Photos from the preview! (Text added)

Last night we had our preview performance! I was up very late with the adrenalin and excitement of having an audience for our show, and I managed to upload some photos but no text, so here is the text, at last.

The show was just incredible. They told us to expect 50-100 people at the preview, and it was definitely packed, from what I could see onstage. There were a lot of English speakers, so it was neat to get their reactions to the actual spoken lines, rather than the supertitles (we have no idea what the translations are!). It'll be different with mostly or entirely Chinese audiences, and that will be interesting to see as well.

It was particularly exciting being one of the kids, because we are treated like superstars by default -- we didn't even have to be good! (But I think we might have been...) The audience just loves the kids, laughs at everything even when it's not funny. Every single kid in the cast was just glowing and full of energy as soon as they stepped onstage and saw the crowd.

Today we have just a 2-hr notes rehearsal, then a longer dinner break, and then our real opening night -- with a Troika-sponsored party to follow ... and we have been promised American food! What fun.

Jen and I just had lunch at our old favorite place, the Kung Pao chicken place that was near our rehearsal theatre. We haven't been back in ages, but since we had the time, we ran over for lunch. The people in the table next to us were smoking like chimneys, and I actually still smell smoke in my hair and clothes (ugh!) even though I'm back in my hotel now. They also tried to talk to us, and flirted with us. People keep saying that my pale skin is "so beautiful." Ha! Take that, O Tanned Ones! I'll keep my un-tan-able skin, thank you very much.

And now, back to the photos. I have to thank Zachary's mom, who took my camera during the preview and got me all these great shots.