Signing Off........

Hey there! Sorry It's taken me so long to wrap this blog up, but it was absolutely crazy my last few days in Japan as well as in the U.S. . So, I'm back in Worcester and, after a few days of sleep, am still adjusting to Eastern Daylight Time. My travels from Osaka to Worcester(via Seoul and New York) took about 30 Hours to complete. Needless to say, it's good to be home.

However, you haven't heard the craziest part yet. Some of you may have heard about an earthquake or two that hit Japan last week. Well, the first one struck during our final performance- It was one of the scariest thing I've ever experienced in my life. There we were suspended from the band bridge geting ready to begin Lucy Sorlucco(Schneider)'s final number when all of a sudden things began shaking like mad. As the band bridge is supported 50% from the ground and 50% from the cieling, we shook even more than most of Osaka. Not to mention the existing questions about the ability of the theatre's grid to hold the set's weight without a 6.8 level earthquake. I'm not ashamed in telling you that as soon as I heard the Music Director say "GO!", I was the first person(besides him) off the band bridge and under a door frame.

As soon as things settled down, which took about a half an hour, we finished the show, said our prayers, and finished packing for the next days journey. Well, at about midnight the same night, wasn't there another earthquake- this time a 7.2 that lasted for almost a full minute. When I teel you that the walls were swaying, I use no hyperbole. Because the buildings in Japan are built to absorb the movement created by an earthquake, the joints of the building were allowed to shimmy to the beat of mother nature's drum. For anyone who has not has the pleasure of an experience like this, let me tell you that you can live a full life without having one. In fact, I think it took a few years off of mine!!

OK, with that out of the way, we left the hotel at 9 AM and flew to Seoul, arriving at 3PM. We had a layover in Seoul until our 7:45PM flight took us straight to New York in a lovely 14 hour tour on which I slept all of about two hours. We arrived at JFK at about 8PM EST(9 AM Seoul/Osaka time), where Mike Kaz picked me up for the journey's final leg to beautiful Worcester, arriving home at 1:30 AM EST. All in all, about 30 hours from doorstep to doordstep.

As I said, I'm having a little trouble adjusting back to the local time, but should be OK in a few days. I thank all of you for reading this blog, as I have enjoyed writing it for such wonderful people. I may not be Hemmingway or Hugo, but I hope I was able to let you visualize at least a little of the world I was calling home for these few months.

Many offerings of peace, love, and harmony to all of you(I know it's corny, but it's true!) and. since I'm now in the U.S., I say for the last time- An-nyong Hayseo, Ja Mata, Sayonara, Auf Wiedersain, Good-bye. Thank you, God Bless and may all your adventures be Asian.......Well,
at least in spirit. BYE!

Peace,
Steven "Gags" Gagliastro

The Aquarium Here Is Osaka-Riffic!!!.........

And it is, too! I spent today(Fri.) with Kendra(LuLu from the Foothills production) seeing a great old castle and its' garden about an hour outside of Osaka and ended our day with a visit to the Osaka Aquarium. It was fabulous. The New England Aquarium is excellent but this was out of this world! I don't have the time to list all the species here, but there were creatures from every corner of the world- even a few Monkeys! Monkeys! At an aquarium! Can you beat that?

So, as I've said, two days of shows and a day(literaly 24 hours) of travel and I'll be home. I can't wait to see everyone, especially those of you who owe me money!(Just kidding! I'll just have my lawyers contact you...) But seriously, I am really excited about doing the everyday things like driving- both my car and golf balls, seeing my niece Anna and falling asleep on my comfy old green couch.

Again, sorry to be short, but I'll write again tomorrow or Sunday before I leave. Talk to you then!
Ja Mata!
Peace,
Steve

My Luggage Feels Like Osaka Potatoes.......

Or at least a sack of corn(that was for those of you who`ve worked in produce). 　Hello　from　　Ｏｓａｋａ　ａｎｄ　Ｉ‘ｌｌ　apologize　ahead of time for the craziness of the text and punctuation, as this keyboard has so many characters on it, it`s tough to tell which way is up. For example, I can`t find a normal apostrophe, only this backwards one(`). I only hope I don`t launch some space probe prematurely with my mis-typings.

OK, so it's(found it) Thursday night and - tadah!- we have a bridge! That means the show will go on as normal with no changes. That also means there are no rehearsals and a day off tomorrow. I'm hoping to see the local aquarium, as it's supposed to be fantastic! I also would like to see the Osaka Castle, another "must see" according to our tour guide Mickey. Remind me to tell you about him when I get home.....

For those of you who know Shrewsbury native Catherine Brunelle, word is that she is in the cast of the soon to open Broadway version of "Little Women" starring Sutton Foster. She was also Sutton's understudy in "T. Modern Millie" and was most recently spent a few months in the acclaimed hearing impaired version of "Big River". I got this info from Andrea(McArdle) and from the actor playing Jim in "Big River" , who came to see our show in Tokyo during his press tour promoting the show's upcoming Japanese tour. Great to hear she's still doing so well.

Not much else to say, except that I obviously found a "P.C." and will update you as often as I can during the next few days while I end my Asian Adventure. Many thanks to Colleen for putting together a kick-ass press release for me before I come home and resume my career. Hopefully some local papers or TV may feel like picking it up and I might get a little press.

Oh, keep meaning to mention that we're staying in the same hotel as "BLAST!", a multi-media/drum+ bugle corps extravaganza that has been touring for a few years now. What's cool is that I might know a few folks from my UMass days, as they used to be involved when the project originated. We're having a mixer on Saturday in the hotel(which is connected to the theatre- sweet!) and I'll find out then if any animals from the "Zoo" are present.

I'll write you again in the next day or so. Ja Mata!

Peace,
Steve
P.S. Thanks for putting up with my puns(I hope you got 'em all. If not, we'll schedule a meeting...)

Another Shortie......

Hey- OK, so I leave for Osaka in the morning and wanted to leave another quick entry before I left town. So, I haven't had any luck uploading my pics onto my Ofoto site, so I'll be doing that from home as soon as I can. Just email me and I'll give you the details of how to see them. If there are any you really like, you can order them directly from ofoto for about 20 cents each.

Good crowds to end our run here in Tokyo, and the entire group is getting antsy for home. Monday cannot come soon enough for me, either. So, I'll drop you a line from Osaka and if I cannot find a "P.C." there, I'll just update you from home and let you know when I'll be finished writing. Thanks for reading and I'll see you in Osaka! Ja Mata!
Peace,
Steve

A Short One....

Really short, as my time is brief and my sentiments are few. We have two shows left here in Tokyo, and then on to Osaka for four shows in a town which is supposed to be a great "audience" town. In other words, they know how to act when a foreign group comes to town(i.e. whoop it up!).

Looking forward to seeing everyone and hoisting a few at Fenway for the almighty Sox- that's right, this could very well be the year- of what, I won't say, but this promises to be an exciting Fall none-the-less. I'll see you in Osaka! Ja Mata!

Peace,
Steve