Tag Archives: Hollywood

All Set For Another Musical Season (or I’m Glad I Can Continue This)

Posted on June 23, 2022 | Comments Off on All Set For Another Musical Season (or I’m Glad I Can Continue This)

I’ve had season tickets for the Pantages (or Dolby) for several seasons. As I always write in my posts about the shows, I really enjoy going out to the shows and they are such a fun night for me. The group that I have gone to the shows with has changed a few times over the years and sometimes there are 4 people in the group and sometimes there are 2 people in the group. But no matter the group size, it’s always a fun night out.

The season that is coming to an end has been an odd one. Obviously, the shutdown and having no shows for so long was weird. But then Dani, who has always had season tickets with me, moved away from LA. For the shows since she moved away, I have had a few different friends come with me for shows and I have really loved having friend time since that is something that I don’t get to have that often.

But when the new season was announced, I wasn’t sure what I would do. I couldn’t renew my season tickets since Dani was the ticket holder and I wasn’t going to ask her if she would still just send me the tickets. That’s not fair to her and it makes things a bit more complicated. And I wasn’t sure if I was going to renew my tickets. I didn’t know who might want to get a full season with me. I had asked a few friends and a bunch of them said they would go to a few shows, but they weren’t interested in a full season. So I figured I would just go to some of the shows and not all of them.

But when season tickets went on sale for everyone and not just renewals, I decided to take a look at the options and how much it would cost to get seats similar to what I have had each season. And the price wasn’t too bad. It was about $55 for each show, which is what they normally are. And I think the coming season looks pretty fun. There are some shows I’m more excited about than others, but overall it looks like a good season.

Since I had more information about pricing and where we could get seats, I decided to reach out to my friends again to see if anyone changed their mind about getting a full season. I also have another friend who has season tickets on her own, so I could have always switched which nights I usually go and try to get tickets near her. But I was hoping I could find someone who wanted to go on the weekends since that’s easier for me.

And my friend Jodi, who went to 2 shows with me so far, decided that the full season would be a good deal and she and I just got our season tickets! We aren’t in the same seats I’ve had before since those are still being held for the renewal that Dani could do. Eventually, they will be released but we didn’t want to have to wait since you would have to time that out perfectly. But we found really good seats in the mezzanine that are still on the side but more centered compared to the seats from the past seasons in the orchestra. But since the theater isn’t too big, sitting in the mezzanine is still close to the stage. And I’m used to sitting higher up now because that’s how my tickets were for the Dolby.

I’m so excited to have another season of musicals lined up! And I’m excited that I found a friend who will be enjoying all the shows with me for the next year because it’s always more fun to see the shows with someone else!

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One More Show At The Dolby (or Almost The End Of A Long Musical Season)

Posted on June 21, 2022 | Comments Off on One More Show At The Dolby (or Almost The End Of A Long Musical Season)

Because of the pandemic and things being shut down, the musicals I’m seeing right now are still a part of the 2019-2020 season. It’s still weird to think that we are in a season that started so long ago and the reason why some of the shows are at the Dolby and not at the Pantages was that “Hamilton” was supposed to have a long run in LA. They still had a longer run, but I think it was cut short since they missed so much time. But things are starting to get back to how I am used to them for my season tickets. But there was still one more show at the Dolby that I went to this past weekend.

I was actually really looking forward to this show. “Pretty Woman” is one of my favorite movies and I couldn’t count how many times I’ve seen it. And when it’s on tv and I’m looking for something random to watch, I will watch it and just start at whatever point it is at. I know the movie so well from seeing it over and over again and I thought the musical version could be just as fun.

This time, my friend Marie came with me to the show. We’ve never been able to see a musical together, but we are both musical fans, so I was glad it worked out that she could take the extra ticket. She also loves the movie “Pretty Woman” as much as I do so that was perfect! And I didn’t know this until we went to the show, but she had never been to the Dolby before! It was so awesome that she got to see the inside of the theater in person to see where the Oscars are held each year.

