The Midnight Train Crossing

Alright, so after the show we went to the stage door and there were some other people there. Two guys came out, I dunno who the first one was, but the other family got to him first, so I went to the second guy and asked him to autograph my program. We asked who he was and he said, "I was Rusty."
To which I thought what luck! First guy I talk to and it turns out to be Franklyn Warfield. So he signed my program and I asked him if I could have a hug because it's one of my goals in life to hug a steam engine. So he gave me a hug. :-D Then he posed with Rusty Bear before dashing off into the distance.

The next person we caught was Drue Williams, "the diesel engine, the one with the accent."
For some odd reason we couldn't find his name in my program so I'm sure that whislt I was helping him look other people ran off, but that was alright, we found it eventually. So he signed my book and posed with GreaseBear before heading off.

The next person I caught was Katie O'Toole who was delighted with Dinah Bear, but I had to explain that she couldn't have her quite yet. Then Joanna Loughran-Richert came over and loved Buffy - especially the hat. I had to take my bears back because they weren't 'allowed' to have them quite yet.
I talked to them for quite awhile and then Jeremy Kocal turned up.
I'll admit it, it was kinda cool to have one of the actors come out and call my name. It would've been neat to see the other family react to that.
So they all split, off to a concert as I later discovered.
So I figured that five actors the first night when I talked to them for a bit more then just "can I have your autograph and will you pose with a teddy bear?" was pretty darn good, I certainly wasn't upset. The photos turned out a little washed out, but that was because we didn't have a flash on the video camera. I think that they look alright.

The next day we got there at about five thirty after getting lost yet again. I sat on the bench outside and sewed. I didn't really want to bother the people since most of the actors that didn't head straight into the theatre were in the middle of cigerettes. My dad was sitting next to me wearing his Starlight shirt. So this guy asked us if we were from London.
No, I said, but we'd seen it in London shortly before it closed.
Oh, said Dustin Dubreuil (for it was he), I was Greaseball.
So I got into a conversation with him about Greaseball vs Electra and how it's quite a different role.
He said that it was a good thing that Drue's Greaseball was different then his because he could still do some of the things that he did as Greaseball, only now as Electra.
He also asked me if I post on Pearls and what my name was there.
I asked him to sign my book and pose with Electra Bear.
He said that he'd seen pictures of my bears on line and seemed a bit impressed with Electra.

So after that we headed over to wait in line for tickets to the show.
There was a woman in front of us, but thanks to the wonderful cleverness of my father and a very nice ticketseller, we got five tickets ($10 for me and my brothers, a bit more for my parents). So we got to sit in the FRONT ROW during the second performance, which was really cool. It was neat to be able to see all of the facial expressions and background stuff. There was quite a nice view of the costumes - Rusty's sparkly and he lights up too.
I wasn't sure that any of the actors would be able to see me, but it certainly seemed like some of the characters (Rusty and Dinah as I noticed) waved at us, so I waved back. I thought that it was just sorta a general wave, but afterwards they were both like, "I saw you!" but I am getting ahead of myself.

On the way out one of the women walking in front of us said something to the effect of, "They have to be able to sing, dance, act and rollerskate, and then all at the same time!"
To which I thought, Yup yup, cool ain't it. Big "yay" to all the performers!

At the Stage Door there were some other people waiting to. More obsessive fans that were seeing it for the second time.
This time around I caught more people. First was Brandon Warner (Turnov) then Paul Lane who was the Swing that night and then B. Tucker Rotundo (Trax)
I'm glad that we got it filmed because then I don't think I'd remember the order, but anyway.
Robyn (Wrench) came out on the phone, so I waited til she got out and then asked her the usual questions. She adored Wrench Bear, loved all the detail work. After all, Robyn said, Wrench is the true star of the play. Robyn was very funny. :-)
Katie (Dinah) came out as well and said hi, but since I already had her, I didn't intercept her and let her sign the other peoples stuff first. Robyn showed her Wrench and I had to pull Dinah out again to let Katie hold her.
Katie said that she saw us, "I waved, did you see me wave, 'cause I waved"
I talked to Franklyn again (he changes really fast!) and said that I liked the show again, and we got to sit in the front row, which was cool. He said, "Yeah I saw you. I waved" So that was cool.
This time Jeremy didn't have to run off (No concert to go to) so he signed my book and posed with Caboose Bear. It is fun to have them come up to me instead of the other way around.

