Successful Hong Kong Tour of Orpheus X

Looking back on the tour, some interesting numbers stick out in my mind. A cast and crew totaling 20 plus Rob’s wife, Pam Orchard, traveled to Hong Kong. 4 got sick, 3 got lost, 2 got engaged (Congrats! to Wendy Richman (Violist) and Tim Feeney (percussionist)) and 1 proud and relieved company manager. We performed 4 performances at the 1,181-seat Lyric Theatre that was over 90% sold. We traveled a distance of 19,960 miles from Boston to Hong Kong and back. We spent 35 hours on the airplane in addition to 15 hours of layovers.

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Final Performance and a fond farewell to Hong Kong

My day began getting Robert Woodruff off to the airport for his flight back to NYC. Despite all the logistical concerns one has when touring internationally, this was by far the most fascinating tour that I have worked on as a company manager. As I sat in the audience for our final performance, I glanced around and saw many young Hong Kong Chinese. Many watched with mouth agape…the performance and the music taking them on the amazing journey in the world of Orpheus X.

Opening Night of Orpheus X in Hong Kong

Tonight we opened and presented our first performance of Orpheus X to the people of Hong Kong. Playing to a very full house, the cast and band were in fine form. Despite the I-Beam not dropping due to a hydraulic problem, the set and video images looked amazing on the stage of The Lyric. The audience was enraptured. There was only one curtain call and polite applause, but we were told by the Festival staff that this is acceptable norm. Hong Kong Chinese are not known for several curtain calls and standing ovations. But we were told that there were many positive responses to the performance, the acting and the music. I wish I spoke or understood the language, so I could eavesdrop on people to gather their response as they left the theatre.

Orpheus X at the Hong Kong Arts Festival

After long flights, the cast and crew of Orpheus X, have arrived safely to Hong Kong. The company flew from San Francisco after the workshop performance at the University of California at Davis. This performance was well attended and received an enthusiastic response from those in attendance. Buoyed by this performance, we were looking forward to performing it for the people of Hong Kong.

On Tour with Orpheus X in Edinburgh

Months of planning and preparation goes into a tour. But in the end, we always have to deal with unexpected surprises …

A phone call from Scotland woke me at 6:30 a.m. the day we were leaving for the Edinburgh International Festival to perform Orpheus X. The production manager of the Lyceum Theatre needed to get in touch with our associate production manager, Chris Viklund, who was already in Edinburgh. I emailed Chris and didn’t think much about it until I got to my office and found several messages from Edinburgh saying that there was a major problem: The set for Orpheus X was still at sea, and the premiere was in only three days!