Omigod, it's a Dream Come True!

by Jason Kappus, Legally Blonde ensemble, Seattle Native.
Week 4: Denver (continued)

Wednesday, Feb 10th was my opening night! Show number one for me, show number 500 and something for the company. I remember when former Seattle and 5th Avenue actor Steven Taylor was joining the Broadway cast of The Lion King, he said it was weird because it was his Broadway debut, but for everyone else, it was just another day at work, so it didn't feel like the big celebration it maybe should be. I thought my experience might be similar, but everybody in the cast and crew made a BIG DEAL about my first show. They were very excited, encouraging, and happy for me throughout the whole day.

We had a put-in rehearsal in the afternoon, for both Michael Rupert and myself, so that we both got to practice all our scenes (and costume changes) once through with the cast before our first show. That was actually a little bit more nerve-racking than the actual show, since all eyes were on me during my scenes and it was the first time a lot of my new friends/colleagues were seeing me work. But the put-in went very smoothly - I discovered a couple helpful things about quick costume changes, and how some on-stage traffic works with people actually there.

When I got to the theatre for the show that evening, there was a lovely opening night present from some of the boys in the cast, as well as some flowers from my wife - both very nice surprises. I went over everything in my head during half-hour, got dressed and ready (WAY earlier than I needed to - ha) and then all of a sudden, the overture was starting, and we were underway. My first night on my first national tour. Wow.