Tag Archives: Hollywood

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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Default ThumbnailMore Musicals! (or Another Season At Pantages) Default ThumbnailAnd Another Season Of Musicals (or The Next Season Will Be A Bit Different) Default ThumbnailAnother Musical Season (or Enjoying A Repeat Musical) Default ThumbnailA Weird Night In Hollywood (or Another Musical In Our Season) Default ThumbnailThe End Of My Musical Season (or Finally Enjoying Phantom) Default ThumbnailLast Musical Of The Season (or A Classic Pantages Night Out)

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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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Another Dinner And A Show Night (or Classic Musicals And Yummy Food)

Posted on March 20, 2019 | 2 comments

As I’ve mentioned a few times before, the current season at the Pantages has a lot of classic musicals. Most of them I have seen before, but I always love seeing a musical again. But there are a few shows this season that I haven’t seen and sometimes I get a bit nervous about seeing something new if I’m not totally sure I will like it. And the most recent show we saw was “Cats”, and it was one that I was a bit hesitant about.

But before I get to the show, I have to talk about our incredible dinner! We went to Wood & Vine again because it really is our favorite pre-show dinner place. Usually when we go, the manager is there and he likes to make sure we get to try some of his favorite menu items. This time, he was out-of-town so we knew we wouldn’t have his guidance on the food. But the last time we were there, we got to meet the new chef and he and I have become friends on social media. So I reached out to him online to ask if there were any new menu items he thought we should try, and he gave us a few things that he recommended for us and said he would stop by our table at some point to say hello.

The first thing that was recommended was to get the charred romaine salad.

This was the perfect thing to start with and it was nice and light and it didn’t fill us up too much. When we were finishing up the salad, the chef came over to chat with us before the entrees were brought over and it was really nice to get to catch up. He had to rush away when there was something he had to tend to in the kitchen, but it was when our food was served so we turned our focus to eating some delicious things!

We got the shrimp and grits, halibut, and pork shanks. We had the pork shanks before and they were just as good as we remembered them. The shrimp and grits were a bit spicy, but not too spicy for me. And the halibut might be my new favorite! It was so light and flavorful and I loved the spinach cous cous that it was served with.

We weren’t sure if we wanted to order dessert, but because they spoil us so much at Wood & Vine they said they wanted to give us one of the desserts. We have had a few things on the dessert menu in the past, and while they are things we love we decided to go with something new. So we ordered the whiskey cake.

I have never had whiskey cake before and I was worried it would be too filling, but it was another lighter option. We didn’t eat a ton of it because the chef came over again to chat with us a bit more and we had to rush out of there to get across the street to the theater. But the bites I had were so good!

As always, we had the best dinner at Wood & Vine and we really appreciate how much they spoil us there! And it was so much fun having time to chat with the chef before the show because he had already seen it and he was sharing his review with us.

I know that “Cats” is a classic and it seems like everyone has seen it. But I had never seen it before. I was familiar with the song “Memory” and I knew the show was actually about cats (and it wasn’t something deeper than that). And I found out during dinner that the show was not that plot heavy so I was prepared for that. But none of us in the group had seen the show before and we were all a bit hesitant about it.

I will never say that I hate a show, but this show was not one of my favorites. It had nothing to do with the performers. They were amazing and the dancing was incredible. If it was a dance show, I might have liked it a bit more. But I spent so much of the first act trying to understand what was happening. I didn’t know until intermission that all the songs except for “Memory” are the text from poems by T.S. Eliot. Once I found that out things were making a bit more sense for me, but it was still a weird show. I like more plot driven shows and I think even though I knew there wasn’t a heavy plot I kept looking for a deeper meaning or to understand something that wasn’t there.

I was glad that my friends had the same feelings as I did about the show because I really spent a lot of time during the first act wondering if I was just completely missing the point. I think we all were trying to look too much into things and we should have just been sitting back and relaxing. And we were all able to laugh at ourselves a bit after the show for how hard we were trying to figure things out when there was nothing to figure out.

But besides over thinking the show and being a bit confused, it was still a fun night out. And I am glad I can check off another classic musical off of the lists of shows I’ve never seen! And of course, I love any night I get to spend with my friends and have an amazing dinner!

