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I spent three months in New York City last year. Late in November, I heard that Michael Tylo was appearing in Twelfth Night in Las Vegas. Even more exciting, I was told that if I could get to Vegas, Michael would be kind enough to arrange a ticket for me to see the play and meet with him afterwards. I had been planning a trip out west, so how could I say no to that? I booked my flights and my hotel and was all set to go take over Vegas. Michael called me to set up the meeting. I missed his first call and nearly dropped the phone when I heard the message he'd left in my voice mail. I eventually called him back, and despite the fact that leaving voice mail intimidates me to no end (a Finnish thing that Americans don't seem to understand), I left him a message. I answered right away when he returned my call. He told me he had arranged a ticket for me and instructed me to meet him backstage after the show. After we ended the call, I had to sit down, catch my breath and pinch myself. It took me a moment to realize that I had just spoken with Michael Tylo on the phone! I took off for Vegas on Thursday, December 7th. I had a lovely time exploring Vegas that day. It felt surreal being there. Friday evening I headed out to the Judy Bayley Theatre at UNLV. I picked up the ticket Michael had gotten for me at the box office, found my seat and waited for the show to begin. To say I was giddy with excitement when I first saw Michael on stage would be an understatement. I had read the play on the plane, so I knew when to expect to see him. Nothing, however, could have prepared me for the realization that I was actually seeing him performing live with my own eyes. Michael's performance of Malvolio was just magnificent. The entire cast did a great job bringing Shakespeare's words to life, and the play was delightful. After the play I ventured down the stairs and through the doors leading backstage. I stood waiting in the hallway, watching the actors come out of the dressing rooms. Finally, I saw Michael stepping out. He was as handsome as ever. I knew he didn't know what I looked like, so I had to be brave and take a few steps and reach out to shake his hand. He greeted me and asked if I had enjoyed the show. He also wanted to know if I'd had trouble finding the theater or getting the ticket, and was glad to hear that there had been no problems. The gentleman that he is, Michael offered to give me a ride back to my hotel. He complimented me on my English, and with the Finnish modesty kicking in, I was only able to reply with a "Well...thank you". As we were walking out of the theater, we ran into some members of the cast, and Michael introduced me to them as his friend from Finland. When we were walking towards the UNLV campus parking garage, he suddenly stopped and said he'd just remembered he hadn't parked his car there that day. We turned around and ran into another cast member and stopped to chat for a minute. As we were walking, we talked about the website [this website as well as the Quint& Nola site] and Michael asked me about my studies and my family. I was quite nervous, but I vaguely recall being able to get at least some words out of my mouth. Michael impressed me with his knowledge of Finland. He is of Hungarian descent, and since the Finns and the Hungarians have their roots in the same place, he has learned a thing or two about Finland while studying his own family history. We got to his car and drove off. Michael asked me if I'd visited other places during my stay in the States, and I told him about the trips I'd taken and the things I'd seen. We also talked about Vegas and how the Strip is a whole world of its own. As were pulling over at the MGM Grand, he started singing to the radio (and yes, he has a very pretty singing voice). He shook my hand and said it had been a pleasure finally meeting me. I thanked him for inviting me. We said our goodbyes, and I got out of the car and went to my room, picking up some Starbucks on the way. I sat down and sent my parents a text message telling them what a wonderful evening I'd just had. I also emailed my friend in New York and told her I was walking on clouds. Seeing Michael perform on stage had been a long-time dream. I was so excited just about seeing him in the play; I never even dreamed I would actually get to meet him. I was almost floored when I first received the message that if I was in Vegas Michael would meet with me. So, my trip to Vegas turned out to be one of the most exciting things I've ever done. And Michael was just as I pictured him to be - an excellent actor, as well as a very sweet and kind person. Hopefully I will get a chance to meet him again someday. -Webmaster |
After the interview that I conducted in November of 2005, I kept in touch with Lisa via email. In middle December, I knew of a possible directing opportunity for her and emailed if she was interested. She was and asked me to call her the next day. At that time, I was also in the middle of selling my condo in NYC--got out just in the nick of time--and buying a house in New Jersey. Lisa took the job with me and suggested that we should meet. I was pretty excited, like I was 15 again!!! We decided it was most convenient for her to visit me at my new home. She would be my very first houseguest. Having worked in the entertainment business for many years, I was fairly jaded and unaffected about meeting famous people, and while Lisa was no longer in the public eye, it was different with her because she had been my childhood idol. I was very nervous and excited. We had spoken many times on the phone, but an in-person meeting was something else. I wanted to appear professional since we did have the work connection, but I also figured it would be fun for us to reminisce about our parallel experiences during the early 80s. Also I was no longer 15, I was 39 at the time, and coming across as a "fan" was embarrassing to me. I don't consider myself a "fan" of anyone anymore, but I did want her to know how much I appreciated and remembered her. It was a hard line to walk. She arrived a morning two days after I moved in. I was absolutely giddy when the doorbell rang. She really looked very much the same as I remembered. She immediately put me at ease by acting excited to meet me as well. Maybe she really was? I showed her around the house. We are both animal people. She has several small dogs and a few cats, and I have five cats. We got down on our hands and knees to look under the bed for the cats. Surreal, while we had both changed a lot from the early 80s, it really was her, the woman who had brought Nola so realistically alive for me. She brought muffins and coffee and after she saw the house with me, we sat down in the living room and chatted for about an hour. We talked about her work on GL and ATWT, the job we were doing together, our families. She noticed that I liked antiques, and noted that there was an antique place nearby where she wanted to take me. She had lost her mother about a year earlier, and I had lost mine over 10 years ago, so we shared that. It almost felt like we were two old friends catching up, only we never knew each other before, just shared this same thrilling experience, but from very different angles. But after 20 years, we both came to the same place and had similar experiences. It was wonderful, and she said it made her feel good too. I even convinced her to surprise my sister (also a big Nola fan back in the day) by showing up unannounced one night at a local restaurant as our special guest. My sister was not short on enthusiasm. Lisa did great with the directing job, and we worked on a few other projects together as well. I'll always have a special place in my heart for "Nola" and now Lisa. -Content Producer
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