Our seats were in the same spot as the other shows after the shutdown, but the section we were sitting in wasn’t as crowded as the other shows I went to. It was nice to have a bit more room around us so I didn’t feel quite as packed in. They do still require masks and the ushers were quick to remind anyone who let theirs slip that they needed to wear them properly. But it’s a bit stressful for me to be in big groups, especially indoors. I did have a bit of an anxiety attack, but I think it went away quickly because the seats next to me were empty and I could focus on having some space near me.

The show was fun. It was silly and upbeat, which is exactly what I expected since the movie is the same way. I loved that they had a lot of costumes that were the same as in the movie. The polka dot dress, red opera dress, and opening outfit were perfect matches from the movie. And I think one of my favorite parts of the show was during the opera scene because they had some of the actors singing the opera live and it was so beautiful and powerful! I had goosebumps after they were done singing.

I think the parts that were toughest for me were when they were exactly like the movie. Maybe it’s because I know the movie too well so I knew when the lines were exactly the same as in the movie. And then you start mentally comparing what it was like in each performance. I didn’t want to compare things, but my brain kept doing that. But I think there were more original lines than copies and there were new things in the musical that wasn’t in the movie. For example, there was one actor who played a lot of the narrator-type parts and I loved him! And there were fun dance numbers with the cast that were so enjoyable!

Overall, I really did love the show. Just like I feel with the other shows I have seen, this was a nice escape from the world, and seeing a performance with other people is such a special experience. And I was just so happy and in a great mood when I was watching the show. And one thing that makes me really happy is when I can tell the cast is having a good time in the show. And it was clear they enjoy the show and have fun performing. Even when little things went a bit off, you could see their passion in their performances.

I’ve got one more show in this extended 2019-2020 season and that will be back at the Pantages. I don’t know when I’ll be back at the Dolby for another show, but I have enjoyed my time seeing performances there. It’s a very different stage, but it’s still awesome. And it was always fun to know I was seeing a show in the same space where the Oscars happened. But now, I’m ready to go back to the Pantages and feel like things are back to how I’m used to them again!

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Getting One Nice Dinner In With Family (or Finally Bringing My Parents To My Favorite LA Restaurant)

Posted on May 18, 2022 | Comments Off on Getting One Nice Dinner In With Family (or Finally Bringing My Parents To My Favorite LA Restaurant)

When my parents come to LA to visit me, we don’t usually do fancy meals. We do tend to eat out at restaurants since my old kitchen was so small and tough to cook in (hopefully I can start making more meals for my parents in my nice kitchen!), but we don’t go out to anything super nice. We’ve done a lot of simple meals like ordering salads or going to a cafe or casual restaurant. But it’s rare for us to go out for a nice meal since we are usually busy with other things.

But for my parents’ trip this time, I knew we wouldn’t have a ton of things we had to get done so I decided we should go out for a nicer dinner one night. And I wanted to finally take them to my favorite LA restaurant: Wood & Vine.

I have only gone to Wood & Vine for dinner once that wasn’t a time I was also going to a musical and had a specific time that I had to be out of there. So I knew we’d be able to relax and enjoy our time there. And I also knew that we would probably be spoiled because the manager Wally always sends over things for me to try that either I didn’t order or aren’t on the menu yet.

We went to dinner on Saturday on the earlier side, so we didn’t have too much traffic to deal with. And we lucked out into a parking meter that was just a block away, so we didn’t have to pay too much for parking. And since we made our reservation for when they opened, there weren’t a lot of people there when we arrived and we had the patio to ourselves!

We ended up ordering most of what I got the last time I was there. We had the spinach dip, caesar salad, risotto, and short rib. All of those were amazing and just as delicious as they always are. And my parents agreed that everything was so good!

And we got one off the menu dish sent over for us to try. It was oxtail served over potatoes and had spicy greens on top of it.

I don’t know if I’ve had oxtail before, I don’t remember having it but I might just not remember. But this was delicious (but a bit spicy for me) and I am so glad I got to try it because I don’t know if I would have gotten it if I saw it on the menu.

And even though we didn’t order dessert, we were sent some. We got this incredible dessert plate with ice cream sandwiches, chocolate mousse cake, and ice cream.

