Tag Archives: Hollywood

A Weekday Show (or A Pre-Broadway Adventure)

Posted on February 21, 2024 | Comments Off on A Weekday Show (or A Pre-Broadway Adventure)

Since I started getting season tickets for the Pantages, my tickets have been on Sunday evenings. The group that I joined at first previously had done Sunday evenings so when I was added to the group things just stayed the same. And while the group has changed multiple times over the years, we’ve always just kept the shows on Sundays. Even when we’ve had to change the date, they usually stay on Sundays. It’s just easiest to do that and keep the routine the same since that’s what we’ve gotten used to.

I’m sure that there has been another time that I’ve seen a show at the Pantages on a weeknight, I just don’t remember it. So when we had to change our most recent tickets to a weeknight, it felt like something new. We had to change from a Sunday to a weeknight for a few reasons. The show we were seeing was “The Wiz”, and this production was a pre-Broadway run. So the cast was the cast that was expected to be on Broadway, which meant we had some names in the cast when we usually don’t get that. So all the dates were a lot more crowded than normal. So for us to change our date (which we needed to do because of my schedule), we had to search for a night that would have tickets for us together in our section. And we had another friend who was going to join us, so we needed to find 3 seats together. We ended up finding 3 tickets in the last row of the balcony, but it was in the center so they were actually considered a higher level of seating than we normally have. And being in the center was nice since normally we sit off to the side.

Before the show, we met up for dinner at RDen. I’m so glad they reopened so we could return to our pre-show tradition. We had looked at other places to eat before the show, but no other place has good reviews, decent food/prices, or is so close to the theater. It’s honestly the best place I can imagine going for dinner before the show. It was a bit more of a rush for me to get there since I was working before the show, but I made it work and wasn’t late. But I do prefer going on a Sunday when I don’t have to stress as much about rush hour traffic. But once we were all seated for dinner, it wasn’t a rush and we were able to have a nice dinner before going across the street for the show.

I don’t think I’ve seen a pre-Broadway show before. I know others who have but I think they have all seen brand new shows that were doing a tryout before going to Broadway to see if they needed to change the show at all. This time, the show was an established show so I can’t imagine they would make many changes at all. They wouldn’t change the script or the songs, but there were a few moments that I think weren’t as strong as others so I hope those are fixed before their premiere in New York. But the actors were incredible and I thought the actress who played Dorothy was so good! The closing number of the show was so powerful and that had the show end so strong! I think because I’ve seen so many shows over the years, I just notice the little things so the things I picked up on that I hope will be fixed were not things that others would notice. For example, the way the screens were used as a background was awesome in the second act, but I didn’t like how they were used in the first act. But it was still a good show and I’m so glad that we were able to find another night we could go and we were able to bring another friend with us.

The next season for Pantages will be announced in a few days. I can’t imagine that we won’t be renewing our season since my friend and I both agree that we just like having a reason to get out and enjoy theater. We might change where we sit because now we have been able to experience what it’s like when you are closer to the center of the theater. We won’t be doing super close and center tickets since those are out of both of our budgets. But upgrading a bit depending on cost might work.

But before we worry about the next season, we still have a bunch of shows this season! It’s pretty much a show a month from now until August. That’s a lot of nights out to look forward to!

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Dinner And A Show (or Back To Seeing Musicals)

Posted on January 17, 2024 | Comments Off on Dinner And A Show (or Back To Seeing Musicals)

When the last season of musicals ended, it felt like it would take so long before the next season would start. But as I’ve said before, time has flown by and it was the new year before we knew it! This current season of musicals is pretty much one show a month through the summer, so I’m really excited about having a lot of fun nights out for over half of the year! I don’t know when the season after this one will start, but maybe that will fill out the rest of the year for us!

And with the start of a new musical season, of course we had to go out for dinner before the show! I was so sad last year when I noticed that Wood & Vine had closed down because that was the perfect place to have dinner before the show. But I was thrilled to see that a new restaurant opened in that space. Now, it’s called RDen and there are a few people from Wood & Vine who are still there. And of course, that’s where we had to go for dinner.

