Tag Archives: play

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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Default ThumbnailGetting Spoiled At Dinner (or Another Musical Night) Default ThumbnailLast Musical Of The Season (or A Classic Pantages Night Out) Default ThumbnailA Tasting And Theater Night (or Enjoying A Fun Night Out) Default ThumbnailAnother Dinner And A Show Night (or Classic Musicals And Yummy Food) Default Thumbnail“The Band’s Visit” (or A Two Show Weekend) Default ThumbnailTaking Time For A Show (or Seeing Summer)

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Gospel According To First Squad (or Enjoying A Play Reading)

Posted on May 31, 2017 | Comments Off on Gospel According To First Squad (or Enjoying A Play Reading)

I am so fortunate that I get to go to a lot of shows in LA. Most of them are with my season tickets to Pantages, but there are a few random shows I buy tickets for. But it’s a rare treat when I get to see a show that a friend is in. Even though I have a ton of actor friends, most of us work in film and tv. I watch them on tv or see them when I go to the movies, but it’s not the same as seeing someone in a live show. But this past weekend, I had the treat of getting to see some friends in a show!

The show was “Gospel According To First Squad” and the hosts of the podcast I work for, Trevor and AJ, were in it. This was a reading of the play, but I had seen this play performed previously. When I saw it before, it was actually the first time that I had met Trevor and AJ in person. I had been listening to the podcast (before I worked for it) and they mentioned doing the show. I got tickets, loved the show, finally met the guys, and soon after that they brought me on as the production coordinator! So it was pretty fun to get to see the show again.

The reading was held at the Kirk Douglas Theater which is pretty close to my house. Since it was a reading with general seating, I got there early because I wasn’t sure what the seating situation would be like. But it ended up being held in the rehearsal space in the theater so it was a nice intimate venue. I found some of the other people who work for the podcast and we all decided to sit together. And since it was a small venue, Trevor and AJ were able to see us all there supporting them right before the show started.

“Gospel According To First Squad” is about the war in Iraq and it’s a pretty serious play. But even though it’s a serious show, there are some fun comedic moments. Some of the cast from when I saw the show years ago were in this reading and some of the cast were new. But it was still such a powerful performance even with all the actors just standing and reading instead of acting it out fully like I had seen before.

Of the group that I was sitting with, I think I was the only one who had seen the show before. Since it had been years since I had seen the show, it felt new to me too. But I do enjoy getting to revisit shows (or books or movies) that I’ve seen before. I always seem to pick up on new things or view it a new way when I’m experiencing it again. There were some moments that shocked me the first time I saw it that didn’t shock me this time, but it was still powerful and I’m so glad that I was able to see the show again. And since it was a reading, it was recorded so others will be able to enjoy it in the future!

After the show was done, there was time to hang out with everyone. I’ve had the chance to see AJ a bit recently because he has been at a few SAG-AFTRA events with me. But it had been a while since I had seen Trevor so it was great to get to catch up in person. If you listen to Inside Acting, you hear them call me out from time to time. It’s usually when they aren’t sure about something and they figure I will know. I’m known for texting them when I’m listening to the podcast (I’m not there when they record the bookends to our interviews) with corrections and stuff. I think they get a bit of a kick out of me doing that and it’s almost a joke between us all now.

I joke online that these guys cause me so much trouble and frustration, but the truth is I love them both so much. Because of them and the podcast, I’ve gotten to do great things and be a part of something that I truly feel passionate about. I’m so grateful that I’ve been the production coordinator for as long as I have been and I can’t wait to see what the future of the podcast brings for us. We’ve got some really great things in the works (including our 300th episode this fall!) and being able to support Trevor and AJ in any way I can makes me so happy. It’s nice that I got the watch them perform because I know it’s something they both love and I hope that I get more opportunities to do so in the future.