We were all so full with everything we ordered, but of course, there is always some extra room for dessert so we tried a little bit of everything on the plate. We all were so full and probably ate too much, but it was worth it! I always love everything I get at Wood & Vine, and this time was no exception. And I’m so happy my parents enjoyed it as much as I did.

I don’t get a lot of chances to share some of my favorite LA things with my family, so I’m glad we got to do this when they were here this past time and have a nice celebratory dinner after doing all the random work we did in my new place.

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Getting Spoiled At Dinner (or Another Musical Night)

Posted on May 5, 2022 | Comments Off on Getting Spoiled At Dinner (or Another Musical Night)

I’ve been so happy ever since the musical season started up again. It’s been a bit weird to be in big crowds, but I’m getting more used to it and I’m grateful that the theater has some protocols in place to try to keep people safe. And since I don’t really go out a ton right now (which I know I need to change), I do try to make these nights at the show fun nights out.

The rest of the delayed 2020 season is still happening for my tickets and I still have a few more shows to go before the next season. And I’m thinking I might try to get tickets for the next season with a different friend since Dani won’t be in LA for the shows. But I have time to think about that for a bit. For now, I’m just enjoying each show I get to see.

This past weekend, the musical was “Tootsie”. I am pretty familiar with the movie and while it is a bit problematic I was curious what they would do for the musical. I asked around to see who wanted to take Dani’s ticket, and my friend Jodi was able to come with me again. And since we had so much fun at Wood & Vine the last time we went, we decided to meet up for dinner before the show again!

I am very lucky that I have gotten to know the manager at Wood & Vine and he tends to spoil me and my friends whenever we are there for dinner. I never assume that will happen, but every time I’m there for dinner there are more things that I want to try than I know I have room for in my stomach.

We decided to order the spinach and artichoke dip, short rib, and vegetable risotto. But we were surprised when we started getting a bunch of food that we didn’t order along with what we did order.

We were sent some things from the upcoming menu to try out before they were available. We tried a fried chicken slider on a charcoal bun, a beet and goat cheese salad, and a summer peach and candied nuts salad. They were all so good! The slider was spicy but not too overpowering. I don’t really like beets, but the dressing on the beet salad was delicious. And honestly, the best thing was the peach salad. It was so fresh and flavorful. I hope it’s on the menu soon because I want to make sure I order it again the next time I’m there! I’ve never had anything bad at Wood & Vine, but I swear they keep getting better and better and I’m loving all the new things I’ve been able to try!

After dinner, we headed over to the show at the Dolby. I do miss the shows being at the Pantages because it’s so much easier just to walk across the street after dinner instead of having to drive to a second location. Normally, it’s not a big deal. But this time, we were just hitting all the lights wrong and there was a line of traffic to get into the parking lot. This ended up being the first time I’ve ever been late for a show. We arrived just as the doors closed and we were able to watch the opening number from the TVs in the lobby so we didn’t completely miss the beginning. But it was frustrating that we missed seeing it from our seats. But as soon as that first number was done, we were able to go to our seats and enjoy the rest of the show from there.

They did make some changes to the show that went into some of the problematic things from the movie. But it still has some things that made me cringe a bit. It’s not a bad show, but it just has a few moments that really took me out of enjoying it because it didn’t sit right with me. But the performances were really good, especially with some of the supporting actors. I loved the actor who played the roommate. He was so funny and did a great job with the lines he had that called out the situation of the show.

I think Jodi and I felt the same about the show. It wasn’t bad, but it felt a bit dated because of some of the themes. But we still both enjoyed it. And going to a show still feels like a treat to me.

I have a few more shows to go for sure, and then I’ll have to decide what to do about the next season. But I think even if I don’t get the full season next time, there are friends who want to see some of the shows and I’m getting better about coordinating things so I don’t miss seeing things I want to go to. And even if I only go to a handful of shows in the next season, I know I will appreciate each one I get to go to because they really are special nights for me.

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“The Band’s Visit” (or A Two Show Weekend)

Posted on December 8, 2021 | Comments Off on “The Band’s Visit” (or A Two Show Weekend)

Going to a show these days is a rare event and feels like a special treat. And to have 2 shows in the same weekend would have been a rarity even before the pandemic! So to have two shows this past weekend was something extraordinary for me!

