me and JD

me and James Delisco as Mary Magdalene and Judas at the 4/22 show!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

me as Mary and Matthew as Judas at the 4/20 show

Mary times two in Little Rock

SO now Little Rock, Arkansas is officially one of my favorite towns ever. Why? I got to go for Mary Magdalene twice and got to go in for the Herod number (my other cover) the other night. The other understudy, Raz, who is amazing btw, went on the second night (we have both been lucky enough to go on four times!) so I covered her in Herod that night. I thought I had done my last show as Mary in Flint and even as a Herod girl, so to get to go on again was a surprising blessing. I was able to more deeply explore the character and just really get comfortable with her. Getting to work with Ted was incredible- I can't even EXPLAIN IT!!!!!!! I feel so lucky and blessed. I got to work with both the amazing J.D and the incredible Matthew Myers as the Judases both nights.

My parents flew out to see the show tonight. When I got the call at 2, they dropped what they were doing and found a flight. It was amazing and meant so much that they were there. I can't even explain it. I was honored when I went out to the lobby at the people who came up to me and said they liked me!

Then I went out and celebrated with some of my besties from tour, and now I'm back here in my room for a day off tomorrow in Little Rock. I could not be more thankful for the experience of the last two days. I am excited to get to my track but grateful for the experience.

And, hey, I even got reviewed! This is what the Arkansas Gazette said:

There were some high points in the show, including understudy Haley Swindal (subbing for Cristina Sass) as Mary Magdelene who was, well, super in “Everything’s All Right” and the ballads “I Don’t Know How to Love Him” and the very touching, very simple “Could We Start Again, Please” (an addition to the score from the 1973 film).

I am touched and honored for the last few days, and looking forward to a day off in Little Rock tomorrow. God is good!
Love,
Haley

one nighters and Gettsberg

Just before Newark, James, Ray, and I went to Gettysburg. It was fascinating, haunting, sad, and enlightening. I have always wanted to visit there since I was a child, and we did the five hour tour via car before our night show in Hershey. I am so thankful I got to go. The two pictures below are from there.

Devil's Den Gettysburg

a cannon in a field

Then we had a string of one nighters after Newark, this pictures of which I am posting below.

being random somewhere a theatre we went to that was really pretty Joe's Birthday

Louis as Judas for the first time in Buffalo I think it was-he did awesome!

The last couple weeks besides Newark have been filled with one nighters around the Northeast, from Massachusettes to PA. The cities, although beautiful, start to really meld together after a while when all you see is the theatre. Above are some highlights in pictures.

Holy Week, Newark, and the Show

at Hair the first night with a bunch of the cast

This weekend we spent Maundy (spelling?) through Easter in Newark, NJ for a six show sit-down. As a Christian, it was such an unbelievably powerful experience getting to do this show during Holy Week. Palm Sunday, Good Friday, and Easter shows were so overwhelming for me. I was so grateful to get to be a part of this show and really live the story I was celebrating in church at the same time. I am always grateful to be a part of this show, but this time was particularly special for me.

On top of the shows, I did the following things:

1. Auditioned for the Broadway company of Spiderman and a summer production at Gettysberg

2. went to see "Hair" on Broadway with Ted, JD, Shannon, Daryl, Raz, Ethan, Daron, Craig and Misty, and my mom went with me...Loved the show!!!!!

3. went to Baptist Church on Sunday in Newark and had a wonderful Easter Sunday service and a fabulous brunch with our amazing company manager, who I ran into at the service! If you are ever in Newark, go to Don Pepes! Then my mom and two of my best friends, Dominique and Colleen, came to the show!!! Then I hung out with a couple guys in the cast who were hanging out with some awesome people from last year's company before heading into the city! It was a fabulous Easter day! And I ended it by eating way too much Easter candy and Peeps.

4. received a BEAUTIFUL Turkish charm from a lovely couple who I met at the stage door. It meant the world to me- Thank you!

5. had wine and dinner in the city with my lovely Joe and his friend from college

6. had dinner with one of my most favorite people in the world. His name is Stanley and he was a drummer in the days of Judy Garland and Frank Sinatra, all the greats. The most amazing stories you will ever hear.

7. I slept. Oh wait, that hasn't happened yet. I'm going to do that right now.

Off to Providence!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Goodnight!

XO

Haley

The Florida Leg of the Tour

me and my beautiful mom and grandma in Tampa Friday night

some of the girlies in Daytona

By the end of the FL tour, I was tired and loopy but so grateful to have seen family!!!!!!

I had SUCH a fabulous blast in Florida when we were there just a short while ago. My family is all from Florida, so it was really neat to be traveling through my hometown, and to sleep in my own bed when I was home! It was a week of beaches, pools, and tans for most but for me, it was a week of catching up with family and old friends. I cannot tell you how grateful I was to be able to see my family and friends after six months! They all came to my show at Ruth Eckerd, which was so fabulous!!!!!!

Clearwater at Ruth Eckerd Hall was the big day for me. It was a two show Saturday, but for me, it was so much more than that. I met up first with the woman who first got me into theatre, named Roseann, who I had lost touch with for 10 YEARS! This lady cast me in my first lead role in a musical ever, and was the first to ever be like, hey you're pretty good, kid! She continued to be my first voice teacher for two years or so. Needless to say, without her, I not only would not be an actress, but I never would have gotten through middle school. It's teachers like that BELIEVE in you that get you through those tough years. Despite the social toughness (and boy was it rough) of middle school, I had theatre to get me through, and people that believed I was good at it pushing me. I gave her students a tour backstage and talked to her class at the conservatory next door to the theatre. It was really cool.

Then my family came to both the matinee and the evening shows. My mom's friends, my teachers from high school, my dads friends, my grandparents, my grandparent's friends, my uncles and aunts and cousins were all there!!!!!!!! It was such a wonderful feeling to walk out of the stage door and see a ton smiling faces waiting to hug me!!!!! After the evening show, the theatre threw us a reception, and the theatre director gave me a shout-out for being from the hometown and says he always loves to see local talent coming through. He was so wonderful, and it was really special.

The whole day was just magical. It was a dream come true, really, finally getting to show family and friends what it is I do.