Friday Five

1. After 4 shows at 54 Below over the last year and just as many awkward encounters there, I've decided that it's my very favorite concert venue.  I'm planning to avoid all other venues now in favor of this beautiful supper club : )  So fun!

2. Usually Melissa McCarthy doesn't really make me laugh.  I'm sure she's a lovely person, but her brand of comedy isn't my thing. However, when does "Spicey", she makes me howl with laughter.  It cracks me up!  So when I saw that she was "casually driving around Midtown on a motorized podium dressed as Spicey" I could not stop laughing.  Every time I see the little Instagram video, I start giggling.  

3. I may sound like a broken record, but I've told everyone I know to watch the show Speechless because I'm just in awe of it.  It's funny and sweet and most of all it handles disabilities respectfully.  But they also realize that living with loved ones with issues is just a part of everyday life.  Everything about this show is perfect and to see it get a second season, was such a happy surprise.  It was the only new show I was worried about.  None of the others have the same heart so I'm so happy that it'll be around for at least another year - though I have a suspicion it might be a bit longer.

4. Netflix is doing a 10 episode prequel of The Dark Crystal!! This is not a drill, people!  I cannot wait to have more Froudian creatures on my screens.  Now, once this show amazes and astounds, they'll just have to do a follow-up to Labyrinth, right?

5. Now that I've got the AC on and it's working well, I can finally say that I'm happy to see the sunshine and the super hot temps back again in Maryland.  I hate the winter, and the 45 degree "spring" days were not my cup of tea.  I'm liking the 80-90 degree days because it means summer is just around the corner.  Thank goodness for that!

So Many Things...

I have about 30 things to say this week however, technical difficulties are making it quite difficult to say them. For some reason, the computer that was fixed won't connect to wifi and is being a big old jerk. Luckily, I have working computers at work that allow me to stick around and use them after my day is done. So if you're hoping for something clever to read tonight, I'd suggest checking out scrappytravels.blogspot.com for a run down on how amazing Hello, Dolly is.

At least I was able to write at least one thing in a timely manner. Seeing as I'm tapping this out on my iPad, which is taking half a century, I think I'll sign off for the evening.

Trivia Monday

~ And so the traveling continues. Tonight's outing wasn't nearly as horrendous as I thought it might be. The bar was a neighborhood dive with a little too much Fox News for my liking, but aside from that, not too bad.

~ And honestly, how bad could it have been since we came in first place. Woohoo!

~ The half-time question was all about Jack's on television. On the very day when the Will & Grace trailer was released, not a single question was asked on Just Jack. I feel they missed a prime opportunity.

~ The bestie was apparently born in 1876 because she was the only person in the bar that answered Pollywog to a question, when we could have just said tadpole. The question-asker thought that was as ridiculous as we did but still got our 12 points, so yay for being born in 1876!

~ The KC Chiefs had an undefeated season but not before the Patriots also had one. There goes Tom Brady ruining things again...

~ My complete and undying love for the show Bones got us 2 answers correct tonight. Though not the question on an actual bone.

~ When a question is asked on the US State that ends with 3 vowels and the question-asker jokes that the answer is New Jerseeee, our team gets way too confused for a bunch of rather smart people. Jokes really aren't that funny when someone had to explain them to you.

~ When you don't have a clue, go with your first answer always. Don't scratch it out 10 times. It might not win you shots, but it could get you 2 points. (In this instance, we won neither...)

~ Something I did learn while ranging against Fox News was that a romphim is a romper for men.  Though the boys confirm that no man or woman should be wearing romphims or hers.

~ Perhaps when the scorekeeper messes up the score 3 separate times, she should have score-keeping taken away. Not saying that this was me. I'm just saying math is hard : )

~ Movies can be so bad that they're actually good. The movie that was used to prove this point was "Mannequin."

Off on a Tiny Adventure

And some minor technical difficulties... See you on Monday!!

Spring Theatre Preview

I have to say, the next 6 weeks or so are definitely the weeks of theater - in an already very busy theater year.  Whether it's free BroadwayWorld shows that I'm reviewing or shows that I've purchased tickets for, it looks like I'll be quite busy.  Of course, there are worse issues to have.  So I thought I'd let you know what I'm seeing and why I'm seeing it and then check in after the fact to let you know how the shows were.  Some I'm thrilled about while others I'm not so sure - those are usually the ones I'm being dragged to by my friend who, as she puts it "comes from a place of yes." : )

First up, Hello Dolly!  with Bette Midler, Gavin Creel and David Hyde Pierce.  Somehow, I've never seen this show, so I'm not entirely sure what it's about.  However, this cast is full off of amazing people that I'm super excited to see. However, I'm reserving judgement because Im fairly certain this show is going to steal all the Tony's from my Falsettos and I'm none too thrilled about that.