I didn’t plan to have a show to go to on both Saturday and Sunday, but that’s how my weekend this past weekend ended up going. I had “The Enigmatist” on Saturday and on Sunday I had my musical at the Dolby! This time the show was “The Band’s Visit” and my friend Dani wasn’t able to go with me so my friend Jodi took the extra ticket. I hadn’t seen Jodi since before the pandemic, so I was so excited to see her. And since we hadn’t seen each other in so long, we decided to also go to dinner before the show. And to me, the best (and really only) place for a pre-show dinner is to go to Wood & Vine.

I had been to Wood & Vine once since the pandemic when I was there right after they reopened. But that was just to have dinner and not before a show. And before the last show I went to, I didn’t go to dinner since I went to the show alone. So this was my first dinner and a show night in a long time!

And as always, the food didn’t disappoint at all! We started with the spinach and artichoke dip. And then the manager recommended we have the short ribs and the sea bass, so that’s exactly what we got!

Honestly, I know I say this every time, but the food is just incredible! I’ve never had anything less than spectacular and I wish I could try more things each time. But it’s also so good and I’m always so full when I leave.

But even after being full from dinner, there is always room for dessert. And we were treated to my favorite butterscotch dessert as well as donuts!

We had made our dinner reservations pretty early so we would have time to enjoy the meal and catch up, and I’m glad we did that. It was so nice not to feel super rushed. And because the musicals right now are at the Dolby and not the Pantages, we had to drive to the show (instead of just walking across the street). But it was an easy enough drive and we just parked in the garage there, so before we knew it we were at our seats!

I really didn’t know much about this show and neither did Jodi. The main thing I knew was that it won the Tony for best musical. And we were told to think of it more as a play with songs versus a musical. And I think that was the perfect description. It was a slice of life show. While it didn’t have any crazy or elaborate musical numbers, it was a really beautiful show with a great message. And the cast was so talented.

And just like when I saw “My Fair Lady”, just being in a theater seeing a musical made my day. I know how lucky I am that I get to do this and I have a theater that is doing what they can to keep people safe. Everyone there is vaccinated and required to wear a mask at all times. And they are very strict with those rules, which I appreciate.

The show was a bit shorter than I expected, but it also didn’t have an intermission. And after the show, I drove Jodi back over to where she parked her car since we didn’t want to both have to spend money on parking at the theater.

I think almost any night I get to see a show is an amazing night. But this time, I got to have an awesome dinner and a great show. Plus I got to catch up with a friend in person who I hadn’t seen in 2 years. Honestly, this was one of the best nights I’ve had in a long time and it made me feel so grateful for what I have and what I get to do.

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It’s Musical Time! (or Another Return To Normalcy)

Posted on October 13, 2021 | Comments Off on It’s Musical Time! (or Another Return To Normalcy)

For the past several years, I have had season tickets to the musicals at the Pantages (or Dolby) and it has been a regular part of my life. Of course, with everything shutting down for the pandemic, the musicals shut down as well. The last show I saw was right before things shut down back in March. That was also the first show I had seen at the Dolby. I remember seeing that show and thinking how it was such a weird vibe in the room. I have had coughing issues for years, and I remember getting looks from others when I coughed from time to time. I knew that things were a bit scary with the idea of a pandemic, but I had no clue what was to come only days later.

While I missed seeing shows regularly, for a long time the idea of being indoors with a large crowd terrified me. So I was ok with the idea that shows weren’t back yet. But things have been slowly reopening here in LA, and the announcement of the Pantages and Dolby reopening was not that long ago and our shows announced their new dates.

It is still a bit scary to think of a large crowd inside, I was glad to see that they were going to require everyone to wear a mask and show proof of vaccination to get inside. So when I found out the date for my first show back, I was feeling a bit better about things. But because Dani had moved away from LA, she wasn’t going to be able to make it to this show. Hopefully she can come back for some of the shows, but this time I found someone else who could take the ticket. Unfortunately, her daughter got sick that day (fortunately, not Covid) and I ended up going to the show alone.

