Tag Archives: show

The First Dolby Show Of The Season (or Having Some New Things And Some Familiar Things)

Posted on March 6, 2020 | Comments Off on The First Dolby Show Of The Season (or Having Some New Things And Some Familiar Things)

As I mentioned before, this season the musicals I go to were split between the Pantages theater (where they typically have been held) and the Dolby theater. The Dolby is where the Oscars are held each year and I’ve been to another event there years ago. But I definitely wasn’t as familiar with that theater as I am with the Pantages. And this week, we had our first show at the Dolby and we tried to start a new pre-show routine.

The Dolby is inside the Hollywood and Highland center, which has a few different restaurants to choose from. Dani and I decided that we would go there early to have some dinner and then get to our show. I’ve been to Hollywood and Highland a bunch in the past, so I was familiar with the area. And since we were going to the show on a weekday, we wanted to give ourselves plenty of time for traffic. We were shocked when the traffic wasn’t bad at all and we got there much earlier than we expected.

We weren’t sure where we wanted to eat and we had so much extra time, so we did a little walking around the area before getting food. It’s so interesting how that part of Hollywood feels so different from the part of Hollywood by the Pantages. And the two spots aren’t that far apart. But I guess a few blocks can make a big difference.

We got some dinner and realized we still had almost an hour and a half before the show started. So we decided to do one of our normal pre-show activities and head over to Wood & Vine for some dessert! We took the subway one stop to get there (there is a stop at Hollywood and Highland and the next stop is next to the restaurant) and got a seat at the bar to see what we wanted to eat. We decided to go with our favorite dessert which is the butterscotch one. And it was just as good as it always is!

Even though we didn’t have a full meal there, getting dessert somehow made things feel more normal and more like we were used to before a show. It’s funny how the smallest routine thing can make everything feel right again. We didn’t have a lot of time to hang out at Wood & Vine because we had to get back on the subway to get to the theater. We made it back 10 minutes before the show started which was the perfect amount of time to find our seats and get settled.

I had been worried about how shows would look in the Dolby because in my memory it’s a much larger theater. And it might be a lot larger, but I don’t know if the top two balcony sections were used. So nobody was seated that high above the stage.

Our seats weren’t the seats we will have for other shows because we had to change the date of our tickets. But these were close to what we would have. We were in the balcony, but we were in the second row which was not too far from the stage.

And because we were in the second row of the balcony, we weren’t that high above the stage so it didn’t feel like we were looking down at the show instead of out at the show. It did feel bigger because the ceiling was so high up, but it didn’t feel like we were seeing a show in an arena instead of a theater. That was a nice surprise since I had been pretty worried about that. I’m glad my fears were wrong and that it seems like the shows we see at the Dolby are going to feel just as close as our shows at the Pantages.

The show we saw this time was “Escape To Margaritaville”, which is another jukebox musical.

We’ve had a lot of jukebox musicals in the past. Sometimes I am familiar with the singer or band and knew that I would know a lot of the songs. Sometimes I go into a show thinking I won’t know any of the songs and it turns out that I know most if not all of them. This time, I went in thinking I wouldn’t know any of the songs and that turned out to be true. There were 2 songs that I knew, but the rest of them were completely unfamiliar to me. I thought maybe I would think that I would recognize a little bit, but there wasn’t. It was interesting being in a theater where so many people were singing along and got really excited when a song started because they knew what was coming up. I just wasn’t a part of that crowd and it did make me feel like a bit of an outsider.

But no matter how I feel about a show, it’s always such a fun night out. I will always enjoy going to a show, especially when it’s a new show. I love seeing what musicals are out there and it’s such fun when I discover a new favorite too. We got several more shows at the Dolby coming up this season and I can’t wait to see what shows will connect with me!

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Default ThumbnailTaking Time For A Show (or Seeing Summer) Default ThumbnailFunko and Frozen (or The Last Pantages Show For A While) Default ThumbnailAnother Round Of A Repeat Musical (or Seeing A Show A Different Way) Default ThumbnailMore Musicals! (or Another Season At Pantages) Default ThumbnailThe Last Show Of The Season (or Ending On A High Note) Default ThumbnailAnd Another Season Of Musicals (or The Next Season Will Be A Bit Different)

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Broadway Princess Party (or Fate Allowed For Some Dreams To Come True)

Posted on November 26, 2019 | Comments Off on Broadway Princess Party (or Fate Allowed For Some Dreams To Come True)