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Another Round Of A Repeat Musical (or Seeing A Show A Different Way)

Posted on February 22, 2019 | Comments Off on Another Round Of A Repeat Musical (or Seeing A Show A Different Way)

With this season at the Pantages being a lot of shows I’ve seen before, I’ve been enjoying seeing how a show connects with me now versus how it connected to me in the past. With many of the repeat shows, they are shows I saw at a different venue and with a different theater group (sometimes community theater versus professional tours) so that is what the focus has been for me when I reflect back on it. But when I’m seeing a show again at the same venue and with the same caliber of performers, I focus on different things.

This week, my group saw “Kinky Boots”.

I saw this show for the first time a little over 4 years ago when it was in my first season that I did at the Pantages. When I saw it the first time, I loved the show and I think I also was still on a high from being so excited that I had season tickets to see more musicals. It really was a great decision for me to get that first season and I know that I was always just so happy that I was seeing anything. There were some shows I liked more than others, but every show was extra magical because I was seeing shows again after not seeing musicals for so long.

And I did enjoy “Kinky Boots” just as much this time as I did 4 years ago. It’s such a fun show and the songs are awesome. I loved this show for so many reasons the first time and I think I loved it for many of those reasons again this time. We were watching the show from the balcony instead of our usual orchestra seats, but being further away from the stage didn’t take away from the show. While I like being able to see the faces clearly of the actors, it’s fun seeing the stage in full when you are further back too.

Out of the 4 of us in our group, 2 of us had seen the show before (my friend Dani was the one who got me in the first time I had season tickets so she saw it then). But the other 2 hadn’t seen the show and I was excited to see their reactions. And I think they loved it just as much as I did. It really is a great show and I think the performers were so talented.

But we all also had a few weird reactions to a few moments in the show. After the Me Too movement and becoming more aware of harassment that I might have brushed off in the past, we all noticed moments in the show that just didn’t sit right with us. I know that shows cannot change with the times and that the writers didn’t mean anything negative or sexist from it, but it was interesting to see how I didn’t notice those moments before. I have become more and more aware of how I have thought things were wrong but normal and now looking back I’ve realized they were not normal and not acceptable. And yes, there is a part of the show that has to be homophobic as lesson to the other characters and that was fine. But there were just little things that I think we all picked up on that just made us think a bit more.

I know that there are so many musicals that I have looked back on and realized that I didn’t think much about a line or an action and now I realize that it is something that I wouldn’t consider acceptable in real life. This is just a sign of how times have changed and not a reflection of what things should be like now. I’m curious to see if I have that feeling about the next few repeat shows I have this season. I have a feeling that I will because there are things I have said out loud when describing the show that made me stop and try to explain why it was that way.

Even with those few moments that made me think or took me by surprise that I didn’t think about it last time, it was still an awesome night out. It was fun that we happened to be there on the opening night of the show for LA (our original tickets were on Oscar Sunday and we didn’t want to be stuck in all the street closures). And sitting up in the balcony was also really fun since that’s not something we do that often. We will have a few more shows in the balcony this season because we have changed the dates of our tickets a few times as well as being seated up there for the add-on shows we did. We are still debating about renewing for next season, but now we are also considering seeing if we can move our tickets to the balcony if we do renew. We’ve had our seats on the side of the orchestra for so long and it might be a fun change to be somewhere new. I guess I’ll have to see what happens if we do decide to do the next season.

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A Tasting And Theater Night (or Enjoying A Fun Night Out)

Posted on November 14, 2018 | Comments Off on A Tasting And Theater Night (or Enjoying A Fun Night Out)

The current season for the Pantages has officially begun! Our first show of this current season was actually an add-on show, so this past weekend was the first show of the main season. And since this season is so close to the end of the last season, it does just feel like one long season. And that’s perfectly fine with me.

And just last the past few seasons, we are going to try to have dinner before the show to make it a full night out. And even before we started to plan what we would do for dinner before this show, I got an email from the manager at Wood & Vine. They have a new chef there and they wanted to see if we wanted to come in for a tasting! We all love Wood & Vine so there was no question that we would be coming in!

I had taken a look at the menu before we went in, and everything looked delicious! I knew it would be tough for us to decide what we wanted to get, but I had a feeling that anything we picked would be amazing.

When we got there, my friends ordered cocktails and we knew we wanted the French onion dip with chips so we got that ordered right away. Then we checked out the menu and I think we got a pretty good variety and selection of things to try.