The menu has a lot of new things on it, but there were also a lot of familiar favorites. And as always, the food was gorgeous and delicious!

It was the perfect way to start off the evening and felt like a return to something that makes me so happy! We were so full and stuffed by the time we walked across the street to the theater, but I’m so glad we are able to go back to our favorite spot for a pre-show dinner again.

With every season of musicals that I see, there are some shows I’m more excited about seeing than others. And the first one for this season was one I was a bit more hesitant about.

We saw “MJ The Musical”, which is about Michael Jackson’s life and features his music. I’m not really a Michael Jackson fan. I know he has some amazing songs and he did incredible things for the music industry, but he also was a very problematic person and I can’t ignore some of the things that people said he did. But I always try to go into a show with an open mindset and that’s what I did this time.

And I’m glad I kept an open mind because the show was really good. It didn’t cover a lot of the problems that he had and it did gloss over some things that maybe should have either been discussed or completely skipped over, but overall the show was so well done. And I loved how the show ended. I don’t want to spoil anything, but it was just really good and made me happy with how they were able to wrap everything up.

We also had a very unique experience at the show. Our season tickets this season are in the orchestra, and we don’t plan on moving seats around much if we can help it. But there was an issue with our seats for this show and it was very uncomfortable to be sitting where we were. So during the intermission, we went to the audience services booth to see if they could move us to different seats for the second act. I was joking to my friend that maybe we would be upgraded to better seats, but I expected to be seated in a similar level of seats as our season tickets. To my surprise, my joke came true and we got to watch the second act from the center of the orchestra only about 15 rows back! We could never afford these seats for our season tickets, but now we are tempted to do maybe one level above our current one when we renew our tickets for the next season. I almost hate how much nicer it was to watch the show from the center orchestra and be that close up, but it was a very nice and special treat for us to kick off this season.

As I said, we pretty much have a show every month for the next several months, so we’ll be back before we know it to continue this musical season. And I’m so excited to see the rest of the shows we have coming up, even if they are shows that I’m still a bit unsure of. I proved to myself with this one that I can be very pleasantly surprised and I hope that will happen again!

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Almost The End Of The Musical Season (or A Musical For A Legend)

Posted on June 28, 2023 | Comments Off on Almost The End Of The Musical Season (or A Musical For A Legend)

This current season of musicals has had a lot of variety with the types of shows we’ve been seeing. I don’t think the past seasons have necessarily had themes for the full season, but I also don’t think the variety has been as big as it has been. Maybe that’s because one of the shows wasn’t a musical and it seems like some have been less traditional. But I don’t mind the variety at all since I usually enjoy any show that we see.

One type of show we hadn’t had in this season until now was a biographical jukebox musical. It feels like most seasons have at least one of those. We did have a jukebox musical earlier, but it wasn’t the story of that musical artist so it felt different. But as we come toward the end of this current season, the second to last show was a biographical musical. And this time it was the Tina Turner musical.

When this was announced to be a part of the season, I was curious. I know a few Tina Turner songs, but not that many of them. And I wasn’t sure if this would be a case of me not knowing I didn’t know a lot of her songs or if I just wouldn’t know them. I know some of the jukebox musicals I’ve seen before surprised me when I realized I knew almost all of the songs. I figured that I would find out which it was when we got to see the show.

I knew the musical was written before Tina Turner passed away since she only passed about a month ago, but I also had heard that it was a show that honored her life. And I feel that is an accurate description. I didn’t know her story about how she was raised and I only knew the most basic details about some of her personal life and how her first husband was abusive. But I didn’t know the full extent of the abuse such as him controlling her music and how she struggled to become a solo artist. Since her struggles were before I was born, it makes sense that I didn’t know about a lot of her story. And this show did a good job covering a lot of what happened over the course of her career.

And the actress who played Tina was incredible! She was dancing and running around in heels for the entire show. And almost all the songs were crazy high-energy ones so she had a lot she had to do. At the end of the show, we were saying how the show was like multiple cardio workouts, and then we realized this was their second show of the day which made it even crazier! Everyone in the cast had amazing energy throughout the show, which I know can be tough when you do the same show multiple times a week.