~ Waitress is finally going to be seen.  I really wanted to see this when it first opened. Then I saw the preview last year at the Tony's and wasn't really in love with it.  It also helped that tickets were costing more than the usual $100 threshold so I was avoiding it.  But the friend who comes from a place of yes, loves Sara Bareilles and I love Chris Diamontopolos so we finally decided to buy tickets.  I feel like the pie at the concession stand is enough to make me love it.

~ Then it's on to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.  I have always loved this movie however, I've seen clips and I'm not exactly loving what I'm seeing.  Keeping my fingers crossed that it's as good as I'm hoping.

~ Next up is the immersive production of Sweeney Todd, which is a show I've never seen before.  Also, I'm terrified about the word "immersive" ever since I was forced to go to HT Darling's Interactive Museum  Not sure what to expect but if they start to include me in the show, I'm out!

~ Then, an old favorite that I can't wait to see again - Jesus Christ Superstar at the Signature Theater in VA.  This production looks so amazing, but I'm super biased when it comes to this show.  Every production I've ever seen I've loved.

~ At some point, I'm seeing a show (one I'm being dragged to) called Laura Bush Killed a Guy.  And for some reason, when these tickets were purchased we were asked to make some sort of cookie to bring with us, which has us confused and intrigued.

~ For BWW, I[m seeing Noises Off at Everyman (looks Phenomenal!), Stoop Storytelling at Everyman (super fun!) and See How they Run at Vagabond Players (Looks like a fun farce!)

~ And then in England, we're seeing Hamlet with Andrew Scott (Moriarty from Sherlock) which I'm keeping my hopes us is better than Benedict Cumberbatch's version.  

~ There will also be a dabbling of opera in England unfortunately, because the only show that's playing at the Minnack Theatre in Cornwall when we're there is La Traviata.

And then I think July is still pretty open, with the return to NYC in August for a 2 show weekend. Unfortunately, one of those shows was going to be Amelie, but since that's closing, we'll need to find something else.

There you have it - quite a full schedule, but so fun!  Can't wait to tell you the good, bad and ugly about them all soon!

Trivia Wednesday

~ Tonight's outing was to a Pirate Bar - not such a fan.  The food isn't terrible.  However, the seating, while cute and in-theme - large kegs and barstools - isn't the greatest for sitting around for more than 2 hours.  I could never quite figure out where to put my knees.  Anyway, we vote No on this place, so I suppose it's off to find somewhere else.

~ With the new place, I swear either the questions got harder or I got dumber.  One or the other because I knew exactly 2 answers this evening.  And the others I didn't know, I couldn't have even made a logical guess.  I had absolutely no clue.

~ LBD is apparently an acronym for Little Black Dress, which was popularized by Breakfast at Tiffany's and happened to be one of the 2 answers I knew.  Why does one need an acronym for Little Black Dress?  It's a pretty simple phrase to say : )

~ When the half time question is on Fake Doctors, it's a reason to get excited.  When all of those fake doctors are stars of movies, it's a reason to get sad.  Do you know how many hospital shows I've watched in my lifetime?  A whole bunch!  Do you know how many doctor movies I've watched?  About 2.  

~ There were questions on WNBA, NBA, and Wrestling.  If we were playing Jeopardy, I'd say the theme for the evening was "Things Kristen knows nothing about..."

~ What does it say about me, that the only other answer I knew this evening was the words to "All the Single Ladies" by Beyonce?

~ The phrase "I Am Groot", while hilarious to pretty much everyone in the bar, was not the answer to a single question this evening, which is a shame : )

Logically Speaking...

I have a hard time arguing my feelings because I find it difficult to speak logically when people are being awful.  But I'm going to try to in this case, because either I'm really not understanding something or our President is an idiot.  I've never been one to say that I know everything, but I'm leaning pretty sharply on the latter.

Now I know our government over the last few months has made multiple ill-advised, inappropriate and rash decisions on everything from appointees to passing bills.  This news cycle has had its fill of these calls.  Basically, the only business that's booming right now are the late night hosts that are being paid to make jokes about this administration.  And thank goodness for them, because if we weren't laughing, we'd definitely be crying.

I've disagreed with every single thing that's ever come out of President Trump's mouth.  I personally think he's a disgrace to humanity and a laughing-stock. Yet, I understand what he thinks he's doing most of the time.  He hardly ever succeeds at it, but you can at least try to see the start of a thought - before it ultimately loses its thread from his brain to his mouth. But today, I'm having a hard time understanding any sort of logic behind firing FBI Director Comey.  What does this gain?  

By firing him, Trump has put himself on Comey's bad side.  And based on tons of intel, Comey seems to know a lot about what's been going on in the White House.  So, exactly why would President Trump give Director Comey a reason to spout off all of his information to a possible special prosecutor or a senate committee?  Wouldn't it be better to let Comey keep his job and keep him happy? I'm just not understanding the reasoning.

But, in today's world, I'm getting pretty used to that...