Tag Archives: Pantages Theater

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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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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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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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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Last Musical Of The Season (or A Classic Pantages Night Out)

Posted on July 24, 2019 | 2 comments

This past Sunday was the last show for my current season at the Pantages. This has been a great season and I have really enjoyed it. Even the shows I didn’t love were still enjoyable and I was glad that I got to see a bunch of classic shows that I hadn’t seen before or had never seen on a big stage.

It’s been a slightly different season this past season because my group had a few date conflicts from time to time. We rarely all made it to a show, which was fine. But I do wish that we had been able to go as a group more often. And for this last show, it was just me and my friend Dani as the other 2 people in the group couldn’t make it.

But Dani and I had a lot of fun. We started our evening at one of our favorite pre-show dinner places.

I think this was the first time that it was just 2 of us for dinner at Wood & Vine. One of the things I love about Wood & Vine (besides the amazing food) is that everything is designed to be shared with the table. That allows us to order so many different things so we can try a lot and not be overwhelmed by too much food. But with just me and Dani, we had to limit what we ordered so we weren’t stuffed.

For our dinner, we got some of our favorite things like the charred romaine salad, the pork shanks, and the shells and cheese. They were all as good as we remembered them and I think we ordered the perfect amount with a mix of some healthier options and some splurges. And since we made our dinner reservation on the earlier side, we had plenty of time to enjoy the food and patio before we had to head across the street for the show.

But before we left, the manager at Wood & Vine sent us 2 of the new desserts on their menu to try.

We got to try the dark chocolate cake and the banana caramel cream. The dark chocolate cake was so luxurious! It was like the most perfect mousse and the caramel on the side was so good! But I think my new favorite dessert is the banana caramel cream. It was one of the lighter desserts we’ve had there and the perfect summer dessert. It wasn’t overly sweet and every bite was a little different. I hope the banana caramel cream stays on the menu because I know I want to get it again!

Once we paid for dinner, we headed across the street to the theater for our show. And just like so many shows this season, this was another one I had seen before.

I had only seen “Miss Saigon” one time before and it was almost 19 years ago. I saw it on my 17th birthday when I was in New York on my drama club trip in high school. I remembered the show a bit and had some random memories of things like how we learned how some of the actors had to wear their mike packs under their wigs instead of on their backs. It’s so odd what I remembered about the show, but I was excited to get to see it again to remember more of it.

Once the show started I remembered how much there is in the plot. It’s very busy to get in the story and it can be confusing. I, fortunately, remembered enough about it to be able to follow along well. I also took a glance at the main plot points online before going to the show, so that probably helped too. But it still was a bit overwhelming to watch it again.

Also, this show had some of the most obstructed views for us. Because we do cheap seats, we are off to the side. And because of how the set was done, we didn’t get to see a few moments that were far off to the side. We didn’t miss much, but it does make me a little sad whenever we have a blocked view like we did that night.

But even with how busy the show is and the obstructed view from time to time, it was still an amazing show. It was just as good as I remembered it and I loved the performances. Everyone was very talented and I especially loved The Engineer. He was so funny and Dani and I joked how there should be just a show of him and his fun songs. His character brought some needed levity to the show because it is a very heavy show. Even though I knew that going in, it still hit me really hard.

And I think it hit me hard because of some of the things that Dani and I discussed after the show. Whenever you see a show, you see it from a specific viewpoint and mindset. And when I saw this show before, it was a different time. And now, with there being so much hate regarding immigrants and the “other”, this show connected on a different level. It was similar to how I connected to other shows this season that weren’t as heavy for me in the past. It’s interesting to have very different memories of seeing this show, but they both are good memories and make me think of very different things which isn’t bad.

Our first show for next season is in October, so it is a bit longer until the show than I originally thought. For some reason, I thought our new show started at the end of August. But that’s ok because we have had a lot of shows recently and it will be a little break. I do have another musical thing this weekend, but it’s a little different (and I’ll write about that next week). Looking back at the entire season, it’s very close to what I thought it would be before the season started. Lots of fun shows, some great classics, and a chance to see a show again that I hadn’t seen in a very long time. Next season will be very different, but I’m excited about that!

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Finally Seeing A Popular Show (or It’s “Rent” Time!)

Posted on July 18, 2019 | 1 comment

There have been so many shows this season at the Pantages that are either classics or very popular shows. I’ve been loving the season, especially since it is letting me see a bunch of shows that I hadn’t seen before but have been wanting to see for a while. And no matter what show we are seeing, I love going to live theater and I can’t imagine what it would be like without having shows to see on a regular basis.

The current season is almost over, although the next season starts soon so it won’t feel like a big gap in time between shows. And the show we got to see this past weekend was one that I was so excited to see because I had never seen it on a big stage before.

I feel like “Rent” is a show that every theater nerd has seen at some point. And technically, I had seen it too. But I had only seen it in a small community theater production and in the film/live tv versions before. So I was familiar with the show, but it is still different seeing it in a large theater compared to on a screen or in a small theater where they didn’t have sets and I believe they may not have done all the songs.

My group for seeing the shows this season has been 4 of us, but one person in the group couldn’t make it so it was going to be 3 of us. Then, at the last minute, another person from the group couldn’t make it and they asked us if we knew anyone who wanted the ticket. We started texting our friends and a friend of mine wanted the ticket and was able to get to the theater in time. And it turned out, all of us were new to seeing the show this way so it was even more exciting!