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The End Of My Black Friday Deal (or Cabaret At Pantages)

Posted on July 22, 2016 | 1 comment

This week was the final show in the amazing Black Friday deal I got with my friend Dani for the Pantages this season. This time, the show was “Cabaret”. Dani and I really lucked out with our shows in the Black Friday deal and I’m so glad that we decided to go for it. Plus, our seats for each of the shows were so much better than any seats we’ve had before (they were significantly better than what our season tickets were like last season or will be for next season).

The big downside to this final show in the deal was that Dani couldn’t go. The entire run for the show was while she is out of the country, so she gave me her ticket to give to a friend. I asked around to see who wanted to come see “Cabaret” with me this week, and my friend (and amazing casting director) Jeremy Gordon said he could go with me. I met Jeremy through The Actors’ Network, but I hadn’t seen him in person for a very long time (but we’ve stayed in touch through social media). Jeremy and I have been saying for a long time that we were way overdue for a coffee hangout, so going to see a show together was pretty awesome.

Since it’s not cheap to park by Pantages, Jeremy and I carpooled there. It was nice to have someone in the car with me while I dealt with traffic, and it gave us a great opportunity to catch up on things. We also both realized that neither of us had seen “Cabaret” in its entirety before. I’ve seen most of the musical numbers and knew a lot about the story, but I’ve technically never seen the show before. I thought it was pretty cool that we were both first-timers at the show and we were looking forward to seeing what it was like.

Cabaret

I don’t want to give away a ton about the show in case some of you haven’t seen it, but it was incredible! The cast was really great and I think that it was beautifully staged (which can be tough for a touring show). There was a great mix of silliness and seriousness throughout the show. And while the sound seemed a bit too low (both Jeremy and I noticed it was a bit quiet and could be tough to hear at times), I was able to follow the story and got sucked into it pretty easily.

I did know a bit about how the show ended, but I didn’t know all of it and it took my breath away. It was very intense and while it was sad it was also beautifully done. And when the actors took their bows at the end of the show, there was no music from the orchestra (which I don’t know if I’ve ever seen before) and that added to the shock value of the ending and made it stick with me. I am glad I didn’t know the entire show because that moment was so powerful and I’m glad I was able to experience it at the show.

I think Jeremy will agree with me that the show was so well done and I highly recommend checking it out if you are in LA (or when it tours in your area). With the way that politics are going these days, this show is actually pretty relevant and current even though it takes place in the 1930’s. But even without the politics of the show, it was just great and I’m so glad that we chose it to be a part of our deal when we bought them back in November.

After the show, Jeremy and I took a silly selfie outside the theater to document our awesome hangout.

Jeremy Gordon

I’m so glad that Jeremy was able to come with me to the show. While I was sad that Dani wasn’t there, it was great to get to share the experience and my love of going to the theater with another friend. We’ve talked about hopefully going to another musical again in the future so I’m looking forward to that. I’ve promised to tell him if there is another Black Friday deal similar to the one I got so he could get some tickets for next season (it seems like the season tickets for Pantages are pretty close to being sold out so I’m lucky my group was able to get our tickets already).

With the exception of any shows I may see at the Bowl this summer, I most likely won’t be seeing another musical until my season tickets start in November. I’m ok with taking a break. I’ve only been going to the Pantages again in the past view years. Before that, there was more than a 10 year gap between shows there. But I’m glad that my friends have gotten me back into seeing musicals because they really do make me happy and make my life so much better.

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Dinner And Carole King (or The Best Musical Ever!)

Posted on June 30, 2016 | 2 comments

This past week was the 3rd musical in the Black Friday deal my friend Dani and I got at Pantages. It was actually the last show Dani can go to (she’s missing our last show but I’m bringing another friend to it) and our season tickets for next season don’t start until the fall. So this may be our last musical together for a while!

This time, we were seeing “Beautiful: The Carole King Musical”. When I saw that this was a part of the Black Friday deal, I knew I wanted to see it. Dani wasn’t totally sure on it, but she trusted me and we got the tickets with our deal back in November.

