Beef & Boards Dinner Theatre

Well, Divas, we have come to a sad, sparkly moment; our last DivaBlog. We closed High School Musical today to a sold-out house and an amazing audience. It was a sad, sad thing to say goodbye to the Wildcats, but we gave it our all and had a great last show. 

This whole week has been full of “lasts,” and it’s hard to keep them from creeping into your head as you go about your show. This is our last two show day, our last visit to Huddles (so sad!), our last time performing “Bop to the Top,” last time squeezing into those pink pants (yay!), etc.  All you can do is know that when casts bond, like the Wildcats have, we will definitely keep in touch and as actors our paths cross frequently. 

On Saturday we had the pleasure of seeing the designer run (feels like just yesterday we were having ours!) of the next show at B&B, Church Basement Ladies.  Karen, our Ms. Darbus, and Eddie, our HSM director, are in show, and wow is it funny!  We had a great time, and although we wish we could have seen the whole thing with costumes, etc, there’s no doubt it will be an amazing show.  Seeing Eddie dress up in a Hawaiian Bunny suit is going to be worth the price of admission alone!  We wish them a sassy and sparkly tech and run. 

Today before the show we had a toast to cast members Pete (Zeke) and Sally (Martha) who will be getting married in August!! They are such a sweet and special couple.  

The Wildcats are scattering to the wind now that we’ve closed. S is writing this on an airplane en route to NYC, where she will hop onto a bus to Albany and head straight into rehearsals for her next show, a Harry Chapin review.  R heads back to NYC to reunite with his honey and “live the dream” as we say, which means auditioning, spending time with friends, and waiting for that next gig.  Some people are heading to spend time with families in the Midwest, some are heading of to college, and some are just taking a breather.  

We would like to take a moment to thank the entire B&B team, including Eddie, Ed, Liz, Sandy, Shaun, Sam, the Stark family, Patricia, Brian, Kristy, Michael for helping us create this blog, and everyone who helped us stay fabulous and made our show a huge success.  To the cast; we love you SOOOO much, and will miss you mucho.  And to you, divas, for being such wonderful audience members, readers, friends, and supporters of live theater.  Please continue to see shows, tell your friends if you like them, and always, STAY FABULOUS!  ‘Till next time! 

XOXOXO,

R&S

Divas! Well, we’re rounding the bend here at East High with our last few days, but what would our life be without a little drama! And we certainly got ours yesterday- no way we would end this run quietly! Read on for the excitement: 

Since we last spoke, everything has been running smoothly and sparkly.  Audiences have been awesome, the show is still growing and full of energy, and the Divas have been trying to do their thing as best as possible. This past weekend Dad of S and Brother of S came to see the show, which was fun, and after the Sunday night show R drove up to Lake Geneva to spend some time with his family.  It was our last official day off while here in Indy, and the weather was gorgeous. 

We returned on Tuesday, and were told by our stage manager, Ed, that Tim (Troy) and Karen (Darbus) were sick, and to take care of ourselves and wash our hands a lot.  They both were still giving amazing performances- you would never know those two had a sniffle!  Illness can run rampantly through casts, so it’s important to protect yourself and stay healthy!  Here are S’s tips for never getting sick:

1. Sweat once a day
2. Do a saline nasal rinse on your sinuses everyday, in the shower is the best time
3. Try a probiotic- they do wonders for your tummy!
4. Sparkle! And don’t worry about getting sick!

 In any case, they both plowed through the Tuesday show and Wednesday matinee, but Tim wasn’t feeling any better.  After some appointments, it was determined that our poor Wildcat needed to go to the hospital and have some bigger tests run on him, just to make sure the doctors weren’t missing anything.  This meant that Sam, Tim’s understudy, would be going on for the Wednesday night show!! 

We hadn’t had an understudy rehearsal for Sam yet, and thank goodness he had taken the initiative to do his homework and learn Troy’s material.  With a music rehearsal and a quick talk before the show with the cast about some changes we were making, he was ready to go! We had to cut some of Sam’s material from the show and redistribute his solos so that there weren’t any holes when he stepped out of his normal parts.  It was an exciting moment for him, and the whole cast, because when a new person steps into a role it requires everyone to listen, be on their toes, and help whenever possible.  

