I remember Micky was in a play called Remains To Be Seen back in the day, in St. Charles, IL. It was in the early summer of 1970, I think??? Oh you can bet I wanted to go, but my Dad wouldn't take me to see it. So now full circle, and I was going to see THIS one, lol. And to see him in something other than Monkee-related was such a treat for me. I was so glad I decided to take this little trip. Silly as it may sound, it was all just so.....magical, to me, after the last 2 yrs of grief I had just been through. Seeing Peter when I wasn't expecting to also had that kind of magical quality to it.
Of course, needless to say, Micky was fantastic in the play.
And well, Sunday morning about 10:30 I met him!!! He was coming out of his hotel to get a bite to eat before the matinee performance. The ones who knew him knew where he was staying. "We want you to meet a couple of fans who came up from Indiana", they were saying.
"Wow, you came from Indiana?", he asked. "Whereabouts?" We told him. I must have mellowed out from the time in 2001, because I was able to speak and act like a rational adult. "Have you seen the play yet?", he asked.
"Yes", we answered.
"Your performance was great!", I told him.
"Thanks!", he said. I didn't pay a lot of attention to the next things said, because he was talking about his website or something. Then he said, "Well I was on my way to lunch, and then I've got to go to work. Nice to meet you, and thanks for coming up here to see me in the play."
"You're welcome!", I said, we said. He turned and walked off (into the sunset, j/k, lol) out into the parking lot. The others went into the lobby of the motel. I sat down on a bench outside, just watching him walk till I couldn't see him anymore. He has such a confident energy about him. Wow. 'There he goes,' I thought to myself. 'I can't believe I just met him!'
After the matinee performance, a couple of cast members were in the lobby of the theater (the Warton Center), selling Pippin posters, with autographs of cast members on them. 'Ok,' I thought, 'I'll get one and then it will have his autograph on it!'. When I did, the others did too. The money, $20, was going towards a donation for breast cancer. One of the cast members then took the 4 of us to an area backstage! A few of them were coming out to meet us - "We think it's really neat," they were telling us, "that you are fans of Micky and are coming to see him." Then Micky came out. "Oh!," he said to us, "It's only you! I thought it was somebody important!" Everyone laughed because it was quite clear that he was being funny.
After the final performance that evening, we went to a nearby family-style pizza restaurant. Having already eaten, I got me a really rich piece of cheesecake. Delicious! The 4 of us were talking, laughing, having a good time - when we began to realize that we were seeing CAST members walking past us to a private area....it was their closing cast party!!! Someone must have told Micky we were there, because next thing you know, he just came walking right on over to our table!! He told the one sitting next to me in the booth to scoot over so he can sit down!! Oh wow I thought, what a nice guy to come over and say hello to us! All I can remember of the conversation is that he was talking about beards (because he wore a fake one onstage), and magic (don't remember why exactly). The whole thing was a blur of excitement to me. After a short while, he was getting up to go back to his fellow cast members. I asked the one next to me if she would let me out so I can give Micky a hug. "Sure!," she said, and we ALL proceeded to get up and pass hugs around, actually.
The next mid-morning, Monday, the cast was going in and out of their tour bus with their luggage, Micky included. They were headed for Toronto, Canada next. He saw us and came over. "Thanks for coming again, and have a safe trip home!"
"Thank you Micky for being so kind," I told him. "You have a safe trip too!" The others spoke to him also, and that's it! Once I got back home inside my own front door, I let 'er rip, lol. Jumping up and down and shrieking, "I met him! I met him!" - 2 of my sons were around and said "We take it you had a good time, Mom???", and I proceeded to tell them this story.
