We spent Halloween weekend in Milwaukee, which I wasn’t particularly excited about, just not knowing what to expect. I was glad to be staying in a Hampton Inn (the best beds) and be in one city for 3 days. We arrived to the large theatre and were really able to spread out with our full show and in a fairly large city for the weekend. Unfortunately our booking was a little strange and we didn’t have the best crowds, which we have been spoiled with up until now. It was fine and we still did a great show every night, but wished we were sharing it with more people. Milwaukee was a really fun town, though. I didn’t know much about it, but it was nice to explore and get to know this city.
Our first night in Milwaukee we went to a really cool bar called Safehouse. We had heard from lots of friends that we just had to get over there. It is in the theme of a secret agent/speakeasy sort of deal. We had to find out where the entrance was (an unmarked door down an alley) and then a few of us learned of the password to enter. We arrived at the door and a couple girls greeted us and said we may enter if we knew the password. Those of us who did headed in through a secret door behind a fireplace and down a mirrored hallway into a unique, quirky space. From there we got to watch as our friends struggled to get in. They had cameras for us to watch as they had to complete acts to enter the bar. Some had to act like penguins, others did full runway walks with boas, etc. It was a riot. The place was very cool with all sorts of little nooks and crannies, unique drinks, secret passages, and puzzles to get you into that secret agent mode!
Saturday was a 2 show day, but I was determined to get out and see some of the city (as usual) so I walked with Alex Pepper (our dance captain) over to the Milwaukee Art Museum, which I had heard was a really cool spot right on Lake Michigan. I have always found the great lakes to be really incredible, so I was glad to walk over there. We were pretty blown away by the stunning architecture of this building. It was voted sexiest building in 2010 and I can see why! It has been used in a number of movies and things. The dramatic wings or sails retract around the building a couple of times throughout the day and it was a pretty spectacular thing to watch on such a beautiful day right out on the water. Inside, the light in the main atrium is just stunning. And who would have thought… Milwaukee?!
Sunday I went to church and the Katie and I headed down to Milwaukee’s historic Third Ward and the Public Market.It’s a large indoor market with all sorts of local food vendors and was a great way to have a taste of the local flavor and see a really cool part of town with all kinds of interesting shops. The big event of the weekend was our Halloween party on Sunday night after our two shows. Our party planning committee did a great job planning 2 parties. Since we have kids on tour we had a separate party for them first where we had gingerbread haunted houses to decorate, pizza for dinner, pin the tail on the donkey, etc. You better believe, though that we had a huge time with the kids and parents playing musical chairs, limbo, and dancing down a soul train line! Ha ha! Later that night we reconvened for a “adult” party with costumes, music, etc. I dressed as JFK, complete with Jackie O as my date, but the costumes were really excellent. Some of the best included Liat after the war, twin Christian Marriners, drunk Nellie, our Capt. Brackett dressed as a geisha, our Marcello dressed as his wife, Annelle, and Little Richard!
Liat, abandoned and pregnant after the war. Nellie... "Am I drunk? Yes I am!"
We quickly realized that we all wanted to have our own games of musical chairs and limbo, so you better believe we had 2 vicious competitions. It was a RIOT to see all of us wrestling each other down to win. I won a solid second place in musical chairs and won the adult round of limbo, also! Solid showing! Ha ha!
Tripp Hampton
Ps- The title of this post comes from a Gershwin song from my tour last year.
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