Tag Archives: show

Dinner And A Show (or Back To Seeing Musicals)

Posted on January 17, 2024 | Comments Off

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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Tagged Hollywood, Los Angeles, musical, Pantages Theater, show, theater

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

Posted on June 28, 2023 | Comments Off

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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Tagged Hollywood, Los Angeles, musical, Pantages Theater, show, theater

Seeing Six (or This Was An Incredible Musical!)

Posted on May 31, 2023 | Comments Off

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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Tagged Hollywood, musical, Pantages Theater, show, theater

One More Show At The Dolby (or Almost The End Of A Long Musical Season)

Posted on June 21, 2022 | Comments Off

Because of the pandemic and things being shut down, the musicals I’m seeing right now are still a part of the 2019-2020 season. It’s still weird to think that we are in a season that started so long ago and the reason why some of the shows are at the Dolby and not at the Pantages was that “Hamilton” was supposed to have a long run in LA. They still had a longer run, but I think it was cut short since they missed so much time. But things are starting to get back to how I am used to them for my season tickets. But there was still one more show at the Dolby that I went to this past weekend.

I was actually really looking forward to this show. “Pretty Woman” is one of my favorite movies and I couldn’t count how many times I’ve seen it. And when it’s on tv and I’m looking for something random to watch, I will watch it and just start at whatever point it is at. I know the movie so well from seeing it over and over again and I thought the musical version could be just as fun.

This time, my friend Marie came with me to the show. We’ve never been able to see a musical together, but we are both musical fans, so I was glad it worked out that she could take the extra ticket. She also loves the movie “Pretty Woman” as much as I do so that was perfect! And I didn’t know this until we went to the show, but she had never been to the Dolby before! It was so awesome that she got to see the inside of the theater in person to see where the Oscars are held each year.

Our seats were in the same spot as the other shows after the shutdown, but the section we were sitting in wasn’t as crowded as the other shows I went to. It was nice to have a bit more room around us so I didn’t feel quite as packed in. They do still require masks and the ushers were quick to remind anyone who let theirs slip that they needed to wear them properly. But it’s a bit stressful for me to be in big groups, especially indoors. I did have a bit of an anxiety attack, but I think it went away quickly because the seats next to me were empty and I could focus on having some space near me.

The show was fun. It was silly and upbeat, which is exactly what I expected since the movie is the same way. I loved that they had a lot of costumes that were the same as in the movie. The polka dot dress, red opera dress, and opening outfit were perfect matches from the movie. And I think one of my favorite parts of the show was during the opera scene because they had some of the actors singing the opera live and it was so beautiful and powerful! I had goosebumps after they were done singing.

I think the parts that were toughest for me were when they were exactly like the movie. Maybe it’s because I know the movie too well so I knew when the lines were exactly the same as in the movie. And then you start mentally comparing what it was like in each performance. I didn’t want to compare things, but my brain kept doing that. But I think there were more original lines than copies and there were new things in the musical that wasn’t in the movie. For example, there was one actor who played a lot of the narrator-type parts and I loved him! And there were fun dance numbers with the cast that were so enjoyable!

Overall, I really did love the show. Just like I feel with the other shows I have seen, this was a nice escape from the world, and seeing a performance with other people is such a special experience. And I was just so happy and in a great mood when I was watching the show. And one thing that makes me really happy is when I can tell the cast is having a good time in the show. And it was clear they enjoy the show and have fun performing. Even when little things went a bit off, you could see their passion in their performances.

I’ve got one more show in this extended 2019-2020 season and that will be back at the Pantages. I don’t know when I’ll be back at the Dolby for another show, but I have enjoyed my time seeing performances there. It’s a very different stage, but it’s still awesome. And it was always fun to know I was seeing a show in the same space where the Oscars happened. But now, I’m ready to go back to the Pantages and feel like things are back to how I’m used to them again!