We drove over to the theater together (we don’t usually take the train for weeknight shows because we get out so late and the train isn’t as fast as the freeway at night), but we got there early enough to grab some dinner before the show. We weren’t sure where we wanted to go, but we saw Greenleaf Chop Shop and it sounded good to both of us.

Greenleaf

Greenleaf is mainly a salad place, but when Dani and I sat down at the bar (the line to order at the counter was really long) we saw that they had way more than salads! We ended up ordering some spinach artichoke dip, chicken nachos, and goat cheese pizza to split between us. We also got some dessert because we felt like we needed something sweet too. I think it’s pretty funny that even though we were at a salad place, salad wasn’t part of our meal (technically Dani did order a side salad, but basically our meal was all non-salad foods).

After we were done with dinner, we walked down the street to the theater. It was a bit crowded because it was getting close to showtime, but we were able to get to our seats with time to spare.

Beautiful

We really lucked out with the seats we got for our Black Friday deal. For all of our shows, we are in the center orchestra. I don’t know how we got such great luck, but I love it!

While we were waiting for the show to start, we both were admiring how awesome the Pantages Theater looks. It’s really so beautiful and we were both saying how grateful we feel that we get to experience shows like this so close to where we live.

Pantages

Once the show got started, I knew that we had made the right choice seeing this show. It was so incredible! It was a jukebox type musical that reminded me of a mix of “Jersey Boys” and “Motown”. It had the storytelling elements from “Jersey Boys” but since Carole King wrote for so many musical acts there were a lot of different musical groups portrayed in the show similar to how “Motown” was.

The songs were all so great and every time a new one started you could hear the moment the audience recognized the song and everyone was excited to hear it. I recognized pretty much every song and I think they were sung so well and the choreography was spot on. Dani and I were both laughing and smiling so much during the show and I was just in awe of what we were getting to see.

Not only were the performers awesome, I loved the sets and costumes. The sets were beautiful and so impressive (especially considering this is a touring show). I loved how they were so simple but so elaborate at the same time. And the quick changes that the actors had to do in the show were almost like magic tricks! There was one quick change that was done on stage in view of all of us and I wish I could watch that part over and over again. And there was another quick change where the performers were wearing one thing when they walked behind a small wall, walked behind the wall to the other side, and emerged with a different outfit! It just made me so happy seeing all the cool creative things that were in this show.

But what I loved the most about this show was how it was the story about not giving up on your dream. It’s about going for what you love and making sure that you know at the end of the day you did everything you could to make that happen. And it was just inspiring to see just a small snippet of someone’s life when they have had a very long career in a creative pursuit.

I’ve had a couple of friends tell me that my favorite musical will be “Hamilton” after I get to see that next year in August, but I really don’t know how something can top “Beautiful”. This was just incredible and I’m even trying to figure out if there is a way I can go to see it again because I want to experience the show at least one more time (and I almost never see a show more than once).

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The Little Mermaid, Again (or A 15 Year High School Reunion)

Posted on June 29, 2016 | Comments Off on The Little Mermaid, Again (or A 15 Year High School Reunion)

I know I just saw “The Little Mermaid” at the Hollywood Bowl recently, but I just saw it again this past weekend! But this time, instead of it being a screening of the film it was the musical that was created for Broadway! I had never seen the musical before (but we did get to hear some of the songs from it at the Bowl event), so I was pretty excited to check out the show. But even better than seeing a musical, a guy I went to high school with was in it!

Dennis and I were both drama club members (and in the same drama classes) in high school. He was a year behind me, but the last time I saw him was when I graduated high school. So we hadn’t seen each other in 15 years! So when I heard that he was in a show that was touring in Orange County, I knew I had to go!

I had asked around to see who wanted to come with me, and my friend Rayshell was able to make it. We got some seats that were in the back of the balcony but pretty centered and we met up at the theater on Sunday for the show.