For starters/side dishes we had the dip with chips, wedge salad, and asparagus.

For entrees we had the shrimp and grits, the 50/50 burger (we got it without a bun as one of my friends has a gluten allergy, scotch eggs, and pork shanks.

We also tried the pasta dishes. We got the mac and cheese and the vegan spaghetti and meatballs.

And we got 3 of the 4 desserts they had (one of them was already sold out so we couldn’t try the cobbler).

It really was a ton of food, but the portions aren’t ridiculously huge and almost everything was split among the 4 of us. So while we were all full, it wasn’t that bad. And everything was so good so it was so worth it!

There was nothing we tried that I wouldn’t get again. But there were a few standouts to me. We all loved the French onion dip and even asked for more chips so we could keep on eating it. Then when we got our burger we discovered that dipping the fries in the dip was even better! The pork shank was a favorite among the entire group and I know that I will be getting that every time I’m there and it’s on the menu! The shrimp and grits was a hit with my friends, but since I’m very sensitive to spicy foods I had to only have a little taste. But what I tried was delicious! And I think the mac and cheese was the best variation of it that we’ve had from all of the times we’ve ordered it at Wood & Vine (yes, even better than the lobster mac!).

All the desserts were delicious and we were happy to see they kept the butterscotch on the menu. This version was a bit lighter and had more air whipped into it, but I liked that. And the ice cream was the perfect thing to have with the butterscotch. But I think if we had to pick a favorite dessert, the donut holes were the winner! It came with a chocolate bacon sauce and a raspberry sauce, and they were both great dipping options.

We also got a chance to meet the new chef, Rick Sipovic. He has been the chef at restaurants all over the country, but he grew up in the south so a lot of his dishes are inspired by that. He was so friendly and fun to talk to! We enjoyed hearing about how he decided on certain things on the menu and how the crowds that come in for dinner before the show can be very different from show to show. We were enjoying talking with him so much that we were there until about 5 minutes before showtime! We quickly said goodbye and thank you to Rick and everyone else at Wood & Vine to go across the street to the Pantages.

The show we saw this time was “A Bronx Tale” and none of us knew really anything about the show. A few of us knew it was based on a movie which was based on real life, but we hadn’t seen the movie. But I’ve heard that sometimes when seeing a show based on another thing, it’s best to go in with limited knowledge. We didn’t have the movie to compare the musical to and that’s usually a good thing.

We enjoyed the show. It was an interesting journey about the life of the main character when he was a kid and as a teenager and the story was easy to follow (a worry I have when I don’t know anything about the story). There were several very catchy songs and a bunch of them reminded us of other musicals which was a fun surprise. I think it was a nice musical to have to officially start off the season and it’s one of the only shows this season I had no familiarity with before going in. I’ve said it before but it will be interesting this season when I know a majority of the shows we are seeing, since usually I only know one or two of them.

This really was the perfect night out! The show was fun and we had a truly incredible dinner! There was never a question before that we would keep going to Wood & Vine before several of our shows, but now I’m looking forward to it even more to try the other things on the menu and see how it changes as the menu is based on what is available that season. I’m sure the winter, spring, and summer menus will be just as good as this fall one is. And I am so excited to keep having the best dinners before seeing some of the best musicals!

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Such An LA Night (or Just Having Some Fun With A Friend)

Posted on October 9, 2018 | Comments Off on Such An LA Night (or Just Having Some Fun With A Friend)

I usually write about the SAG-AFTRA Film Society at the beginning of the summer because that’s when the season usually starts each year. But this year, there were some delays with the theater and the season had to start late. But since we are going to have a shortened season, we also had reduced pricing so I’m not too mad about it! And finally this past weekend we had the first screening season!

The first weekend had 2 screenings but I was only able to make it to the first screening. And the first screening was “A Star Is Born” and I was so excited to see it! I had heard so many great things about it and the screening was going to be on opening weekend which is a rare treat!

More often than not, I go to screenings alone and that’s fine with me. But I always ask around to see if anyone wants to go with me because it’s always fun to see a movie with a friend. Plus, since I pay for the season, I like to invite friends so they can get a free movie! It’s one of the fun things I get to do and share with others and it always makes me happy when someone can come with me.

