Friday Five

1. I absolutely love these Scenery Bags!  They are so darn cute.  The idea is that just like Re-Sail bags are made from recycled sails, these are made from recycled backdrops from shows. How great is that!? I'm so pre-ordering one...  

2. The news that Indecent will be shown on BroadwayHD makes me so very happy!  I wanted to see this show before it closed, but I haven't had the chance.  Then they were given a bit of a reprieve, but it still didn't happen.  Now that it's being filmed, hopefully lots more people will have the chance to see this important work.

3. I was never a huge fan of Duck Tales, but now that David Tennant is voicing Scrooge McDuck, I might need to watch it. Also, these pictures just make me smile.  I just love him.

4. Okay, the model for this month's TimeOut NY is the cutest thing ever!

Our @TimeOutNewYork cover star @ChloeTheMini visited our Times Square offices today for some selfies! 🌟🙌🏽 pic.twitter.com/HY9NpgAbYE

— Jillian Anthony (@jillathrilla) August 2, 2017

5. The late night hosts have been on fire this week, thanks to the ridiculousness of the White House.  But this monologue by James Corden is my absolute favorite!  (Excuse the bit off-color humor there at the end, but the first 3 minutes is amazing!

         

Friday Five

1. I love Brandon Uranowitz.  I love his personality and his talent. I even wrote about how much I love him (even though I'm a starstruck weirdo).  He's super talented and I think he's been my favorite discovery of this season.  So I was pretty happy when this video came out this week of him singing his 3 bucket list songs.  His Marriage Proposal is always fabulous, and I've never heard Parade before, so while that was lovely, I wasn't fascinated.  What I adored was his take on the song from Company.  He absolutely nailed it.  I have no idea how he sang it so well and so quickly.  I'd be tongue tied after the first few notes.  Amazing!  (If you just want to see that song, it starts about 2:30)
           

2. This is the best possible news!  I am hooked on Miranda.  It's about the funniest show I've ever seen, and it may have everything to do with the fact Miranda reminds me a lot of me - without the adorable Gary to fall in love with.  I'd love for it to come back.  I'd even take a 15 minute Children in Need special!

3. I don't tend to share a lot of the hometown love.  But this program in conjunction with the Orioles and BARCS, is truly awesome!  Teaching kids to read and promoting animal adoption - what's not to love!?

4. I love scrapbooking freebies - especially when they involve National Donut Day!  Speaking of, Happy National Donut Day.  If you're ever in Maryland and need the best donut ever, head over to the Donut Shack in Severna Park. So yummy!!!

Happy #NationalDonutDay - celebrating with a free donut printable for newsletter subscribers. Sign up to receive it: https://t.co/zeuLe0Pzgc pic.twitter.com/09uOtjnJeS

— Kelly Purkey (@kellypurkey) June 2, 2017

5. I discovered the show The New Normal this week. I mean, I knew about it 5 years ago when it was on, but I finally started to watch it courtesy of iTunes this week and I loved it!  It's sweet and funny and the leads were amazing.  I can't believe it only lasted a season.  Based on the story line and the current times, it would be a perfect fit these days.  If you need something to binge and make you smile, I'd definitely recommend it!

Cheap Eats in the City

This past weekend, I was once again in New York.  We were there to see Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and also to do a few other things.  Charlie was not as fabulous as I had hoped, but I still haven't decided what I didn't like about it, so I won't be writing about it quite yet.  And the fleet week fun we had planned to have down at Pier 86 also didn't exactly work out as planned. So I won't be writing about that either.

What I will say is that we had the cheapest, and one of the best meals I've ever had in the city, thanks to one tiny discovery.  I'm not sure why I never realized this, but on 46th street between 8th and 9th Avenues, lies Restaurant Row.  The block is chock full of all types of restaurants. There's even a big light-up sign that says Restaurant Row, so I've decided I've been fairly blind this whole time.

