Musicians will have memories of weather extremes. There’s the ideal: The evening in concert, singing under the stars, my hair blowing in the balmy breeze. Ever the romantic, a perfect memory doing what I was born to do.
But then….there was the pool party. A pianist and I during a July heatwave. No shelter, no hat. A continuous four-hour gig. Except for a five-minute break every hour, the sun beat down on my head---continuously.
I ended up in a hospital, with my brain so overheated it became like a broken Thermostat stuck on high and unable to efficiently run my body’s systems.
That was my first huge exacerbation of Multiple Sclerosis symptoms, and it nearly killed me. If I knew I had MS, I would have known that MS and heat (or extreme cold) are not friends, and I would have worn a sun hat and sunglasses. Also, as alcohol is not a good thing in MS, I would have refused the cold beer on my five minute break!
And were it today, older and wiser, I wouldn’t have accepted the gig!
The thing is, we don’t always know that we have the genesis of an auto-immune or neurological disease inside us, and that it could express itself during some perfect storm as mine did.
Working outside in high heat and humidity can cause a flareup of fibromyalgia, MS, rheumatoid arthritis, asthma and other ailments. People who take blood pressure meds are at an increased risk because the body’s ability to cool down has been compromised, either partially or fully. Heat stroke or heat exhaustion can happen to anyone, young or old.
Use common sense for performing outside in summer: Stay hydrated. Take a cooler with water or electrolyte beverages. Wear fabrics that breathe like cotton and avoid polyester and blends. Wear a hat or cap. The best advice comes from my friend, bass player and Toms River ex-pat Bill Arzt in Florida, invest in a personal fan.
In a discussion of gigs from hell, Bill told me, “Personal fans are the norm in Florida, even when production companies provide big roll-around fans like you’d find in a body shop.” Bill researches to find the best product at the best price. He was kind enough to share his experience about cooling fans.
He emailed me: “Tough night last night. Played outdoors and the heat was brutal. Fortunately, it was only a 3-hour gig, but once what little breeze we had was gone the humidity went WAY up and it became stifling. Thank God for my big blue fan! It’s an older Lasko Model 4962.
“The newer versions of that same blower are gray and black and are either a Lasko Model U15700 or a Model U15701. They’re pretty much identical in appearance and specification. I got mine at Sam’s Club for about $40, a long time ago. The newer version is available at Sam’s for about $65. It’s a serious fan, for sure. Last night I had it sitting on top of my amplifier, blowing on my back & head. I find if I can keep my torso in the air stream I can manage the heat better.
“The black piece is the air outlet. What you can’t see easily from the pic is the fact that the entire body of the fan (the blue part with the black piece) rotates up & down within the black end pieces, so aiming it is pretty easy. (The power cord is not depicted.) The outlets come in VERY handy for powered monitors or other fans.
“I have a smaller Stanley fan, Model 655704 that I got at Walmart for $50, but I prefer the larger Lasko (above) because it moves more air and has a bit wider dispersion pattern. It has 3 speeds, but I mostly use the 2 slowest ones. Good to know that the last speed is there if I need it, though. Almost everyone I work with comments at some point on how great it is to have a fan like that on stage.”
Join us for McCarter at the Museum - renowned performing artists in one-night only events at the Princeton University Art Museum.
Jason Robert Brown is a four-time Tony Award-winning composer and lyricist of The Last Five Years, Parade, Songs for a New World, 13, The Bridges of Madison County, Honeymoon In Vegas and The Connector, has performed as a soloist or with his band in venues around the world, including sold-out shows at the London Palladium and Carnegie Hall. His albums as a singer-songwriter include Wearing Someone Else’s Clothes and How We React and How We Recover on Ghostlight, and Coming From Inside the House and Live In Concert with Stephen Sondheim on Concord.
With Special Guest Tony nominee Betsy Wolfe. Tony Award-nominated actress Betsy Wolfe is currently starring as Audrey in the acclaimed Off-Broadway production of Little Shop of Horrors, following her recent Broadway run as Madeline Ashton in the hit musical Death Becomes Her. She previously originated the title role in Joy, the new musical inspired by inventor Joy Mangano, and earned a 2023 Tony Award nomination for Best Featured Actress in a Musical for her celebrated performance as Anne Hathaway in & Juliet. Other Broadway credits include starring as Jenna in Waitress, Cordelia in the acclaimed revival of Falsettos, Bullets Over Broadway, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, Everyday Rapture, and 110 in the Shade, as well as her critically acclaimed performance as Cathy in the Off-Broadway revival of The Last Five Years. Wolfe made her Metropolitan Opera debut in Die Fledermaus and has appeared as a guest artist with more than 65 symphony, pops, and philharmonic orchestras worldwide, including the New York Philharmonic and BBC Symphony Orchestra, with performances at Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center. Her screen credits include First One In, Estella Scrooge, CBS’s Instinct, and the film adaptation of The Last Five Years. Wolfe is also the co-founder of BroadwayEvolved, the acclaimed musical theatre training program she launched in 2018 to train and mentor the next generation of theatre artists.
A limited number of early access tickets for McCarter Director’s Circle members and members of the Museum’s Partner Circle are available, on sale Wednesday, September 16, 2026 at 12:00 PM. General public on sale begins Friday, September 18, 2026 at 12:00 PM.
Please be aware there is no public drop-off or parking at the Museum. For visitors with mobility needs, please contact the Museum at least three business days in advance of your visit to request special access to the Museum via Elm Drive. Call 609-258-3788 and select option 1 to speak to a visitor services staff member, or email Louise Barrett at [email protected].