This time, my friend Dani wanted to come along. She has never been to one of these screenings before (although she has been to screenings through other ones) so I think she was excited to see what the Film Society is all about. We got there pretty early since the first screening weekend is usually crowded. The way they had us line up was different from the other years I’ve done it so it looked like there were so many people in line, but I reassured Dani that it always looks like that but then when you get inside the theater I can almost always find seats in the center.

While I still have moments of realizing that I’m talking to someone I recognize from tv or movies, it’s seeming more normal to me. But when Dani and I lined up for the movie, she had a look on her face like she was trying to place someone she thought she knew. She told me a bit later that a woman behind us in line was in one episode of “Friends” and she remembered her from that one episode. I love when friends get excited about stuff like that because it’s one of those “only in LA moments”.

When we got inside the theater, I was right and we were able to be seated almost exactly in the center of the theater. We had some time to kill before the movie started, but we used that time to catch up and discuss lots of random things.

My quick review of “A Star Is Born” is that is was amazing! The story is pretty similar to the past versions of it so nothing was super shocking or surprising. But it still seemed to feel new and fresh. And when it was one of the dramatic scenes toward the end (if you know the story you know what I’m talking about), I felt like I couldn’t breathe. And Bradley Cooper did a wonderful job directing it and making the film look beautiful. For his first time directing, he did an incredible job and I have a feeling there will be a lot of award nominations for the movie.

After the movie, Dani and I decided to get some dinner. We were looking at different restaurants near the theater and nothing seemed to be what we wanted. But then Dani asked if we could go to Pink’s Hot Dogs since it wasn’t too far away. She had never been there before and wanted to check it out. I really enjoy Pink’s and don’t go that often so that sounded perfect to me! I prepared her that there may be a huge line, but when we got there the line only had about 10 people in it! It was fate that we went there!

We both enjoyed our hot dogs and just hanging out and chatting. It was also such a nice night outside so it felt good to be sitting outside and not feeling too hot or like the humidity was stifling. Even though we just had hot dogs, Dani and I decided to continue our night out and get some dessert. We were trying to think of a very LA type of dessert and decided to go Milk which is an ice cream shop and a bakery. I had never been there before but had heard amazing things about it so we got in the car and headed over there.

So many of the things on the menu sounded great and neither Dani nor I could decide on what we wanted. So we decided to get 2 different ice cream sundaes so we could try a few types of ice cream plus the brownie and blondie.

Those desserts were so good, but they were so giant! We each tried both sundaes and I think we both agreed that the blondie was the better of the two. But even with us both eating that sundae it seemed like we didn’t even make a dent in it! But we were both so stuffed and the store was closing so we only finished a portion of each before heading back to my car to head back.

We joked that this night was such an LA/Hollywood night. We went to a screening, we went to Pink’s, and we went to an ice cream shop that is known for Instagramable foods. It was so silly but so awesome at the same time! Whenever I have these low-key hangouts with friends I always say how much fun they are, and this one was no different. And hopefully I’ll be able to have more nights out like this with some more of the screenings this season!

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Another Musical Season (or Enjoying A Repeat Musical)

Posted on September 18, 2018 | Comments Off on Another Musical Season (or Enjoying A Repeat Musical)

Even though the last season of our shows at the Pantages just ended about a month ago, the new season just started for us! Technically the new season officially starts in November with the season ticket package we bought, but our group also decided to get a couple of add-on shows so we got to start our season early! That also means that we have 11 shows this season instead of the 7 that came with our package! It’s going to be a full season, but I’m really excited for it.

One thing that is different for this season is that I have more repeat musicals than any other season. Out of the 11 shows, I’ve seen 7 before. That’s a lot considering that in the past seasons I usually only had seen 1 or 2 before. But since I’ve been enjoying seeing musicals more than once lately, I’m actually really excited about it.

And this first show was a repeat one for me. We saw “Beautiful“, which I previously saw about 2 years ago when Dani and I did our Black Friday deal for a mini-season of tickets.

Dani and I had seen the show before, but the 2 other people in our group hadn’t seen it. Michelle, who has been a part of our past 2 seasons and is doing this season too, was new to the show. And my friend Grace is the 4th person in our group this season, but she was unable to make this show. So my birthday twin Joanna took the 4th ticket and she was new to the show too! Joanna actually didn’t know really anything about the show, but when I asked her if she wanted the ticket she was free and the price was right so she said yes!

