached to the Convention Center/Theatre in which we never even have to go outside. The roads were pretty bad and we saw a wreck or two along the way.There was a 8 car collision and an 18 wheeler in a ditch, what a ride. We barely stopped at a rest area to get some lunch and off we went. We arrived at the hotel safe and sound but we had to go straight to the theatre to run scenes with the understudies. The show was fun to watch with understudies doing different roles and went well. I guess people in Ohio didn't seem to mind how cold it was because the theatre was packed, not a full house but pretty close. Myself, Missy and Sue accompanied by Rhiannon sat way in the back and enjoyed the show. We met a few members of a local theatre group who are going to be opening "Oliver" in their theatre soon at the stage doors after the show. The kids got to sign some autographs, talk about the show and being on the road. That was our day and away we go. I will blog to you later.

Love Ya,
John & Q

Waukegan, IL

Hello Again, Another day another state. News for today "COLD" and lots of snow. I have posted some new pictures so be sure to look at the web album link. The Genesee Theatre was probably one of the most amazing theatres we have been to. The pictures do not do it justice and the acoustics were just as great considering it's size, seating like 2400 or so. One sad note, Rhiannon who plays Nancy in the show broke her finger in two places last night. She is ok and perfomed the show tonight but, will not do the show tomorrow. She's in some pain, rightfully so. We are leaving the hotel a little earlier in the morning to combat the bad weather and roads. They also want to get into the theatre early to run the show with understudies. So, I will cut this short and say blog to you tomorrow.

Love Ya,
John & Q

St. Charles, MO

Hello All, Hope everyone is doing well. Not much to post here today we got into St. Charles yesterday afternoon at about 4 pm, checked into the hotel then got a bite to eat at world famous Denny's. Bus call for the theatre was at 5:45 so we ate quickly as usual and got right back on the bus to the theatre. It was probably the smallest audience to date, but they enjoyed the show none the less. It was a very frigid evening, maybe that's what kept everyone in. Speaking of frigid Waukegan, IL temp yesterday was -2 with the wind chill. Guess where we a heading now ?Yup, Illinois. Like i said before this leg is the toughest by far with the bitter cold weather and all the (one offs) meaning one show and off to the next venue. I am cutting this short, our Internet keeps cutting on and off and its now driving me crazy. We will post soon. Check out some new pics I posted, and more to come later today when we get to our hotel. Hopefully.


Love Ya,
John & Q

Galveston, TX

Hello Everyone, Back on the road again for our final leg of the tour an it starts in Galveston, TX. We were supposed to go to Galveston on our prior leg but, because of Hurricane Ike they just could not make it happen. So here we are in Texas again. The show went well and beleive it or not, they came out to see the show. They had just finished most of renevations and had their first show last weekend. The main curtain was still not ready but the show must go on. There were only a few places open downtown so there was not much else to do. We took a ferry off Galveston Island to save us 50 miles to Memphis, TN. The devastation we saw coming off the ferry is completely undescribealbe and went on for miles. Tears came to my eyes as I looked at houses and shops completrely wiped away with cars and trucks burried in sand. We all must be thankful everyday for what we do have. Now on to a more possitive note as I had said before we now headed to Memphis for a layover to Missouri. If you remember we had come to Memphis before and had a great time at BB Kings. So, this time Matt David who is now on the Drowsy Chapperone tour is in Memphis performing on Tueasday. Too bad we are leaving that morning and can not get to see him in the show. Anyway we met up with Matt in the hotel lobby and walked on to Beale St. and BB Kings again for their amazing ribs and live Blues band. It was a blast. we will post again soon. I miss you all. God Bless.

P.S. I will load the pictures as as soon as I can.

Love Ya,
John & Q

We're leaving on a jet plane!

Hello all! We have been home the last 5 days and we are leaving tomorrow - again. We are headed to Galveston, TX and sad to be leaving home, but excited to start the last leg of our adventure. Only 7 weeks to go! Stay tuned, more to come!

Love
John and Q

Sarasota, FL to Milwaukee, WI

Happy New Year! Last time I wrote I was home and feeling sad because we had to leave. We flew to Florida, to Sarasota. Nanie and Papa and drove down to FL to see our show and for vacation. They picked up Auntie Odile and Tonto (Uncle) Pepe to come see the show. Tonto Pepe came all the way in from France! It was so nice to see them and we were so happy they enjoyed the show again! From Florida we flew to Milwaukee, WI. Wow - what a change in weather! From 75 degrees to 10 degrees. Crazy cold! Thank goodness the theatre was next door, but man it was a cold walk still. The theatre held 4000 seats, the biggest theatre next to the arenas we been to. We stayed at the Hyatt which was beautiful, but they are renovating it. Early mornings for us! Quentin has been busy with school and acting. We spent New Year's Eve at an Italian restaurant right next door - to cold to go to far! "We" meaning the usual suspects, Colin, Missy, Mikey and Sue. Dinner was good, but the champagne that Missy's husband sent to her for her birthday was even better. We all celebrated the new year together and it ended up being nice, quiet but nice. Our family away from home! New Year's day we realized that there is a sky walk. This sky walk went from the hotel to the mall to a shopping center and other, random buildings. Of course NOT to the theatre! We were able to at least get out! Thank goodness! We were starting to get cabin fever! So cold!!!! We performed only 3 shows in Milwaukee. Friday and Saturday and tomorrow we are headed home. Good night all!

Picture - Papa, Nanie, Quentin, Aunt Odile and Tonto Pepe!

Love,
John and Q