Anyway, after ruling out Italian - thought I'll be back for Becco soon, we decided to have Dim Sum.  Now I love the idea of Dim Sum, but I've never found a place near me that had it. After chatting with the waitress, we ordered everything she told us too.  Honestly, I'm still not sure what we ate, but every last piece - other than the thing that may or may not have been tofu - was positively delicious!  The only embarassing part was that I needed to use a fork unlike my friends who were capable of using chopsticks.  Once I got razzed about that, I enjoyed the rest of the meal fully.

On top of this amazing meal, when we received the check, we were told that it was happy hour, which meant everything we ordered, including the beer one friend drank, was half price.  For 3 of us to stuff ourselves on dumplings was a grand total of $33! How great is that!?  The moral of the story is branching out of the comfort zone can be delicious and opening your eyes a little more can be quite helpful!

Friday Five

1. It's been a rough week full of not feeling very well and lots of work stuff, but I'm hoping to get back on track now that we have a 3 day weekend.  The fact that an 8 week course that we've been working on at work is finally over, and that Monday is Memorial Day and work is closed, makes me a very happy girl in deed!  Bring on some relaxation and fun!

2. I love, love, love the idea of a Pretty Woman musical.  I knew it was coming, but I didn't realize they were this far in the process.  Hopefully, they'll cast it with amazing people though for the life of me I don't know who they should get.  Based on their description of the Richard Gere part, I'd say David Tennant.  Who else do you know that is quite so instantly likable? : )

3. This week in Tony coverage saw the Featured Actresses out for a group lunch at a lovely Midtown restaurant, and the Featured Actors posing for an epic selfie together at the luncheon.  At what other award show do you ever see the nominees all pulling for each other like they do in the theatre?  It's ridiculously fabulous and uplifting to see!

4. Yes  I do know that the Keepers on Netflix is unbelievably disturbing, but I also know that it was ridiculously compelling.  I was hooked after the first episode.  I'm not sure I buy some of the things that were said, but the researchers really did their homework on this case.  And since it doesn't look like the police are investigating, it's a good thing they've invested so much time into finding justice.

5. The fact that vacation is just about a month a way, is giving me everything I need to power through the next month.  It's so close I can taste it, however there's so much to do between now and then.  I'm just gonna put my head down and get things done, because London is definitely calling...

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!

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!

NYC Lessons Learned

Last week, I took a quick day trip to New York to see a show at 54 Below and to do some sightseeing that I hadn't - for some reason - ever done.  I learned a few things on this trip that I'd like to share with you.

~ The Amtrak train service is just so much more civilized than taking the bus.  I had my own seat, with leg room, a table to lean on, and my own personal plug to charge my phone.  I also had another seat empty next to me for most of the trip.  It was so darn lovely.  Of course, coming home, the train was late, delayed by about 35 minutes, and some crazy lady was having a fight with her boyfriend on her phone for about 3 hours. However, based on my last few experiences on MegaBus, it was still more civilized...

~ Story, the curated store I love so much in Chelsea, takes at least 2.5 weeks to turn over their store design.  Because it was still not open this time around, even after I walked blocks and blocks to visit it.

~ It is quite possible to completely miss the actual restaurant part of Eataly in WTC.  However, if you follow the signs that say Restaurant -> you may just discover it.  Also, you'll be quite happy you did, because their Cacio y Pepe is to die for!

~ When dropping things in your wallet, pay attention to where you're going.  The door you think you're walking through just may be a glass window.

~ Defiant Girl is still a super busy tourist attraction.  However, she's surrounded by awesome ladies to chat with who are all striking the same pose as she is for photos, so the wait seems a bit easier.

~ Sitting in a coffee shop in the New York Times building for 2 hours isn't as enjoyable as one might think.  

~ Sitting at a table by your self, on the same side as the famous people at 54 Below is so intimidating.  So much so that you just might have a mini panic attack, and act thoroughly unhuman for the entire evening.

~ New York on a bright, sunshiny spring day is still pretty darn special!

