Wednesday, March 31st 2010

Since last I wrote, plenty has gone down. We played Des Moines and Hartford for three weeks apiece and then spent five fantastic weeks in beautiful Boston. I write to you now from my dressing room in Philadelphia, PA where the show has been playing to fantastic audiences for just over a week. I am, however, getting ahead of myself; let’s have a short recap of the last three months or so…

The three-week engagements were pretty rough on us. You see, the first week of every city is pretty much a nine-show week, instead of our usual eight-show week (which is already physically demanding). We always start off with a company meeting to get acquainted with the new space and most of the cast (myself excluded) has to rehearse a few numbers. After that, we have a dress rehearsal (hence our extra show that week), then preview that evening in front of an audience. So for the back to back three week engagement cities (Des Moines and Hartford) we had two nine show weeks less than a month apart. To make circumstances more exhausting, we were visited by The Lion King’s creative team during our second week in Des Moines, which meant extra rehearsals and the stress of having producers and directors watching/evaluating/judging our performances. All this was combined with harsh winter conditions and a couple of challenging performance spaces.

On February 15, we traveled from Hartford to Boston. This was a much-needed breath of fresh air for all of us. After a first week that included a few technical glitches, we settled into Beantown and enjoyed a respite from the constant travels and enjoyed a five-week engagement. The Opera House, located in Boston’s theatre district, is a gorgeous facility and the local crew there, as well as many of the areas restaurateurs, made us feel VERY welcome. For me Boston was a very memorable stop on this adventure because I got to see my family for the first time in just over nine months. Twelve members of my family visited from back home to see the show and visit me. Luckily Tanya was able to come in from Calgary as well so everyone got to meet her in Boston too. The weather didn’t cooperate as I’d hoped it would but we still managed to get a few brunches and a fine dinner in between a busy four-show weekend. It was a short visit, but fantastic none-the-less.

After five fast weeks in Boston, we moved to Philadelphia on March 22nd. So far Philly is great. I’m in the heart of the downtown shopping district and am really looking forward to seeing the many historical sights and sounds that Philly has to offer. It should be mentioned that this is the city that my uncle Bob Currier did the family proud by playing several games in the NHL with the Flyers. I couldn’t help but think of that as we entered the city limits.

Finally, I’m excited to announce that this coming July 11, 2010, I will be making my final appearance as Timon in The Lion King. By that point I’ll have been traveling with the company for thirteen months and four days. That is a long time to be away from home and I am delighted to say that I will be returning to Canada once the contract is up. I’m also thrilled to announce that a week after I finish with The Lion King I will be starting rehearsal for Theatre By The Bay’s (Barrie, ON) production of The Taming of the Shrew directed by Brett Christopher. Six years ago I performed in TBTB’s production of As You Like It, and I enjoyed my time there immensely. I am honoured to be invited to return and I look forward to working with Brett and TBTB’s founders Larissa Mair and Nick Baillie once again. We’ll be putting a link to www.theatrebythebay.com on the home page soon or you can click the link I just provided for show dates and ticket info.

Stay tuned. I’ve got three months to go and a few more cities to hit before my adventure in the Savannah concludes. There’s still plenty of fun to be had.

After that, Tyler James Murree is returning to Toronto!!!

TJM

Tuesday, January 12th 2010

Happy New Year! I can’t believe it’s already 2010. Time has a way of flying and no one understands the relativity of time more than yours truly these days. I must say 2009 was a very exciting year for me. A few more commercials under my belt, the end to Dirty Dancing’s successful run in Toronto and traveling around North America with The Lion King have kept me very busy. Thank you to everyone who has helped make the journey so exciting.

Right now I’m sitting in a hotel room in Des Moines, Iowa. It’s cold but very quaint here in Des Moines. I’m enjoying my stay so far though, truth be told, I’ve not seen much of it yet.

Before coming to Des Moines, we spent the Holiday Season in San Antonio, Texas. That state is a trip. The Majestic Theatre where we performed certainly lives up to its name. The house of that theatre is the most opulent audience area I’ve ever seen. I’ll have to dig up a picture because I don’t think I have the words to describe it. One thing I’ll say for Texas though, the audiences there are Fantastic! I’d perform in that state anytime!

My first Christmas away from my family was a bit rough, but it was made much better with the help of Skype. This was also my first New Years’ with the beautiful Tanya, so I welcomed in 2010 properly with a gorgeous lady at my side.

So what will 2010 bring? It is still way too early to say. I’ll be on the East Coast (Hartford, Boston and Philadelphia) for 13 weeks so hopefully I’ll get a chance to visit NYC, Toronto and Montreal in that time.