This post is seriously all about things coming into place the way they are supposed to and how fate can be an amazing thing. Over the summer, I went to a show at the Bowl and mentioned how sitting in the picnic area near me was Laura Osnes, a Broadway star that I have dreamed of seeing live. I didn’t bother her that day, but I said in that post that hopefully one day I would get to see her perform in person. Only a few weeks after that night out, I saw a post online that the Broadway Princess Party was coming to the Rockwell! That show was created by Laura Osnes and it is her and other Broadway stars singing Disney princess songs. I immediately checked with Dani to see if she wanted to go, and she said yes so I got us tickets. I splurged on getting the best seats I could because this was someone I really had dreamed of seeing perform and I figured it was worth the money.

I was so excited that I was going to see the show and I felt like it was fate that I was able to get tickets after just saying that hopefully one day I’d get to see her perform live. But then a month or so later, Dani let me know that she couldn’t make it to the show. She had warned me that her work schedule might change so I knew this might happen, but I was sad she couldn’t come with me. But this ended up being another twist of fate because I remembered a friend of mine that I know through union service might be perfect to come with me.

Jackie is also a member of my union slate and I remembered her mentioning to me in the past that she knew Laura Osnes. I didn’t know the specifics, but when I found out that I needed a new person to come with me I immediately asked Jackie if she wanted to join me. She said yes and I was so excited because she was thrilled to be coming with me. I found out the next day that Jackie emailed Laura to say that we were coming to the show and that was even more amazing! Jackie said that we would get to talk to her after the show and I couldn’t believe it. I knew this was going to be the best show ever!

Jackie and I had spent time together with union work, but this was the first time we got to hang out socially and I’m so glad that we had this time. I picked her up for the show and on the way there she was telling me all about her life and the amazing work she has done over the years. She has been in this industry for decades and she has worked with so many Hollywood legends. It was like hearing the history of Hollywood and it was incredible!

We got to the Rockwell a bit early, but as soon as they opened we went to our table so we could order our dinner. We didn’t want to have to eat during the show, so ordering early was important. And we got a selfie together because Jackie wanted to send a photo to Laura saying we were there.

Once the show started, I was just speechless. Not only was it an amazing show and Laura, Courtney Reed, and Susan Egan were so talented, but it was exactly what I hoped it would be and I just couldn’t believe that I was there.

I loved all the performances and the special guests were so great too. And getting to see Laura perform really was something that I have dreamed of doing for so long and it was just unreal that it was happening. I don’t fangirl over actors that often, but for some reason, this was just that much more special to me and didn’t feel like I was seeing one of my peers as it does for most actors I meet.

And Jackie was enjoying the show just as much as I was. She had seen it before a few times, but I think it changes up so it was different from the other times she had seen it. And she loves Laura so much and loves seeing her perform so I know she was having fun there just like I was. I knew the show couldn’t go too long because there was a second show later that evening, but it still felt like it came to a close way too soon. When everyone was on stage at the end for the final song, I was sad it was done but I also felt like I just saw the perfect show.

When the show was done, I knew there was a meet and greet and Laura had told Jackie that she would come to see us between the end of the show and the start of the meet and greet. And that’s exactly what she did! We saw her looking for Jackie and as soon as she saw her she rushed to us to say hello. I really tried to not be too crazy, but I just couldn’t believe I was getting to meet Laura. Jackie introduced her to me and the first thing she did was give me a huge hug to thank me for coming to the show.

She is honestly one of the sweetest and nicest people I have met and she genuinely was excited to meet me and so happy to see Jackie. I was able to tell her how I had wanted to see her perform for years and how much I loved the show. Getting to tell someone that is rare so I was so grateful I had that time. And of course, we had to get a selfie of the 3 of us to remember the evening.

And I wanted to make sure I took a photo of Jackie and Laura together and I love the photo I got of the two of them.

Laura had to get to the meet and greet then so we said our goodbyes and Jackie and I headed back to my car. We also ran into Courtney Reed on the way out and I was able to tell her how much I enjoyed her performance as well. That was amazing too.

In the car ride driving Jackie home, I couldn’t stop thanking her. Seeing the show was going to be amazing enough, but Jackie was able to take it to a new level and make it so much more than I could have imagined. And Jackie loved that because she loves helping other people when she can and she said this was an easy thing for her to do. I told her she is officially my fairy godmother now and I think she liked the new title.