Friday Five

1. Defiant Girl on Wall Street is pretty amazing!  I loved getting the chance to see her and I loved that she's still standing tall in face of adversity - by the bull or from her critics!

2. First off, I respect the heck out of Jimmy Kimmel for coming forward and saying what he did about his son and the new healthcare bill.  He's been through so much this past few weeks, but he was still able to be funny and impassioned.  Secondly, I love that they booked Shaun White because of his ties to this same issue that Jimmy's son.  Shaun White hasn't been in the news in a while, so I'm sure he wasn't earning Jimmy any ratings, but what a great way to reach out and have Shaun calm some of their fears!       
        

3. I had the chance to see the songs of Lewis Flynn last night at 54 Below.  Obviously, Andrew Rannells was the big draw. However, they premiered 3 songs from their new musical Robin Hood, and I'm hooked! The music and the cast are truly stellar.  The show is premiering in Dallas but I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it does so well, it reaches Broadway, because this really is some beautiful music!
         

4. A few weeks ago, ex-Raven Todd Heap had a personal tragedy in his life when he accidentally hit his daughter (whom he didn't realize had followed him into the driveway) with his truck, and killed her.  It's an awful story and I keep thinking about him and how truly tragic this is.  However, this week his family and friends joined in to celebrate her life with #HugsforHolly day.  Everyone was asked to wear pink (her favorite color) and do random acts of kindness.  To see so many people get involved was amazing!  Just look up the hashtag on Twitter, thousands of people joined in from ex-teammates to whole NFL organizations.  It was a beautiful way for a little good to come out of this tragedy.

5. This makes me laugh because I'm pretty sure this would happen to me if I ever met Stephanie Block : )

When @StephanieJBlock met @Sally_Field at @TheTonyAwards junket
vs. After @StephanieJBlock met @sally_field at @TheTonyAwards junket pic.twitter.com/1kF7SP4W0H

— TheaterMania (@theatermania) May 3, 2017

Met Gala: I Have Questions

Each year, I watch the Met Gala from afar and each year I ponder what in the world these people are thinking.  It's a great concept for creativity - dress up based on a theme and then party the night away.  I get it.  Dressing up is fun, and raising money for the Met is a fabulous idea.  This all sounds rather simple in theory.  But when you see the outfits these A-listers where, it all sort of falls apart.

Now, I have to say, I have no idea what this year's theme actually is.  I haven't been able to find that helpful piece of information yet. But based on what I'm seeing, the theme is based somewhere between fishnets and enormous outfits.  Honestly, I see nothing tying these women's dresses together except the sheer size of the dresses themselves. The dresses are enormous - super long trains, big poofy sleeves, extra fabric everywhere.  I'd first like to know how you're supposed to walk around and dance at a party with a train that's 4 feet long.  I'd then like to know how these women even attempt to use the restroom without dunking that 4 foot train in the toilet.

It's a conundrum!  I seem to only be picking on the girls, but I've seen a few of the guys get into the mix of craziness too.  To them, I'd like to say what's wrong with a simple tuxedo?  No man can go wrong in a tux.  Pharrell Williams - I love you, but ripped jeans at a gala?! 

After seeing the initial style of the red carpet, I'm quite curious to know how the couples decide on what to wear.  Because it seems like a matching affair.  I'm guessing the women are in charge of that particular aspect of the evening.  And if it were me, I would rather just give my guy a nice tuxedo so I can be the star of the show in my giant dress.  Doesn't that make sense?  Or does that make me a bad person?

And lastly, my biggest question of the night.  When all the dresses are made to be insane - how are some websites judging the best and worst looks of the night?  They're all pretty cuckoo - it's impossible to have a bad look when the point is to be the most outrageous!

Friday Five

1. Broadway Bakes for BC/EFA - I'm not a huge fan of Schmackary's cookies but I'm hooked on this fabulous idea!  What a great way to raise money for charity and support a bakery that everyone in the community frequents.  Also, I will actually be in the city that week - woohoo! Additionally, I promise I'm mentioning this because I in fact love the idea and not just the amazing people that are participating...

