The Tales Of Mikey Wiseman

So here in Elgin/Chicago, it has been nice. Good weather and such. I didn't take any pics of the hotel room - it looks exactly like the one I was in at Minneapolis! The theatre is nice, the folks there are great by far! I will be taking some pics of the area outside as well as a few inside. If I can only remember that damn camera tomorrow!

I went to a place called Mad Maggie's today. Not so 'Mad'. The whole time I was there with Lucas, the sound guy, they were playing the acoustical version of every rock song you know. Kinda weird hearing U2 and others played acoustical. It gave the whole place a mellow kinda low-key place. Nothing 'mad' about it!

Anyways, I will say the nachos are definitely worth writing home about! You know how when you order nachos and get the beef on them, it's usually the spicy ground beef crumbles? NOT SO here. Seriously it was tender cut steak pieces! Medium-well at that! What a culinary treat! And the amount of jalapenos and cheese? A tastebud extravaganza. Who'd a thunk the world's best tex-mex nachos are in a small suburb of Chicago at a place called Mad Maggies? I finished them off, though I'm regretting it now. SOO FULL!

The first pic is a center stage shot looking right out into the HUGE house. The next couple are pics of a look left and right. The fourth shot is the wonderfully accented golden archway above the proscenium. And if you look close you can see the 'nosebleed' seats! Following that is a pic of the stage floor - immaculate! Such a rich red hue and it is extremely smooth for a hardwood stage floor - gotta say I'm impressed! Anyways, the next shot is just a backstage shot so you can see the vastness of the space. And that final shot is the old stairway that leads up to the old light board. I forgot to get a pic of it, but seriously, talk about franken-board! Instead of buttons, sliders, and all the things you are used to, yeah you had to switch off the main switch (it looked like it weighed 200 lbs!), then you pulled out the fuses to lights you didn't want, then inserted the ones you did want, then you hammered the main switch back on. Talk about a work out!!!!! Damn I wish I got a pic of that lightboard!. Oh well.

Here's pics of my hotel. The hotel used to be a bank here in Columbus. They renovated for sure, but they left a lot of the old vaults and vault doors and such. It really is cool. Now the whole 'to excess' idea can be seen with all the architecture. I mean, it's a bank, for cryin' out loud! A million mile high ceilings, marble-marble everywhere and not an inch was spared! The old mail chute system is still functional and utilized by the hotel.

The nuveau style the rooms are in is quite cool. Do you see the car above the chez lounge? Just all kinds of art and decor around the room! Not to mention....a window in the closet? HAHAHAH!

Here are some pictures of the space where we are rehearsing Church Basement Ladies. (Ironically, we rehearse in a basement.)

Minneapolis is turning out to be like NYC pretty much. Grass and hay wraps are the menu of choice. Water is 5 bucks a bottle. (Yeah, from the spigot ain't bad these days, and it's free). Walked into the grocery store today, and was shocked that I had to walk all the way to the back to get to the dollar, super-fattening, unhealthy, frozen pizzas! Everything else was organic, healthy, vegan, and no less than 6 bucks for a frozen entree smaller than a Healthy Choice snack. Oh well! Ended up with a Margherita pizza (ok, ok, I do kinda like those a bit), as well a coupla pizzas that'll do. Ok, so again I fell into the healthy line, I got a nice supply of V-8 spicy as well.

Ah crap, I'm rambling.