I did enjoy the show even if it might not be my favorite jukebox musical I’ve seen. I think not knowing many of the songs hurt my enjoyment since I was paying a lot of attention to the songs to see if I recognized them. And for other shows, as soon as I recognize the song I seem to relax while watching since it’s something familiar. There were a few songs that I did recognize that surprised me, but a majority of the songs were ones I didn’t know. But it was still very fun to get out and see a show.

We’ve got one more show this season in a few weeks and then the next season doesn’t start until January! Maybe there will be a random show or two I end up seeing in the long break between seasons, but I also know that right now it feels like January is far away but it will be here before we know it!

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Seeing Six (or This Was An Incredible Musical!)

Posted on May 31, 2023 | Comments Off on Seeing Six (or This Was An Incredible Musical!)

Because I’ve had season tickets for the Pantages for several years now, I’ve had the opportunity to see so many musicals. I’m always so grateful that I’ve been taking advantage of having shows tour through LA and that I’ve had friends who have done seasons with me. I don’t always love every show, but I always enjoy my evening out seeing them. And sometimes, I see a show that is truly amazing!

I had heard a lot of good things about “Six” before this current season was announced. So when I saw that it was a part of the season, I was excited to see it because everyone seemed to enjoy the show. I didn’t know much about it other than it was about the wives of Henry VIII, but usually, I have a good time even if I don’t know much about the show or the plot. Sometimes, it’s better if you don’t know too much going into a show so it can surprise you. I didn’t even know that it was a short show without an intermission until I got an email a few days before the show from the Pantages with things to know (they send these out most of the time before a show).

We didn’t get dinner before the show this time, and it looks like our favorite pre-show place has closed down which I’m really sad about! Some of the things online say that it’s temporarily closed, but I think it permanently shut down so I’ll have to find a new pre-show dinner location for future shows. But it was fine not getting dinner ahead of time and we just met at the theater before the show and sat down just before the show was going to start.

And honestly, this was one of the best shows I think I’ve ever seen! I knew I’d probably like it because of how others were reacting, but I feel like people were underselling the show! It was so much better than I expected and I was enjoying the show from the second the first note played.

The story is about the wives of Henry VIII and each of the wives has a song to share their story. I didn’t know a ton about the different wives before so each of their stories was pretty new to me. I knew a bit about how some of the wives were beheaded, but that’s pretty minimal. And each of the songs was so amazing and unique. Each wife had a different singer or singers their style was inspired by and I loved how the styles were different and they didn’t blend together. There is a part of the story about how they are all unique but with a little bit in common, and I think the style of the show really demonstrated that idea.

It was a short show, only about 80 minutes long. I think the only thing I wished was different was wishing it was longer because I had such a great time at the show. I was in awe watching it and I didn’t want the show to end! I’m not someone who usually listens to the soundtrack of a show after seeing it, but I did listen to this one a few times in the week after going to the show. That’s how much I enjoyed it and wanted to relive it! And if a friend wanted to see the show, I would totally go again!

It’s hard for me to say what musical might be my favorite because I think I have a few favorites for different reasons. But there is no doubt in my mind that this is now in my top 3 of all time because it was so well done and so entertaining! The last 2 shows we have in this season are supposed to be really good ones too, so it will be interesting to see if either of them ends up in my top 3. And the shows we have next season look really great too!

I always love going out to a show to see a musical I’ve never seen before, but it’s even better when the show ends up being one of the most spectacular shows I’ve seen and I have no critique other than wishing there was more that I could watch!

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And Another Season Of Musicals (or Continuing My LA Tradition)

Posted on April 14, 2023 | Comments Off on And Another Season Of Musicals (or Continuing My LA Tradition)

Seeing musicals at the Pantages has been a tradition for me for several years now. I’ve been so happy every year I’ve gotten season tickets, even if I’m unsure about some of the shows. There have been very few shows that I haven’t enjoyed, and even if I don’t love a show I usually have a great time there and it’s a fun night out. It’s been a great way to have regular hangouts with friends and to feel connected to LA and the entertainment industry.

