[Dixielandjazz] New Jersey 9/24/09

[Katie Cavera]

Hi!  Last Thursday we opened the show to a sold out crowd here at Montclair University.  The opening night audience included my husband Woody, and Banu Gibson.  It's a lot of fun doing the show and knowing that there are people in the house that are going to be responsive and supportive no matter what.  Before we opened here I was unsure how American audiences would react to it.  I thought that they would either really like it or it would bomb.  I've been warning everyone coming to see the show that it's 'very French'. Well I'm happy to report that it was very well received.  Not only did the show go over well on opening night, but people are clamoring to get tickets and we've sold out the rest of the run.  I'm really happy because I hope this will lead to more tours here in America.  In the end I think the Frenchness of it all is perhaps part of the charm.  And it's interesting seeing the lead actors working on the English version of this show. They've
 been changing things and tweeking them each night and by the end of this run next week, I'll bet they have a solid 'English version' - in the same way they worked up a 'Spanish version' and a 'German version'.  

Monday was our first of three days off and we took the train to Manhattan.  Our first stop was "Chez Napolean" a small french restaurant just off 8th Avenue on 50th Street where we had a fantastic celebratory meal.  Then we headed over to the Edison Hotel to hear Vince Giordano and the Nighthawks perform.  There were enough of us there from "Josephine" that in the second set Vince had us come up and play while Nicole sang a couple songs.  It was a blast and we stayed all night catching the last train back to New Jersey and getting back to the hotel at 2 am! On Tuesday we visited the Louis Armstrong house/museum in Queens.  It was a wonderful tour and I got some nice things at the gift shop including a CD that contains rare performances and some home recordings that Louis made in that very house.  After that we went by the hotel in Sunnydale where Bix passed away and took photos.  If you go to the Armstrong museum, they can help you find other sites of
 interest like this.  - They even sell a little map of Queens showing all the jazz sites you can visit.  Since our time was limited we couldn't get out and see more, but if I come back sometime, I'll definitely but the map! Yesterday we went back into the city for an afternoon cast party/lunch where we all received free passes to the Museum of Modern Art.  I ended up enjoying the Museum a lot and it was an unexpected surprise.  So today we start the last of our run here in New Jersey.  I'm really hoping this run leads to more performance opportunities here in the states.  I'd love to live in New York and play "Off Off Broadway" with the show!  Well, we shall see what happens.  The places that this show takes me continues to surprise and delight me so here's hoping that there's much more in store!
Take Care,
Katie
 http://www.katiecavera.com
http://www.youtube.com/kcavera