2. I went to see a show I knew nothing about this evening with a great friend.  Not only were we seeing  a new show, but we were also discovering a brand new theatre. The theatre itself was lovely - minus the ridiculous lack of parking.  However, the show was awesome!  I only wish it was still playing on Broadway so I could see it professionally.  Super cool if not just a wee bit confusing.

3. Last weekend I found the coolest bookstore ever.  It's called Books of Wonder and it's a Children's book store in Chelsea.  I swear they had every book known to man.  They had such a great selection that I purchased 3 books even though I had promised myself I'd be good.  Anyway, I can't wait to go back and wander some more.  Such a fun space for kids and adults alike.  Also, right across the street is Paper Presentation which is the coolest stationary store ever, so there's that too. : )

4. I'm not sure why this tickled me so much, but I laughed a lot.  Too funny!

Both of these grew on Dyckman Street
But I think one of them got more sunlight and water#UptownLove pic.twitter.com/uvBjKlK8TD

— Lin-Manuel Miranda (@Lin_Manuel) April 28, 2017

5. And this one, falls into the category - True but if you don't laugh, you'l cry.

…He’s been president for HOW long?! pic.twitter.com/JctEY7CUqf

— Late Night (@LateNightSeth) April 27, 2017

Monday: A Play in Three Parts

Part One: Morning
Monday morning was rough, because well, Monday mornings are always rough, aren't they? I hit the snooze button on my alarm a few more times than I had meant to, and was therefore behind before I even started the day.  Then I got to my car and there was ice on my windshield - never mind that it was the first day of spring... - that needed to be defrosted and my darn tire light was on which means I eventually need to get air in the flipping tire that loses air if you just look at it funny.  And all of this was before 6:30 am...

Part Two: Mid-Day
By mid-day, the frustrations had escalated to me yelling at Microsoft Word because it wouldn't do what I wanted it to.  That was pretty much the low point.  From there, things started looking up. I heard about the FBI investigation that was breaking news all day.  That definitely made me at least a little optimistic.  I also learned that BroadwayWorld was looking for someone to cover the upcoming RENT tour at the Hippodrome, and since I was the quickest email in the bunch, I got the free tickets and the assignment to write about one of my all time favorite shows. The Monday "blahs"started to disappear at that point.

Part Three: Evening
By the late afternoon, I learned that not only would I get one ticket, but I would get 2 so I could take the bestie with me - something she'd been hinting at all day.  I also learned that Andrew Rannells would be performing at 54 Below in May which may or may not have prompted me to buy yet another ticket to see a show there.  I mean, how could I not?  I was getting free tickets to RENT - tickets that are currently going for $200. Who was I not to spend $40 on a ticket to see someone lovely?

Anyway, there you have my Monday.  It sure sounds page-turning exciting doesn't it?  Here's hoping Tuesday is much calmer and contains a few of the happy surprises that this Monday did...

Came From Away Again

Yesterday was an exhausting but fabulous day spent in the city.  Now before you say - weren't you just there?! - I'd like to go on record as saying yesterday's trip had been planned for months before I decided to go rogue and buy Broadway Backwards tickets for last week.  So while both trips fell within days of each other, that wasn't the plan...

So this planned trip was planned so I could show off Come From Away to my travel friend, Jennifer.  She's always up for theater and we plan lots of trips to NY but she never saw Come From Away when it was here at Ford's.  So all of the love I've been sending it for the last six months, she didn't understand.  After seeing it last September, I've pretty much talked of nothing else.  I love everything about this show, and I'm so happy to say that it seems the critics and audiences do too.

This story of Gander New Foundland on September 11, 2001 is beautiful, and uplifting and just makes me happy every single time I talk about it.  At the time I said I liked it more than Hamilton, and that still holds true.  It's amazing and the cast is too!  So what was Jennifer's verdict, you ask.  While she didn't think it was better than Hamilton she agreed that it was something special.  I even caught her crying - something I did this time around, but not the first time.  Strange!  

