Back stage on a cruise ship yields neatly packaged treats, treasures

For this couple, the world's great cruise ship lines offer opportunity to perform magic, dancing, and other treats.

SINGERS, HOOFERS,

Gowns, boas, beautifully pressed and stored, await their time
 in the spotlight.  A stage hand does inventory.

MAGICIANS ANSWER

SEA'S SIREN CALL 

TO ENTERTAIN 

PASSENGERS

                                                                                                      STORY By CHRISTENE MEYERS

An actor's life for talented singers and dancers aboard Royal Caribbean.

PHOTOS By BRUCE KELLER

SPACE IS SMALL, but spirits  soar  for thousands of Broadway babies singing and dancing their way around the world on top cruise ships.
For these talented hoofers, jugglers, comics, singers and actors -- would-be Broadway babies --  production values are large aboard the best ships, including  Royal Caribbean's Serenade of the Seas.
Full-scale but shortened versions of Broadway hits such as "Chicago" are produced to the delight of audiences as the ship moves through the waters......

Royal Caribbean's Serenade of the Seas is a floating
palace with delightful venues and showcases.

Additional entertainment on upscale cruise lines ranges from classical guitar, jazz piano and versatile duos,  to acrobats and even ice skating.
BACKSTAGE on a moving ship, there is truly a place for everything.  On a multi-thousand-ton vessel filled to capacity with passengers and crew, the entertainment is a huge draw.  Cruisers -- especially those who've
logged many miles on the world's oceans and around her ports -- expect and desire top shows.
We want sets that sparkle, special effects that dazzle, costumes that convince and a fine orchestra.

Violinist dazzles her audiences with classical, jazz tunes. 

That happens aboard today's top-ranked ships. They audition around the world, rehearse usually in Florida or California, then set sail to engage and enthrall us while we're enjoying our holidays on the water.
WE RECENTLY spent an entertaining morning with the dancers, singers, instrumentalists, magicians and comics aboard Serenade of the Seas, in the Royal Caribbean International fleet.

Feathers for a fancy headdress await performance time backstage.

She was in the last few days of a splendid Atlantic crossing from Barcelona, to Cadiz (with a land tour into Seville), through the Canary Islands and into the Caribbean, finally docking at the port of New Orleans.
THE SHIP-SHAPE, energetic ensemble came from Atlanta, Los Angeles, Tampa, Chicago and other U.S. cities -- with a few Brits and Aussies thrown in the mix.

The Centrum on Royal Caribbean's Serenade of the Seas
is used for fancy acrobatics, to the delight of the audience.

Most had been with the company for several years -- one for 14 -- and all described with animation and enthusiasm their at-sea adventures.
THEY WERE FULL of fascinating anecdotes.  One daughter of a Royal Caribbean seamstress described her "family affair" with the sea,

A passion for percussion and foreign ports
 led this drum set's owner to a touring life.

and her mother's talents at letting costumes in or making them larger, depending on the size of the performer.
WHILE THE production rigors call for shapely and fit performers, the bodies range from small and short to tall and thin, and a few of the specialty singers are not necessarily tiny.  Thus the expensive costumes must be able to be let out or taken in as the performer's size dictates.
Costumes are mended and laundered on a regular basis, to keep them shiny and sparkling.  And an inventory is taken after each show to make certain everything has been returned to its place.
THE DAY we toured the backstage area, we walked past gleaming percussion instruments and behind the stage curtains to a well organized world of hats and shoes, gowns and sequins, and a veritable steamer trunk of props.



COMING SOON: Tips on the intricacies of renting a car abroad, inside Oregon's internationally famous Shakespeare Festival, a traveling musician's life, explorer Cabrillo and his legacy and monuments in San Diego, Ashland Oregon's lively cabaret, plus a view from the bridge and a visit to the venerable Queen Mary, now a Long Beach hotel. Remember to explore, learn and live, and please tell your friends to visit us Wednesdays and weekends at:
www.whereiscookie.com