Goodbye Originals!

Leaving tour was very...difficult to say the least. Not only was I dealing with the fact that I was going to have no Spring in my life for two months, but also that it truly was the end of our Original Cast Era. We lost Blake, Ben, Henry, Julie, Claire (again), and Todd. I cannot even express the feeling of performing that last and final show with them. It was such an intense mix of emotions from nostalgia, to sadness, to tears, to happiness and laughter. Looking around the stage that last day was such an incredible feeling, and so sad because of the life that we have all lived together for the past year. That last show is a moment that I will never forget in my life because I caught each persons eye, and we all knew how the other was feeling, and we all understood the other and knew that this year was one that we will never EVER forget. It was a life changing experience for all of us, and we did it together. We grew up as people and as artists and created this piece of beauty together from scratch. And as I looked at the people staying with me, it was a mixture of sadness but such excitement for what is coming next. The next year of tour will be so different, but such fun with all these new faces, and in the end, a completely different and fresh show with Taylor, Kayla, Ben, John, David, and Justin. And how exhilarating to think of the new memories and experiences we will have with all of the incredibly talented and insanely amazing new cast members. My favorite moment of our last show was Totally Fucked. The entire song started as this insane release of all the emotions that we had been feeling for the past week, so we channeled it into this incredibly high energy TF. But what made the hot pot of water boil over was when Henry screamed "Melchior Gabor! For the LAST time!" and from then on, that was it. For those of you who saw TF you can bare witness, and for those of you who didn't, just imagine. Number one, if made us all smile when we heard Henry say that, and number two, it made the animal come out of each of us. The stomping was harder, the jumping was higher, the spinning was faster, and the singing was louder. It was just this explosion of emotions that we all let out on stage together, and there is no better way then letting it all go in Totally Fucked! It was so much fun!! So all in all, the show was a beautiful one that I will always remember. Purple Summer came and it finally hit us that that was it. No more original cast and it was hard, but we all knew that no matter what, we would always hold the memories and good times we had from this past year and never forget the experience that we had.

So after the show, we all went

home to get all spruced up for our goodbye celebration which was a Cruise on Lake Michigan that took us out for an amazing view of the Chicago skyline! (Let me give a shout out to all the party planners of this world...umm it is a stressful job. This was my first party I planned for the tour, and it was hard, but turned out fantastic!) The party was so much fun. There was great food, lots of dancing and everyone had a wonderful time together. It was a really fun way of ending the first leg of the tour because we were all there, old and new. We took lots of pictures and just relaxed with an amazing view of Chicago! And everyone looked so fancy and amazing that night!

In closing, I would just like to say goodbye and good luck to Blake, Ben, Julie, Henry, Todd, Claire, and Perry! I know that these six people will go on to do amazing things, and I just want you all to know how much I learned from each of you, and that I love you guys so much.

krystina :)

My Birthday Adventures!

My birthday is now officially over, and let me say that it was one of my best birthday's ever thanks to my beautiful family out here on the road! I had such a fun and amazing time with everything I got to do for my birthday! So it all started out on Thursday night after the show which was August 6 the eve of my birthday. Me, Matt, Taylor, Chase, and Andy went out for an after-show snack with a couple cast members from Jersey Boys which was super fun. As we were walking home, Matt and Taylor kept whispering really secretive-like and wouldn't tell me what they were talking about. So when we got back to the hotel, they told me that we needed to stop at Ben Fankhauser's room really quick. I was like, okay whatever. So we went to his room and Kayla, Christy, Chase, and Ben were there and they surprised me with a little cake and a candle, and sang happy birthday to me at midnight!! It was so sweet! My birthday was already spectacular and it had just started! 