Sam did an INCREDIBLE job- especially without even having rehearsal!  There were a few times that his fellow Wildcats gently guided him around the stage, but he just knocked it out of the park.  We are sending healing thoughts and vibes to Tim, and hope he comes back to us ASAP.  We’re having an official “put-in” (understudy rehearsal) for Sam today, in case he needs to go on again tonight. 

And now, *tear* we only have 4 shows left!  It’s almost time to start packing up the sparkle and move on.  We’ll have one final DivaBlog before we go on Sunday.  Have a great sunny Thursday, divas, and send some healing thoughts to Tim!

XO,

R&S

 Hello Divas! 

We hope everyone had an amazing holiday- our breaks were incredible, but sped by so fast!  It was wonderful to see our families and friends, for just a few days, and then make our way back to Indy.  The cast reunited on Wednesday afternoon, and our first two shows back were great! It was a little hard to get back in the saddle, and pull on those pink hot pants after 3 days of holiday food! :)  We were grateful to have 2 AMAZING audiences on Wednesday, and we gave a talk-back to an amazing camp group after the matinee.   

Doing the show after a few days off was very refreshing- its amazing how just the tiniest of breaks can help you find new stuff and breathe life into something you’ve done about 40 odd-times.  

We received our official 2-week closing notice while we were away, and it’s so crazy to think that our Wildcat adventures are coming to a close so soon! But, rather than get depressed, we’re pumping all of our energy into our last eleven performances.     

Now, onto the dish- we had our first major wardrobe malfunction last night!!  S has a very very quick costume change from her cheetah dress into the “Bop to the Top” ballroom outfit.  S lays out the costume with military precision during intermission, and if anything, really anything, goes wrong, there’s a chance I won’t make it on time for the “old crab mug” scene that goes into “Bop to the Top.” 

So far, everything has gone smoothly, but last night, disaster struck!  The zipper on the dress got hopelessly broken. And, as most of the cast is onstage, there was no one to help poor S!  Thankfully, Karen (Mrs. Darbus) was in her dressing room and when a screaming S ran in she frantically helped her out of the dress and into a makeshift costume. (We threw on the salmon dress from “What I’ve Been Looking For.”) S managed to get on her jewelry and entered just a little late into the scene.  So mucho thanks to Karen, Shavannah (who covered her missing line), and R (for not laughing when S appeared in her jumbled up costume) – you guys are the best!                                                      

The rest of the show went off without a hitch, and S is confident that it was a one-time blunder.  

R & S also made their triumphant return to Huddles. We missed that frozen yogurty goodness so much!! We took pictures this time.  S is three visits away from a free cup of yogurt.  

That’s about all the news for now- We have shows tonight, tomorrow night, and 2 on Sunday, so come see us if you haven’t yet!  Dad of S and Brother of S are passing through Indy on Sunday and are going to come see the evening show, yay!!   

Stay fabulous and hydrated- it’s hot out there divas!!

XO, R&S

back at our Fav yogurt place- Huddles!!

R&S love a good preshow treat!

oh no! all gone!

Hello Divas! Sorry it’s been awhile- we’ve been working hard like good little divas and having a great time in the show and around town.  We’ve had some great shows and really fun audiences the past couple days, and we’re winding down before our little hiatus over the 4^th. Our last show this week is tomorrow (Friday) night, and then we’re off until our matinee on Wednesday the 7^th, while the 1964 concert is in town.  The cast is kind of scattering to the wind over the break- having four days off in the middle of a sit-down (a longer) run is not common, but a welcome vacation for sure.  A lot of people are heading home to see their families, honeys, and some lucky cast members are even heading to Disney World!! Jealous! 

We’re definitely going to miss each other and the show, and it’s crazy that we’ll have less than two weeks left when we come back. It’s all going by so fast!! 