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Tagged Dolby Theater, Hollywood, Los Angeles, musical, show

“The Enigmatist” (or A Night Of Puzzles, Word Games, and Magic)

Posted on December 7, 2021 | Comments Off

I think it’s pretty clear by the number of posts I have written about going to musicals that I love going to see live shows. And while I haven’t written as much about being nerdy, I am a pretty nerdy person. I love brain teaser type things. I do the crossword (both the regular and mini New York Times crosswords) every day. And I also really love magic. So when there is something that combines all these things, I know I want to check it out! And that’s exactly what happened this past weekend. I went to check out the show “The Enigmatist” at the Geffen.

This show is a one-man show by David Kwong. I actually had seen another one of his shows over Zoom earlier this year. I really enjoyed that show a lot and was excited there was a chance to see one of his shows in person. And I got a Black Friday deal that made the tickets super affordable. I reached out to some of my friends who I thought would enjoy a puzzle show, and my friends Jane and Robert were able to come with me.

The show starts before the show with some pre-show puzzles to solve. I don’t want to say too much since there are still shows that people can attend, but the puzzles are all fun and show you different ways to solve puzzles that have one-word answers. We were able to solve all of them before the show started, and we went inside to sit down a few minutes before everything was going to start. With the Black Friday deal I had, we were able to be really close to the stage area. But the entire room was pretty small so everyone had great seats. And since it was an interactive show, everyone had an equal opportunity to participate.

I really want to share so much that happened because it was an incredible show, but I also don’t want to give away much to spoil it. But I will share one funny story that happened. During the show, there are 4 main puzzles that we work on solving and then we use those to solve the big puzzle at the end. For the first puzzle, I actually had no clue what the answer was and had to hear what the person who solved it thought. But as soon as the second puzzle came up, I almost knew immediately what the answer was.

I don’t know how I knew it or how I saw it, but it just clicked. I asked Robert something because I wanted to be sure, but I knew I had the answer. We were told to stand up if we knew the answer and he would call on us to answer it. I don’t know if I stood up too quickly or if he was waiting to see if anyone else might stand, but I felt like I was standing up waiting for him to call on me for several minutes. And during that time, nobody else was standing. I was so worried I was completely wrong and that I was about to embarrass myself. I had no idea why nobody else saw the answer when it seemed so clear to me. But finally I was called on to give my answer and I was right! But I was really panicking a bit that I was completely off-base and that everyone would laugh at me.

Besides getting an answer to a main puzzle right, another highlight for me at the show was watching him construct a crossword puzzle live in front of us. I think creating crosswords is a really cool skill and seeing it happen was magical! I’m aware of how nerdy this all sounds, but this was exactly my type of nerdiness and it really made this show incredible! And Jane and Robert also had a great time and we were talking about how impressed we were after the show was done.

And there was a chance to take a photo with David Kwong after the show was done, which of course we had to do.

We all told him how much we enjoyed the show and I was able to tell him how much I enjoyed the show over Zoom as well. I love getting the chance to tell people how much I love their work, and honestly this was one of the coolest shows I’ve been to!

I really hope he does another show in the future so I can go to another one. I loved how this combined puzzles, magic, and storytelling and made an amazing show. And if you have a chance to see the show before it closes, do it! It’s so much fun and you will leave shocked about how it all comes together in the end!

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Tagged Los Angeles, magic, show, theater

A Night At The Bowl (or It Finally Feels Like Summer To Me)

Posted on September 9, 2021 | Comments Off

There are a lot of things I do each year in LA that feel like traditions now. And one of those things for a long time has been to go to a show at the Hollywood Bowl. I’ve been going to shows at the Bowl most summers since I moved to LA. Some summers I’ve gone to a bunch of shows and sometimes I only go to one. But I try to go each summer if I can.