Even though this show was several days ago, I’m still in a bit of shock that this all happened. It was so much more than I could have hoped for and I feel like it was meant to be this way. Of course, I would have loved it if Dani was at the show with me and I know it would have been an incredible evening. But because of fate (and Dani’s work schedule), things fell into place to make it really special and a dream come true.

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Kicking Off A Musical Season (or Seeing A Cartoon Brought To Life)

Posted on October 18, 2019 | Comments Off on Kicking Off A Musical Season (or Seeing A Cartoon Brought To Life)

Even after having a crazy weekend at the convention, I wasn’t going home to rest after we were done on Sunday. I finished up with everything in the early afternoon, had a little break to get some lunch, and then it was off to my next adventure for the day.

It was the first musical of the new Pantages season! This season, I’m going with my friend Dani again for the shows. And it will be an interesting season because only the first few shows are at the Pantages. After that, they move to the Dolby and I’m still curious how the shows will work there since it’s a much bigger theater. I’ll have to wait until our shows move there, but for the first few shows, we have the usual seats that we’ve had for the last few seasons.

Dani and I went for dinner before the show and we checked out a ramen place that we’ve walked past almost every time we’ve gone to a show. For some reason, we’ve never gone there and we wanted to check it out. It was really good and ramen was the perfect thing to have before the show. I wanted something warm but not too heavy because I was worried I would fall asleep during the show. I was already tired (both physically and emotionally) but the ramen seemed to perk me up.

I was excited to see “Anastasia”. I love the cartoon and have seen it multiple times. I always thought it would be a good musical since the songs in the movie were really memorable. I’m glad that it was made into a musical so we could see it!

The musical was very similar to the movie. They did change up some of the characters and the magical elements were removed, but it was, for the most part, the same story as the movie. And the songs that were in the movie were used along with lots of new songs, but some of the songs from the movie were in different places. I actually liked where they moved songs to and it almost made it make more sense they way the musical had it done.

The set was interesting with being just a few walls with pillars and having screens where the windows would be as well as long the back. It made it easy for the show to change locations and made it really fun to watch when things were supposed to be moving in the background. For example, when they were on a train the screen in the background showed the tracks and the landscape moving. There were a few moments I didn’t love the screens, but overall I think that was a smart design idea and it helped make the stage seem full without a lot of set pieces or props.

And I think one of the best things in this show were the costumes. They were incredible! We are lucky that our seats aren’t too far from the stage so we do get to see some of the details on the costumes, but I wish I could have looked at them closer. I saw some photos online and they have so much detail work on them and the work was impeccable. Even if we sat in the first row, I don’t know if we could have appreciated all the work that was done. But you can still tell even when seeing them from a distance that they were done with a lot of care.

We did have some annoying audience members seated behind us that felt like singing along and talking during the show was appropriate (and they wouldn’t quiet down). It’s unfortunate when there are people in the audience who don’t respect the performers and the theater in general. We have been lucky that we rarely have bad audience members near us for all the shows we go to. But when it happens, it’s extra annoying.

But despite the bad audience members, I really did enjoy the show. I really wanted to see a show that was easy to watch and also a bit of an escape. And that’s exactly what this was. I didn’t want to watch anything dramatic or serious because I had dealt with so much the few days prior. And this show was perfect to help me feel better and that’s one of the things I love about having these musical seasons. Before I started doing this again, I forgot how much going to shows was self-care for me. And now I get another year of shows to look forward to.

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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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An Unexpected Musical (or Seeing A Show At A Different Theater)

Posted on April 23, 2019 | 1 comment

Because I have my season tickets to the Pantages, I don’t usually look at what shows are happening at other theaters around LA. I know that from time to time I have looked at other seasons and sometimes I do buy tickets for a show if I really want to see it, but that’s pretty rare. It’s not that I don’t like other theaters, but I usually don’t have the money to buy more tickets and when I see shows I want to see it’s often at the end of the run and there are no more seats left. I could be more proactive about seeing what other shows I want to see, but it’s not a huge priority for me right now (if I had all the money I needed to see everything, I think it would be different).

But I do love seeing shows at other theaters when I get the chance to do so. And over the weekend a friend of mine posted online that they had an extra ticket to “Falsettos” at the Ahmanson and they wanted to know if anyone was interested in going. I replied and asked how much the ticket was, and they said that it would be free for me if I wanted to join them! Of course I said yes! I lucked out because the show was on Easter Sunday so a lot of people couldn’t go. But I had no plans so I was excited to have another show to get to see.