For a long time, I didn’t get season tickets for the Pantages because I didn’t want to go alone. I don’t know if I would do that now either. This was going to be the first show that I went to alone, but because I missed the shows so much, that excitement was more than my fears over going alone. And as soon as I walked in and sat in my seat, I felt such a sense of relief about being back to something I love.

I have seen My Fair Lady before, but only as a movie, so I was excited to get to see it live. And I think everyone in the audience was just as excited as I was to be back at a show. You could tell that some people were a bit nervous like I was about being in a crowd. But everyone kept their masks on and I’m glad that people respected that rule. And I saw when getting to the show how seriously they were taking the vaccine requirement. They gave options on how to show you were vaccinated, and if you tried to show it another way they did not let you in. The women in front of me when checking in were trying to use an unofficial website to show their vaccination records and they were not let in. I know this probably sounds harsh, but I really respected the theater for not being lenient on this policy.

I did have a few moments of panic attacks while watching the show, but that could be caused by so many different things. It might have been about being around a large crowd, which still makes me a bit nervous. It might be because masks tend to make me feel claustrophobic and I had to push through that feeling. Or it might have been because I was alone, but I don’t actually think that bothered me as much as I thought it would. I still would have preferred to have a friend with me, but it was nice to not have someone seated next to me on one side so I didn’t feel as close to others.

Even though I dealt with some panic attacks while at the show, I really was so happy to be at a show! I thought it was a great production and I loved being able to escape the world for a few hours and enjoy a performance. I knew how much I missed going to the shows, but it hit me in a different way when I was there and able to experience it again. I have had a lot of stress in my life lately, and this break was exactly what I needed!

The next show in my season is about 2 months away, so things might change a lot between now and then. I do expect that vaccination requirements will still be a thing, but mask policies could change. If they do change, then I will have to do some thinking about my thoughts about wearing a mask without a requirement. Right now, I don’t know how I feel about that and there is no point in thinking about it because of how quickly and dramatically things can change.

For now, I’m just so happy I was able to have another thing that is normal for me back in my life. Just like with my workouts, I think I might appreciate being able to go to shows more than I did before. And I can’t wait until I can go back again for the next show!

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A Return To Wood & Vine (or Feeling Even More Like Things Are Normal)

Posted on May 6, 2021 | Comments Off on A Return To Wood & Vine (or Feeling Even More Like Things Are Normal)

There are so many things that I haven’t been able to do for the past year. Sometimes it’s because I didn’t feel safe doing them and sometimes it’s because the place was closed or there was no way to get there. But recently, things are starting to slowly open up and I am feeling a bit safer about going out and not being just in my own little bubble at home. And one of the things that I haven’t really been able to do in the past year was to go out to dinner at a restaurant.

I’ve gotten takeout and delivery from restaurants, but I haven’t been going to restaurants to eat there. I know so many places have outdoor seating and have even been able to expand their seating to fit more people, it’s just something I haven’t done. But when I got an email from the manager at Wood & Vine that they were going to reopen, I knew I had to make a reservation to eat there!

Wood & Vine had been closed since things shut down. Even though they have a great patio space, they decided to stay closed until they knew that they could make it safe for both the guests and the staff. I really did respect that choice. If they had opened before I felt safe to go back, I would have supported them by buying a gift certificate or getting take out if they had offered it. But the timing worked out perfectly for me being fully vaccinated and their new opening date. So of course, I was going to go!

My friend Dani came with me since she and I were usually there together before a show at the Pantages. The theater isn’t open yet (right now, it’s looking like they will be back in October), but I was excited to have a nice dinner out at a restaurant I love and making that the main event of the evening.

While Wood & Vine was closed, they did some renovations on the restaurant. We were seated on the patio and they did a beautiful job making it look amazing! And even though it meant they had to reduce the number of seats available, they really made sure that the tables were at least 6 feet apart to keep everyone safe.

We made our reservation for right after they opened since neither of us mind eating on the earlier side. Plus, we knew we were in for a great meal and didn’t want to feel rushed.

The menu has changed a bit since they closed. There were still a lot of favorites that we recognized, but there were some delicious-sounding new things too. And they currently have a welcome back special that includes a drink, fish tacos, short ribs, and dessert. While the special sounded great, Dani and I decided to pick a few things out from the menu.