As more and more actors clustered around me I didn't have to ask who they were, they all introduced each other, (Perhaps in hopes that I had a bear of them too)
Then Clarissa Grace (Pearl) and Kait L. Holbrook (Ashley) came out. I talked to Clarissa a bit, got her autograph, and had to dig for Pearl for awhile, but I found her and got Clarissa to pose as well.
I surprised myself by yelling at Kait to wait, but I did, so she waited and I got her autograph/picture as well.
Joanna (Buffy) walked past and said Hi to me, but I was sorta surrounded so I didn't get to tell her that I didn't actually get a shot of her holding Buffy Bear.
Next came Kelly Stensland (Joule). Once again I had to dig a bit but I found her. She loved the hair, she told me that she really wanted the long hair wig. She said it was like a lions mane, and I suppose that makes sense.
Then Aaron Coulson (Purse) Robert E Roby III (Nintendo) and Jared Lee (Prince of Wales) all came out in a group and oo-ed over my bears. Aaron was pretty excited that I had a Purse Bear although I didn't get him to pose with him, they were all coming over too fast. Aaron also nearly walked off with my program.
They were waiting for Suzanne Wogisch (Volta) who I guess was the last person in their car pool.
Robyn was excited when I said that I had Volta Bear, and she wanted to see her, so while Suzanne signed other autographs Robyn looked the bear over. So then Suzanne came over and did the usual autograph and pictures.
I didn't have to say that I had bears any more, the other actors were taking over for me.

After they left we waited a bit more and then Stephen Maestas (Hip Hopper 3) and Dennis LeGree (Poppa) came out and signed autographs.
Stephen asked if my bears were the ones online. He said he'd seen them all. Dennis said I should get to work on making a Poppa Bear.
The last actor we caught was Leesa M. Osborn (Swing/Dance Captian). She hadn't been on that night but I wasn't about to let that stop me from getting her autograph. We also had seen her on TV so we talked with her about that. She posed with all of the characters that she understudies. (All female characters except Pearl and Dinah) and then she headed off. She said she thought she was the last one out so we headed out as well.
And then she was walking in the road with a group of people that looked sorta confused and… well my dad saw them so they were in no danger of being hit, but they *were* standing in the middle of the road in the dark.

At ten minutes to two, my family all reached the giant snoopy dish where we were to meet Taline. After a few minutes I saw a girl walk past who looked quite a bit like the photos I'd seen and wearing a Starlight Express shirt. I walked over to her and observed a very familiar looking teddy bear sticking out of her pocket.
So after introductions and a few minutes of figuring out what exactly we were going, Taline and I headed off around the mall to get to know each other, talk about the show and look at the mall. Well, two out of three isn't bad. :) New friend, Starlight Express and a giant mall, well obviously they rank in that order.
I related stories from my stage door experience while we covered the entire mall at hyperspace.
We were having a hard time figuring out who was going where and how, so that kept us occupied.

While we were talking to my mom (having found her again), my phone rang and it was Megan, reporting that she had arrived a half-hour ahead of schedule. So we darted over to meet her and had to take a round about way of getting to her, after discovering that most of the escalators were broken.
So we ran down to her (eventually) and then hugs and introductions followed. After a bit of thinking (mostly due to the fact that I am quite navigationally challenged) we established that not only were Megan and I staying in the same hotel, but we were across the hall from each other.
We headed off to find food and being the dorks (meant in the nicest possible way) that we are, we walked in a train, in the proper order even.
That didn't last for too long because I was supposed to be the engine and I didn't know exactly where I was going. I continued to serve my function as the engine by deciding where we were going to eat.

