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About the Show
Oz's "wonderful" wizard is known for traveling in a hot air balloon, but in the national tour of Wicked, transportation is a bit different for Tom McGowan Below, the Frasier and Everybody Loves Raymond actor shares why he has to remain boring after shows and how to avoid being jealous of other restaurant patrons.
When settling into a hotel, always locate the nearest:
If a city has a Whole Foods, I know I can get Greek yogurt, almonds and fruit and at least have my breakfasts covered. It’s also a great place for salads, sandwiches and other healthier choices. It can be hard to eat healthy on the road. When I first joined the Wicked tour, I was gaining a pound a month. That doesnʼt sound too bad, until you realize that 10 months later—presto, thatʼs 10 pounds! I remember telling the cast; “You might be going on the Wicked tour, but Iʼm going on the Barbeque Tour!” We went to Memphis, Austin and Kansas City!
My method of staying fit while traveling is:
Hitting the gym five or six days a week. It’s the one habit I’ve been good at for the last three years. We have all this down time during the day, so there really is no excuse. The hotels usually have a gym, and if it has a working elliptical and some weights, I’m good. But usually, company management arranges a deal with a local gym to let us work out while we’re in town at a bargain rate, which is great because quite often, they’re fantastic facilities.
My sure-fire way of decompressing from the show is:
Being boring. As Iʼve gotten older Iʼve learned that having a drink or eating almost anything after the show means I wonʼt sleep well, which is really depressing because I used to love to go out after the show and socialize to wind down. Now, The Daily Show and a bowl of Kashi GOLEAN Crunch is about as exciting as I get.
When arriving in a new city, the most important thing to do is:
Your research. I always check Yelp, Trip Advisor, Fodor’s, LocalEats and Urbanspoon before I get to a city. You can pick out places to see and must-do activities, but mainly, you find out the best inexpensive places to eat. You can even find out exactly what to order. There is nothing more annoying than chomping down on your mediocre chicken sandwich when every table around you is having the BLT!
The most important thing to avoid in a new city is:
Avoid chain restaurants, rooms near the elevator, places that still allow smoking and people who think you can get them free tickets to Wicked.
See Tom McGowan when Wicked plays the Paramount Theatre from October 10 through November 17.