We ended up getting more food than we ordered because the manager sent some things over to us! We had ordered the fried ricotta, spinach and artichoke dip, short ribs, and scallops. And we were also sent over the fish tacos and 3 different desserts! We were so spoiled!

Everything was delicious. Even just writing about it now is making me crave the food again! I wish I was a better writer so I could describe the food better. But it was perfectly cooked and with the perfect spices to make each bite so full of flavor. And all the desserts were so luxurious. The butterscotch is something we’ve had many times before and it was just as good as I remembered it. And the mousse and poundcake were so chocolately. I was so full after dinner, but it was beyond worth it.

And it wasn’t just the food that was amazing. You could tell how happy all the staff is to be back. I know that people were ready to get back to work, but you can tell that they are happy that things are safer now than if they had opened up sooner. And knowing how happy they are made me feel much better about going to dinner. If I go out to dinner any time soon, I think I might try to make it at Wood & Vine even though it’s not super close to me. I love being able to support a restaurant that really does care about its customers and staff.

And of course, throughout dinner we got to chat with the manager, Wally. Getting to catch up with him was amazing and he was telling us all about the renovations to the space and the changes to the menu. You could tell how proud he was that the restaurant was open again. And while we were there, we could see that all the customers were just as excited to be there for dinner as we were.

Wood & Vine has been a regular part of my routine for so long, and it was wonderful to be able to have that back in my life too.

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The First Dolby Show Of The Season (or Having Some New Things And Some Familiar Things)

Posted on March 6, 2020 | Comments Off on The First Dolby Show Of The Season (or Having Some New Things And Some Familiar Things)

As I mentioned before, this season the musicals I go to were split between the Pantages theater (where they typically have been held) and the Dolby theater. The Dolby is where the Oscars are held each year and I’ve been to another event there years ago. But I definitely wasn’t as familiar with that theater as I am with the Pantages. And this week, we had our first show at the Dolby and we tried to start a new pre-show routine.

The Dolby is inside the Hollywood and Highland center, which has a few different restaurants to choose from. Dani and I decided that we would go there early to have some dinner and then get to our show. I’ve been to Hollywood and Highland a bunch in the past, so I was familiar with the area. And since we were going to the show on a weekday, we wanted to give ourselves plenty of time for traffic. We were shocked when the traffic wasn’t bad at all and we got there much earlier than we expected.

We weren’t sure where we wanted to eat and we had so much extra time, so we did a little walking around the area before getting food. It’s so interesting how that part of Hollywood feels so different from the part of Hollywood by the Pantages. And the two spots aren’t that far apart. But I guess a few blocks can make a big difference.

We got some dinner and realized we still had almost an hour and a half before the show started. So we decided to do one of our normal pre-show activities and head over to Wood & Vine for some dessert! We took the subway one stop to get there (there is a stop at Hollywood and Highland and the next stop is next to the restaurant) and got a seat at the bar to see what we wanted to eat. We decided to go with our favorite dessert which is the butterscotch one. And it was just as good as it always is!

Even though we didn’t have a full meal there, getting dessert somehow made things feel more normal and more like we were used to before a show. It’s funny how the smallest routine thing can make everything feel right again. We didn’t have a lot of time to hang out at Wood & Vine because we had to get back on the subway to get to the theater. We made it back 10 minutes before the show started which was the perfect amount of time to find our seats and get settled.

I had been worried about how shows would look in the Dolby because in my memory it’s a much larger theater. And it might be a lot larger, but I don’t know if the top two balcony sections were used. So nobody was seated that high above the stage.

Our seats weren’t the seats we will have for other shows because we had to change the date of our tickets. But these were close to what we would have. We were in the balcony, but we were in the second row which was not too far from the stage.

And because we were in the second row of the balcony, we weren’t that high above the stage so it didn’t feel like we were looking down at the show instead of out at the show. It did feel bigger because the ceiling was so high up, but it didn’t feel like we were seeing a show in an arena instead of a theater. That was a nice surprise since I had been pretty worried about that. I’m glad my fears were wrong and that it seems like the shows we see at the Dolby are going to feel just as close as our shows at the Pantages.