I’m so glad that I’ve been able to get tickets for the season each year, even if the people I’ve gone with have changed over the years. I wasn’t sure who was going to go with me after my friend Dani moved away from LA, but I’m so happy that my friend Jodi decided to join me for the shows this current season. And we’ve been having a great time getting dinner together before each show and seeing the variety of shows that have been happening this season. It’s one of the few regular things that I did before the pandemic that I continued doing since it reopened.

Every year when they are getting set to announce the next new season, I wonder if it will be a season I want to see. I usually feel pretty certain that I would want season tickets again, but if a season was mainly shows I didn’t want to see or that I’ve seen before and didn’t enjoy, I would probably consider not getting a full season and just getting a couple of shows. And I also have always wondered what the person or people going to shows with me would think as well. I know the tickets aren’t horribly expensive, but they aren’t cheap and it’s not worth the expense if you know you won’t be enjoying the shows. I’m always so happy when it’s worked out for me and I haven’t had to stress too much about what I want to do next.

So when the 2024 season for the Pantages was released about a month ago, I was excited to see that it looked like a pretty fun season.

It’s a 7 show season since we aren’t going to be doing the add-on shows, but that’s a good number and more than what we have in the current season. I checked with Jodi, and she was interested in doing another season as well. So we just renewed our tickets so we are all set for the next season!

In past seasons, once we set up our season we rarely changed things. Sometimes we would have to change the date and we would end up with different seats. But we wouldn’t make plans to change our seats for the same night. But Jodi and I have been having fun finding better seats than what we have in our current season. I think we only will have 1 show out of the 6 this year where we sit in the seats we originally got. And I have a feeling we will be moving our seats around again for the next season. We couldn’t do that when renewing since you have to renew for the same seats each year, but it’s simple for us to change them online whenever we have time to see what our options are. And once the regular ticket sales are open, then we can see where we can move around to for each show. We don’t really care if we sit on the same side or in the same section from show to show, so that gives us a lot of flexibility to get better seats.

I’m so happy that I’m continuing this tradition since it has brought me so much joy over the years. And I’m so glad that I also will be having a lot of fun nights out with a friend already planned for 2024!

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Exactly The Musical I Needed To See (or I Wasn’t Expecting To Like This Show This Much)

Posted on January 11, 2023 | Comments Off on Exactly The Musical I Needed To See (or I Wasn’t Expecting To Like This Show This Much)

I’m about halfway through my musical season, which is surprising since it feels like it just started. But this season is split up with a few other shows, so I don’t have another show until this summer when we have 3 shows within 3 months. So I’ll be missing seeing shows for a little while, but I think that the show we got to see this past weekend will make up for that because I really loved the show we saw.

It’s always a tradition to go to Wood & Vine before the show, and we continued that again. We lucked out because we have been having a lot of storms here in LA and Sunday was a break from the rain. So we were able to sit outside and stay warm under a heat lamp. And it was nice to have some outside time when I feel like I’ve been cooped up inside for a while. As always, the food was so delicious and amazing. We ordered a lot of things that we had before, but they have all been favorites of ours.

I was also smarter before going out that night and didn’t eat too much for breakfast or lunch so I had room for all the good food. Everything was really fulfilling and perfect for the stormy weather we have been going through.

And our show that night was one that was supposed to be in the 2019-2020 season that was canceled. But I’m glad the show decided to set up a tour again and they were a part of this season.

I love the movie “Mean Girls” and I was excited to see how it was adapted into a musical. I’ve seen some adaptations that I loved and some that weren’t as great, but I had high hopes for this one. Plus, I knew that the show would be very high-energy and silly so I was looking forward to that.

But what I didn’t expect was how much I would love the show. I thought the cast was so talented and the songs were very funny. Even when there was a technical glitch and the show had to take a very long pause, they were able to come back with as much energy and enthusiasm as before. And you couldn’t tell that they had to make some last-minute staging changes to accommodate the technical issues.

The story is pretty much the same as the movie and there are also a lot of the same characters. But there is a new level to the story with the songs. And I feel like the songs were so many different genres so they almost felt like a collective or a mix tape than something written by a single person. I really loved that. And the sets were almost all using screens, which is something I normally don’t love but it really worked with the show. It allowed the staging to quickly switch from one location to another and it kept the show moving quickly.