I remember the first time I saw “Beautiful” that I was almost a bit overwhelmed. There was so much to pay attention to in the show and I knew I missed things. There were some on stage quick changes that I wished I could see again and sometimes I got distracted by the music because I didn’t realize the song was done by Carole King. So it was nice to get to see the show again so I could focus on it in a different way than I could the first time seeing it.

And being able to focus on it in a different way gave me a different appreciation and I got a different enjoyment out of the show. I was so glad that it was just as good (if not better) the second time around because not every musical is one that I think I would enjoy seeing a second time. Some of the shock I felt the last time seeing the show from not realizing things would be happening was gone and I could just sit back, relax, and enjoy the performances. It was funny because I did tell Joanna that there were some amazing on stage quick changes and when they happened she had the same reaction I had the first time. And after the show was done she was telling me how much she loved it.

Dani and I both agreed that this touring cast was amazing. We had some favorites from the last touring cast and this one, but overall it was still a really wonderful show and we enjoyed it. And Michelle really liked it too and I think we all agreed it was a great way to kick off a new season of shows.

The last time I saw “Beautiful”, I said it was my favorite musical I had seen. It’s still one of my favorites, but now that I’ve seen so many musicals I don’t know if I can pick a favorite anymore. I see musicals a different way now that they don’t feel like a rare treat. When you don’t see them that often, I think it’s easier to pick favorites. Now that I see them about every month or every other month, I can notice more specific differences between shows. One show might have the most impressive songs while another has the best overall script. One show might be incredible with costumes and dancing while another can have the best actors. I don’t know how to pick which show is my favorite because for almost every single show I’ve seen in the past few years I can name one thing that was the best in that show.

I really wasn’t concerned that this coming season of shows would be a lot of shows that I’ve seen before. There is only 1 show that I have seen more than once that I really didn’t care for it after the first time. It’s still a bit of a novelty for me to see shows more than once since I went so long without seeing musicals. And fortunately almost all the experiences I’ve had before with repeat shows have been good and usually make me appreciate the musical more. The next show will be a new one for me, but with all the repeat shows coming up I am getting more and more excited to see what it will be like seeing those shows again. I’m just really glad the first show in this season of repeat shows was such a wonderful night out to start things off on a really great note.

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The Last Show Of The Season (or Ending On A High Note)

Posted on August 7, 2018 | 1 comment

This past weekend was the last show of the current season at the Pantages for my group. It’s been a pretty amazing season and I’ve loved having these Sunday adventures with my friends. The next season for us will be starting in 5 weeks, so it’s not that much of a gap between this season and next. But one of the members of our group won’t be joining us next season. She is going back to school to get her doctorate so she won’t have the time to commit to the season. We do have another friend who will be joining us, but it was still a bit sad to know that this was going to be the last show for this group that has been together for 2 seasons.

We started our evening out at Wood & Vine like we have for so many shows. We love going there for dinner because it is always great and the staff spoils us there. But they also just got a new menu (they change the menu seasonally) and we really wanted to see what the new offerings were and checking out what some of our new favorites would be.

I had looked at the menu before going and had picked out a few things I knew I wanted us to get, but I still took a look to see if my mind had changed. And our group quickly decided that we wanted all 4 main dishes that were on the top row of the menu plus the street corn. We thought all 4 of those main dishes were new ones, but it turns out the lamb burger has always been on the menu and we just never got it!

Our veggies came out first. We ordered the corn but the manager also wanted us to try the salad.

The salad was nice and fresh, but the corn tasted so luxurious! It was perfectly seasoned and the creme on it was delicious! We quickly ate it all and were excited to get the main dishes we ordered.

The 4 things we got were the pork belly tacos, the lamb burger, the pasta with prawns, and the tequila chicken.

Without a doubt, our absolute favorite was the tacos. The pork belly melted but was also nice and crispy. It was so good that I wish I was having it again right now because my mouth is watering! The lamb burger was a bit spicy so I only had a small taste of it, but my friends said that it is a must-order for the next time we have dinner. And the pasta with prawns and the chicken were amazing too! We all were tasting everything and most of the time we were eating we were much more focused on the food than talking.

And the dessert menu at Wood & Vine was expanded recently and the manager wanted us to try 2 of the new desserts.

