Road Conditions
Three stars see the USA in musicals -- and report back from their grand tours
By Jim Caruso

"Travel!  That's the life I like best! So wrote Maltby and Shire.  But is performing in a touring company of a Broadway show always a rip-roaring roller coaster of a ride?  We overheard some professional road warriors discussing secrets every smart traveler should know -- the finer points of mood swings, keeping sane, and packing enough underwear.

Joely Fisher
(Sally Bowes in CABARET)

Are you excited to be on the road with Cabaret?
I've been on the road all my life!  I'm the self-proclaimed road baby.  My mom [Connie Stevens] got me a passport when I was six days old.  Really!  Everyone asks what touring this show will be like, but it's all I've ever known.

As a kid, you traveled the world with your mother when she performed on the road.  I bet you learned how to work those hotels.
Gawd, I learned to order room service before I learned to walk.  My mom taught me that a hotel is just like your home, except you don't have to make the bed. And I absolutely lo-o-ove hotel sheets.  So crispy!  I do need a kitchen, though.  With room service, sometimes, a glass of orange juice will be, like $17.   So I empty the mini bar and fill it with juice, fruit and turkey.  I make these crazy turkey and cheese rollups.  They are like sandwiches without the carbs.   Fa-a-bulous.  I should go into business selling them to the cast.  I am quite the little gourmette, let me tell you.  I'm also the only person I know who cleans the room before I check out.  My husband always laughs at me!

You're such a glamour girl!  Are you taking a lot of luggage on this seven-month tour?
Oh, honey, I have seven suitcases.  Packing was so weird... I'll live through a lot of seasons traveling around for seven months.  All those cute sundresses and mules that I wear in L.A. won't cut it in Minnesota in October.  I brought lots of hats to cover my sassy new hairdo.  And much hair products... produit, if you will.  I have a book of 300 CDs with me, for seven months of mood swings.   Everything from Sting to old Donnie Hathaway.  I'm also bringing all my beading equipment.

Excuse me?
My sister Tricia Leigh and I have been making the most fabulous crystal beaded jewelry.   I sit for hours and bead away.  Oh -- I've also packed 14 bottles of every shade of green nail polish I could find. Sally Bowles must have green nails, you know.  Divinely decadent!  Did I tell you my mother threw me a going-away soiree in L.A., and I got lots of loot?

Was it a big party?
Three hundred people!  It was insane.  The world was there -- Phyllis Diller and Lyle Waggoner came!  The best part was that I got a lot of great. smelly bath things ... my every dream.  And I brought them all.  I packed lots of candles, too, and they all have lids so the wax won't melt in the suitcase.  A helpful hint: Lids are of utmost importance.  And tons of photos.  I actually stole some framed photos from the top of my piano.  That means, my husband Chris, won't get to look at them.  But I left plenty, believe me.

Will it be strange being away from your new husband for so long?
Very.  But now that I'm online, honey... anything can happen! [laughing] No, really, he is coming to visit me in every city, depending on his work.  He is a fantastic cinematographer.

Let's talk about Cabaret.  What was the L.A. reaction to your taking the role of Sally Bowles?
I took a poll in L.A., and someone neck-deep in the biz said, "There's a lot of heat around you right now, coming off a hit TV show and Inspector Gadget.  Why don't you must stay home and do a pilot?"  But, as I get older, I'm looking to do roles that move me, as opposed to things that are better financially.  Now, don't get me wrong: Paige Clark was an amazing role to play on Ellen for four years.   She was so full of herself!  I brought a lot of my own energy to her, too, with the big hair, short skirts, and mucho cleavage.  I had such fun doing that, so I'm not especially ready to play the mother of three at this point.  This past season, there were no roles out there unless you were 14 years old or someone's mom.   And it's not like I'm going away for seven months to knit, by the way.   I'm doing an incredible part in a brilliant production.  Hopefully, the right people will see it -- or at least hear that I've shown my wares in a completely different way.  Sally Bowles is complex and dark and full of energy at the top of the show, then you watch her downward spiral and the deterioration of her character.  [Director] Rob Marshall said she clings to survival by her green fingernails.  It's an incredible journey to go through every night.  I'm tired already!  Two-show days are tough, let me tell you.  Between shows, I put a sign on my dressing room door that says "Baby Sally Sleeping."  Sometimes I feel like I've been hit by a train, but I'm learning how to pace myself.  My nights of three glasses of Merlot are over, believe me.

Kevin Gray
(Thomas Andrews in TITANIC)

"Touring is my life!  And, this time I get to be with my wife, Dodie Pettit, who is the female swing for Titanic.  It doesn't always work out like this, believe me.  When we're not together, Sprint is our best friend.  Life becomes all about e-mail and cell phones.  In the past, you could leave a lot of trouble behind you when you toured; but now, with all the current forms of communication, the problems can find you!  Traveling so much, I've learned to get into a mindset where I force myself to do certain things.  It's scary, but you can lose your sense of time and place on the road.  Everything melds together.  It's not depression as much as low energy.  I have to get up and out of the room by a certain time.  I always find a health food store and a gym.  Dodie and I do a lot of cooking in the room, and we bring a wok and a rice steamer.  It's really the best way to eat healthfully.  Oh, helpful hint: Always pack way too much underwear.  And make friends with your costume people so you can use the laundry. [Laughing]   I probably shouldn't share that technique.  They'll kill me!"

"You can tend to feel that people in the business don't see your best work when you're on the road so much.  There's the fear of becoming a 'whatever happened to...' Unfortunately, there aren't as many opportunities to perform as there used to be.  It seems every leading man has the same five credits on his resume; the days of working with a producer, handling press, and dealing with critics is to have the opportunity to go thru it.  That means you have to open, and one of the only ways to open a lot is to go out on  the road.  I've been so lucky."

Julia Santana
(Mimi in RENT)

When I got the call to do the national tour of Rent, I had three days to get my life in order, pack, and leave.  It was such an unexpected blessing.  It's now been two and a half years, and I've tried to put them to good use.  I'm a New Yorker and I didn't have a drivers license; so when we got to L.A. for a four-month run, I learned to drive.  It was one of my major accomplishments!  I also study guitar with the lead guitarist in our band, Scott Totten.  And I'm very well known for my little excursions.  I'm a real nature buff and, depending on what city we're playing, I try to do some hiking with my friend, Richard.  We talk and take pictures of the canyons, deserts, or whatever else is around.  It's very relaxing and really helps me keep my sanity.  After 60 cities and 11 one-week stops, the constant travel can take its toll on your body.  I'm a New York City chick!  I can run forever on very little sleep, but I'm finally learning how to take it easy.  It's funny that it took a high-energy show like Rent to teach me to relax."

--Jim Caruso served as consulting editor when Liza Minnelli guest-edited in April