Of course, last summer wasn’t normal and there weren’t any Bowl shows. I remember when they announced that they wouldn’t be open for the summer, it felt like a gut punch. Going to the Bowl is such a big part of what makes it feel like summer in LA to me. And to know it was closed made the pandemic hit me even harder. Also, a year ago, I think so many of us were hopeful that things would be normal again by the summer, and knowing the Bowl wouldn’t be open was a sign that we were going to have to wait longer for normal (if only we knew then how long it would be).

So this summer, when the Bowl announced they’d be back, I knew I had to get tickets to something. Before tickets went on sale, my parents were planning their trip to LA but they didn’t have a date set yet. So we were going to see what shows were happening when and they could try to plan their trip around it and we could go to a show together. Things didn’t exactly happen that way, but it worked out perfectly. I found the show I wanted to go to with my parents and called my mom and she said they ended up booking their trip already based on the availability of other things they were planning. And it happened to be over the weekend of the show I wanted to take them to! So things fell into place perfectly.

And the show I picked for us to go to was the John Williams show. This is a show that I have tried to see each year and it’s really so much fun. I knew my parents wouldn’t know all the movies, but I thought they’d like how it all comes together. I tried to get us tickets in the front section with the tables and chairs, but that was all sold out when it was time to buy tickets. So I found some bench seats toward the center that were the front row of the section (which is my favorite because you have the most legroom).

So this past Sunday, my mom, dad, and I headed to the Bowl. And for the first time, we drove there. Normally I take the bus, but we felt it wasn’t the best option for us. I knew the parking around the Bowl was stacked parking, but we figured it would be ok and we didn’t mind if it took some time to get out of there. And we were able to park in one of the close lots to the entrance and headed up to our seats.

I loved where we were sitting. Of course, sitting closer would have been cool, but we were in the center and had the front of our section to put our drinks and stuff. It’s so much nicer being in the first row so you have that extra space.

The first half of the show was with another conductor leading the LA Philharmonic, but it was still having the music that is the score to movies being played live. I love hearing the music live, and they did some fun movies like “The Godfather” this year. And in the first section, it was mainly older movies and my parents knew all of them. So it felt like the perfect way to introduce them to the show.

And in the second half, John Williams came out to conduct. He’s like a rockstar and the entire place went wild when he walked out. And you can tell he loves doing this show and seeing how excited people are to see him. Everyone was waiting for him to play music from “Star Wars”, but I knew it would be toward the end of the evening since that’s one of those things that is just so special and magical. And just like every other year, as soon as those familiar notes started to play, hundreds of people got their lightsabers out and conducted along to the music.

I started to get a bit emotional seeing this in front of me. I think seeing it made me realize how much I missed this last year and how much I needed to do something familiar to me again. My parents and I did talk about what we were going to do to stay safe while we were at the Bowl. We were masked the entire time and at least it’s outdoors. And most people who go to shows are locals and we have a decently high vaccination rate. But it still felt a bit overwhelming to be around so many people. I have multiple panic attacks while I was there, but I tried to focus on the positive and how much I was enjoying the show. And seeing a show that I’ve seen so many times before really helped me focus on things other than my panic attack.

I think my parents really enjoyed the show too. It’s not something they would have picked out for themselves, but they liked seeing something that I love so much. Plus, it was something new and different for them and they like to see different things when they come to visit me. So overall, I consider it a success!

Seeing this show with my parents was one of the highlights of the weekend for me. And it did make me think if I should try to go to another show before the summer is done. I’m not sure about that because there are only a few things I might want to go see and the people I normally go to shows with aren’t living in LA anymore. I don’t think I’d want to go alone, but I have to think about it more. I enjoyed the night so much, that maybe I can overcome the feeling of not wanting to go solo. Or, I’ll just go to shows again next summer.

Either way, I’m just so happy I got to do something I had missed so much and that I got to share the experience with my parents.

