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Chitty Chitty Bang Bang!

FANTASMAGORICAL NEWS! Zachary has been cast in the Broadway National Tour of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang! He will be one of two boys playing Jeremy. For more information, go to http://www.chittyontour.com/!

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang begins its flight across America in November 2008. Zachary is currently in New York in rehearsals.

We're back home!

Well, it's been a long time since we posted. Honestly, tour life makes you get to a point where you get tired of posting, but I thought I'd write an update so everyone would know what is going on. Zachary and I returned home on September 2. We completed the first leg of the Sound of Music tour in Macau on August 21, then Zachary and I went to Thailand for a wonderful little vacation before returning home. One thing we've learned about Asia is that nothing is in stone until it's already happened! That was the case on this tour. Things in Asia seem to change regularly and as a result, our producers ended up deciding to bring the show home on a hiatus. We are told that there are plans to take it back, but at this point, that information is forthcoming. In the meantime, Zachary is going to New York in a couple of weeks for an audition and we hope to meet with some agents. The future is a bit unclear at this point, but that's life in the theatre. There are certainly many possibilities on the table, but we just have to wait and see what happens. Thanks to everybody who has been keeping up with this blog. We have continued to post photos and there are some really great pictures, so make sure you visit the photo site. For now, we'll sign off, but keep checking back occasionally to see what's going on!

Thanks! Carter & Zachary

Guangzhou - Hotter than Alabama!

It's hard to believe that a place can be hotter and muggier than Alabama in August, but we found it. Guangzhou has been unbelievably hot. So hot, they seem to bottle sweat here! We have all truly sweat buckets here. Thankfully, we got a bit of a respite yesterday as some rain moved in and cooled it down a bit. The show has been held in a gorgeous theatre called Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hall. Sun Yat-Sen is known as the father of modern China and the hall is in his honor. From the outside, it looks like a huge Chinese palace. Guangzhou is a fun city with all kinds of things to see. It is said that they eat anything that lives and breaths here and they sell them live in the markets. It is also a great place to buy pearls. We got some incredible deals. Tomorrow we fly to Fuzhou, then on to Macau from there. We found out recently that the tour is going to end after Macau. Everyone was a bit sad as the show is really amazing, but with the Olympics and the earthquake, bookings have been difficult. They hope to remount the show, but that remains to be seen. Zachary and I are going to spend a little over a week in Thailand before we come home on September 2.

Earthquake Relief Performance

Tonight was opening night in Shenzhen. It was a benefit performance for the victims of the Sichuan Earthquake. It was a very touching experience as about 20 children who survived the earthquake were in attendance wearing their native Sichuan dress. The children were from the city of Wenchuan which was the epicenter of the earthquake. We were told that their school was one of the many that collapsed and they were some of the few survivors. We were told that many of them no longer have parents. It was amazing to see them smiling and having fun trying to communicate with us. We counted together in Chinese, then we did it in English. They seemed to really enjoy teaching us Chinese words and thanked us for coming to China. At the end of the performance, the older children went onstage to present the cast with flowers. Somehow, it seemed the opposite of what it should be. They should be the ones receiving the flowers, but it was a very moving evening. You can see photos on the photo page.

Arrival in Shenzhen

Today, we flew from Nanning to Shenzhen. Our flight was only one hour, but it takes 12 hours by road. Glad we flew! Shenzhen is just across the border from Hong Kong. Unfortunately, Zachary and I won't be going to Hong Kong because my visa only allows a single entry into China and I would be stuck in Hong Kong! We can visit Hong Kong when we get to Macau in a few weeks, so it's not a big deal. Shenzhen is obviously a big city and has a very urban feel. It makes Nanning seem like a much smaller city, even though it was quite large with multi-millions of people. Tomorrow is the set load-in day and we have a press event in the morning. Our hotel is OK, not nearly as nice as in Nanning, but it will do. We've got the National Geographic Channel, BBC, and Cinemax, so at least we have some TV to watch!

Nanning's Next!

Today is our last full day in Harbin. The cast had the day off and Zachary and I struck out on our own for a while and explored the city a bit. The highlight was a wonderful lunch at a Russian restaurant that has been there since 1914. It looked like someone's well-decorated living room. The food was great and a much welcomed changed from Chinese and fast food.

Tomorrow we fly about 2,000 miles to the south to Nanning, China. Nanning is near the Vietnam border. We hope to visit Detian Falls which is the second largest border waterfall in the world behind Niagara Falls. Half of the falls are in China and the other half are in Vietnam. You have to be careful not to cross into Vietnam because a visa is required for entry and if you don't have one, it could be problematic!

After Nanning, the show goes to Shenzhen, which is just across the border from Hong Kong, Guangzhou, Fuzhou, and Macau.

Next update will be from Nanning!
Carter