We had gotten there pretty early and it was pretty hot out, so we walked across from the theater to a smoothie bar to get something to drink. It was nice to have some time to catch up and to get something cold to drink because the a/c in my car died so I was feeling a bit overheated. We’ve both been pretty busy lately so we haven’t had a chance to do a happy hour catch up when we’ve been wanting too.

After enjoying our treat, we headed back over to the theater. I knew from when we purchased our tickets that the show was almost sold out then. I was guessing it would be sold out by the show date since this was the last show of the run.

The Little Mermaid

Dennis had been touring with this show for 3 years and this was going to be his last show, so it was a pretty big night for him. I didn’t know that when I was buying the tickets (we just bought based on when we could go), but I thought it was pretty cool that we were there to see it.

The show was really great! The only negative thing to me was that there were a ton of kids in the audience talking and singing through the show. I usually go to shows that only have adults there, so it threw me off a bit. There was also a woman in front of us who kept checking her phone in her purse. I think she thought keeping in her purse would hide the light, but it was blinding every time she did it.

Besides the distractions in the audience, I had so much fun watching the show! The choreography was so much fun especially during “Under The Sea”. That number was just so well done with the small cast that they had and the energy was amazing! And all the actors were really talented singers and I think they did a great job taking an animated film and bringing it to life.

After the show was done, Rayshell had to head back home so I said goodbye to her. But I didn’t go home right away because I wanted to see Dennis! I went over to the stage door to wait for him to come out (there were a couple of kids hanging out there asking everyone if they were in the show so they could get autographs). He had warned me it might take a while before he was outside, but he was out pretty quickly.

It was so cool to see him after 15 years! Most of the people who were doing drama in high school have gone on to have “real jobs” like being doctors or teachers. Dennis and I are pretty much the only 2 who have continued to pursue an acting career and I think that’s pretty special. We didn’t get a ton of time to talk because his family was in town to see the show too, but it was nice to get to talk for even just a few minutes.

And of course, we had to get a picture to remember our reunion!

With Dennis

We promised our next reunion wouldn’t take 15 more years (hopefully I’ll see him the next time that I get to NYC), and I headed to my car to head home.

It’s pretty rare that I get to see a big production like this with a friend of mine in it. A majority of my actor friends do film and tv work, so I see them on screen. But getting to see a friend perform live like I did is really special and I felt so lucky that I got to be there for it.

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Grease Live (or A Fun Night In With Friends)

Posted on February 4, 2016 | Comments Off on Grease Live (or A Fun Night In With Friends)

Since almost all of us use a DVR or watch tv online now, it’s so rare for me to watch something live. Unless it’s an awards show, I’m usually watching a recording of it. I know that most people also watch sports live, but I rarely watch sports (I do watch the Super Bowl for the commercials).

But when NBC started to do live musicals (even though they are taped delayed for the west coast), I got really excited to watch them. While I didn’t love The Sound Of Music or Peter Pan, it was still really excited to live-tweet along with others about what was happening and feel like I was a part of something special. And when The Wiz ended up being so great, I got really enthusiastic about live musicals on TV.

FOX did Grease Live this past weekend and for the first time I decided to have a viewing party at my house. I figured it could be really fun whether the musical was amazing or was a bit of a disappointment. So I invited a bunch of my friends and said that I would provide the drinks if they wanted to bring snacks.

My friends Rayshell, June, and Amanda (who I know from Orangetheory) came over to watch on Sunday. And even though none of my friends had met each before, it ended up being the perfect group (and all of them ended up bringing dessert treats to share!).

As soon as Grease Live started, I made a joke about how the green screen wasn’t that realistic looking. But as soon as the camera pulled away and I saw that they were acknowledging that this was a live event happening all over the Warner Bros. backlot, I knew that this was going to be something special. For all the other live musicals, they never really seemed to treat it any differently than having a play being taped. But Grease Live really did seem to want to show off all the hard work that they did.