Well, before we get too sad let’s catch you up on some Wildcat gossip from the last five days.  Item one: Today is Cheerleader Jenn’s birthday! Yay!! We love her and she is so talented, and hopefully she can have a special day with everyone at the show tonight.  Item two: The cast has a new obsession (ok, mostly S has the obsession…everyone else is much more calm about it) with Huddles Frozen Yogurt. It’s a new self-serve frozen yogurt joint in the NORA plaza. It’s incredible. Where else can you get red velvet cake, or cake batter, or pistachio, or pomegranate fro-yo with an incredible variety of mix your own toppings?  S is clearly enamored. It’s R&S’s goal to get a picture of us on the Huddles Facebook page.  So, go try it, be amazed, friend them on Facebook, and tell them you want R&S on the page.  You won’t be disappointed in the yogurt, it’s awesome. 

Item three: the accident and injury report. R&S suffered sunburns last week, and while R has recovered nicely and has a lovely tan, S has some ridiculous tan lines that are clearly visible in her act two cheetah dress. Ugh.  Tim (Troy) scratched his cornea playing in the yard with his dog on Tuesday, and is definitely a pirate now.  Patch and all. He’s allowed to take it off for the show, and he’s so cute he makes it work.  Yesterday in the show when he exits by us S yelled, “Bye Troy! SEEEEEEEE you later!” We don’t think he was amused.  R scratched his hand during the Wednesday matinee in the finale; he scraped it on the side of the set when handing off the basketball Tim gives him.  He was bleeding, but held it together very well and got a cute little band-aid after.  This was also the same show that a leak started in the ceiling and water was dripping right on the stage! Not too cool for flipping cheerleaders and dancing divas! But it’s been fixed and all’s well.   

Radio Disney was at the show last night; it’s always fun to have those folks around, and we have a new bass player in the Wildcat Band, Fred, who is so awesome and a great guy.  Also, a special hello to Jamie, our new friend we met at Panera yesterday- you are adorable, and you’re right, that strawberry scone was like fresh-baked heaven.  MMmmm. 

That’s about all the news; Mama of S comes into town tomorrow, and we have a fun girly day planned before she sees the show tomorrow night. We’re then hitting the road and driving to Pittsburgh, S’s hometown, for the holiday.  R is heading back to the Big Apple for the break, what will the divas do without each other?  

Have a fun, safe, holiday, and we’ll see you after the break Little Divas!!

 XO,

R&S

A sunny and sparkly afternoon to you all!  The weather has been just lovely the past few days and R&S and the rest of the cast have been making the most of it!  Last we spoke was Tuesday evening, and on Wednesday we had a lovely matinee with lots of groups, camps, and friends in the audience.  Our dear friends John and Ryan from Jersey Boys were in the house, as well as Trisha and her eldest divas.  

The show was fast and fun, and then all of us headed to the cast farmhouse for a cookout!!  Tyler, Stephanie, and Alex manned the grill, making hot dogs, veggie dogs, burgers, corn, and veggie kebabs. Everyone brought something, so in no time the house was filled with yummy dips, cookies, and all other varieties of goodness. We all had a great evening together and ate waaayyy too much. Good think we’re all dripping sweat at the end of each show- it allows us all some diet wiggle room Thanks for hosting such a fun night farmhouse friends!!! 

On Thursday, R&S took care of some very important business; getting our roots done.  Now, this may shock and amaze you, but R&S are not entirely natural blondes. Yes, we know it’s shocking.  BUT- maintenance and hair care is very important to the divas, so we visited our dear friend, the very talented (on stage and in the salon!) Carol Worcel, and she got us fixed up in a jiffy. We are blonde twins again, roots be gone! 

Thursday’s show was great- the audience was very fun and attentive, and the cast had just had over 24 hours off, so we felt great.  In the opening number, “Start of Something New,” R&S have worked in a bit where R sprays Binaca into S’s mouth, and then his own. We came up with it in rehearsal and thought it was funny, so we bought some Binaca and have been doing it since opening. Well, we thought it would be fun if we switched it up and sprayed singer’s throat spray (usually some kind of mixture of herbs, honey, etc) instead of Binaca, because, well, that’s what R&S would do…and actually spraying the throat spray was an added bonus for us while singing. We picked up a little bottle at Whole Foods, and it’s a brand we had never tried before, but we figured what the heck, it all has to taste the same, right?! WRONG.