I knew nothing about “Falsettos” when I said I’d like the extra ticket. To me, I’m always down to see any musical because you never know what you will like. And I had seen a few friends post about going to see it earlier in the week and everyone was raving about it and encouraging others to go. But once I found out I’d be going, I decided to do a little bit of research on the show so I would have a little bit of an idea about what I was going to see.

I tried to avoid too much information about the plot because I didn’t want things to be spoiled for me. But fortunately there was a lot of information about the creation of the show so I was able to look at that more than plot information. I thought it sounded really interesting that this show was actually created from 3 different 1 act shows. The first act of the current show was based on the second 1 act play and the second act of the current show was based on the third 1 act play. It was a different way to create a show, but it sounded really fun and from the things I read online people enjoyed how each act of the show was a bit different. Even though I knew nothing about the show and I had no clue I was going to see it, I was so ready to see it when Sunday came!

My friends who had the tickets met me at the theater. Since it was a holiday and a weekend, I was able to get to downtown very quickly. I parked in their parking lot because it was just easier to pay the $9 to do that than to search all over downtown for a spot that might be ok to use. I let my friends know when I got there and waited for them by the will call booths.

They got there closer to the start time of the show (which is what we had agreed to) and we had a few minutes to chat and catch up before going inside to head to our seats. I’ve only been to the Ahmanson a few times so I am not as familiar with the seating there as I am with other theaters. But all the times I’ve been there the seats have been good no matter where we were sitting. This time, we were toward the back of the orchestra section near the side. But even the back of the orchestra is pretty close to the stage so we were able to see the actors just fine.

I don’t want to give away a ton about the plot since I think sometimes it’s better to go in knowing very little (and if you really want to know all of the plot you can find it other places online), but the main plot of the show involves a divorced couple, their child, and their new partners. The show does not have dialogue outside of the songs but the songs are clear and easy to follow. The plot isn’t too complicated so that helped with being able to follow it as well.

My quick review of the show is that it was really great! There were some incredible songs and the performances were awesome. I think all of us in the group preferred the second act to the first, which was surprising. There are a lot of times that I feel the second act of a musical goes too quickly to have a conclusion of everything that has happened so far. And when a second act is like that, I usually prefer the first act. But considering that both acts are based off of different 1 act shows it makes it make a bit more sense. And even though I preferred the second act, that doesn’t mean the first act was bad. There was one song I didn’t love, but it was still enjoyable.

I thanked my friends for inviting me to the show and I’m so glad I got to check out a new show. I wish I could do it more often (and that’s why I do my season tickets for the Pantages) and every time I get to see something extra it really is special. And getting to see another show at the Ahmanson was awesome as well since I rarely go there. Maybe one day I’ll have season tickets for there as well and then my life will be even more filled with musicals!

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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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School Of Rock (or Just A Good Fun Musical)

Posted on May 8, 2018 | 2 comments

I’ve noticed that the musicals on my calendar are much closer together now (in the next year and a half, I’ve got 15 more musicals scheduled!). So even though it seems like I was just at the Pantages for my last musical, I was there again this weekend for another show! And this time, we were seeing “School of Rock”!

The musical is based on the movie and I’ve seen the movie a bunch of times. I was pretty excited to see how the musical adaptation would be since I was so familiar with the movie. And 2 of the other women in my group were in the same boat as me (1 member of the group has never seen the movie).

We had a quick dinner at Greenleaf before the show (we’ve done Shake Shack a lot lately and wanted to switch it up). I meant to take a photo of my dinner because it was really good but it totally just slipped my mind. But I highly recommend the turkey melt there because it was delicious. And yes, I ordered a turkey melt at a place that is known for salads. But it’s good to know that everything there is good!

We’ve gotten into such a routine with our musicals which I love. We all know what seats we sit in (we always have the same seats) and it just seems so normal and orderly to me. Even though we have season tickets and our shows are always the same time in a run of a show, it seems like we always have different people sitting around us. I thought maybe we’d be seeing the same people each show, but that doesn’t seem to be the case. I think the couple sitting next to me has been there in the past, but because there isn’t really consistency with who sits there I could be wrong.

If you aren’t familiar with School of Rock, it’s about a guy who is kicked out of his band and pretends to be a substitute teacher at a fancy private school. He discovers the students in his class have musical talents and he creates a band to try to win a battle of the bands against the band that kicked him out. It’s not a complicated plot and that’s fine with me. I was saying to the group that we have had a lot of serious and heavy musicals and I really wanted something that was just fun and entertaining. And this fit that perfectly!