So the next morning, my birthday started with a massage and facial at this spa called Exhale which was so relaxing!(if you haven't been there, I highly recommend it). Massages are like my favorite thing in the world so I was super happy! Then we walked through Lincoln Park through the gardens with lilly pads!! And ended up at this awesome breakfast place in Chicags called Orange. It was the most unique breakfast I've ever eaten! I orded a pankake flight which consisted of Fruity Pebble Pancakes, Raspberry Dark-Chocolate Panckes, Orange Zest Pancakes and Cinnamon Bun Pancakes. And oh...my...gosh. They were the best things ever in the world. We also ordered this special thing they make called Frushi. It was a sushi roll but full of fruit! So we headed back and I spent some of the day walking around Chicago since everyone had rehearsal. After rehearsal I had my birthday dinner at this amazing steakhouse right on the river. I ordered my favorite food in the world, Mac and Cheese and it was so yummy! Then we had the show

which was fun because even though this is my second birthday on tour, it is my first birthday where I actually performed Spring cause last year we were still in tech! It was an experience that will be with me forever, that I got to perform in Spring Awakening on my birthday! Pretty cool. So after the show, some people took me to an after-the-show celebration at this fancy hotel restaurant called the Peninsula. And just my luck, this awesome jazz cover band was playing! It was amazing because that is my favorite kind of music. So we ate, and I got the sweetest birthday dance ever in the whole world which I will never forget. And then, since we were the last one's at the restaurant, out waiter gave us all the desserts on their dessert buffet table for free! And they were like gourmet yummy desserts! Ah it was incredible! (oh and we saw the Killers at the hotel because they were performing at Lollapalooza!).

So Saturday passes and then Sunday comes! To think my birthday was over! haha. I woke up and went to the Gospel Brunch at the House of Blues which I got tickets for one of my birthday presents. I love gospel music and this show was the coolest thing I have ever seen. They were so good and the brunch was delicious. We had planned my big birthday party for Sunday night after the show so everyone could come since lots of people try to go to bed early during the week because of the shows. So after the show, we bought a bunch of junk food and just had a really chill birthday party with everyone. That is what I love the most. Just spending time with all of my Spring family. It was nice because everyone was able to relax and just have a good time since we knew we didn't have shows the next day. 

My birthday was so special! And I got some awesome presents too! This is what my amazing friends on tour got me! Tickets to Gospel Brunch, Urban Outfitters gift-card, a CD with all the hits from 1989, a massage and facial along with some great facial products, music note pajamas, mole-skin notebooks, a music note visor, sippy water bottle, princess ring cupcakes, and the book Chicago Blues. I will never forget this birthday! Not to mention all the birthday wishes I got from all of you! Thank you so much for making my birthday even better! 

krystina :)

Cabaret Re-cap!

Thanks to everyone who came out to the cabaret! It was a huge success! We had an amazing turn-out with a wonderfully enthusiastic crowd and raised over $4000 dollars for Make-A-Wish! We are so happy that it turned out so well! The night was super fun, and I had such an amazing time watching all of my fellow cast-mates perform their songs. It is so much fun for us to see each other do something other than Spring Awakening for once! I performed "Never Neverland" by Scott Alan and I had a wonderful time singing it. I just feel such a connection to that song because the story for me of it is so true to how I feel about my childhood and growing up!

Chicago so far is a blast! We are in a perfect area with lots to do and the city is just gorgeous with the river and everything. My birthday is coming up this Friday the 7th and I am so excited! It's weird though because in just one day, I will no longer be a teenager. It's kind of sad because I love being a teenager and now I will be in my twenties...eww. But oh well. I will embrace the fact that I am turning into a big girl now. But I will always be a little girl at heart. Definitely. I don't know that I'm doing for my birthday yet but I am excited that I get to celebrate it here in the Windy City. This is my SECOND birthday on tour which is insane!! I turned 19 this time last year when we were in San Diego! It was our first day of tech rehearsal and our company was still so new and didn't even really know each other yet! They got me these beautiful birthday cakes and the whole cast took me out to a really nice dinner! I actually posted about it my blog here! I cannot believe that it was an entire year ago! It truly feels like just yesterday! This tour is going by so fast. Looking back at this past year just makes me realize how much I've grown up and how much I've experienced out here, and the incredible relationships and friendships I have made that will last for the rest of my life. I am so thankful that I get to spend another birthday with my Spring Awakening family, and best friends out here on the road. To another year of fun, growing, and loving!

krystina :)

PS: Snaps to Cristina O'Connell for posted this awesome quality video! Thank you so much Cristina! You rock!!