In the meantime I wish you all a very happy and prosperous 2010. Stay tuned to www.tylermurree.com for updates to the photo gallery, the multi-media page and more news for the future.

TJM

Tuesday, November 17th 2009

I gotta tell ya... this living out of a suitcase thing can wreak havoc on your internal clock and thermometer… It takes some serious getting used to. When last I wrote, I was in Anchorage Alaska and it was just starting to really cool off there. Since then I’ve been to San Diego, back to Calgary for a visit and now I’m sitting in Spokane, WA.

First let me say how much I love San Diego. I was lucky enough to snag a condo in the heart of the Gas lamp district downtown. My walk to the theatre was less then 10 minutes and I was surrounded by restaurants, pubs, art galleries, theatres and was a 20 minute walk to the beautiful waterfront. Absolute Good Times!!! I only experienced a couple of days of overcast skies and one day of a very thick fog. Unfortunately the fog came the day I went to La Jolla to dine at George’s by the sea, but what can you do? I still got to watch Seals frolic in the waves as I ate a fish taco.

While in San Diego, a few cast mates and I were able to have some fun at a local library, entertaining about 250 school children with dramatic readings of a couple of spooky stories. The even was organized and spear headed by Omari Tau [in photo], who plays the Hyena, Banzai in The Lion King. We read the stories behind microphones and music stands but we incorporated live music and some modern dance into the event as well. We finished the day off with a Q&A with the kids, which is always entertaining for both them and us. Hopefully we’ll be able to do more of this in other cities that we visit.

The interesting thing about working on a big show like The Lion King, that has been around for over a decade is that there is an ever revolving door of cast members. In my short time on stage with these folks (it was 5 months as of November 15th) I have seen quite a few cast mates come and go. A few weeks ago I was affected directly by one such cast change when my buddy Bob Amaral finished his replacement contract. Bob has played Pumbaa on both national tours and on Broadway. He spent the last 6 months as a temporary replacement for Ben Lipitz who just rejoined our company after playing Max Bialistock in the Producers for a while and then filling in as Pumbaa in Broadway’s production of The Lion King. Bob was a major force in helping me learn the ropes here on tour and I, along with the entire cast, will miss him greatly. That said, Ben Lipitz [photo right] who, as I mentioned, just returned to us has also been with the show for years. He and I are getting along swimmingly and are having a great time as Timon and Pumbaa onstage.

My biggest source of excitement, while in California, was meeting my cousin Dave’s son Lochlan for the first time. Lochy was born 4 months ago and he’s adorable like his daddy and Mommy, Andrea. Dave and Andrea are writers/teachers in Los Angeles so I took advantage of the short train ride from San Diego to L.A. to visit them twice. I cannot begin to tell you how great it was to see close relatives for the first time in months. Dave and I even managed to take in a Leaf game in Anaheim to see the dreadful Maple Leafs pick up their first win of the season. Absolute Good Times. Thank you Dave, Annie and Lochy for the hospitality those two Mondays.

I now find myself in Spokane, WA. Washington State is not known for sunshine, but this is ridiculous. I’ve been here a week and it’s been overcast the entire time. Thankfully, the theatre is comfortable and I’ve found myself a nice restaurant called The Onion that serves a pretty good club sandwich. Three more weeks here then we’re off to Texas to enjoy the holiday season Lone Star State style. Only 36 more shopping days until Christmas; have you done yours yet?

Tuesday, September 15th 2009

Greetings from Alaska everyone! I know I promised, in my last news update, to write from every city but tour life is a little more packed than I thought it was going to be. These past 3 months have been jam packed with excitement so let me bring you up to speed.

I got to Sacramento on the 7th of June. On the 9th I, along with several other new cast members, met the department heads for the tour and had an orientation meeting. That night we got to see show for ourselves. It was spectacular. It is a fantastic feeling knowing that you are joining an established, successful and beautiful show. The next day we started our 5 weeks of rehearsal.

I have never been a replacement cast member before. This rehearsal process was vastly different from anything I have ever experienced. Often times the rehearsal consisted of only myself and two or three other people in the room with one person playing several different parts at once and feeding the rest of us all of our cue lines. I have a new found respect for all the people who have come in half way through runs of shows I have done in the past. It is by no means an easy feat.

Three weeks later we moved the show to Edmonton. I had two more weeks of rehearsal in there while the show was running and then, along with the other “newbies”, made my debut Tuesday July 14, 2009 at the Northern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium. I was delighted to make my debut in Canada and during my three weeks of performing the role there, I had several family members and a few friends come see the show. It was nice to get reacquainted with long lost family.