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Tagged concert, family, Hollywood Bowl, Los Angeles, show, summer

Another Drive-In Adventure (or A Bonus Birthday Twin Hangout)

Posted on March 25, 2021 | Comments Off

Before this past year, I don’t know if I’ve ever been to a drive-in event or movie. It just wasn’t something I heard about a lot and I figured if I wanted to see a movie I’d rather see it in a theater. But since the pandemic, it seems like there are more and more drive-in things to do. Some new drive-in theaters have opened and there are other types of drive-in events like the For Your Consideration screening I went to over the summer.

I’ve been saying I should go to more drive-in events, but I just haven’t really been doing it. There are only a few people I trust to be in a car with right now and I don’t want to spend money if I don’t have to. But as I’ve written about more and more recently, I need to have more fun in my life. I just haven’t been great about doing it and figuring out what to do.

But earlier this year, my friend Dani found a drive-in drag queen show with some of the contestants from RuPaul’s Drag Race and asked if I was interested in going. It sounded awesome so we got tickets for it. The tickets were per car, but you were limited to only 2 people in the car, so it was just going to be us. Then Dani had a conflict and no longer could go, so she gave me the tickets and I decided to ask my birthday twin, Joanna, if she wanted to join me.

Normally, Joanna and I have 2 regular hangouts a year. Once for our birthday when we go to Truxtons and once around the New Year when we go to Cheesecake Factory. We had both of those hangouts in the past year. Truxtons was a picnic outside and Cheesecake Factory was with each of us at our own homes and having dinner over Zoom. And while we’d both love to hang out more than just twice a year, with both of us having crazy schedules it doesn’t always happen. So when she said she’d love to come with me to the show, I was so excited!

This show was at the Rose Bowl, where the other drive-in event I went to was. But it was held in a field and not in the parking lot. Things were a little disorganized trying to get in there. We were following a line of cars, but we didn’t realize that the line we were following was the second part of the check-in. There wasn’t a sign for the first part, but the security officers there told us where to go. And once we got to the correct area, the check-in was pretty easy and moved quickly. We were given information for the food trucks that were there, but Joanna and I brought a ton of snacks with us so we were good with food.

And while I’d love to give this show a great review, there were some issues we encountered while we were there. We were directed to a parking spot which was right in the center of the field. But we were several rows back and because I have a shorter car there was no way for us to see the stage.

They had a few screens on the sides to see what was on stage, but they were off on the sides so for us to look at them we had to sit almost sideways in our seats. There were also screens much further up, so I tried to look at those more often so my neck could have a break. But the screens near us were pretty tough to see.

But Joanna and I didn’t let that get to us too much. Even though we would have loved to have been able to see the show better, we both had a great time because we were able to hang out together! Also, the screens had speakers that played the music, so we didn’t have to use the radio in my car to hear what’s going on. So we were able to listen to the show but also be able to chat and catch up.

And the performances were good. Like I said, we wished we could have seen things better, but we still enjoyed it. And we were having so much fun being out and doing something. Both of us are so careful with what we do these days and not really going out and doing much. So this show was a great change from what we’ve been doing for the past year. And any fun things we can do these days are really appreciated!

The show was about 90 minutes long and I will say that the location where we were parked did allow us to have an easier time leaving than other people did, so that was a bonus. And we continued to catch up on the drive home. It was honestly a hangout that I really needed. Even though we did our cheesecake dinner over Zoom, it wasn’t the same as being together in person. So this show was the missing element from earlier this year.

Hopefully, it won’t be that much longer before we can hang out and not have to think about how careful we are being. I think that it’s a safe guess that we will be able to feel that way by the time we have our birthday dinner in August. Of course, we’ve all seen this past year how quickly things can change. But right now, it seems like things are finally changing for the better and I want to think it will stay that way from now on.

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Tagged friends, fun, show

Inside The Box (or Enjoying Some Virtual Theater)

Posted on March 3, 2021 | Comments Off

There are so many things I miss from a year ago. I’ve talked about missing my old life several times. Part of missing things is having something fun in my schedule and being busy, but the other part is that some of these things have become a bit of a routine for me. And I feel lost without the routine in my life. I know we are getting closer and closer to gaining those things back again, but there will still be time before things are fully up and running again (and that I feel safe to do them).

