"Just like a bad penny, eh, Kadira? You, on the other hand, look absolutely a sight for these sore eyes. Now, can you do anything for a sore lumbar? The bed in my cabin was positively hard as granite and made for a ghastly journey."

I light a cigarette and lean over the front desk while the rest of the company enter close behind me. Within seconds, the lobby is full of a young, loud rabble - Americans, Britons, Frenchies, and a host of others. What do they all have in common? Musical comedy, darling. The two most wonderful words in the English language. The company manager makes every pitiful attempt imaginable to get everyone's attention, but it can't be helped. We're opening our show "out of town", and that's all too exciting for this lot. I chuckle to myself as actors, singers, dancers, cellists, flautists, and every other kind of talent you can imagine scatter like lemmings to every corner of the hotel.

"Never fear," I reassure the lovely concierge. "They won't do any permanent damage. The good news is we'll be taking a few rooms."