I really needed to see a show like Mean Girls. It was so fun and a nice escape from everything else going on in the world and in my life. And that’s why I love having season tickets for musicals. Normally, they aren’t just entertaining but a way to remove myself from any stress and worries in my life and I can just enjoy that moment in time and be really connected to a show. It will be weird that I might not have another musical until the summer, but maybe I’ll find something else to go and check out in the meantime!

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Not Exactly A Musical Night (or Continuing To Be Spoiled With Our Pre-Show Dinners)

Posted on November 8, 2022 | Comments Off on Not Exactly A Musical Night (or Continuing To Be Spoiled With Our Pre-Show Dinners)

My friend Jodi and I had our second show this past weekend for the new Pantages season. As I’ve said so many times, I’m glad that I have been able to continue going to shows and that I have a friend who wanted to join me this time. And I’m happy that the shows are back at the Pantages because that means it’s even easier for us to go to dinner at my favorite place, Wood & Vine. I was going there for dinner before the shows at the Dolby, but it was a bit more rushed since we had to drive over to the theater instead of just walking across the street. And honestly, going to Wood & Vine feels like such a part of the plan with going to a show and I miss it if I’m not there for my pre-show dinner.

Jodi and I decided to try a few new things for our dinner. We decided that we wanted to get the crab cakes again because they were so incredible the last time we had them. And we got the popcorn shrimp since that was something I had never had before there. And for our main entree, we got the burger (which came as 2 burgers) because I don’t think I’ve had that before either.

And as always, we got spoiled at dinner. We were sent an order of the ahi tartare, which was another thing that I had never had before there. And I don’t know if I’ve had ahi tartare before in general.

Every single bite was delicious. I’m glad their menu isn’t bigger because I’ve never had something there that I don’t like and it would be hard to decide what to get if they had more options. I have loved everything I’ve had and I always want to get some of my favorites as well as try new things as they change up their menu. And this was a perfect combination of things I had tried before and new things. I especially loved the garlic fries that came with the burger. They were perfectly garlicky!

And again, we were sent dessert even though we didn’t order it. Often, we are sent the butterscotch dessert because that is my favorite. But I think I have a new favorite now. We were sent the bread and butter pudding and I can’t explain how luxurious and delicious it was.

It wasn’t too sweet, which I loved. And it melted in your mouth. Honestly, if I didn’t have to be up early the next morning, I would have debated about us going back to Wood & Vine after the show for a second dessert! It was that good! And I think I will have to have that again the next time we have dinner there.

After being spoiled by so much good food, it was time to walk across the street to go to the show. I usually refer to the season as the musical season, but this was not a musical. I can’t remember another show that was a part of the regular season that wasn’t a musical, so it’s not something that happens regularly. But this season, they decided to make one of the shows a regular play.

Like so many people, I’m familiar with the story of “To Kill A Mockingbird”. I read the book in school and I remember my class watching the movie after we read the book. It’s been years since I’ve read or watched it, but I still knew the main plot points of the story. I had heard that there were a few changes made, but I didn’t think I’d recognize them since it had been so long since I had revisited the story.

I think the play was very well done. The performances were incredible and the plot followed the story that I remembered for the most part. They did some back and forth with the storytelling that I don’t remember seeing before, but it was easy enough to follow when we were moving through the timeline or when we were watching the action take place versus having the characters tell the story. And I liked how they used the set to change from location to location because it was done very simply and kept the focus on the story (sometimes musicals have sets that are super flashy and can be something I focus on a bit too much).

It was an interesting change of pace compared to seeing musicals, but I think it was a good addition to the season. And while Jodi and I were at dinner, we realized that our next show isn’t for about 2 months. And then after that, we have a 4-month break between shows! So we are going to try to see if there are any other random shows we want to go to since we are having so much fun getting to hang out on a regular basis and have entertaining nights out! But even if we don’t figure out another show to see before January, I’m so excited about what we have coming up and I know that this season is going to continue to be amazing!