After that initial joke about the green screen, there wasn’t much joking among the group. We did joke about funny moments and character choices, but it was all in a very positive way and more enjoyment than snark. I didn’t even end up live-tweeting because I was so enthralled by the show.

I loved seeing them all over the backlot (I know it well from working there as an actor and back in 2005 as a tour guide and being there for the SAG-AFTRA Gala) and shared fun facts about the backlot with my friends. And I loved seeing them use the tour guide golf carts to get from one stage to another (they even drove my favorite cart, #9)! I did have a moment where my heart felt like it would stop when the golf cart started to tip in the end of the show (I know how unstable those golf carts are), but fortunately the cart didn’t tip over.

It didn’t feel like a live production because of all the hard work the cast and crew had done over the past few weeks. They had everything perfectly choreographed and timed out so that the audience only saw what they wanted us to see and nothing was delayed. I mean, look at how perfectly the associate director did the camera moves for just part of a song! I know that every cast and crew of a live production work hard, but this one just took things to another level. And since the sets were full rooms (not just the set facing a wall of cameras) it felt so different from all the other live musicals (although I did say that in a way that made it feel less like a live production at times)

My friends all agreed with me that this was the best live musical that we’ve seen on TV. There was very little that we would have changed about the show and we all had a great time watching it. And I think that getting together to watch the live musicals will be a new tradition (another adventure with friends to add to my goals list!) and we are already planning on trying to be together for the one happening in March.

I really went into watching Grease Live thinking I wouldn’t love it, but I’m so happy that I was wrong and it ended up being such a fun thing to watch and experience with everyone.

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Mamma Mia (or The Best Black Friday Deal Ever!)

Posted on January 28, 2016 | 3 comments

I loved having season tickets for the Pantages last year and getting to see a bunch of amazing musicals. It was the best thing I splurged on and it brought me so much happiness. But when the season for this year was announced, I couldn’t justify splurging on the full season when there were only a few shows I really wanted to see. So I figured that I’d try to catch a show or two if I found a good deal.

Then, right before Thanksgiving I got an email from Pantages saying that they were running a Black Friday deal! You could get tickets for 4 shows on Tuesdays for $99! That’s basically $25 a show (it’s usually about $100 per show on average). I emailed my friend Dani about it and asked if she wanted to get 4 shows. I’m so glad that not only did she say yes, but she said that she could do the ticket order (the deal started at midnight and I knew I’d be at a movie with my cousin then).

We got the 4 shows we wanted and Dani said that she just chose to have the best seats available. When I took a look at our order, I realized that we were almost always exactly centered in the theater and only a few rows farther back than our season tickets had been! That’s pretty amazing and I know that we scored on that deal.

Our first show of 4 was this week and it was Mamma Mia. I’ve seen the movie before and had enjoyed the plot and the music. So I was pretty happy that we were going to see the musical. Two of our other friends, Sarah and Ali, got tickets for that show (they didn’t want to do the 4 show deal) so we all got a quick dinner at the W Hotel (across the street from the theater) before it was showtime.

I know that Sarah and Ali tried to get tickets near us, but it wasn’t possible. So we split up in the lobby (Ali and Sarah went to the balcony and Dani and I went to the orchestra), but it was ok with us that we weren’t sitting together. We were all just glad that we were getting to see the show!

Mamma Mia

I really enjoyed the show! It was similar to the movie, but there were a couple of songs that weren’t in the movie or were in different places in the play. It was fun and you could tell that the actors were having a great time performing! There was no way you couldn’t smile during the show (and in Dani’s case, there was no way not to sing and dance by the end of the show).

In fact, I enjoyed it so much that I told my parents about it and they decided to get tickets for when the show will be touring near them this summer! My parents don’t go to a lot of musicals, but they seem to have similar tastes for shows that I do. So I have a good feeling that they will love it (and I helped them find some really great seats!).