There were a lot of really great songs (some of which were stuck in our heads after the show) and the performers were great. But the most incredible performers were the kids in the show. There were amazing singers and the band members played their instruments live in the show. To play in front of a big crowd is tough for an adult, and these kids were just amazing! And watching them be so into playing and having fun with the songs was very entertaining! Since I can’t play a musical instrument, I’m always impressed with people who can. And these kids were more talented than most adults I know. I was just in awe watching.

The show is very similar to the movie and the songs from the movie are in the show (but the musical adds so many more songs). I was worried about the friend who hadn’t seen the movie because I didn’t know if I was enjoying the show so much because I love the movie. But she really enjoyed the show too which is a sign of a great show! If you can make people who are familiar with the original material and people who don’t know anything about the show both happy and enjoy it, that’s pretty special.

This was such a nice break from the serious shows we’ve had lately. And our next show will be another serious one. But to have a fun night out with my friends was exactly what I needed after feeling a bit low lately. I needed some laughing, fun, and entertainment to take my mind off of things that are bugging me. And even after leaving the show I continued to be in a better mood. I know I need to keep adding fun things in my life when I have low moments like I was having, and I’m just glad that I had this scheduled during a rough patch of my life.

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Another Night At The Rockwell (or Jeff Goldblum and Jazz)

Posted on November 22, 2016 | Comments Off on Another Night At The Rockwell (or Jeff Goldblum and Jazz)

When we were at the Rockwell to see the Hocus Pocus musical, we heard that there were still seats for that coming Wednesday to see Jeff Goldblum. While that sounds cool anyway, my friend Michelle was beyond excited. She’s been wanting for years to see Jeff Goldblum perform and had been telling me about it over the past month. So when we discovered there were still a few seats left for that show, we bought them immediately!

Jeff Goldblum (from “Jurassic Park” and “Independence Day”) plays jazz with his band at Rockwell pretty frequently. A lot of times the show is sold out before we knew it, so it was just perfect that we were able to get some seats. I didn’t know too much about the show going into it, but I’m always up for a fun night out and I knew this would be interesting!

When we ordered our seats, there were almost no options left. We pretty much could only decide if we wanted to sit at the bar or sit at a table. We opted for a table and I’m glad we did. There is a 2 item minimum for the shows, and I knew we’d be ordering dinner. And since we got there a bit closer to showtime, we would be eating while the show was happening.

As always, the menu looked really good to me.

rockwell-menu

I ended up ordering some soup and some truffle fries. Not the healthiest meal, but it was what I was craving so I decided to go for it. Plus, I figured we wouldn’t be ordering dessert so I was fine getting a bit of a splurge for dinner.

After we ordered, we noticed a bit of commotion behind us. I turned around and noticed that Jeff Goldblum was walking around and taking photos with everyone! I’m so used to events where the cast isn’t out before the show started, so I thought this was very cool. Since Michelle is a big fan of his, I was saying that she should go over to get a photo. She didn’t want to, but when he came over to our table and started talking to us, there was no way we could miss this opportunity!

jeff-goldblum

He was seriously so cool and really just wanted to go to everyone at the show to make sure they were already having a good time and to thank them for coming to the show! I’m not sure what I was expecting as far as interaction goes with him, but this was not what I thought would happen. He was so down to earth and really a nice guy who wanted to make sure the audience was having the best time ever!

Before we knew it, the show was starting. The band was really great and played some awesome jazz songs. And if you are familiar with Jeff Goldblum from his movies, he plays music exactly how you would imagine him to do it. It was really entertaining and even though we were in the back of the room and had a slightly obstructed view, it was just perfect.

jazz-show

Between each song, he would get a piece of paper with movie trivia, guess the political quote questions, or options of would you rather. It was so funny and even though I didn’t really know many answers to anything I enjoyed hearing his commentary on the questions and the random answers people shouted out from the audience.

There was about an hour of show, then a 10 minute intermission, and then about another hour of the show. I could have listened to it for much longer because it was so entertaining, but that was all the show they had that night. I’m not even that big of a jazz fan, but the music was played really well and with a lot of skill and everyone in the band was so into it that you couldn’t help but enjoy each song and think it’s one of the greatest songs you’ve heard.