I don’t like pineapple (it hurts my mouth), but I loved the ice cream in the pineapple sundae. And my friends said the pineapple was beautifully grilled and tasted amazing. And I loved the chocolate truffles! They were really rich, but the perfect size to enjoy them and not feel stuffed.

As always, the food at Wood & Vine really amazed us and we were having the best time having dinner there. I have a feeling that we will continue going there for dinner before our shows multiple times in our next season. The manager also told us some ideas they were thinking for the fall menu and we cannot wait to see what they go with and try out all the new things!

After dinner we walked across the street to the theater to go to our show. This time, we were seeing “Waitress” which was one of the shows I was most excited to see this season.

I love the movie “Waitress” and it’s one that I watch over and over. The story behind the writer, director, and one of the actors is a sad one and that makes the movie even more special for me to watch. She created this amazing movie and was waiting to find out if it got accepted to Sundance but was murdered before she could find out it got in. The movie was critically acclaimed and she never got to experience that. And I love that her legacy is continuing with the musical being loved by so many people.

Since I was familiar with the story and characters, I was excited to see what changed they made from the movie to the musical. Sometimes adaptations skip some of my favorite parts or I feel like there is something missing. But this time I was so happy with how the musical took elements from the movie and expanded upon them. I felt like so many characters were built upon and they were even more lovable. And the main story and plot was very true to the movie and that made me happy too.

I’m so glad that this musical didn’t disappoint me since it was something I had been looking forward to since this season was announced. It’s not that often that I am disappointed by a show, but it can happen and I’m always a little worried that something I’m really excited about will do that. But this wasn’t that situation and it really helped to end our season on such a wonderful high note!

I’m already so excited for the next season and the season after that will be announced in a few months. Hopefully that season will be another one that many of us want to go to and the tradition will continue with getting season tickets. I’ve said this pretty much every time I go to a show, but going makes me so happy and I’m just grateful that I have friends who do this with me and make these evenings feel so special.

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On Your Feet (Good Food And Good Music)

Posted on July 19, 2018 | Comments Off on On Your Feet (Good Food And Good Music)

I can’t believe that my current season of musicals is almost done! Then again, right after this season ends in August the next season starts in September so I won’t have that much of a break (unlike last time when “Hamilton” was here for several months). But this past weekend was the next to last musical of this season, and we made sure we had a good night out!

We started at Wood & Vine again. It really is our favorite pre-musical restaurant and we knew they’d be changing the menu soon so we wanted to go back before the change. We loved so much of the food we had last time and we wanted to have those again in case they were not on the new menu. We were seated on the patio which was nice since the weather had cooled down a bit since the heat wave.

We ordered the mac and cheese, asparagus with tomatoes, and tortellini again that we had last time. But we switched it up and decided to try the rib eye steak as well. It is a bit of a splurge, but it’s a huge steak that was more than enough for the 3 of us to share. If I was only sharing it with 1 other person, I think the steak and a veggie side would be enough to make me full.

The steak was so amazing! We all miss the bone marrow (and hope that it will be coming back to the menu soon!), but the steak was delicious and I have a feeling we will be ordering it again the next time we are there!

We were just deciding which of the desserts we wanted to order when we discovered that they were sending us all of the desserts! They really do spoil us there and I love getting to have all of them awesome food. But we really weren’t expecting to get the desserts sent to us and we were all so happy to try them. They had made some changes to the desserts and they were even better than they were the last time.

After we finished dinner, we headed across the street to the Pantages for our show. This time, we were seeing “On Your Feet” which is the Gloria Estefan musical.

I’ve seen a few different jukebox musicals and expected it to remind me of “Jersey Boys” or “Beautiful“. We although thought maybe it would be similar to “The Bodyguard” since some reviews said it was similar to watching a concert. We all went into the show with an open mind and excited to see what it would be like.

I’m familiar with Gloria Estefan’s music, but I knew that I didn’t know all of her music or that some popular songs were hers. And I knew for sure that I wasn’t too familiar with her story of how she got to where she is now. So I really liked how the musical really did tell her story of her family and how they came to America as well as how she got started as a teenager. It really was a great telling of her life and even though there were a few brief flashbacks it was almost all chronological so it was an easy story to follow.