Since I had seen other versions of the show before, I was familiar with the plot. And the live tv version wasn’t that long ago so I was more familiar than I have been with most shows even though this was kind of a new show for me. It was an interesting way to see the show since it was new and familiar at the same time. I also think it allowed me to not feel as confused in the beginning as I have with some new shows. I was still able to be into the show and not expecting what would come next, but I wasn’t shocked and had to get past anything.

The show was exactly how I expected a full production to be. It had the set that I had seen in photos from other big productions and the performers were awesome. I will say this is one of the first shows that made me feel a bit old because all the performers were adults but young (when it’s a show full of kids, I don’t feel old). There were a few moments I didn’t love and some characters that didn’t have the chemistry I was expected to see, but overall it was a great show.

This tour is technically the 20th-anniversary tour (the tour started 3 years ago when the premiere was 20 years ago) and even though the show is not current it still feels that way. The AIDS crisis isn’t the same as it was back in the early 90s, but there are still so many health issues that feel just as hopeless or overwhelming. And the idea of not being able to afford bills and affordable housing being torn down for expensive homes is a current issue that I feel I know well. I have said that I literally cannot afford to move because every place near me is significantly more expensive than what I pay right now.

And of course, the idea of being an artist and wanting to have your work out there is something very close to me. I understand the frustration of trying to make something and wanting to make sure that your legacy includes the work that you created. That concept a big focus of the show, but I think it hits even harder considering that the writer of “Rent” died the night before it opened. He worked so hard on writing the show and getting it seen by others. And it’s so sad that he never got to see what “Rent” became and how it is a must-see show according to most people who like musicals.

This was one of the few shows that did make me cry. I don’t usually cry when seeing a musical, but I think when something connects so well with me I can’t help it. I was moved by what I saw and when I feel like that I can’t hold it in. And I think all 3 of us in the group felt the same way. We left the show a bit emotionally drained and a bit motivated to get out there and work hard on what we love to do. It was an incredible way to leave a show and I loved it.

There’s only one more show this season and it will be this weekend. And it will only be 2 of us going due to scheduling issues. And then next season, it will be me and my friend Dani. But shows are awesome to go to with just 2 of us or with a big group. For me, as long as I have one friend to go with, I have an awesome time. And I’m so happy that this will keep going for at least another year and I can’t wait to see how the last show of this season and all the shows next season will connect with me.

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Les Miserables (or Another Classic 19 Years Later)

Posted on May 23, 2019 | Comments Off on Les Miserables (or Another Classic 19 Years Later)

My group is coming to an end to our season at the Pantages. We only have 2 more shows left and they are both in July. After that, one friend and I will be continuing for the next season which will be starting in October. But I will miss the group we have this year because it’s been so great (I miss my group from last year too). It has been a great season this season and I’ve said it many times that I’m loving seeing classic shows again or shows that I’ve seen before. And this week the show was another show I was familiar with.

Before this week, I think I had only had seen “Les Miserables” one other time on stage. I saw it when I went to NYC with a high school group 19 year ago. It was an amazing trip and I got to see some incredible shows. One of the other shows I have left for this season is a show that I saw on that same trip (although that show is one I’m not as familiar with). But even though I’ve only seen the show on stage one other time, I have seen other adaptations of it since then. There was the movie a few years ago which did a great job of keeping the adaptation close to the stage show. And I’ve heard the songs in other shows I’ve gone to. Since the show is almost all singing, knowing the songs pretty much means knowing the show.

We were seated up in the mezzanine this time since we were not attending on our usual night. But we were almost in the center which is a nice treat. I do think I still prefer being close to the stage and to the side because I like being able to see the actors’ faces, but being in the center and not having any part of the stage blocked is good too. And even being almost in the back is still close to the stage compared to other theaters. I know that next season won’t be the same because some of the shows are at the Dolby and that’s a much bigger theater. But hopefully our seats there won’t be in the far back.

“Les Miserables” requires some incredible singers. Not only does the show pretty much only have singing and no dialogue, but there are so many songs that I know are technically difficult. I’m not a singer at all, but I still know when a song is tough to sing. So having strong singers is a requirement for the show to succeed. And this touring cast really did have some talented performers! I was getting chills at times during some of the more dramatic songs. I was prepared to cry while watching it since I know I have cried before with this show. Somehow I was able to hold it together, but that didn’t mean I wasn’t emotional or didn’t enjoy it. I just think I was so focused on watching it that I didn’t have the time to have the emotions hit me or make me react.

Something I’ve been enjoying with all these shows I’ve been able to see is how the sets work. I know with touring shows the sets can’t be as elaborate as they are on Broadway or if a show is staying in a theater for a long run. I think most of the shows I’ve seen the past few seasons have had very interesting sets and I’m always fascinated to see what they do and how they use what they put on stage. This show was no different. They used the depth of the stage in a unique way and used the buildings in the town almost like curtains to block the stage to change the sets. Since they didn’t use the regular curtains and had a set acting as them, the show didn’t have to stop when the sets changed and they were still able to use lots of different set options. And they had a screen on the back of the stage that they used for a few moments to convey motion. The first few times they used the screen it surprised me. And toward the end of the show when they used it to show movement in the sewer it was so perfect and I loved what they were able to do without making it look like a movie or theme park ride.

This show was one that my entire group was familiar with and I think we all went into it knowing we’d enjoy it. Obviously with it being a sad show we didn’t leave gushing about how much we liked it or talked about things too much. We all kind of took time to let it sit with us. But even though we weren’t saying it, I think everyone enjoyed it as much as I did.

I’ve got a bit of time now before my last 2 shows this season. But with how quickly time is flying by, I’m sure it will be here before I know it!

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