Hallmark Channel fan favorites have hit the road for “Hallmark Stars Live,” embarking on a 10-city tour in which they deliver a live presentation for fans.
With Nikki DeLoach serving as host, the 90-minute show brings these Hallmark stars up close and personal with Hallmarkies.
Life on the Bus
In a recent interview with Just Jared, DeLoach is joined by fellow Hallmark regulars Andrew Walker, Ashley Williams, Tamera Mowry-Housley and Jonathan Bennett, who share their anecdotes about what it’s been like traveling from city to city on the Hallmark Channel bus.
According to DeLoach, being in close quarters with Mowry-Housley is nothing out of the ordinary for the real-life friends. “She’s left multiple bras at my house,” DeLoach quipped.
That said, traveling together by bus has been a bonding experience for all the actors while they hit the stage each night — a very different experience than acting in a movie.
“Discovering something new, maybe not as much, but I will say that our network set us up with so much success for this,” DeLoach said. “It’s the first time we’ve ever done this and I couldn’t have dreamed of a better group of people to collaborate together and find the show and figure it out,” she added.
“There’s been absolutely no ego in the process at all,” DeLoach insisted. “We just put our heads together and figure it out together. Everybody has been such a delight … honestly, I could not have imagined a better week. And the crowds have been great. So it’s been so lovely. ”
A Learning Curve
As Walker explained, the performance they put on each night has tended to evolve from show to show, something that he credited to the myriad accomplishments of his fellow actors.
“I don’t think it’s necessarily learning new things from each other, but being able to witness the coming together at the end of a show and seeing everyone come in and break down what went wrong and how we can make it better … these are incredible minds here,” he said.
“Producers and directors. Ashley is an incredible director. Nikki is going to be directing … There’s a want to keep perfecting this. You know? We’re the guinea pigs of this bus tour,” he added.
An Awkward Discovery
As for what they’ve learned about each other while traveling from town to town, Bennett decided to go the TMI route.
“I did discover something,” he said. “I discovered that all Hallmark actors have some sort of IBS. After living on a bus with all five of them…”
Interjected DeLoach, “We have stomach issues!”
A Bunk Bed Novice
Bennett also pointed to another fun fact he learned about one of his fellow Hallmark stars.
“I also discovered that Tamera Mowry-Housley has never been in a bunk bed in her life,” he said.
“She does not know how to get in or out of a bunk bed,” he added. “It’s like Cirque du Soleil.”
Mowry-Housley chimed in to defend herself, insisting her difficulty came from the fact that there wasn’t a ladder. “Okay! When I was a kid, I had a bunk bed. I shared with my sister,” she said, refuting Bennett’s assertion that she must have had the bottom bunk.
“No, I was on the top!” she said. “But I had a ladder. There’s no ladder here. So you have to learn to parkour it. And it’s not pretty. And I brought a lot of sun dresses, so…”
Williams concurred, revealing that she had a front-row seat to Mowry-Housley’s acrobatics — which have apparently become the high point of entertainment on the bus.
“I’m on the bottom bunk and so every time Tamera starts getting into her bed, I open up my curtain just so I can watch from below because it’s a such show,” said Williams.
“The phones start recording. The cameras start watching,” added Bennett. “There’s going to be a Reel cut together at some point of Tamera getting in and out of her bunk.”
