Catching up

It's been awhile and I apologize. There's been quite a bit going on lately. For starters, my grandfather passed away earlier last month. Again I'm so grateful that I was able to see both of my grandparents when I went to Dallas for Christmas. Even though my grandfather had Alzheimers, I think he must have known that my grandmother was gone. My grandfather was in the Air Force and often helped calm my fear of flying by explaining to me how planes worked. I remember family gatherings where between him and my uncles someone would always end up getting out the encyclopedia to verify some fact in dispute. It's a weird feeling to no longer have any living grandparents. My father's father, Grandpa George, died just before I was born, and his mother, Grandma Helen, died in 1999. I haven't attended that many funerals in my life, so it seems like I've lost a disproportionate amount of people in my life this year.

In happier news, the mainstage will be going into rehearsals to write a new show on May 2. Our director will be Marc Warzecha, who was my first touring company director. I'm really looking forward to working with him again and to writing a new show. Sadly, my castmate Matt has decided not to stick around for another show. I'll miss him, but I know he has good reasons for hanging up his hat. The bright side is that he's being replaced by my former shipmate Joe Canale. He starts at the end of April, just before rehearsals begin.

And in continued happy news, Rich and I took a week-long vacation to Hawaii the last week. We had a wonderful time, despite some clouds and rain. You can see pictures if you go here.

And finally, this week's celebrity encounter features Peter Facinelli, who is perhaps most famous for being married to Jennie Garth. Also, Six Feet Under. And some other stuff, like Celebrity Poker Showdown on Bravo. He came to our second show Friday night but only stayed for the first act because a woman he was with (not Jennie Garth) was very, very drunk.