From Edmonton we moved to Calgary for a month. Allow me to express here and now how much of a fan I am of Calgary. I absolutely loved my time there. Interestingly enough the theatres in Edmonton and Calgary are exactly the same. The Northern and Southern Jubilee auditoriums (respectively) have the exact same architecture. It made for a smooth transition from town to town.

While in Calgary I got a few opportunities to catch up with old friends. In particular my buddy Bret “The Hitman” Hart who performed in Aladdin for Ross Petty Productions with me in ’04 came to the show. We went for a few pints after. Thanks for the beer Bret. Gotta love the Champ!

The people in Calgary were very kind to me. One morning I, along with Bob Amaral who plays Pumbaa, did a series of early morning radio interviews. Our fourth and final interview of the DJ, a great guy called Beasley from Calgary’s 97.7 hooked us up with a tour of the Calgary Zoo. A few days later a gal called Trish who works at the Zoo took my friend, Tanya and me on a guided tour. I watched the Lion wrangler feed four terrifying lions up close and personal. Then we fed a baby gorilla, watched a couple of Giraffes perform a pre-mating ritual, pet a hippo and was introduced to three different bats.

Two weeks ago, we took the show from Canada and moved up north to Anchorage Alaska for 6 weeks. I’ve never been so far north before and I have to tell you I have been looking forward to seeing Alaska since I signed on for this gig.

If anyone ever tells you about Alaska’s beauty, let me tell you… they can’t even begin to describe it. Waking up with the Pacific on one side of town and the Mountains on the other is an absolute trip.

The people of Anchorage have been very hospitable and I’ve enjoyed my time here immensely so far. There was a wonderful opening night party thrown for us here at a fantastic little restaurant called Orso (if you are in Anchorage I highly recommend it). We were welcomed by the mayor and the new governor (sorry Palin fans, she was a no show).

So, that’s where I am in the world. We are in Anchorage until the 12th of October. Then we’ll be heading down to San Diego, California.

The role itself is a unique challenge on its own. I have been acting professionally for 10 years now. Singing, dancing and acting all at the same time are not new to me. However, doing those three things with a 15 pound puppet strapped to your front is a horse of a different colour. I will be posting a publicity shot of myself with the puppet so you’ll see how pronounced he is. The thing it took a hard time for me to learn was the puppet is the star… I’m the guy behind the curtain who you should not pay attention to (and that is the end of my Wizard of Oz analogies). The puppet has taken its toll on my body, but I’m taking the proper precautions and strengthening the muscles that need it. More on that in the future…

The other aspect of this role that has taken some serious getting used to is the makeup. For 30 minutes, every performance I sit as still as possible and have mounds of green make-up applied to my face, throat and neck. The transformation is incredible and I am pretty much completely unrecognizable behind the emerald hue of the grease paint. The stage itself is mostly green and I spend a lot of time hiding amongst the ensemble who are dressed as various plants. I, the actor, am supposed to be a plant myself… designed to blend in with the rest of the stage. The Timon puppet is the real character. I am by no means to upstage him, hence the green camouflage. It takes approximately 25 minutes to properly remove the green from my face and neck. Usually I am unlucky enough to still have bits of green in my ears and on my throat or in my sideburns. Some nights are better than others… My forehead on the other hand has a permanent green tint… I am hoping that bi-monthly facials will help alleviate this condition.

With every passing performance though, I feel more comfortable and confident in the role. The challenges that come with being a Lion King Company member are welcome and I really feel as though I am growing as a performer.

Check back soon for more updates on Anchorage, and hopefully San Diego.

TJM

Friday, June 5th 2009

Today marks the two month mark since closing Dirty Dancing. While I miss my close friends from the show I've been delighted to have these last two months to get ready for the Lion King. I start rehearsals for LK Tuesday the 9th in Sacramento and I'm pretty much all packed and ready to go. I just need to lock my lines into memory and all will be good.

How, you may ask, have I been keeping busy these last two months? Excellent question. I shot a Tim Horton's commercial which should be airing pretty soon. It's for their summertime iced latte campaign. There are a few out for this campaign already so I'm assuming mine will be used in the latter half of the hot season (depending on where you live, it's only just started now). Other than that, I packed up my apartment in Toronto, put my stuff in storage and took a trip home to see my family for the last three weeks before heading off on tour. There's no better way to decompress than golf, grub, and good times with the fam!

The plan, as it stands now, is to send at least one news update from each city I visit on the tour. These updates will usually come toward the end of stay; however anything can happen and things change, so check back regularly.

Also, I sat down with my webmaster/bro-in-law, Iain and we got all the updates for the photo gallery and multi-media page ready to go. All updates should be up and running sometime in July. July 14 is the day I'm debuting as Timon in Edmonton.

More updates to come. Check back soon!

TJM