After we were done we headed back to the hotel via the shuttle.
Megan took inventory of my teddy bears (which she said look even better in person) and her KCB was reunited with my CB and introduced to Jer-boose. We took inventory of each others costumes and then piled into the car and our dads took us back to the Mall where Taline had been waiting for her dad.
Then we got to do the fun thing where you call somebody and then see them walking towards you as you're talking on the phone.

Taline's parents came and took us to her house where we got 'attacked' by her friendly dog.
Then it was up to her room to get dressed (all together it took about an hour).
I did Megan's hair in exchange for her doing part of my makeup. It didn't take as many bobby pins to do Megan's hair as I thought it would have.
It was a great deal of fun when we started on the makeup. After Megan did her eyes she was delighted to discover that she did look crazy when she opened her eyes wide. Taline's Pearl wig took a bit to get on but once it was finally on it looked great.

We went downstairs and took a few pictures, trying to come up with poses, but we had to go so we didn't have an excessive long time to think about it.

When we got to the theatre we found my family who also took pictures of us. My dad said that Leesa was back by the Door, and Taline wanted to show us where it was.
We walked over there and I greeted Leesa and introduced her to Taline and Megan. We told her that someone at the theatre wanted to take pictures of us, and then she said that we should get pictures with Franklyn, Jeremy and Clarissa - in costume. She ran backstage to investigate into this and then came out again to tell us to come back during intermission. *wide eyes*
We went inside and stood near the box office because we weren't sure exactly what they wanted us to do, but then someone came out and took pictures of us standing in a little alcove off to the side. Then we went in to sit. I think it would've been cooler if we could've sat on the main floor where the cast could see us because we were all dressed up, but in the balcony you can see the overall picture better, so it was a bit of a trade off I guess. Ah well.

While we were sitting there Erin came over. Erin had the Caboose makeup, and most of her costume on under her normal clothes, but she didn't dress up fully because she was alone.

The show rocked, got the usual reaction from the audience after "Please turn off all cell phones, pagers and microwaves"
I had to point out to the other two which one was Jeremy in Rolling Stock. I could've said I was just smart and knew who he was, but actually I had seen his makeup under his helmet once before, so I knew he was the one in black and yellow.
Clarissa I'm sure would be quite glad to know that I took note of that she nearly fell at the beginning of Make Up My Heart. (And Next Time You Fall In Love). She said she fell three times but I don't remember the third.
Megan had an excellent reaction to the end of Make Up My Heart, giant desire to run onstage and give Rusty a hug.
I couldn't pay as intense attention to the song Starlight Express because we were all making sure we had all our stuff so we could dart out.

At intermission we did just that, we ran out of the theatre. Erin was getting dressed as she ran which was great fun.
We ran out of the theatre (darting around people and such) and over to the stage door where there were a bunch of people (I have no idea who) who complimented us on our costumes. We weren't sure what to do so we just waited there, in view of the door, rather hoping that 1) we hadn't been forgotten about and 2) that Leesa would come out. She finally did come out. It seemed like awhile, but I don't think it was very long at all that we were waiting.
It was kinda cute because she looked out and sorta looked around and then waved us in like it was a big secret.
I looked at Taline and I'm sure I looked just as excited as she did.