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Another Theater Sunday (or Supporting A Friend)

Posted on October 12, 2022 | Comments Off on Another Theater Sunday (or Supporting A Friend)

Most of the time, when I’m going to see a show I’m going to see something in a large theater at the Pantages or the Dolby. I have seen shows at other theaters, including some small theaters, but that’s not too often for me. I saw more shows in small black box theaters when I was younger, especially while I was still doing sketch and improv. I frequently would go to shows that my friends were doing on nights I wasn’t in a show and then they would see my shows on their off nights. But I just haven’t really seen a lot of independent theater lately. Some of that is because my friends aren’t doing as much theater like that, and some of it has been that I haven’t had a chance to.

My friend Marie was in an amazing show over the summer called “A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To Divorce”, and I really wanted to go and see it. But with a lot of my crazy schedule stuff plus various injuries and illnesses, I never made it to the theater. I knew that Marie understood, but I felt so bad that I never made it. So when she emailed me to let me know that the show was extending its run and starting up again, I was so excited that I could go and see it! And that’s exactly what I got to do this past Sunday.

The show was in a cute little theater in the theater district in Hollywood. I’ve seen a few shows in theaters near there before, and they are great places to see independent theater and new shows. This was a new show and it had gotten some great reviews. And when I got there, I saw that my friend Andy happened to be going to the show that afternoon as well. I was expecting to sit alone at the show, and I was glad that I had a friend that I could sit with. And since it was open seating, we got to sit in the front row together.

The show is a one-act play without an intermission. Without giving away too much, it’s the story of 3 couples ready to get a divorce and have to see a mediator in order to complete the process. The stories of each couple are explored and explained with a few different flashback segments. And there are some really funny moments as well as some really touching and heartwarming moments. I guess it would be considered more of a drama, but because of the comedy in it as well it wasn’t a very heavy show. And I feel like it ended on a really nice note as well.

Of course, I loved getting to see Marie in a show. I haven’t been able to see her in a show in a long time, and most of the shows I have seen her in have been standup performances. Getting to see her in a play is very different and I was so proud of how amazing she was! I’m glad I got a second chance to see this show because missing it would have been a loss for me.

The show is running through November 20th and has performances on Saturdays and Sundays. If you are in LA and would like to see it (which I really recommend), you can get tickets online and use the code “friends” for a nice discount!

I’m so glad I had this opportunity to support a friend performing and doing the thing they love so much. This isn’t something I get to do that often, and it was a good reminder of how awesome it is to see independent theater and the passion of everyone involved in a show.

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Kicking Off Another Season Of Musicals (or A Really Impressive Start To The Season)

Posted on September 27, 2022 | Comments Off on Kicking Off Another Season Of Musicals (or A Really Impressive Start To The Season)

As I mentioned before, I got season tickets for the Pantages for the coming season. I’m going with my friend Jodi, which I’m very excited about. She joined me for two shows in the past season, and we talked a bit about getting season tickets for this season. She wasn’t sure about it, but once the tickets were for sale and she and I both looked at our own budgets, we both could make it work so we got the full season! We’ve had to change the dates for a few of our shows, but we are still going to all of the shows in the current season. And I’m so glad we are doing this since seeing the shows have been a real highlight for me each time I have a show. And I didn’t want to go alone so I’m glad Jodi was able to make it work so she could come too.

Our season just got started and we got to see our first show this past weekend. Our shows this season are a mix of shows that I’m either familiar with or familiar with the material they are based on and new shows for me. And this one was a bit of a mix.

Our first show was “Jagged Little Pill” and I knew it was essentially a jukebox musical with the music being songs by Alanis Morissette. I knew many of the songs from that album, but not all of them, so I knew there would be some songs I knew and some that were new to me. But even though I knew the songs, I didn’t know what the story of the show was. For a lot of other jukebox musicals, they are about the singer or songwriter they are about. So it’s a bit of a biography and follows their life or career. But I knew this wasn’t that way even though I didn’t know the plot.

