Tag Archives: musical

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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Default ThumbnailThe First Dolby Show Of The Season (or Having Some New Things And Some Familiar Things) Default ThumbnailKicking Off A Musical Season (or Seeing A Cartoon Brought To Life) Default ThumbnailAnother Musical Season (or Enjoying A Repeat Musical) Default ThumbnailThe End Of My Musical Season (or Finally Enjoying Phantom) Default ThumbnailAnd Another Season Of Musicals (or The Next Season Will Be A Bit Different) Default ThumbnailAlmost The End Of The Musical Season (or Watching An Audience Fall In Love With An Actor)

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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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Default ThumbnailAnother Dinner And A Show Night (or Classic Musicals And Yummy Food) Default ThumbnailLast Musical Of The Season (or A Classic Pantages Night Out) Default ThumbnailA Tasting And Theater Night (or Enjoying A Fun Night Out) Default ThumbnailBook Of Mormon and Marrow (or Another Night Out At The Pantages) Default ThumbnailDinner And Carole King (or The Best Musical Ever!) Default ThumbnailAn Amazing Dinner and Show (or The Food Might Have Been The Highlight Of The Night)

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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 Virtual Musical Night (or Trying To Replicate My Routine)

Posted on April 2, 2020 | Comments Off on A Virtual Musical Night (or Trying To Replicate My Routine)

With everything except for essential businesses closed in Los Angeles, anything that I had on my calendar has been canceled. This includes going to the shows that I have tickets for. Obviously, this isn’t the most important thing and I know that having places closed is necessary. But even though I know those things, it is still disappointing when things I have been looking forward to aren’t happening anymore.

This past Sunday, we were supposed to see “Spongebob The Musical”. Originally, when things started we were told that the show we were going to was canceled but we could move to another night. Then, all dates for the show were canceled. So there was no chance to reschedule. Since then, the entire tour was canceled so there wasn’t going to be a way to see it at a different venue in the future. I was sad because I was really looking forward to seeing this show. Dani was sad because we both knew it would be a fun night out, even if she didn’t know if she was going to like the show or not.

Somehow, I remembered that there was something about the musical being filmed and being on tv recently. I have no clue why I remembered that, but I’m so glad I did. I did a little research online and found how we could register to watch it! So Dani and I decided that we would each order in some food to our own places and we’d watch the musical online at the same time. And we could text our commentary to each other while we were watching.

We had a few technical difficulties when trying to start it, but we figured out a way to make it work and we were watching the musical very close to the time that the show would have started if we were seeing it at the Dolby.

And I’m so glad that we did this! The show was so cute and fun to watch, and it has some really snarky moments! There were also a few things about the story that felt a little too close to home with some people seeing a problem and others thinking they can ignore it and it will go away. But overall, it was a positive and silly show. It was exactly what we needed to watch. And Dani agreed with me that it was a really great show!

After we finished watching it, we decided to video chat. We could have just talked on the phone or texted, but anything that feels more like a real conversation is good right now. And we had a nice long chat about the show and lots of other random things. I didn’t realize how much I needed to talk to a friend like that until we had our talk. I’m still struggling with feeling isolated, but having someone else who understands helps me feel a little less alone. And having a communal experience with someone else, like watching a show online together, is one of the best things I can do right now. It’s not as good as the real thing, but it’s close.

We are hoping that things will be back to normal by the time our next show is supposed to happen, but we also know that it might not be that way. As of right now, the other shows we are scheduled to see have not been filmed so we might not be able to do this again. We were so lucky that this one was so we could at least experience it a bit. And if other shows get canceled, maybe we will luck out again and will find a way to see it together virtually.

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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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Kicking Off A Musical Season (or Seeing A Cartoon Brought To Life)

Posted on October 18, 2019 | Comments Off on Kicking Off A Musical Season (or Seeing A Cartoon Brought To Life)

Even after having a crazy weekend at the convention, I wasn’t going home to rest after we were done on Sunday. I finished up with everything in the early afternoon, had a little break to get some lunch, and then it was off to my next adventure for the day.

It was the first musical of the new Pantages season! This season, I’m going with my friend Dani again for the shows. And it will be an interesting season because only the first few shows are at the Pantages. After that, they move to the Dolby and I’m still curious how the shows will work there since it’s a much bigger theater. I’ll have to wait until our shows move there, but for the first few shows, we have the usual seats that we’ve had for the last few seasons.

Dani and I went for dinner before the show and we checked out a ramen place that we’ve walked past almost every time we’ve gone to a show. For some reason, we’ve never gone there and we wanted to check it out. It was really good and ramen was the perfect thing to have before the show. I wanted something warm but not too heavy because I was worried I would fall asleep during the show. I was already tired (both physically and emotionally) but the ramen seemed to perk me up.

I was excited to see “Anastasia”. I love the cartoon and have seen it multiple times. I always thought it would be a good musical since the songs in the movie were really memorable. I’m glad that it was made into a musical so we could see it!

The musical was very similar to the movie. They did change up some of the characters and the magical elements were removed, but it was, for the most part, the same story as the movie. And the songs that were in the movie were used along with lots of new songs, but some of the songs from the movie were in different places. I actually liked where they moved songs to and it almost made it make more sense they way the musical had it done.

