Christmas All Over Again

Our last day in New York was Sunday. I had so much fun but I was ready to go home and open the rest of my presents. Sadly at the second show, Marquis got sick. So I had to fill in for him so he could go home and get better. I was happy to go on for him but the bad part about it was that we would be on a later train and we would open presents really late at night too. After the show, I was so excited to get home. I quickly put my bags in my room and ran to my presents. My first gift was a Nerf Long Blaster. It is so cool. It is 3ft long and can shoot far away. It also is a 2 in 1 shooter. So you can take it apart and have 2 shooters. That gift was from my sisters. My mom got me a sweat hoodie that was reversable. So now I have a reversable belt and hoodie. The last and final gift was from my dad. He got my sisters and I Dell laptops. I was so happy and amazed at the same time. I loved all of my gifts. On Monday, I went over my Great Grandmother's house to open my presents from her and my extended family. My Aunt Marion bought me a brown and gold winter coat. My uncle Arthur gave me dress socks. My great grandmother gave me a basketball. Finally my cousin Semaj gave me a Hot Wheels monster truck set. I was so thankful. But the sad part of the day was that I had to do a show that day. All of my family was at the house and I couldn't spend a lot of time with them. My cousins and uncle were here from Alabama and I didn't even get a chance to see them. I was so upset. When my dad and I got to the theatre, I was still feeling down. My mom gave me a pep talk on the phone and I felt much better. When we got home, guess what... my cousins were at my house waiting for me to get home. I was surprised and very happy! It was great to see them. Today was a quick day. It went by so fast. I played with all of my Christmas presents but mostly my Nerf Long Blaster. Then it was time for me to go to New York. At the theatre, one of the past Young Nalas came to visit Niki. She still looks the same as her pictures when she was younger. She is going to college. The show was great and I had a great Christmas. TTYL

Alphonso

Christmas In New York

Yesterday was one of my favorite Christmas days. We are staying in a hotel in New York for the Christmas weekend. We didn't open as many gifts because we did not want to have to carry a whole bunch of gifts home. We will open the rest of the gifts on Sunday when we go home. We also went to see the Radio City Christmas Show and the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree. The show was amazing. My favorite part of the show was when they did a 3-D flight on Santa's sleigh. The tree was beautiful and big. There were alot of people at the tree. But I still had a good view so I could marvel at the gigantic tree. When we were leaving the tree, a car was trying to go through the people walking. This man hit the top on the car so hard that we thought he had dented the hood. The man yelled at the driver then the driver rolled down the window and started yelling back. It was crazy! We ate at Park Ave Cafe and this comedian named Jackie Mason came in. He sat right next to us. People were asking him for his autograph even while he was eating. My mom told me that I should watch how he handles himself because I may have to experience the same thing. Today I was so tired that I thought it was Sunday. By the time it was 12:00pm I realized that it was Saturday. We got to leave the hotel so much later because we did not have to catch the train. That's another plus about staying here. At work, I did not know I had the morning show. I pulled myself together and I prepared to go on. Between shows my family and I went to a new place called Dukes. I got my food from the mini buffet. They had good food. The second show went well and now my dad and I are going back to the hotel to join my sisters and my mom. TTYL

Alphonso

God is Still Working Miracles

Today I had a very crazy morning. There was a power outage between Newark and New York. We had to get off the train at Newark, get on the Path to the World Trade Center, then take a #3 train back to Times Square. We just made it there by 5 minutes. We would have never did it without the help of a God sent stranger. He was very nice and showed us how to get to the subway from the World Trade Center and then to the theatre. When I went to the theatre, I went backstage and started getting dressed when I couldn't find my biker shorts. I went outside the room to see if they were hanging up but they weren't. I tried to go back in the room but the door was locked. I felt so embarrassed standing outside my room with no pants or shirt on. After a while, my dresser found me and helped me get back in the room. She also gave me my biker shorts. At second act, Niki and I made Christmas picture frames. They were great fun to make. My frame was really nice. Between shows my mom and I stayed in the lobby. I had so much energy that I was flipping and dancing around the whole time. By the time I went backstage for the second show, I was on the verge of a deep sleep. When the show started, I stayed in the control room with the operator Butch. He controls Pride Rock and all of the elevators on stage. It was so much fun watching everything happen. I even learned about a few of the buttons and cues. Today started frantic but ended wonderful. TTYL



Alphonso

PS. If you'd like to see my holiday interviews backstage at the Lion King, go to Broadway.com and look under videos. I have on a Santa hat. Enjoy!