Of our 4 shows that we got in our Black Friday deal, the rest of them are in the summer so we’ve got a few months before the next one (although there is one show not in our deal that I might try to see if I can find a random deal for). But I’m ok waiting because I will have a lot of musicals to see this year and next year!

On Tuesday morning the Pantages announced their 2016-2017 season and it looks incredible! As soon as I saw it, I checked to see if Dani wanted to get season tickets. I knew I’d be seeing her that night for Mamma Mia, but I wanted to arrange our season tickets ASAP. She did, and same with a few other friends (including my Disneyland buddy June!). So yesterday we got our season tickets arranged for the season and we will be seeing 7 shows between November this year and August next year! We couldn’t get the exact seats that we wanted, but we got 6th and 7th row seats off to the side and we have the opportunity to move them in another month or two if we’d like.

It is another splurge and I’m taking money from what I’ve been saving to get a new computer to afford it. But it’s so worth it to me. I said that I want to go on more adventures with my friends, and going to shows are always adventures!

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Sunsets and Songs (or Why Season Tickets To The Pantages Was The Best Decision Ever)

Posted on November 26, 2014 | 4 comments

I know I said yesterday that I rarely go out, but of course last weekend was full of fun adventures. I had Rayshell’s party on Saturday and another show at the Pantages on Sunday!

I know it seems like all these shows are back to back. They are bunched up right now (I have my next show in a month), but then there is a few months between the next show and the show after it.

One of the members of the group who goes to these shows couldn’t attend this time (she exchanged her tickets for another date so she would see the show on her own). She is the one who goes with me on the light rail and subway, and I wasn’t too sure if I wanted to go by myself. I’m fine riding them when it’s light out, but it’s a little scary at night.

So I decided to drive and hope that I could find parking near the theater and not too expensive. On my drive, I saw the most amazing sunset. I couldn’t get a great photo since it was behind me, but I did the best I could by shooting a picture in my side mirror.

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The show this time was Kinky Boots. It was one of the shows that I was thinking about seeing when I went to NYC this year, but since it was in my series here I decided that I didn’t need to see it in New York and in LA in the same year.

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I knew a little bit about the show before seeing it. I knew the basics of the plot and some of the songs since I had seen their performance on the Tonys. But I didn’t expect to enjoy it as much as I did.

I guessed it would be pretty silly. And there were some really great and silly moments. But some of the serious moments are the ones that stuck with me the most. In a time where there is so much turmoil in the country and the world, the message about just accepting others for who they are means so much.

After the show, I headed back to my car for the drive back and had some time to reflect on all the shows that I’ve gotten to see so far.

When I purchased my season tickets for the Pantages, it was during a time that I was making steady (and decent) money. Right after I purchased them, I was struggling with paying my bills. I knew I couldn’t go back on purchasing the tickets, but I seriously questioned if I had made the right decision to spend my money on them.

This was seriously such a great decision for me to make. I’ve always loved musicals and have wanted to see them at the Pantages. But single tickets are not cheap and I had trouble finding people who wanted to go with me. Now, not only are the tickets about half of what I would have paid to buy them as single tickets, I have new friends who enjoy musicals as much as I do!

I’m not quite half way through the season, but I’m already anticipating the announcement of the next season. If it’s anything like this year, I’m going to find a way to get the money together to buy the season tickets again! Seeing so many musicals in one year (both with my season tickets and with my trip to NYC) has revitalized my love for musicals and made me realize what I’ve been missing in my life for far too long.

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Seeing “Pippin” (or Another Evening At The Pantages)

Posted on November 6, 2014 | 2 comments

This past weekend was the second show for my season tickets at The Pantages. The first 3 shows are pretty close together, so I’m getting my fill of musicals in.