The show we saw this time was “Escape To Margaritaville”, which is another jukebox musical.

We’ve had a lot of jukebox musicals in the past. Sometimes I am familiar with the singer or band and knew that I would know a lot of the songs. Sometimes I go into a show thinking I won’t know any of the songs and it turns out that I know most if not all of them. This time, I went in thinking I wouldn’t know any of the songs and that turned out to be true. There were 2 songs that I knew, but the rest of them were completely unfamiliar to me. I thought maybe I would think that I would recognize a little bit, but there wasn’t. It was interesting being in a theater where so many people were singing along and got really excited when a song started because they knew what was coming up. I just wasn’t a part of that crowd and it did make me feel like a bit of an outsider.

But no matter how I feel about a show, it’s always such a fun night out. I will always enjoy going to a show, especially when it’s a new show. I love seeing what musicals are out there and it’s such fun when I discover a new favorite too. We got several more shows at the Dolby coming up this season and I can’t wait to see what shows will connect with me!

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Funko and Frozen (or The Last Pantages Show For A While)

Posted on December 11, 2019 | Comments Off on Funko and Frozen (or The Last Pantages Show For A While)

I’ve been going to the Pantages shows for a while now and it really feels like a normal part of my routine. I know that I would feel like something was missing if I didn’t have my shows in my schedule and I’m so glad that I have several more shows this season to look forward to. But technically the show I had this past weekend was my last Pantages show of the season since the shows are moving to the Dolby to finish out the season. The Dolby and Pantages aren’t too far from each other so some of our routine will be the same, but I also know that things will be a bit different. Plus, our seats will be in a different spot than we have had for the last few years. But I’m excited about the change and I’m sure it will be fun.

We were worried for a while that with the location change that we wouldn’t be able to go to our normal dinner places, but I think we’ve figured out a way to do it so this time we decided for a casual dinner at Shake Shack before the show. But before we had dinner, we remembered that the Funko store had just opened up on that block and Dani wanted to check it out. I don’t collect Funko and don’t know too much about them, but I heard this store was huge and I was curious about what was inside.

And the store was amazing and overwhelming! There were so many Funko displays and so much to look at. They also had other fun things for sale and I loved seeing all the Disney stuff they had. But one of the coolest things they had inside the store were awesome photo spots. And as soon as Dani spotted this one, we knew we had to take a photo with it.

It reminded me of the photo setup that Marie and Chris had at their Halloween party several years ago. I didn’t take many other photos inside of the store because I was busy checking out everything they had. Even if you don’t collect Funko, it’s still a fun store to wander around and see what they have.

After going through the store and having our dinner, it was time to head over to the Pantages for our show.

I’ve seen the original “Frozen” movie (I haven’t seen the sequel just yet) and while I enjoyed it I don’t know if I would say it’s my favorite Disney movie. I think by the time I saw it I had heard so much hype about it so that made my expectations really high. I don’t think it’s a bad movie or anything, but it’s just not one of the top ones. But I had heard that the musical wasn’t exactly like the movie (the musical at California Adventure is much more of a copy of the movie). I knew there were some songs in the show that weren’t in the movie and that a few plot points were either removed or added. So I was intrigued to see what I would think about the musical.

It was a bit annoying that there were a ton of kids that were probably too young to be at a show seated by us (one kid said “I’m tired” or “Is it over?” to their parent every few minutes). And I was worried that it would turn into a singalong with kids singing all the songs. But I don’t think I heard anyone singing in the audience for the entire show. But those were the only negatives or big concerns going into the show.

I have to say that it was one of the better musicals I’ve seen in a while! I loved the changes they made in the show and they were worked seamlessly into the original material. And the sets and costumes were spectacular. At intermission, I turned to Dani and said how that was one of the best ends of the first act I’ve seen in a long time. It was just perfect how they did it and it looked really luxurious, which is something that you don’t always get with a touring show. I know there were some changes made between the Broadway show and the tour, but since I haven’t seen the show on Broadway I didn’t know what was missing or added. But whatever they did, I felt like they did a great job.