Malls, Toy Stores and Saying Good Bye

On Friday, my mom and I got on an earlier train than we usually take so we could go to Manhattan Mall. As we started to walk, we ran into a big problem. We could not find the mall. We looked and looked until finally we saw little letters on a sign that said Manhattan Mall. We laughed at ourselves because the sign was right in front of us. If it was a snake, it would have bit us. The mall was kind of small inside. It was not like any other mall I've ever been to. The food court was small too. All they had was soup and sandwiches. I got some soup for lunch. After we left the mall, we went to Kmart to buy some Christmas cards and some gloves for me. There were a lot of cards for me to choose from. I picked the cutest ones.

On Saturday between shows, my dad and I went to FAO Schwarz. It was so cool in there. The store had big animals and helicopters and the big piano. My favorite thing was the puppet making area. You could make a Muppet that looks just like the ones on Sesame Street. I wanted to get one, but my dad said we would get it another day. After the show, there was a big snow storm. The snow in only a few inches in New York but Trenton's snow was past my knees. My dad said he was two seconds away from booking us a hotel room.

On Sunday, my dad and I took an earlier train to New York because of the snow. We did not want to take any chances. It was Jeremy's last day filling in for Marquis so it was really gloomy backstage. Between shows was our last Green Couch Series for this year. All of the performances were phenomenal. I loved it. When Jeremy was about to leave, it took us forty minutes to say goodbye. I was really sad.

Today was a easy day. We helped my teacher unload and deliver gift for the Boys and Girls Club. There were about 100 toys in the classroom. I thought that was very nice of him to give gifts. Before I left school, he gave me a remote control car and a MP3 player. I said thank you about a million times. Before we left to go to the train station, we stopped over my great grandmother's house. She was so glad to see me and so were my god parents. My mom and I stayed at her house for about fifteen minutes then we left. At work, everyone was excited to see Marquis. There was great anticipation to see him walk by. When he finally came, he was very excited to be back too. Today's show went by fast. Time flies when you are having fun. TTYL

Alphonso

Math is Not That Hard After All

Yesterday I had a rehearsal. We rehearsed the Grasslands scene. We changed alot of things in that scene. After rehearsal, Jeremy and I went to Dave & Busters. We won 2,168 tickets on one game. That's the most tickets I've ever won. We were dancing around the machine every time we won the bonus amount of tickets. The people in there were looking at us like we were crazy. I had so much fun. When we got to the theatre, we showed Niki all of the things we got from the prize store. Today, my mom taught me some math techniques on the train going to work. It really helped me figure out the value of fractions and decimals. I was happy when I caught on and I was able to figure the problems out. Suddenly it was so easy. Thanks Mom. I had rehearsal at Ripley Grier today also. We rehearsed our scenes with Mufasa. We didn't change much though. After rehearsal, Jeremy and I went to the movies to see Planet 51. The movie was super hilarious. I loved the movie. Today's show was great. TTYL

Alphonso

Getting Use to Interviews

Yesterday I went to the dentist. I was so happy because the dentist said I had no cavities. After my appointment I went to the shoe store and bought some UGGS. They are so warm and they look very nice. I got them in a chesnut color. When I went home my Godmother came over and gave me my birthday present. She bought me the newest Hess truck. It looks like a sports car and you can store another car in the hood. It is really cool. After that my cousin came home from college and then my family, cousin and I went to the movies to see The Princess and the Frog. I loved that movie. Some parts were very scary though. Today I had an interview with Time Kids Magazine. The reporter was very nice. This was my first time being interviewed by a 9 or 10 year old. She asked Shannon and me about the audition process. She also took pictures of the sets and the costumes. Today was also my first time performing on a Tuesday. I noticed that the performance was the same as any other show. At second act I did my home work. I had to define 20 words. I finished it all. My mom was very proud of me. TTYL

Alphonso

A Sweet Weekend

On Saturday, I performed both of the shows because Marquis had a contractual obligation. Jeremy came just to be standby backstage just in case I get sick. I'm enjoying the process so far and Jeremy and I can talk more. It's so good to be able to see him instead of talking on the phone or texting all the time. Saturday was also the big sale on everything in the merchandise shop. Almost every cast member was shopping for Christmas in there. I bought a new Lion King sweat hoodie. I needed the extra warmth. Niki also sold some of her candy at the sale too. I helped her give change and prepare orders. The sale was great and it was alot of fun.

Today I also did both shows. Everybody kept asking me if I was tired yet. My response was no I am not tired. I'm enjoying it. During second act, Shereen, Shannon, Jeremy, and I helped set up for sweets and treats. Sweets and treats is a big party with candies, cakes, cookies, and more. I didn't eat too much knowing I had to do both shows. I had what I thought was an oatmeal raisin cookie with vanilla drizzle but it was actually a pumpkin cookie with cranberries and vanilla drizzle. At least I got the vanilla drizzle part right. Our break was very short. By the time I was in the middle of eating, it was call time for the second show. This weekend was filled with sweets and treats. TTYL

