Des Moines, IA

After a much needed rest at home I arrived in Des Moines. I spent our time in Des Moines reading the Hunger Games Trilogy and eating much too many times at this "Sizzler-type" restaurant called Spaghetti Works! In Des Moines I also got lost quite a few times in the SkyWalk that connects all the buildings downtown. We were thrown a nice little opening night party by one of the local restaurants. They even featured a special dessert in my character's honor.

Sacramento, CA

We arrived in Sacramento on January 23rd and stayed for one week. Sacramento had a little more for us to do. Clay, Chris, Gizel and I spent a fun day in Old Sacramento. I overdosed on saltwater taffy but loved it! We ate on a boat restaurant and went back in time to the wild wild west.

San Jose, CA

I've neglected this blog for a while so the next few cities are going to be a little less detailed since I'm working off my memory but thankfully I have pictures to remind me! By the time I reached San Jose I was looking forward to going home for our one week layoff. We arrived there on January 16th and stayed for one week, While I enjoy traveling around to cities I've never been, sometimes we perform in cities where there isn't much to do. San Jose was one of those quiet cities. Luckily in San Jose I had a special visit from my friend Ken (whom I met in Paris with his wife Ellen). He came to see the show with his family and I was very happy to finally meet them all!

Ross and I meet our biggest littlest fan!

Seattle, WA

Seattle was fun. It really helped that my special someone came and spent the week with me. We made a list at the beginning of the week of all that we wanted to see. I'm happy to report we accomplished quite a bit, considering I was singing my butt off in the evenings after our days of fun! First we went to Pike Market where there were lots of craft tables and seafood sellers. And we saw the first Starbuck's ever! The next day we had lunch at the Space Needle. The food was yummy. And the views were beautiful. Afterwards we went to the EMP Museum (Experience Music Museum). They have an huge Jimi Hendrix exhibition

plus other various music sections. Oddly, they also had a exhibition on the movie Avatar. We didn't love the museum. It was interesting but the space wasn't utilized well. The next day we walked 1 1/2 miles to Pioneer Square. This area was pretty but the cold weather had us rushing back to the coziness of our hotel.

The Paramount Theatre was lovely to perform in. The design of the orchestra seats and lobby was reminiscent of an opera house. Lovely wall decor and chandeliers were seen thru-out. But the real gem was my giant dressing room. I had a fireplace (unfortunately my dresser and I couldn't get it on) and a jacuzzi tub in my bathroom! I didn't use either but it certainly was an experience to have that as my space for a week. It was one of the treats of this tour so far.

Although I enjoyed Seattle very much, I was happy to leave the gray skies and head to the sun in San Jose, CA.

Portland, OR: Behind the Scenes

BEHIND THE SCENES WITH THE CAST

I asked some of the Sharks..."What has been your favorite thing about Portland so far? What has been your favorite restaurant or meal in Portland?"

Alexandra Redelico (Swing)

"Probably the vintage stores. The shopping is unbelieveable because it's not all just generic things, there are a lot of "mom and pop" shops. I love the food carts because it's such a variety. I just love the culture here and all the people are really nice and helpful.

My favorite restaurant was at the Ace Hotel. The restaurant is called Clyde Common. The truffled popcorn and roasted chicken were really good, as was the steak. And the drinks were amazing! The bartender is a famous mixologist and made all these fun house cocktails."

German Santiago (Bernardo)

"My favorite thing about Portland is that its very eco-friendly. I loved the Pearl district. And I loved the martinis at the Vault Martini Bar."

Waldemar Quinones-Villanueva (Tio, u/s Bernardo, Chino)

"I loved the duck confit springs roles at Veritable Quandary (VQ). And the martinis!"

Michael Scirrotto (Pepe, u/s Bernardo)

"My favorite thing about portland has been the views and the hiking. It's amazing how green the city is. And the shopping has been great. The breweries has been really fun too!"

Denver, CO

Here we are in Denver. I'm staying at the Magnolia hotel and it is beautiful. I'm staying in of one the extended stay suites with a kitchen, and what a treat it has been to be able to cook food and not just eat microwavable meals (or P & J ). We're a block away from the 16th Street Mall which is a 2 mile strip of stores. It's been wonderful to have everything within walking distance. Gizel (Rosalia) and I have become frequent shoppers at the corner Walgreen's, as have many of the other cast members. If anyone wants to see any of us out of character after a show that's the place to go! The first week in Denver we had some press to do. Ross Lekites (Tony), Ryan Ghysels (our dance captain) and I did a sit down interview with Eden Lane for her show on PBS "In Focus with Eden Lane".

Here is the link:

http://blip.tv/infocustv/in-focus-with-eden-lane-411-west-side-story-evergreen-players-5845757

I also did an interview for Big Hollywood.

Here is the link:

http://bighollywood.breitbart.com/cftoto/2011/12/22/bh-interview-west-side-storys-evy-ortiz-tackling-a-timeless-romance-with-a-21st-century-spin/

After press I was free to explore with my guy who came to visit me. We walked all over, looking at the beautiful architecture and even visited Occupy Denver (although there didn't seem to be much occupying going on, just a few people hanging around smoking.) We walked Larimer Street which is pretty and quaint with lots of little shops and decorated for the holidays.

We walked along the Cherry Creek Trail which runs thru Denver to get to the aquarium. Another successful day of exploring in yet another city.

Its been busy here in Denver with a 16 show run with no day off the first two weeks and flying home for the holiday. We all needed those days off to finally recover! After going home to NY for the holiday, it's the final week here in Denver and I'm getting ready to head to the next stop Portland, OR. We have two shows on New Year's Eve and a matinee on New Year's Day, so the celebrations aren't going to be too crazy for me.

So far Denver has been a great city to perform in and explore!

Denver: Behind the Scenes

BEHIND THE SCENES WITH THE CAST

I asked some of the Jets..."What is your favorite thing about Denver so far? What has been your favorite restaurant or meal?"

Chris Rice (Baby John/ Tony understudy)

"I really love the responsive audiences. There's a really big theatre community here and its really exciting to have good audiences and to feel like they're excited to be a part of the show.

I had these amazing nachos at Rock Bottom Brewery on 16th Street. It was delicious so definitely check it out if you're in Denver!"

Clay Thompson (A-Rab)

"My favorite thing about Denver has been the beauty of the mountains.

My favorite place to eat so far has been Sam's No. 3 Diner. I had the french toast and it was really good. I've been there multiple times and I plan on going again before I leave."

Casey Garvin (Deisel)

"My favorite thing about Denver has been the beautiful landscape we're surrounded by, it's mind blowing. And it's good to be back doing the show. Everything here is so festive and there's something on every block, whether it be food or a store, the town is so easily accessible.

One of my favorite place so far to eat is Sam's No. 3 Diner. The omelettes are so good!"

Christie Portera (Velma/ Graziela understudy)

"I love the free mall ride on 16th Street and Larimer Street because it has a ton of little individual shops.

The best meal I've had so far was at Rioja. And the Euclid Bar was great too. The chicken and waffles were amazing!"