 We made the mistake of not testing it out before we got onstage for the first time, and let us tell you- the first time that spray hit our mouths we thought we were going to die. It tasted like licking dirty trees. But, what could we do!? We had to keep on going and act like our mouths didn’t taste like a redwood forest.  We know better; a diva should never be surprised on stage…and in general it’s best to test small amounts of anything that’s going into your mouth before going whole-hog. Lesson learned. However, we’re still using the spray, because it works great for the voice. We’re hardcore like that. 

Alright, divas, that’s all for now. Enjoy the pics below…S took a stroll on the Monon trail today while R was getting some errands done before the show tonight. Catch you in  a few days, and stay fabulous! 

XO,

R&S

S brought cupcakes that looked like cheeseburgers to the cookout!

some of the delicious spread at our picnic/cookout

troy, jack scott, chad, R, and kelsi are living for the CORN!

We love these guys!! Look at our roots, though...

whew! blonde again! thanks carol!

a lovely day on the monon trail

Good Evening Little Divas!  R&S just returned from our first show back of the week, and it was great! The audience was very vocal (sometimes a little too much- it’s never okay to answer your cell phone during the show, no matter how great a diva you are!) But we had a great time- there’s nothing like that first show back after a day off; you feel refreshed and vocally rested, and it’s like revisiting an old friend. I know it sounds silly, we’ve only had one day off, but it only takes that long to feel the difference!

We also had a surprise backstage visit from Eddie, which was fun!! Always great to see him; it’s nice when directors periodically check in on their shows; sometimes you may have gone off on a tangent and not even know it, and just the mere presence of your director reminds you of your intention and goals. 

We had a really fun time this morning on the Smiley Morning Show, despite the torrential rain- Smiley, KJ, Will, and the whole crew made us feel so relaxed and welcome; we had such a great time, even at 7:30 in the morning :)  Jessica and Tim came too, which made it a BLAST- they sang a lovely rendition of “The Start of Something New” and then the divas sang their usual “What I’ve Been Looking For.”  Smiley asked us great questions, and we even heard from a caller that saw the show on Sunday and loved it!  We were out of the studio by 9, and then had a little breakfast and went back to bed.  Pictures from the event are below. 

R&S also have to say hello to a very special little diva; Brenna and her Mom, Christy. We missed them after the show Sunday and wanted to spend a special hello your way. Stay fabulous and sparkle! Thank you for coming to see the show! 

Tomorrow we only have a matinee, and it is going to be a good one already! Our friend Trisha is coming with her two little divas, and our friends from Jersey Boys are returning the favor and coming to see us!  We can’t wait to see them all, and then because we don’t have an evening show, the cast is having a cook out!  Yay!  We promise to take lots of pics and share.  That’s all for now, stay dry and sparkly!

XO, R&S

us with Smiley, KJ, and producer Will!

Us with Smiley and KJ

singing divas

all Smiles!

R, S, Gab, and Troy

Hi Divas! Sorry we’ve been MIA the past few days; we’ve been busy doing the show and settling into a normal performance schedule. Friday night we had a lively and fun show after an amazing lunch date with our friend Trisha Shepard and her new baby Daisy Mae, and then Saturday we saw the matinee of Jersey Boys, which was AMAZING! It was so nice to see our friends John and Candi, and the show was just slick; such wonderful performances across the board.  The run is mostly sold out, but we encourage you to treat yourself to a wonderful show…after you come see HSM of course!  

Saturday night’s show was really fun- we’re finding our groove and the show just speeds by for all of us.  We were just discussing today that every night during the finale, when we hit our final note and sing for our suppers for the last time, we’re always thinking “I don’t want it to be over!”, which is a rare occurrence for a show that you’ve settled into.  The audience energy definitely keeps us going. We met some great audience members after Saturday’s show- we love it when you dress to impress, divas, so break out that HSM gear and SPARKLE! :) 

Sunday, our 2-show day, was great because we welcomed back crew head Shaun from his brief hiatus (keep off that knee!), and although Dave, Sandy, Samuel and the team did AMAZING while he was gone, we do love to see him back in action backstage.  In between shows, R&S did some important business poolside…like wishing our Dads Happy Fathers Day!  It was such a treat to see so many Dads at both Sunday shows- we hope the cast and B&B made your day special if you did happen to celebrate with us. 

