Monday, July 23, 2007

Congratulations to the cast of Celebrity's MERCURY for a fantastic first run through of their Broadway show today. I will spare you the verbiage in lieu of these pictures from the rehearsal. Great job cast! You guys are really coming together!!

Sunday, July 22, 2007

I spent this weekend reliving my high school days with some of my favorite friends from my high school church youth group. We had a "reunion" of sorts at Tim and Kathy Parsons' home in Birmingham, Alabama. Many of my best friends from 30+ years ago were there to share stories, remember good times, and celebrate the lives of those who we'd lost. It was a peak experience which I will always cherish. I can't thank Kathy and Tim enough for opening their home to all of us. They were terrifically gracious hosts. It was perfect in every way! I spent Friday night at their house reminiscing with Kathy and Tim about the great times we had together back at Mountain Brook High School and Canterbury United Methodist Church. I have not laughed as much in years! While remembering was fun, it was even better to get to renew our friendships and share in the joys and trials each of us have experienced through these many years. I sincerely hope this will be the beginning of a new phase in our lifelong friendships. Thanks to all of you who made the sacrifice to come...let's do it again soon!

Tuesday, July 17, 2007

REHEARSAL PICTURES FROM "DANCE AROUND THE WORLD" -

Celebrity's "Mercury"

GMC Producer Curt Wallen acts as a stand-in during an audience participation bit...what a ham!

We had a chance to see the new MERCURY cast in action yesterday when they ran their first show for us..."Dance Around the World". They did an awesome job! It was great to see how far they had come in a week, especially since the show is nearly an hour long and filled with choreography for the singers as well as the dancers. Kellie Evans and Stephen Kummer are teaching the shows to this cast and doing a great job. These are pictures from the rehearsal yesterday. Way to go cast!

Monday, July 16, 2007

CAST OF THE "MERCURY"
(Back Row, L to R, Mollie Kelly, Leah Canali, Meagan Callahan, John-Michael Zuerlin, Nicola Cardwell, Gary Brown, Laura Graham, James Crook...FRONT ROW, L to R: Anne-Marie Palys, Patrick Porter, Heather Holt, Randall Pollard...Not pictured: Emily Hector)

OK, so I've been slacking on keeping up with the blog. I was humbled today when the cast of the Mercury said they had been checking the blog every day for new pics that had been promised. My only excuse is that it has been an amazingly busy week. I had several major events for "l'ete du Vin" - the charity wine auction in Nashville that has become one of the largest and most successful charity wine auctions in the country. I have some great pics to share, but out of respect for the Mercury cast, I will wait until another day to show you those. To make up for my tardiness, tonight I am going to post the cast's picture taken on their first day of rehearsal. Tomorrow, I will post new pics I took today during a run through of "Dance Around the World". They are a doing a GREAT job and have really worked hard on this show. I think you will enjoy the shots! Check back for more "MERCURY" photos tomorrow....

The new cast of Celebrity Cruises' MERCURY began rehearsals in Nashville yesterday. This is our first time to handle the casting and maintenance of the MERCURY, so it was exciting to see the energy this new cast is bringing to the project. The group is a nice blend of first time cruise ship performers, returning cast members from our other ships, and seasoned veterans from other ships. After going through orientation in the morning, we all went to lunch and got to know each other better. This is going to be a great cast, and the itinerary is about the best of any ship - Alaska, Hawaii, and the the South Pacific, including Australia and New Zealand. Tomorrow, I will post some pictures from our lunch. Not only are they talented, they are a great looking cast, too! You'll see what I mean! Here is a shot of the MERCURY.

saturday, July 7, 2007

Friends Ricky and Debbie Steiner (and Morgan) are in town this weekend visiting our buds the Holloways. We had a nice visit over breakfast this morning. Karen created one of her always fabulous meals, and we laughed a lot about kids, vacations, and crazy neighbors. Always great to see the Steiners! Debbie, thanks for being a loyal reader. You and my mom probably make up about 7000 of the hits on this site! :-)

Thursday, July 5, 2007

It is about 11:00pm and I am about to call it a night. Tonight, I helped Ellen (my wife) hang pictures in her new office at Vanderbilt. It is great to see her so excited about her new job - and a new career!

Curt Wallen is in San Antonio this week doing a show for KIWANIS INTERNATIONAL. Here is a picture he emailed of the set. KIWANIS is a service organization with a worldwide outreach. We have produced their convention sets and entertainment for about 10 years. They are a great client and do terrific charitable work in the communities served by Kiwanis Clubs.

Tomorrow is Friday already...I am really liking this holiday in the middle of the week thing! Hope everyone has a great day!

Wednesday, July 4, 2007

Happy 4th of July to all our friends, associates and performers wherever you are in the world today! It was a beautiful day in Nashville and a perfect day to relax and enjoy all that summer offers. Tonight, we had dinner with our good friends - the Holloways - and watched the Macy's fireworks show from New York. We always have fun with the Holloway family and have treasured their friendship for nearly 20 years. Karen is an awesome cook, too! Thanks to David, Karen, Stuart and Spencer for being such good hosts!

I guess it sounds trite to say we should be thankful for all the freedoms we have, but it is so true. Each time I travel to other countries and experience other lifestyles around the world, it makes me appreciate all we have as Americans. Thanks to all those thousands of men and women who have given so much to build and protect this country for more than 200 years. We are so fortunate.

My wife started her new job as an RN this week! She is working at the Vanderbilt University Psych client - and loves it! She is the first RN to be on staff with the clinic and is totally pumped about all of her coworkers and soon-to-be patients. I am so proud of all the hard work she's done over the past 3 years as she's made the transition from studio singer to nurse. She is going to be great in this new career!

Hope everyone had a great day - more tomorrow from Curt Wallen's show in San Antonio for Kiwanis....

Monday, July 2, 2007

GMC is on the road this time of year! Jonathan Yeaworth, Bert Hensley and I spent the weekend in Atlanta producing the CYDCOR USA National Conference for our client, Orion Performance Group. The conference was at the Georgia World Congress Center and the OMNI CNN Center Hotel, and included general sessions, large breakouts, and an awards banquet. There were about 2600 CYDCOR associates in attendance. Almost all of the attendees was under 25 years old, so the energy in the room was pretty amazing! Here are a couple of shots of the stage just before doors opened for the awards banquet. This is the second conference in the last month we've produced for Orion and CYDCOR. Thanks to Bill Schreiber and Stefan Craine at Orion allowing us to be part of this project! Also, a big shout -out to event manager Suzzanne Fleet and her team for planning and executing a great conference.

Producer Curt Wallen is in San Antonio this week with our scenic department working on the Kiwanis International show. I hope to have some pictures from Curt to post any day now. Chris Lyle just returned from San Diego where he installed a trade show booth for our client Healthcare Management Systems. And David Patton (along with his wife Denise) just returned from a trip to the MILLENNIUM in Europe.

A big CONGRATULATIONS goes to Mindy Johnson and Doug McLemore on their wedding this weekend! The weather was perfect, the setting was amazing, and love was in the air. Those who attended said Mindy was s stunning bride. I am so disappointed that I could not be there, but my wife, Ellen, went and said it was a wonderful evening. We all wish Mindy and Doug only the very best for their new lives together. Can't wait to see those pictures!