Dear Diary,

Oh what a day! And that was a top chop too!

Well, September 15 will always be a date I'll remember. I opened off Broadway in New York City!

The day started early for the creative team. 9 am load-in of the set, props and costumes. Then the teching began! Light cues, sound cues, running sheets...a never ending technical race against time! The cast was called at 1:30pm and after getting a head mic tutorial they were ready for the stop and start run through at 2:30pm. What was doubly exciting for me was that my husband and kids were flying in from Toronto to share opening night with me!

Once you're in the actual space new problems pop up and have to be dealt with on the fly. The costume designer was working full speed to get the costumes ready for opening night! I was there watching the tech run, but as the author you start to feel a little like it's out of your hands at this point.

Everyone is running around doing important stuff and you realize there isn't a lot you can do. So I went out and got lunch for the lighting crew!

We set up two huge Plane Crazy posters in the lobby and boarding signs on the desk. Ben Strothmann was taking photos of the tech run for use in press reviews of the show (gulp). The cast was released for dinner at 6:30pm and I got glammed up for the big night. It was so cool to see into the female change room. Makeup, costumes, shoes, everywhere!

It was so exciting to see the sign at the box office "Plane Crazy Sold Out".

And then people started arriving! My husband and kids arrived on time and I got my opening night present from my family -- vintage Pucci sunglasses from the '60s. They are incredible! eBay rocks! Lots of friends and family of the cast and crew were there, which is always great to have on Opening Night! We sat in the back to get a better overview of everything.

And then the show started. I was alternately excited and freaked out! I tried to just sit back and enjoy the show but it was hard. The cast did an amazing job and the crew really out did themselves. I was so proud of everyone. What a thrill!

It seemed to go by so quickly. New business emerged on stage which is always cool to watch, and amongst the crowds guffaws, I could hear my friend Norm (our official London correspondent) laughing!

After the show the cast came out and mingled. The crew still had to load everything back into the truck to make way for the next show! What a job! My husband got into the act moving set pieces and costumes. Whew!

We finally went out for a beer with Norm to celebrate. The official Plane Crazy party is Saturday -- we thought opening night would be too long a day for people to really enjoy a party. After we bid Norm adieu, my husband and I and two very tired kids piled into a cab and went home.

Sweet.

Photograph by Ben Strothmann. Ben Strothmann has been photographing portraits and live theatre for 10 years. Since building his first darkroom in his hometown of Milwaukee WI, his portrait studio now looks out over Manhattan where he shoots headshots for actors and cd covers for musicians. Born to a famous cheesecake lady (Suzy Strothmann of Suzy's Cream Cheesecakes), Ben is also an actor and pianist. Currently he lives in Astoria and studies guitar and Icelandic. See www.benstrothmann.com for more info.

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