We got inside. All we really saw was a hallway, and a small room with a cot (when we questioned Jeremy on that he had no idea what it was for). Considering that we were there as the result of some very nice people I thought it was best to just follow directions.
We went around a corner and were standing in the hallway where Jeremy and Clarissa were waiting, (Franklyn turned up a few seconds later). Needless to say, (but I am going to say it anyway) it was really really cool! A really cute image that I now have is Jeremy in full Caboose attire skating down the hallway camera in hand. It seemed that they wanted our pictures just as much as we wanted theirs.
Franklyn and Clarissa introduced themselves to everyone but me, as they "already knew me". (Well, that's what he said :) ).
So I think all together there were like six or seven cameras. Leesa was taking pictures, and I think Jared was, there was someone else, but I couldn't tell who he was.
First Erin, Jeremy and Megan posed (after being told to stand in the doorway) and then Taline and Clarissa and then Franklyn and I. So standing next to him I felt really really short. (I look it too in the pictures). He is taller then I am, but not *that* much! But the skates add on a few inches, so yeah, short me, tall Rusty.
Somewhere in there, Erin gave Jeremy a box of snack cakes for after the show.
We also all got autographed skate wheels. (Except Taline who got a toe stop).
Then we took a picture with all of us. Now that everyone was seeing spots, someone called back a five minute warning so we had to go (as did the actors). On the way out we went past Robyn so I waved to her and she said hi.
Afterwards Taline was quite excited that "even Wrench said Hi to us"
We ran back inside, pretty close to the end of the intermission, but we made it in.

The second act was good, once again, good reaction from Megan during the small Wide Smile.
It is so much fun listening to the audience's reactions when you know what is coming, like during U.N.C.O.U.P.L.E.D.
We all screamed so hard after I Am The Starlight which was fun. Backstage, we had told them where we were sitting, so I was watching to see if I could tell if anybody saw/acknowledged us, but up in the balcony it was hard to.
My family was sitting near the front, visible from the stage, so I heard that Katie and Stephen waved as usual to them.

We headed back out to the Stage Door afterwards, not at a dead run this time. (Megan stopped to buy a shirt).
We met up with our parents again and related our backstage adventures.
It was quite fun knowing who most of the people were when they came out, Taline was always asking me, "Who's that?" There were a few that I wasn't too sure on, but most of them I could report who they were. There was another little girl there who I think we may have helped get autographs because she just followed us when we went up to people.
I gave Franklyn his Rusty Bear before he vanished to sign everybody's book, and he gave me another hug so I was quite happy with that.
Everybody was coming out rather quickly so I don't remember the order, but I was happy that once I started looking at people I could recognize them. That was quite cool.
We talked to Robyn, told her that as the "star" she did a wonderful job. Clarissa came over and I gave her Pearl Bear, and then Katie got her Dinah Bear. She could actually tell that I made her a new one. Suzanne came out, she remembered me. I thought I knew who she was, but I couldn't remember exactly, but anyway, she reposed with Volta Bear and was glad that I had one, because "Volta doesn't have much of a following".
Jeremy came out sometime in the midst of all of this. He signed everybody's book.
Suzanne wanted to take a picture with all of us, so she borrowed Jeremy's camera. Then we had a repeat of the intermission with all of us posing for about a million pictures. Scott came out as well, and wanted to pose with all of us and handed off his camera for a picture of us.
Megan got to hug Jeremy, and she had to do it more then once so that everybody could take pictures. As he put it, it was the "long awaited embrace."
Jeremy said something cute regarding all of the pictures. "I haven't smiled at all tonight."
Joanna was delighted with her Buffy Bear and nearly knocked me over when she hugged me. She asked for my email address to send me pictures of Buffy Bear's adventures (her words, not mine). That was an interesting procedure to locate a pen and paper. (It took Kait's help to find paper).
Megan asked Jeremy to pose for a certain picture - "the 'boose salute" (Megan's words). He laughed but said he would, and he also wore Megan's hat. (Which nearly fell off when he smacked his hand into it.) He asked her if she wanted a nice smile or a evil one. I don't know what she said, but I think we got an insane looking smile. So two crazed cabooses - creepy :)
Also, Jeremy said good-bye to us about four times before he actually finally left.
At some point Stephen posed with my brother, which was cool because he was so excited when Stephen would wave at us in the show. And besides, my brother really liked the Hip Hoppers.

We decided that everyone had left when two guys came out and turned the lights off, so we departed.
We all waited until Taline's parents had come to get her and then piled into our car, where Megan and I checked out the pictures on our digital camera.

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