And as expected, there were a ton of songs that I knew and loved and a few songs that I loved and didn’t know were hers. Every time a song started you could feel the energy of the audience perk up. Fortunately nobody was singing along (a problem we’ve experienced before at shows) but everyone was enjoying the show and loving the performances of the actors. They were all really talented and there were times I forgot I was watching someone play Gloria Estefan and not watching her sing.

I definitely learned a lot about her story and it made me admire her so much for all the work she has done for her career. It was impressive to see how she had to fight to be a crossover artist and sing in English. And I didn’t know about the bus accident that she was in and how doctors thought she might not walk again. In the car ride home from the show, I was looking up so much about her story because I realized how little I knew about her. While my mom enjoys musicals, she doesn’t love them the same way I do so I usually don’t recommend shows to her. But this was one that I called her about as soon as I was home and told her she needed to see it when it was touring near them.

Our last show of the season is about a month away and then we’ll be in our next season. And of course we are already looking at the 2019-2020 season which should be announced toward the end of this year or beginning of next year. They’ve only announced one show so far, but I have a feeling we will be getting season tickets again because of how fun these nights are for me and my friends.

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An Amazing Dinner and Show (or The Food Might Have Been The Highlight Of The Night)

Posted on June 26, 2018 | 1 comment

It was already time for another musical this past weekend! It’s been so fun having our shows back to back and I’m happy that it’s going to be that way for a little while. And with all of our shows, we try to have a fun dinner as well. We realized recently that it had been almost a year since the last time we were at Wood & Vine so we had to make a plan to go back there! Because we have gotten to know the manager from the times we had been there before, I sent him an email once we made our reservation to give him a heads up that we’d be there.

And the manager really hooked us up while we were there! First, we sat upstairs and got to sit at his favorite table. We had a great view of the theater and it allowed for some fun people watching.

The menu had changed since last year so we took some time figuring out what we wanted to eat. The bone marrow we love wasn’t on the menu this time (but they did mention it might be coming back in the future), but there were still lots of options that sounded good to us.

Everything on the menu is designed to be shared. In the past we’ve gotten a few things that we all wanted and then one or two things that only some of the group wanted. But this time, we seemed to agree on everything we wanted. We got the cheese plate, the scallops, the salmon, the lobster mac and cheese, and the asparagus and tomatoes. But when the manager saw what we got and noticed we didn’t have the tortellini, he sent some to us because he said we needed to try it (he was right). And he also spoiled us by sending us all the desserts from the menu! It was so much food, but nothing was too rich or heavy so we didn’t feel overstuffed.

All the food came out pretty quickly so we were able to enjoy our time and relax while we were eating. We didn’t feel rushed (which has been an issue in the past with other restaurants) and we felt like dinner was a nice starter to a fun evening out. It feels like such a splurge to eat there even though it really isn’t. But it feels so much nicer and the food is so delicious that it does seem like a treat.

We ended up staying there until about 5 minutes before the show started (the benefit of eating right across the street from the theater) and got inside with time to spare. This time, the show we were seeing was “Cinderella”, which was one of the shows I saw when I went to NYC a few years ago. I enjoyed the show when I saw it then and I was excited to see how the tour compared to the Broadway production.

I was impressed with the tour production. It was almost exactly the same as the Broadway show with the sets and costumes. I know that it’s not always possible to do that when it’s a tour since they have to be able to pack it up and move it from city to city, but they were able to keep it all the same as I remembered it. I’m sure there were some differences, but nothing noticeable or that I could tell.

Dani and Michelle hadn’t seen this musical before so they were excited to check it out. And they both enjoyed it. It was a nice show to see when life has been a bit stressful. We could watch and escape and there was nothing too heavy and dramatic. And of course since we are all Disney nerds this was nice. I know the musical isn’t the same as the Disney cartoon, but it’s close enough.

I’ve had more and more opportunities lately to see musicals for the second (or third) time and that’s still a treat to me. I love being able to compare productions and see the little changes that are made. The shows are still pretty much the same but I do like to notice the little differences or things that make each production special. While this show was so similar to the Broadway show, it still felt special and different in a way. The performers were all awesome and the way the audience reacts is always different too. I seriously just enjoy being in an audience with a group experiencing any show. And that was exactly what I did.

While our next musical is in a few weeks, we’ve actually already been back to the Pantages already! But that will be shared on here tomorrow!

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