I am two weeks away from going to London. It is exciting and overwhelming. It is different pressure than the lead up to Broadway. The show was a question mark going to New York, but the city was familiar. This time the show is familiar and London is the question mark. Everyone says how "The British will love this show." I certainly hope they are right.

There is an official website for the London run it is: www.thetwoandonly.co.uk

Speaking of the UK. This weekend I performed at a benefit for the SHARE organization. They were honoring Nigel Lithgow, the creator of "American Idol" and "So you think you can dance." He is a Brit and now one of the successful American television producers. I thought I knew him when, so I walked up and said, "Nigel, I'm Jay Johnson, I think we have worked together before." He immediately said, "Jay, how are you? Of course we did. You were a guest on the Joe Longthorne Show. I remember it well, it was filmed at the BBC Nottingham studios. You performed with Bob and we loved it." We continued to chat like old school chums. This was in the mid eighties but he remembered it well. I had forgotten the star's name and many of the details that he recounted. We were finally interrupted by a mother pushing her 12 year old son toward Nigel. She completely highjacked him from our conversation and began to praise the singing talents of her son. She was pushy, out of line, rude and obnoxious. Nigel was gracious and understanding. He must get his fill of dealing with stage mothers, but seemed very good at it. I remember him being a nice guy back when and it is great to see that success does not have to change that. Here is to you and your success Nigel.

I haven't updated this blog since we ended the North American tour (and I use that term loosely) We finished our run at the Napa Valley Opera house and a theater in Antioch, CA. There was a heat wave in Northern California and when we arrived at the theater in Napa, the air-conditioner was out. It was hot... jungle hot in the theatre. We had to do the matinee in that heat, but they got it working just in time for the evening show.

The next day we are in Antioch, about 40 minutes away. When we arrived the theatre owner met us in the parking lot to say "Well, we have an issue." We assumed it was a staging issue. However, the production stage manager said, jokingly, "Well, as long as the air-conditioner works. Ha Ha Ha." The guy didn't laugh, but said, "Well, as a matter of fact... our air-conditioner is out." To say the last shows were hot is a real and accurate statement. I have never been so hot. It was a sauna. I was a living hell for me who likes to keep the dressing room the same temperature as a meat locker. However, here is and email I got from a person that sat through one of those steam bath performance.

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"For a Mother’s Day gift, I bought tickets to take my mom to your show. We attended your matinee performance in Napa.

Regarding the show, we both loved it. The show was a perfect balance of humor, history and humanity. I had read a couple of glowing reviews when your show was in New York. The Tony Award was richly deserved. I am so happy your amazing talent was lauded and celebrated.

Regarding the Napa Valley Opera House, you deserve a special award for your performance there. Yes, of course, there are hot days in Napa and, yes, equipment can fail. For you to perform in that heat shows your professionalism and dedication to your fans. By the end of your show, the air was oppressive. You had to endure the added heat from the lights. Thank you for going on with the performance despite the undesirable conditions. I consider myself lucky to have seen your show. If your show returns to the Bay Area, I will tell all my friends to go to see you. Really fantastic.

Thank you,
Julie "
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Thank you Julie. Sometimes we forget the effort an audience goes through to attend.
As you were,
Jay