Follow Jonalyn Saxer through a two show day with the Roundabout Theatre Company production of Holiday Inn, The New Irving Berlin Musical which officially opened on Broadway October 6. Based on the Oscar-winning film, the cast of the new production at Studio 54 is led by Tony nominees Bryce Pinkham and Megan Lawrence, along with Megan Sikora, Corbin Bleu, Lee Wilkof and Lora Lee Gayer.
Flip through the 38 photos documenting her day below:
Good Morning!! After snoozing multiple alarms I finally wake up enough for a few morning cuddles with my dog Penelope!
I started this Saturday morning with a great Hot Yoga class at Y7! As a dancer, it's super important to stay fit and healthy. Yoga and pilates are my favorite to keep my strength and flexibility and help me not get injured. (not pictured is me as a sweaty mess afterwards. You're welcome).
After showering and having breakfast after class, it's time to take Penelope for her second walk of the day! She's 10 years old and needs a fabulous coat to stay warm in this freezing weather.
Walking into the theater we have lots of fun things all over the walls! Top left: our sign in board with the sing in sheet, PT signups, Weekly schedule, and lots of other important memos! Top Right: All of the wonderful Opening notes from the other shows on Broadway. One of my favorite traditions. My favorite thing to do is look at each one and see where my friends from other shows have signed and what they said! Bottom Left: We're ready for the holidays with a Company holiday party, and a toy drive! Bottom Right: Our swings are so amazing, they set up a trivia game for us to play at intermission! Sadly, the girls lost, but we had lots of fun. Some questions included how many taps are used in one show, and how many firecrackers go off!!
My station! The girls have certainly made ourselves at home at Studio 54. We have lots of holiday decorations up, as well as some princess coloring pages that I colored myself!
Saturday is Juice Day! Our amazing leading man, Bryce Pinkham, gave us free fresh juice every saturday morning as our Opening night gift! It's the perfect way to start the weekend!
Time for my wig! The incredible Gabrielle Vincent styles my wig everyday, and helps keep it secured on my head! I love that my wig looks so much like my real hair! Most people don't even realize I'm wearing a wig! It's a testament to how incredible Gabi is, as well as our wig designer Chuck.
The show has started! Shina Morris and I aren't in the show until the end of the first number, so we use the empty dressing room during the overature and Stepin' Out to stretch and make sure our bodies are warm and ready for the show!
Since I'm not in Heat Wave, I get into my turkey costume early and wait in our green room/hallway while the other girls get dressed. It's a small dressing room and turkey tails take up a lot of space!
It's a fun show this afternoon! Our swing, Barry Busby, is on today and will be my partner in Plenty to Be Thankful For. Barry and I were swings together in Honeymoon in Vegas, and I love getting to partner with him!
After Thanksgiving it's time for Christmas! You'd never guess, but my favorite costume is my Christmas bows that I wear in my hair for "Shakin' the Blues Away". Gabi and I love getting into the Christmas spirit with these adorable bows!
Intermission is the only substantial break the girls really have during the show. And what a lively room it is!
Caught the boys relaxing during their big break. While the girls and Corbin are running around during Easy to Dance With, the boys have some time to relax in the dressing room.
Many people might not know, but there is no onstage crossover to get from Stage left to Stage right. We always have to go down the stairs through the basement to get to the other side, except for me during the top of Act 2. I have to make a quick cross from Stage right to left, but the only space is really small, and the only thing blocking me from the audience is a wall of WINDOWS! I have to crawl across the stage so that I can't be seen through the windows. Now that's what I call Broadway!
Downstairs I catch our swings hanging out on the couches. It's great that we have such smart, wonderful, and talented swings to keep the show afloat! (L to R: Parker Slaybaugh, Barry Busby, Jennifer Foote, Caley Crawford).
During Firecrackers the entire ensemble has to change into their tap shoes! Since we have so many costumes and shoes in the show, our silver tap shoes are stored in the hallway, so most of the girls just sit right down and change their shoes there! (Also caught fixing a shoelace is our incredible Charlie, Morgan Gao!)
This ensemble of girls enjoys our snacks! We have two entire shelves in the dressing room
devoted to snacks. I caught Samantha Sturn, Shina Morris, and Catherine Ricafort grabbing some fuel before the Wedding scene!
devoted to snacks. I caught Samantha Sturn, Shina Morris, and Catherine Ricafort grabbing some fuel before the Wedding scene!
