We woke up this morning to much warmer temperatures than yesterday! After a nice breakfast at Maggie’s Bakery, we headed over to the theatre. Nolan unloaded the truck with the crew on Friday in -11 degree temps – that’s cold!!
The day went fairly smoothly and the Michael Palm Theatre is a very nice space. The view outside the loading dock is incredible! The day moved at a steady pace for a 7:30pm curtain – for a sold out crowd. Wonderful volunteers and enthusiastic responses from the audience made it great fun for all of us.
We extend A Big Thanks to Heather and Hilary in the administration offices for getting us great audiences. And to Michael and the tech crew (Corie, Mark, Chad, Adam, and Pat) for getting us in and doing an outstanding job in their respective show responsibilities. You guys made it fun for us.
The lobby was packed after that first show and I had the chance to talk with so many people for the area – some of them from 40-50 miles away. I am humbled – always – when I hear people tell me how much they enjoy the show, appreciate the content, and believe in the magic that is all around us. But some of the most touching words of the evening came from an elderly gentleman who took the time to send me an email. I don’t think he’ll mind if I share part of it here.
I did not want to interrupt your lively rapport with young fans after the Dec 28 performance at the Palm Theatre. So here I am to thank you for your charismatic, enthusiastic, utterly sincere presence on stage, not just during your acts of illusion/magic, but especially during your talks with us, your audience.
You conveyed your love for what you have done for most of your life most movingly. In addition, you know how to tell a story with humor, style, and, when called for, delightful suspense. Your stage presence is brilliant!
As a former actor, now almost 73, I took delight in all your fine attributes, which I described to my wife in detail. Unfortunately she was not able to attend due to a very nasty cold. I do hope the Palm brings you back!
I share this because it’s so reassuring to know that, after all the hard work of our entire team in setting up the show, the audience is pleased with what we have to offer them. This is one of the reasons we do what we do. I received several amazing emails from people who attended the shows in Telluride.
After the show, we had Brown Dog Pizza delivered to the stage and made our way back to the hotel. Interesting sign outside our hotel…
On Saturday, we took some time to check out Telluride. It was a little bit warmer at 17 degrees! We stopped and had breakfast at La Cocina de Luz. We spent the morning walking Colorado Avenue, the main street through this historic town, visiting many of the shops and talking to the locals. People stopped us regularly to tell us how much they enjoyed the show “last night.†I don’t know how to put into words the way that makes you feel.
While I was walking through town, I thought I recognized someone getting ready to go into one of the shops. I spoke and it turned out to be the former Governor of Virginia, Mark Warner. We chatted for a moment and exchanged phone numbers. He and his family would be coming to the show on Saturday night. The theatre staff also told us that Tom Cruise and his family had purchased 15 tickets for the performance.
After the shops, we rode the gondola from Telluride to the Summit (10,540 feet) and then down to Mountain Village. This is a spectacular, breathtaking, incredible, no-words-to-describe trip. Something everyone MUST do if they come to Telluride.
After a pleasant morning taking in the town, we had to head back over to the Palm Theatre and prepared for our evening show.
After the show, we loaded it all up in the truck and Ely, the driver, took off to Montrose to spend the night. He would leave in the morning and meet us in Denver to transfer the freight from his truck to ours.