After the show Sunday night, everyone was pooped and headed out to relax to enjoy our day off, today.  This past week was actually our only 8 show week (which is the standard show schedule for most theaters), so it’s crazy that the hardest part of our run is over!  We have 7 shows this week coming up (no Wednesday night), and then 5 the next week, because of our 4^th of July hiatus (get your tickets for 1964!).  Crazy! 

Although the weather didn’t exactly cooperate with our day off plans today, (what is going on with these crazy storms!? R&S do not like tornados, or thunderstorms, or torrential rain. Not good for the complexion.) we had plenty of indoor activities to keep us busy (shopping.), and are trying to get an early night because we have a really fun appearance tomorrow on the Smiley Morning Show!  If you’re up and about, be sure to catch us on the show at 8am on Z99.5, WZPL. We’ll be singing and talking to Smiley and his crew, and I’m sure we’ll have some fun pics to post. 

That’s all for now- gotta get that beauty sleep and get ready for another early morning! 

XO, R&S

It’s a lovely Friday morning over here at La Casa de R&S; we’ve had an exciting last few days promoting the show and performing it at night.  Wednesday night’s show was lots of fun, and we went to bed earrrly because we met our publicity director, Patricia, bright and early at 7:30 to head down to the WishTV studios downtown.   

Taping IndyStyle was so much fun- Andi and Tracy were super nice, and their set is really neat. We did an impromptu weather cut-in with Randy Ollis, and then got ready for our segment.  Tim did a nice interview with Andi, and then R&S sang “What I’ve Been Looking For.” We had some technical difficulties; we only heard the track once before the segment, and the sound folks were having a little trouble piping it in to the studio. When the time came to go (on live TV, friends), our track didn’t come in on the speakers in the studio, so we couldn’t hear a thing!  Later we learned it was playing on TVs at home, but no one in the studio could hear it.  But, Tracy stepped in and cut to commercial, and we got the problem fixed. We did the number after commercials and it was so fun!  

We all grabbed some breakfast after the shoot, and then took naps (a 6:30 wakeup is a little difficult for theater folk that need their beauty sleep) and hit the gym before the show.   

Thursday nights are sometimes a little hard- we call them our “Wednesdays” because we’re midway through our week, and that day off is not quite in sight yet. But, we’re learning, and the cast feels it too, that once you start this show, it’s like a massive snowball of energy and you can’t help but get excited and go along with it.  Everyone is feeling good and doing great. 

It’s fun to see some backstage rituals that are becoming a part of the show; you do something once with someone, or something happens, and it becomes a routine; a ritual, almost, that you feel would alter your show should you not do it one night.  S and Pete (Zeke) have a secret “Team 4” Handshake (when we were blocking the opening of act 2, Eddie gave us all letters and numbers to get our entry patterns right, and would just call out A/2/B/5/D/4/3, etc, to get us onstage…Pete and S were 4, so we took it upon ourselves to become Team 4, clearly the best Team ever.)  In any case, right before we enter at the top of the act, we MUST do our Team 4 handshake.  It makes small appearances during the show too, but blink and you’ll miss them!   

The show was a blast, and then R, S, Stephanie (Kelsi), Shavey (Chad), Shavanna (Taylor), Becca Lee, and Alex (Jack Scott) headed out for some (can you say….) KARAOKE!!  It was so fun- we wailed to Carrie Underwood, Faith Hill, Goldfinger, Michael Buble,  and had a great time. This cast is so fun to hang out with.

 Today, R&S are having lunch with a DEAR friend, Trisha Shepard, news anchor at RTV6 here in Indy.  We met doing Snow White (she starred as the lovely princess) at Beef and Boards in 2008 (it ran while we were doing The Sound of Music…R was Trisha’s handsome prince, and S was her understudy, should any pressing news matters take her away from the show).  Trisha is a gem, and we can’t wait to meet the newest addition to her family, little Daisy!  Then off to the theater for a fun Friday night, and then a bunch of us are seeing the Jersey Boys tour that is in town tomorrow afternoon! The cast has some mutual friends in the show, and we can’t wait to see them shake their tails and sing those high notes.  