Time for Dinner! After I eat I head up to the 4th floor for my PT session. Jumping rope and tapping 8 times a week takes a tole on your ankles!
Lots of Cast members (including myself) like to nap in between shows. I like to get set up underneath my station for a quick nap. Kevin Worley is able to sleep anywhere, and it takes a lot to wake him up!
Between shows, a few of us helped my friend Holly Butler record a special segments for her 12 Days of Broadway Christmas! Make sure to check her instagram out to see our cast on day 6, along with a whole bunch of other broadway shows on the other days!
Time for show number 2! Before every show we have "jump call" where we practice all the jump-roping sections. We have to make sure we are consistent and safe so that it goes smoothly every night. Moving the rope are Victor Wisenhart and Kevin Worley. My fellow jumping gals are Amy VanNorstrand and Darien Crago.
Will Burton is back as my pilgrim for the second show! I guess he's okay. (You'll see him as a lead in Hello Dolly after we close!)
Corbin Bleu and Lora Lee Gayer also have to wait downstairs while everyone gets ready for Turkeys. They have such a great relationship on and off the stage.
It's Secret Santa time! Today ensemble member Amanda Rose got a whole plate of sugar cookies! How lucky!
Look closely at our ankles and you'll see little worm looking things going down our legs. Four ladies and two men wear tap mics for our big christmas number. This is an additional microphone we put around our waist and run down our tights to make sure you can hear our tap sounds nice and clear! (LtoR: Darien Crago, Me, Paige Williams, Amy VanNorstrand).
Our incredible Orchestra likes to hang out in the hallway during intermission. They all look so dapper in their suits! I love that the audience gets to see them while they play!
Look at how much Rick Kelly and the wardrobe team have collected for the Toy Drive! It's awesome! (Note, the bonnet is not a toy, as much as it may look like one ;)).
During the Enteracte, our electritian Josh helps me stay in shape by planking with me every day! Our crew is awesome by being amazing at their jobs while also having so much fun with us!
After Easy to Dance with, Larry helps Darien and Paige get ready for their winter crosses!
This is Grace and Arnold. If you follow us throughout the show, you might see a relationship blossom before your eyes! My fellow cast mate Drew Reddington and I had a lot of fun creating our ensemble characters with a story line of our very own that continues throughout the group scenes of the show.
One of our incredible female dressers Julien sets ups everyone's costumes for our Valentines day change. There's not much time between numbers, and we would never be fully dressed without our dressers! The organization boggles my mind
It's Easter Bonnet time! After the girls all finish getting our bonnets on we have a moment to hang out behind the curtain before the show. It's always fun to be able to play with your castmates and connect with everyone throughout the show.
Darien Crago always waits for Morgan Gao to exit and they complete some sort of high-five or handshake! They've done everything from a foot-five to a little explosion of confetti!
Bryce's dressing room is on the second floor on the otherside of the building, so we often catch him hanging out on the stairs with his dresser John Hardy. As you can see, we are a very serious cast that never jokes around ever. (That was sarcasm).
Our last backstage bit of fun is with the hilarious Megan Sikora! Together we make a tunnel for the rest of the cast who has to quick change into their wedding outfits!
I was lucky enough to have my childhood tap teacher Maggie Danielson at the show tonight! Most people don't know that Catherine Ricafort and I grew up going to the same dance
studio, and had a lot of the same teachers! Maggie got to see two former students in the same Broadway show! Maggie taught me everything I know about tap, and it was so exciting to have her in the audience!
studio, and had a lot of the same teachers! Maggie got to see two former students in the same Broadway show! Maggie taught me everything I know about tap, and it was so exciting to have her in the audience!
Every saturday night somebody in the company hosts a "shot night." Tonight it was some members of our backstage crew. It's nice to have a chance to socialize after the show with our whole company!
Once I get home I take Penelope on one last walk and sit down to eat an after show snack! Right now I'm fond of cheese,crackers, and Kalamata olives. Penelope likes to partake sometimes too. Mostly she's just happy to see her mom after a long two show day! Now time to go to bed so I can wake up for class and do another show tomorrow!
Visit roundabouttheatre.org, or call (212) 719‐1300 for tickets or more information. Studio 54 is located at 254 West 54thStreet, New York.
