Stompadu part two

On Saturday night David and I ventured down to Chocolate, aka Charlotte to see my sister Michelle perform in STOMP. Normally my sis is a part of the NYC cast, but occasionally they will allow her to relieve someone in the touring group if she wants to go perform in a particular city. This was her first week with the touring group and we were so excited she was performing close enough so we could go see her.

David has a bunch of old friends from high school that still live down in the Charlotte/Mooresville area. Before the show we were able to go and eat at one of his friend's restaurants in downtown Charlotte, Tin Tin Box and Noodles. I absolutely love this place! It has great hibachi style food, and my favorite thing to get there is the dumplings and noodles. So grood and great. Plus it was right across the street from the theater so it made for a quick pit stop before the show.

The show was fantastic! Michelle was awesome as usual and we also got to see her old tap buddy Nicholas perform with her as well. He played the lead male role 'Sarge' and has been with the touring cast of Stomp for several years. They both were so fun to watch! A million thanks to Mash for getting us great seats and for free! I think we were only like 10 -15 rows back from the stage and dead center too!

After the show Michelle took us back stage, introduced us to the cast, and let us explore the set! I was so stoked about this because when we saw it in New York we weren't able to go up on stage afterwards. We got to play with her drums or 'bins' as they are called, see the set up, and she also showed us where she ran into the set and got this nasty bump on her head. Ouch! Workers comp? Hmmmm....

The touring show is slightly different than the New York show so it was fun to notice and see the differences. A few of the characters add new elements to the show because they cater to the individual in the role making it fun to see different spins on a character. The set is different too and in one number Michelle gets to swing from the upper level of the set (seen above) while drumming unlike the NYC show where she has to stay on the first level. Mash says it is so scary because the set moves while they are swinging! They even do this one move where they push off and back real far from the set suspended in air. She was worried about this because one time she missed her footing on the way back in and collided with the set. But by Sat night she had it mastered!

After touring the backstage area, Michelle signed autographs for Stomp fans eagerly waiting outside. It was kind of strange watching people ask for my sister's autograph. I felt like charging them, but Michelle would never have allowed it. She was very gracious and humble, and talked to them answering many of their questions about the show and cast.


Since Charlotte is about an hour and a half from the boro we decided to stay overnight instead of drive back super late. We took Michelle and Nicholas to The Cheesecake Factory so they could get some much needed calories and nourishment and we had a great time hanging out and catching up. Then we crashed at Mash's hotel and were lucky enough that she had a room to herself and an extra bed just for us! Thanks again Michelle and Nicholas for a fabulous evening! We had so much fun and hope to do it all again when the show comes to Chapel Hill!