One of the routines I miss so much from before is going to see musicals. The last musical I saw in a theater was only about a week or two before everything shut down. And I remember thinking then about how close together everyone was sitting, but not being too worried about it. Now, I can’t imagine doing that until things are safer and I almost can’t believe that we were doing that right before everything shut down. I still have musicals to see from that last season, plus we already bought tickets for the next. But I don’t think they will be restarting for a little while. So finding ways to fill the live theater void in my life has been something I’ve been working on since the pandemic started.

I have done some virtual theater nights at home. These have been mainly watching recorded theater at home. Sometimes it’s just me watching alone and sometimes a friend is watching at the same time and we are texting back and forth as we watch. Even though I don’t talk when I’m seeing live theater, texting back and forth while watching makes it a less solitary activity and feels like I’m a part of something bigger. It’s not exactly like watching theater with a crowd, but it’s better than watching alone.

And I knew of some Zoom theater shows that had happened, but I hadn’t really looked too much into them. But I remembered hearing about a Zoom show called “Inside The Box” last year. This wasn’t a musical, but a word puzzle and game type show. My dad and I are both word and puzzle nerds who like things like crossword puzzles and Scrabble. So I told him about the show last year. But it was sold out and I didn’t think we’d get a chance to watch it. Then I heard the show was extending the run, and we decided to get tickets. Since it was over Zoom, my parents got one ticket for them (the tickets were per household, not per person) and I got one for myself. And I was super excited to have a fun and nerdy night of puzzles!

I didn’t really want to watch alone, plus I knew I might need help with some of the puzzles. So I invited my friend Dani over to watch with me. Since we are both being super cautious, I knew I could trust having her over at my house. We did still try to keep things on the safer side (not sitting too close together and keeping my door open so there is airflow), but it was a risk that we both accepted and we understood the trust we had in each other.

The week of the show, we were emailed a puzzle packet. There was one puzzle to solve before the show started and a few things to prep before the show. We also had to have one game piece to use and something red. Both Dani and I had options because we weren’t sure what we were going to use them for and we wanted to be prepared.

First, the one negative thing that happened that night. Unfortunately, my parents were having some technical issues and they ended up not being able to be a part of the show. That did upset me because part of what I was so excited about was to do this with my dad. But I guess it wasn’t meant to be. But I am grateful to the staff at the Geffen who tried really hard to fix the issue so they could join in and then refunded my parents when they were unable to participate.

But besides my parents not being able to be in the show, I have to say that it was such a great night! The host/star of the show, David Kwong, constructs crossword puzzles as well as is a magician. And while there wasn’t necessarily magic tricks in the show, it did have that feeling. Both Dani and I said it felt like a show at The Magic Castle. And it was really fun to learn the different bits of history behind different types of word puzzles. I know sometimes a show can feel slow when it’s going into the backstory or history, but this did not. It was really entertaining the entire time!

And I’m so glad Dani was watching with me. We worked together the entire time to solve the different puzzles. There were some games that we were doing a great job at figuring it out and a few that weren’t that easy for us. But we were having so much fun the entire time. And when you solved a puzzle, you waved your hands so the host could pick someone to call on to answer. We were called on a few times to answer, and fortunately we were right each time.

The show was about 90 minutes long and ended with one last puzzle that Dani and I were just stumped on. I think we were both overthinking the solution, but as soon as someone else said the first answer we immediately got the rest of it. So even though we didn’t really solve the last puzzle, we still ended on a good note.

And after the show was done, we got some Chipotle delivered to my house. It was kind of the opposite of what we do when we see musicals because we normally have dinner first. But I’m glad we got dinner because it really did make the night feel almost normal for what we do. And it’s so good to see someone face to face these days. I wish I had more friends that I could do that with, but I think everyone understands why I’m being so careful and nobody is upset that I have such strict rules about things. But I am looking forward to when that won’t be something to worry about again.