The set was interesting with being just a few walls with pillars and having screens where the windows would be as well as long the back. It made it easy for the show to change locations and made it really fun to watch when things were supposed to be moving in the background. For example, when they were on a train the screen in the background showed the tracks and the landscape moving. There were a few moments I didn’t love the screens, but overall I think that was a smart design idea and it helped make the stage seem full without a lot of set pieces or props.

And I think one of the best things in this show were the costumes. They were incredible! We are lucky that our seats aren’t too far from the stage so we do get to see some of the details on the costumes, but I wish I could have looked at them closer. I saw some photos online and they have so much detail work on them and the work was impeccable. Even if we sat in the first row, I don’t know if we could have appreciated all the work that was done. But you can still tell even when seeing them from a distance that they were done with a lot of care.

We did have some annoying audience members seated behind us that felt like singing along and talking during the show was appropriate (and they wouldn’t quiet down). It’s unfortunate when there are people in the audience who don’t respect the performers and the theater in general. We have been lucky that we rarely have bad audience members near us for all the shows we go to. But when it happens, it’s extra annoying.

But despite the bad audience members, I really did enjoy the show. I really wanted to see a show that was easy to watch and also a bit of an escape. And that’s exactly what this was. I didn’t want to watch anything dramatic or serious because I had dealt with so much the few days prior. And this show was perfect to help me feel better and that’s one of the things I love about having these musical seasons. Before I started doing this again, I forgot how much going to shows was self-care for me. And now I get another year of shows to look forward to.

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A Perfect Night At The Bowl (or Checking Some Things Off My List)

Posted on July 31, 2019 | Comments Off on A Perfect Night At The Bowl (or Checking Some Things Off My List)

As I mentioned in my post about the end of my Pantages season, I wasn’t completely done with musicals for the summer. I still had one more show left (at least one more that I knew about). And that was the musical that was being done at the Hollywood Bowl. I’ve gone to the musicals at the Bowl several times and they are usually very fun experiences. This year, they did “Into The Woods” which I have seen a few times and really like. And since we went to the show on Sunday, we were still able to get good seats even though we didn’t do them right when they went on sale.

Besides being excited to be going to the Bowl (which I already love) and seeing a musical (which is one of my favorite things), I had some extra things to be excited about. Some of the stars of the show are actors that I have dreamed of seeing live. I have a list of shows that I’ve always wanted to see and actors I’ve always wanted to see. And I’ve been so lucky to be able to check shows and actors off my lists over the years. And this show had a lot of the actors I’ve been wanting to see in it so I was beyond thrilled. The top 2 actors I have wanted to see live are Sutton Foster and Laura Osnes and Sutton Foster was starring as the Baker’s Wife in the show. I was so excited and couldn’t wait.

When we got to the Bowl, we were all already excited. We were at a show we were excited to see, the weather was nice, and we had a lot of great food with us for dinner. We decided to see if there was any chance we could find a table to sit down at to eat, and by some miracle, we found one! There were some guys upset that another table wouldn’t give them their chairs (they needed the chairs for their family so they didn’t want to give them to the other group), so they left and we were able to take their table. It worked out really well and I was thinking about how we were having the best luck ever.

But things got even better.

We were eating and I was looking at a group sitting on the ground next to our table when I saw someone who looked familiar. When they got up, I realized that it was Laura Osnes, the other actor at the top of my dream list of actors to see! She was there to see the show and she had been sitting right next to us! I didn’t want to bother her as she was there with her husband and friends, but it was so random and cool that an actor that I’ve dreamed of seeing perform was at a show that had another actor on my dream list. Hopefully one day I’ll get to see her perform too.

After we finished our dinner, we headed to our seats. We had bought 4 tickets but there were only 3 of us at the show. But because the bench seats are so packed, it actually was really nice to have the extra seat so we didn’t feel squished on the bench. We were closer to the stage that I feel like I normally am, which was a nice treat. I guess since it was a Sunday show we were able to do a better section for the same price as our cheaper seats on a Saturday.

The other thing about the show being on a Sunday was that it started a bit earlier. This was a good thing since it is a long show and we still were there late, but it was still light out when the show started. That was different, but not bad.

The show was just as good as I thought it would be. I love the story already and I knew I loved the actors. The combination was just perfect. The sets were minimal as they usually are with the Bowl shows, but they didn’t need much. And they used projections around the stage to add things that couldn’t really be done with set pieces. There were lots of funny little moments that were a bit of breaking the 4th wall or making fun of the stage or situation. All of those things make a show special and unique and they make me so happy.

One of the things that is so funny about “Into The Woods” is how it seems like the story is wrapping up when it’s really coming to the intermission. Some of the people seated near us were packing up their things and getting ready to leave thinking the show was done. I’m glad I told them that it was only intermission so they didn’t miss the second half.

Even though the show did end a bit later than I would have liked, I was so glad that we got tickets. It was such a perfect night out and I don’t think we could have planned a better night at the Bowl. It was a great show, had a cast that I had been wanting to see, we had a great picnic dinner at a table we lucked into getting, and we had a bunch of different celebrity spottings. It really was the best night and I just continue to feel so lucky and grateful that I get to have nights like that one.

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