Without giving too much of the story away, the show is about a year in the life of a family that has a mom, dad, son, and daughter. And while each person might look from the outside that they are doing well or succeeding in life, all of them are struggling with different traumas in their lives. The show gets pretty intense at times, but I didn’t feel like it was overwhelming. Sometimes if a show gets to be too much, I can’t exactly focus on it and I miss some of the story. But this one just pushed the limit of being overwhelming and I was fully engaged while watching the entire time. But it was emotional and dealt with a lot of serious things, so it was very different from other musicals that I’ve seen.

I really enjoyed this show. Even though it wasn’t a happy or joyful show, it was beautifully done. The performances were really incredible. Some of the songs are really intense, and the actors really nailed it. And the dancing was amazing too. Some of the dancing was to represent the character’s inner feelings and thoughts and I loved how that was done. And I think the issues they went through in the show are things that so many people have to deal with and I think it was a great way to show how you never know what someone is going through in their life.

For most of the shows that I have seen at the Pantages, I sat in the orchestra in pretty much the same seats each season. But this season we are up in the mezzanine which is a very different viewpoint. It is a bit further from the stage than my past seats, but because we aren’t off to the side like I was in the past, we can see more of the stage which is nice. And I don’t think it feels that much further from the stage since before we were much further to the side.

I’m really looking forward to the rest of the shows this season. I think Jodi and I are going to have so much fun with the shows we are going to get to see and I’m just so happy to be continuing my tradition of seeing musicals on a regular basis!

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Moulin Rouge! (or The Last Show Of An Extended Theater Season)

Posted on July 6, 2022 | Comments Off on Moulin Rouge! (or The Last Show Of An Extended Theater Season)

The 2019-2020 season at the Pantages and Dolby theaters has been going for quite a while. I had no idea when that season started that a pandemic was going to hit and that everything would shut down. And I had no clue that my friend Dani would be moving away before the season ended so I would be going to the last half of the season with different friends. But, as we all know, so much was not planned or the way we thought it would be. So I have just been glad that I have been able to go back to the shows again when they started up.

And this past weekend, I finally went to the final show of that extended season. This time, my friend Woody came with me and we got to see Moulin Rouge. This was my first show back at the Pantages since 2019 (since the first show in 2020 was at the Dolby), and the theater looked amazing as soon as we walked in!

And it was my first time back in my old seats since 2019 as well. But not only was it the first time back in those seats, but it was also the last time I’d be sitting there. Because of how season ticket renewals work, I wasn’t able to get my old seats back since I am not the ticket holder of those seats. But I am excited about my seats for next season because they will be a bit more centered. And even though they are further back, the theater isn’t that big and I’ve sat all the way in the back and it’s still felt close. But it was a bit of a bittersweet moment knowing that this show was the last time I’d be sitting there when we’ve had those seats for so many seasons.

But that bittersweet feeling went away as soon as the show started because it was amazing! I already was excited to see it because Moulin Rouge is one of my favorite movies. But I know that sometimes a movie I love doesn’t always turn into a great musical. But this time, I think the musical might have been better than the movie! And I think that is pretty rare!

It is the same storyline and plot as the movie with a few little changes in it to make it work better for the stage. But the biggest change was the music. In the movie, most of the songs were popular hits that were not original songs for the movie. The musical was the same, but they changed up the songs to use a lot more current ones. And the songs they picked were so perfect for each moment. It was a jukebox musical but it was from all different artists and genres. And the choices were so entertaining and everyone in the audience was laughing and getting a kick out of each one.

And with all the craziness going on in the country, it was so nice to have a little escape from reality. Even though the plot is a bit sad, it was still such an upbeat show to watch. And one of my favorite things about some musicals is when you can tell the cast is having a fun time performing. And there is no doubt this cast loves their job and that they were having just as much fun performing as we did watching.

Considering how this very extended season went and the reasons why everything shut down, I’m so glad that the final show this season had such a positive note. And I’m ready for the next season, which will be starting after the summer. The next season will be a bit different from my past ones since I will be sitting in a new location and have a new friend to go to all the shows with, but I know it will still be an amazing time. And I can’t wait to see which shows in the 2022-2023 season become new favorites of mine!

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