I would love to find more virtual Zoom shows to get to watch. This is a part of what I want to do with my monthly challenge this month. Watching this show was one of the best nights I’ve had in the past year. And I know that I was so much happier the next few days because of it. I just have to put the effort into finding more shows and events, and that’s something I’m working on doing. And hopefully whatever I find will be just as fun as it was to be a part of “Inside The Box”!

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Posted in Fun Stuff

Tagged fun, show, theater

Trying To Find More Fun (or Being More Ok With Spending Some Money)

Posted on January 28, 2021 | Comments Off

For a good portion of last year, I really hesitated to spend money on things because I was not working much. There weren’t a lot of things I could spend my money on that I wanted either. I didn’t need new clothes for going out. There weren’t events that I was getting tickets for. Even though I was getting some delivery food, I wasn’t going out to dinners with friends. I guess in a way, it was good that while I was out of work I didn’t find things I needed to splurge on.

And now, even though I am working much more, I still am very cautious of spending money. I’m not making as much as I did a year ago and I don’t want my spending to get out of control. But at the same time, I’m finding myself getting bored so often. I think I’ve done pretty well with staying home and not doing things. I’ve dealt with boredom before and gotten past it. But it is happening more and more frequently. And I’m not happy just watching more tv or reading more. I want to have new experiences and adventures. It’s just not that easy to do that these days.

But I’m trying to be better about finding things to do. There are online events I can get tickets for and some other events where you watch from your car. For the car ones, I have to either go alone or go with a friend who I can trust is being as safe and cautious as I am (like I did when I went to the drive-in screening over the summer). And if I’m in the car with someone else, wearing masks and keeping the windows open is pretty much a must to try to keep things as safe as we can. I am trying to not do too many of these car events because they are a bit riskier than I’d like, but doing them occasionally isn’t bad.

But with the virtual events, I finally am starting to look into more of them and seeing what I want to sign up for. I’ve got one coming up that is a lecture event that my parents had an extra ticket for. I think that will be really fun to watch and learn from. And I’m looking at some of the plays that are being done over Zoom and other live stream things and might be buying some tickets for those. Again, I do have to be cautious of my budget and not spending more than I should, but I also need to allow myself to have some fun.

I still feel pretty certain that we are past the halfway point of us all having to stay at home. I’m hoping that by the end of summer or the beginning of fall that things will be safer and we can all start going out and being social again. But even though we should be past the halfway point, it doesn’t make this time any easier. I need to find ways to stay entertained and ok with being home. I want to have more fun in my life and the ways that I’m used to doing that aren’t really options for me. I hope I can find more online events that I can attend so I have more going on in my life. I’d love to have less time where I’m just sitting and looking at the walls in my house.

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Posted in Fun Stuff

Tagged event, fun, show

A Virtual Musical Night (or Trying To Replicate My Routine)

Posted on April 2, 2020 | Comments Off

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Comments Off on A Virtual Musical Night (or Trying To Replicate My Routine)

Posted in Fun Stuff

Tagged Dolby Theater, isolation, musical, Pantages Theater, show

Tag Archives: show

Dinner And A Show (or Back To Seeing Musicals)

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

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Seeing Six (or This Was An Incredible Musical!)

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One More Show At The Dolby (or Almost The End Of A Long Musical Season)

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“The Enigmatist” (or A Night Of Puzzles, Word Games, and Magic)

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A Night At The Bowl (or It Finally Feels Like Summer To Me)

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Another Drive-In Adventure (or A Bonus Birthday Twin Hangout)

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Inside The Box (or Enjoying Some Virtual Theater)

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Trying To Find More Fun (or Being More Ok With Spending Some Money)

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A Virtual Musical Night (or Trying To Replicate My Routine)

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