I wasn’t exactly hesitant about seeing this show, but it wasn’t one that made me want to buy this season. But I’m so glad it was a part of the season because it was a great one to see and I’ve been recommending it to so many of my friends. And I think it was the perfect show to end the shows at the Pantages. I’ll be back there for “Hamilton” in the spring, but I don’t know when our season will be back there. They haven’t announced anything with the next season or where the shows would be. By the time they announce it, I think we will have seen at least a few shows at the Dolby so we can decide if we want to do a season there and where we want to sit if the next season is there as well.

I’m so glad that we had an awesome show to close out this part of our season. And now I’ve got a new venue to look forward to!

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Taking Time For A Show (or Seeing Summer)

Posted on November 14, 2019 | Comments Off on Taking Time For A Show (or Seeing Summer)

I feel like a broken record because I am always saying how much I love going to the shows at the Pantages and how much they have benefitted my life. Not only are they awesome entertainment, but they also give a sense of routine or normalcy with my life. When I’m going through a crazy time and I have a show coming up, I know I will take that time to go and that I’m going to have a great time. Or if I’m feeling down for one reason or another, I know the show is going to get me out and social and I’ll be in a better mood. I still can’t believe how much I get out of having my season tickets, but it always makes me so happy when I see a show coming up.

I’m going to write about this a bit out of order by talking about the show first. This time, the show we saw was “Summer” which is the jukebox musical about Donna Summer.

For most jukebox musicals, I know going into it that I will probably know a bunch of the songs even if I don’t know that I know them. Since I’m not a big music person, I expect that I won’t know songs by the name or artist. But they are familiar when I hear them and that’s exactly what happened this time. The show was good and I enjoyed the music, but I wish they had shared more about her life. I thought there was a lot of interesting stuff that was starting to be talked about but then didn’t go into them much further. But since the show was done without an intermission, there’s only so much you can put into a show without making it too long.

But before the show, Dani and I went to dinner at Wood & Vine. Going there is one of our favorite pre-show dinner locations and we were worried about what we were going to do when our shows move to the Dolby soon. When we sat down for dinner, we ordered and then looked at what restaurant options would be over there. There are a lot of chain restaurants so we wanted to find anything interesting and unique. We weren’t having much luck, but we decided that we would have some time to do the research. We wanted to focus on our awesome dinner at Wood & Vine instead of looking up other places.

We got some of our familiar favorites and some new things as well. The Cesar salad was so good! It was really garlicky which I love. We were debating getting another salad but decided to wait until after we had everything else. We also got the vegan risotto with mushrooms which was incredible. It had great seasoning and was very flavorful. The mac and cheese and pork are favorites of ours and I figured we’d get them because we always love them. And for dessert, we were torn on what to get and we shared a few of our favorites and said they could surprise us. We got the banana caramel and butterscotch, which were perfect ways to end the meal.

While we were eating, the manager Wally came over to talk to us. We love chatting with him before the show because he always shares fun things with us about what happened when he saw it or things we should look out for. He was the one who told us that there wasn’t an intermission and I was so grateful he told us before we were sitting in our seats. And we talked about what we were going to do when the shows move to the other theater.

Wally mentioned how there is the subway and I had completely forgotten about that until he mentioned it. There’s a stop right next to both theaters so it would be easy for us to do that. We also could take a rideshare from one place to the other. And there may be some sort of shuttle service that we could use too. Knowing all this made me feel so much better about our dinner options for the other shows because it wouldn’t be too hard to eat where we like to go and still make it to the other theater. We may have to do things a little earlier to make sure we have enough time, but that’s a minor change we would need to make. I would be much happier going to our favorite restaurants a little earlier than having to try new restaurants and maybe not enjoying them as much. Wally gave us a lot to think about and I’m so glad we discussed this so Dani and I can figure out exactly what we want to do.

We still have 1 more show at the Pantages before they switch. And then it will be a very different experience seeing a musical at the Dolby because we will be sitting in a different area than we are used to and it’s a much bigger theater. But I think that even in the new theater, the shows are going to make me just as happy as I am seeing them at the Pantages.

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