Michelle and I have already said that we will totally be going back to this show another time. As of right now, it only shows this Wednesday available (he plays on Wednesdays when he isn’t busy working as an actor). But he said at the end of the show that this week wasn’t the last week and that there would be more shows coming up. We are getting more and more familiar with the Rockwell venue and where we like to sit, so we are going to pick a show where we can get seats at the table that we like.

I still smile when I think about all the awesome adventures I’ve had lately. This is exactly the mood booster I needed in my life. The election got me down quite a bit. And while I’m not feeling bad about the liver tumor, knowing that there are still some unanswered questions makes me a bit stressed and tempted to google things to try to find more answers (which isn’t the best thing right now). I wish that I had more fun money in my life that could be used for events like this, but at least I know I’ve got a couple of other things scheduled that I can look forward to!

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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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Starting My Bowl Season Early (or The Little Mermaid Live)

Posted on June 8, 2016 | 2 comments

Technically the season for the Hollywood Bowl hasn’t started yet, but they have started with their lease events. A little while back, I saw that they were going to do a screening of “The Little Mermaid” with live orchestration and celebrity singers! I was totally in! But sadly, tickets sold out for the 2 dates before I had a chance to buy them (well, technically some of the seats in the $250 range were left, but those aren’t in my budget). They had also announced an extra Monday show, but by then I just figured I wouldn’t be making it to this show.

Then I got an email about tickets on Goldstar for the event. I told my friend Dani about it and she was in! But when I went to Goldstar to look for tickets, there weren’t any. Again, I guessed I was out of luck. But for some reason, I decided to check Ticketmaster for tickets and by some miracle there were 2 tickets close together (but not next to each other) that weren’t totally out of my budget! I got those seats and Dani and I were so excited that we were going to be able to check out this show!

We met up and took the Bowl Bus together. But on our way there, another bus broke down so our already full bus had to fill up with another full bus load of passengers. At least it made the trip there an adventure.

Bowl Bus

Once we got to the Bowl, there were a bunch of cute photo set ups as you walked up the hill. But those all had crazy long lines, so we skipped those and I got this photo of the posters for the show.

Little Mermaid

Typically when I go to the Bowl, I bring food in with me. But because this was a lease event, there were extra restrictions on what you could bring in with you. So Dani and I decided just to order food there instead of bringing stuff in (we did bring in unopened water bottles because we didn’t want to spend $4 on a bottle of water). We got some burgers and fries and headed up to our seats.

Hollywood Bowl

We were about halfway up and over to the side, but being on the side was fine because the movie was screening on the big screens and we had a great view of those. And the people who had the seats between Dani’s seat and my seat were very nice and moved over so we ended up sitting next to each other.

The open act for the show was Susan Egan (the original Belle on Broadway) and Brad Kane (the singing voice for Aladdin). Brad Kane sounded exactly how he sounded when he recorded “Aladdin”. And Susan Egan was amazing and ended up singing “A Whole New World” with Brad Kane which was pretty awesome!

Susan Egan Brad Kane

For the Monday show, Jodi Benson who did the voice for Ariel in the movie was performing as Ariel. For the other 2 shows, she did appear at the end for a special encore, but someone else performed as Ariel during the movie. It was pretty crazy to hear Jodi’s voice from when the movie was made in the speaking parts and then to have her come on stage to sing the songs. She sounded almost exactly the same as when she made the movie and I was just in awe listening to her.

Jodi Benson

The other main parts had a pretty all-star cast. I got to watch Darren Criss as Prince Eric, Tituss Burgess as Sebastian (he was having so much fun with the part!), Rebel Wilson as Ursula, and John Stamos as Chef Louis.

Darrin Criss Tituss Burgess Rebel Wilson John Stamos

While the orchestra was playing the score when the movie was playing, I forgot about it because they sounded just like the movie sounds. They did such a perfect job and their performance was flawless (and as Dani mentioned, they had awesome stamina because they played for a long time!).

At the end of the show, they had fireworks. I’ve never been at the Bowl during fireworks so this was something pretty special for me to see.

Fireworks

Overall, it was a pretty amazing night! The show was so much fun and it was really a special event to get to see. I really wasn’t thinking I’d get a chance to see this show when it sold out so quickly originally, but I’m glad that not all the tickets were gone when I randomly looked online!

I’m planning on enjoying a couple of shows during the regular summer season of the Bowl too, but I haven’t gotten those tickets yet. But this was a pretty perfect way to kick off my summer show season!

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