This time, we saw “Pippin”, which I’ve never seen before. My only experience with the show was seeing the performance on the Tony Awards when it was nominated for Best Revival Of A Musical. I knew very little about the show. Pretty much, all I knew was that there were circus acts and acrobatics (I saw that on the Tony Awards).

I took the light rail and subway to get to the show again. And this time, my friend Dani (who is also in the group of us who got season tickets) joined me. We had a bit of confusion when transferring to the subway due to trains sharing tracks, but we made it to the theater with plenty of time to spare.

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The show was really great! The performances were amazing and I loved the circus and acrobatic tricks! There were several cast members who had been in the Broadway cast and that was exciting to see.

My only critique of the show was I felt like the second act was a little random and rushed, but that did not affect how much I enjoyed the show too much.

Dani and I got back on to the subway for the ride home and had yet another adventure with the subways sharing tracks. It turns out that due to construction, the trains going both directions had to share a track at the station we were at. It was a little confusing, but we managed (unlike some other people on the train who kept insisting we were wrong and only realized that we were right when the next station was announced).

Even with the confusion, Dani and I made it back to the Culver City station quickly and both got to our cars safely.

My next show is coming up in less than 3 weeks (like I said, the first few shows are back to back). That time, Dani won’t be attending the show with us so I’m debating about if I want to take the subway there. I know that it’s pretty safe, but I always feel safer when I’m with someone else. I’m fine taking the subway and light rail alone in the day time, but when I’m riding at night I’d rather have a buddy.

I’ve still got some time to plan out how I will be getting to the next show. But for now, I’m just so grateful that I get to see so many shows so close to me! I know that my sister-in-law and I are planning another trip to New York for next year, and this is holding me over until then.

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Double Date Saturday (or Why I Love Dog Sitting)

Posted on April 2, 2014 | Comments Off on Double Date Saturday (or Why I Love Dog Sitting)

This past Saturday was a pretty busy day. It started with my awesome spin class experience. After that class, I was ready to spend a bit of time relaxing (and making sure that I didn’t need to take any painkillers).

Then on Saturday evening, I had a fun evening out with my friend Woody (the bartender on “How I Met Your Mother” for the last few seasons). Woody was also the person I went to see the awesome show at The Geffen with last year. Anyway, when I was working telesales at my old job, I won a lot of free tickets for having the best sales numbers in multiple categories. There was a series of shows of Broadway stars at my work, so I got a pair of tickets to each one. Another friend of mine was supposed to go with me, but then she had to go out-of-town to work at the last-minute. So Woody became my new date for the evening.

We saw Adam Pascal (from the original cast of “Rent”). It was an amazing show. And I lucked out by getting amazing seats (we were in box seats pretty much on top of the stage). Woody and I had an awesome time at the show, but it was even better to just get to hang out with a friend!

It was a little weird to be back at my old work, but I got over it quickly. Everyone was happy to see me and many of them didn’t know that I’ll be coming back soon to work in the box office. The awesomeness of the show definitely outweighed the weirdness of being back.

After the show, I hung out chatting with Woody for a while, but I had to leave before it got too late. I was dog sitting that evening for my friend Erin, and basically had an overnight date with her dog.

I’ve dog sat a bunch in the past for Erin. It’s always a fun time because her dog is a very cuddly dog. He insists on sleeping right next to me and he always has to have at least one paw touching my skin (not through my clothes, but directly on my skin).

I got to Erin’s house pretty late, so as soon as I got there, I got ready for bed (Erin had other friends who walked the dog earlier in the day so I only had to be there overnight). The dog was by my side the entire evening.

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I’m not normally a fan of sleeping next to a dog (it’s not something that was allowed when I was growing up), but how can you resist this face?!?

I pretty much just slept there and spent a little playtime in the morning with the dog. Very easy work. Plus, since I haven’t seen Tucker in forever (and might not get to see him again until Thanksgiving), this helps with missing my puppy! I have to get my dog fix in somehow and dog sitting really is a good way!

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