Alphonso

A Really Cold Day

Today was really cold. I had so many layers on. I couldn't believe how cold it was. What made it worse was that our rehearsal today was not for any of the kids. There was a change on the schedule but we didn't get it. So we sat and watched the rehearsal in the theatre. I was really bored for those hours after the rehearsal. It was a long time before my report time so my mom and I just hung out in the lobby of the theatre. I did my show and when we left, it was freezing outside. I was so glad that the train was warm. TTYL

Alphonso

Happy Birthday to Me

On Tuesday, in school, I made a card in art class. The card was wishing my whole family a Merry Christmas. On the inside of the card, I made a pop-up Christmas tree. I brought the card home and showed my mom. She said that it was absolutely wonderful and it was good drawing. My mom was feeling a little under the weather so she didn't take me to the show. My dad filled in for my mom. I thought that it was nice of him to take me to the show. At the show, I was so eager for the day to end because my birthday was the next day. On the way home, I found out that I wasn't going on Wednesday because the producers were coming and they already saw me and wanted to see Marquis. I was perfectly fine with that because I wanted them to see both of us and not just me. When I got home, I went straight to bed. I could not wait for my birthday.



Wednesday was my birthday. I woke up, ran down stairs, and into my mom and dad's room then yelled," Birthday Boy!" My mom tickled me for a long time after my big appearance. I was so happy for it to be my birthday. What made it better was that I got to leave early from work and be with my family even longer. At intermission, the cast sang "Happy Birthday" and then ate cake. When I got home my family went out to eat at the "Golden Corral". We had so much fun and ate a lot. I was stuffed like a turkey on Thanksgiving. At home we watched tv for the rest of the night. I had a really good birthday.



Today Shereen and I interviewed the cast for Broadway.com. The interviews were about the holiday season. The questions were, what's your favorite carol, what's your favorite gift, what's the craziest thing that ever happened on Christmas, and what is your favorite tradition for Christmas. I thought the interwviews were hilariuos and so much fun. I felt like a news reporter. I did an interview with the hyenas and they were acting really crazy. Backstage, I played board games and played on the computer. One more day to go then the weekend is here. TTYL



Alphonso

And The Winner Is.....

This morning, I did not want to wake up. My bones hurt from all that Cub Olympics, which was yesterday and my nose was running because I was taking pictures in the lobby and it was cold. Yesterday was the last Cub Olympic session and today was the awards ceremony. Before the ceremony, there was a Green Couch Concert series. All of the acts were totally hilarious. They were also very melangulous. My favorite was the Pridelands News performed by Dashaun Young and Ta'rea Campbell. They made jokes on everybody in the cast. I thought their skit was super funny. At the award ceremony, I won most improved in up/downs and 2nd place overall. I was proud of myself for doing the best I could. My mom was proud too. During the second show, I made a mouse and a cat shadow puppet. When I finished making those, I played with the little dogs that were in my dressing room. You could say they were mine because they are always in my dressing room. The only bad thing is that my room smells funny when they come in. But I don't mind the smell because dogs will be dogs. That pretty much sums up the weekend. I'm gonna go home and get some rest for school tomorrow. TTYL

Alphonso

Are You Merlangulous?

Yesterday I had the biggest head ache of my life. It felt like someone was throwing rocks at my head. That is the reason I did not do my blog. I could not think very well. I went home, took some medicine and went to bed. Today I woke up happy and head ache free. In school we wrote a story on how a fifth grader was ship wrecked on an island. He lived for a month and then was rescued. The first story I wrote was completely off topic. It was totally merlangulous. Merlangulous is a word I made up that means extremely outrageous. (I'm trying to get people to use it so that it can be put in Webster's Dictionary) I re-wrote the story and it was great. It was much better than my first story. At work I had rehearsal. I basically laid down for the staging of the Hakunna Matata scene the whole time. The stage managers were saying jokes like "You worked pretty hard" or "Your going to get major notes on that". (Laugh) During the show I practiced my guitar for a long time. I wanted to get the chords right so I could learn more. My fingers were hurting badly. After I played my guitar I sat around and signed more Lion King posters for Broadway Cares Equity Fights Aids. We are raising lots of money for the people in need. Today went very fast. Tomorrow it Friday and then the weekend is here. TTYL

Alphonso
PS: Don't forget to use merlangulous as much as possible. (mur-lan-gu-lus)

Christmas is Coming

Today we made Christmas trees in class. They were made out of paper. At the theatre, Niki brought her puppet backstage. I was making funny jokes with it. After that, I hung out with the dogs. The dogs were grumbling because they didn't want to play together. It got kinda boring because the dogs had to split up. I had to get new shoes because I grew out of my old ones. This time I got a size seven. I didn't know my foot was that big. Our dresser, Katherine, came back from a leave of absence. We were so happy to see her. Oh, I forgot to say that my dad rented the movie "Holes". Some parts were better than the book. I would suggest that you read the book and watch the movie because both were great! TTYL

Alphonso