That’s all for now- be sure to check out the press that’s rolling in on the Beef and Boards website (beefandboards.com), and we’ll post some pictures from our adventures at IndyStyle and after. Stay Fabulous! 

XO, R&S

with Tracy- he is very tall!! We are also kind of short, though...

Singing on WishTV Indy Style

doing the weather with Randy Ollis!

love a good breakfast!!

Tim got a little fiesty with his pancakes

Hi Divas!

Just a quick hello- we’re inbetween shows, (matinee was great- Amazing, fun audience! Although, our backstage crew head, Shaun, was out from the show with a hurt knee, and we miss him terribly- feel better and come back!) but we just had our interview with Paul Irwin at Indy Catholic Radio and wanted to post a few pics of the view from their amazing studio in The Pyramids.

Our interview, which was so fun, will air this Saturday the 19th on 89.1 CatholicRadio at 1pm. Or you can stream live at CatholicRadioIndy.org and just hit “listen now.” We chatted about the show and our own humble beginnings

Also, tomorrow at 9am we will be performing on Wish TV 8 on the “IndyStyle” segment. R&S will be there, along with Tim (Troy), doing an interview and live performance. Be sure to check us all out or visit WishTV.com for the segment later. Now, what to wear!?

That’s all for now! 

XO, R&S

you can see Indy from the window! What a view!

I love that if you look closely in this picture, you can see R's cute little face

Hello Divas- it’s a bit gloomy over here in La Casa de R&S; our Honeys both went home today and we are missing them already.  However, we had great visits and will see them again in just 2 weeks.  We have a short layoff over the 4^th of July while the 1964 Beatles Tribute Concert is running, and we’ll go visit them then.  

We last updated Saturday night, and on Sunday we had a fun day, as expected!  The bagels and donuts were amazing, and our matinee was great too!  Family of Ryan was in the audience, and it was so nice to see them. They are just the most beautiful family! We had a short meet-and-greet afterwards with some local Brownie Troupes, and it was so fun to meet everyone!  S was a Brownie for a few years and Brother of S is a boy scout, so we are very fond of the B/GSA programs.  And, do we even have to mention our fondness of the cookies?! 

After the matinee, R spent some QT with his family, and honey of S arrived!! He saw the evening show, and sent back a very special present!  S and Honey of S (who is also in showbiz) have been together for a long time, since middle school, and years and years ago we started passing a toy monkey back and forth when we would do shows together. It’s just an ugly old dog toy, but we thought it was funny, and would dress it up like each other’s characters and hide it in our dressing rooms, etc. This monkey has quite a resume, and has played all kinds of roles from Javert in Les Miserables to Magnolia in Showboat to Cogsworth in Beauty and the Beast, etc. A very versatile monkey, indeed!  In any case, HoS made a Sharpay monkey, and had it brought backstage before the show.  It’s adorable- and even has a cake splattered on it!! What a thoughtful guy :)  We’ll post some pics below. 

The evening show was good- we were all kind of running on fumes and glitter, as we say, because we hadn’t had a full day off at all yet, and doing our tech week and opening week of shows has been a LOT of singing and dancing. But the Wildcats powered through and did a great show. And, Jessica’s cake toss was amazing, as usual.  

After the show we all cleaned up and headed out to watch the Tony awards.  I think most of our predictions came to pass- but the show in general was a little boring, if we may, and kind of a technical disaster. It all sort of seemed like a final dress rehearsal, not the real thing.  But, it’s always good to expose the masses to the wonders of live theater, regardless of the presentation.  

Monday was our blessed day off- we spent it with our Honeys hanging out downtown and in Broadripple, but we’ll check in with everyone else and see what they did too!  Now it’s Tuesday, and we’re gearing up for a new week of Wildcat excitement! We really missed everyone and can’t wait to dive back in to the show.  We have 8 performances this week, and tomorrow in between shows we’re so excited to have an interview with Mr. Paul Irwin at WSPM Catholic Radio (89.1).  

That’s all for now, divas- have a fabulous start to your week! 

XO, R&S

Sharpay monkey! she's amazing!

Sharpay and her monkey- we match!

thanks Honey of S!