The First Female American Captain in History - Beverly Bass

What was even cooler was Beverly Bass - the real life pilot portrayed in the show so masterfully by Jenn Collella, was in the audience yesterday, as well as the real Nick and Diane - a couple that met, and fell in love during that week in Gander and ultimately were married.  It's so fun to see the real people this show portrays fully embracing this production.  And it's also fun to see these people getting the credit and attention they deserve.  

After falling madly back in love with the tiny show that could - we headed to dinner and then decided to try to win tickets to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.  You see, there's a contest on Twitter to upload pictures of yourself in front of the "factory" and each week they pick the best picture, and give that person tickets.  And as you can see, we're totally going to win with the sheer amazingness of our photos, right? ; )

Nice York City

New York City gets a bad rap.  When people talk about it, they speak of New Yorkers who are so self involved that they plow right over you in the street and are constantly angry at you for daring to ruin their day.  After the last few trips, I'd like to say that that is most definitely not the case.  Those are the not the New Yorkers I come in contact with.  It's most often the tourists that are self-involved and rude.

Over the last few days, 

~ A nice man at the coffee counter didn't charge me for my tea because he didn't have the tea I ordered.  So he gave me an Earl Grey for free.

~ Two lovely gentlemen chatted with me at Broadway Backwards all evening and gave me all the goods on BC/EFA events that I should attend.

~ A waitress at the restaurant was manning the bar full of neighborhood guys, chatting with every single one like they were old friends.  While also attending to the few of us at the tables and being just as kind.

~ Ushers at the St. James working during a blizzard, being super helpful and giving everyone better seats because they weren't sold out.

These are the New Yorkers that I see and the reason I love the city so much!  If all cities could be so open and inviting,  the world would be a much happier place!

Presently Laughing

When it comes to seeing Broadway shows, I'm more of a musical girl than a play girl.  I see plays, but most definitely not as often as I see musicals.  However, on a snow day when the cheapest ticket is a play and when that play stars Kevin Kline, you take the ticket and roll with it.  

Present Laughter written by Noel Coward is basically a British farce, which are generally the types of plays I manage to see.  Apparently, I have a type.  Kevin Kline plays an aging actor in London in 1939, whose life - including an ex-ish wife, a secretary, a one night stand, a butler, a maid, 2 friends and another woman - is sort of happening all around him.  He thinks he's in charge of the situation, when in fact it's the women that are solving the problems and making him think that he is.  In other words, it's the perfect character for Kevin Kline to play.

He was hilarious!  He just seemed frazzled and slightly full of himself the entire show - which is perfect to play a Hollywood actor that is a little confused much of the time. Kate Burton and Cobie Smulders were also very, very good as his ex-ish wife and new possible girlfriend.  Both were funny and played the hate for each other perfectly!

The part I loved best was the set decoration and costuming.  Everything totally sold 1939 London.  I would have loved to take a stroll around the apartment set - and then set up shop in it.  Gorgeous!

Present Laughter is only a limited run, so I'm super happy to say I had the chance.  It wasn't my favorite, but on a snow day - there's no better way to pass the hours than cheap Broadway!

Dear Weather Gods,

Dear Weather Gods,

I'm usually all for the "let's give everyone a few snow days" talk that happens around the possibility of a huge winter storm.  I'm all about hunkering down in bed with Netflix, tea and a great book and blocking out the world for a few days while the mess stays outside.  But you see snow gods, I'm headed to New York tomorrow.  And this is a pretty exciting trip.  I'm finally getting to see Broadway Backwards which is a benefit for Broadway Cares.  It's a big deal and it's full of fabulous people that I can't wait to hear sing.  

So if you and your friends, the ice gods and the noreaster gods decide to drop the predicted 12 inches of snow on the East Coast, you could totally ruin my ability to get back home in a timely manner.  That's where we have a problem.  So if it's all the same to you, could you please just decide to start your spring-summer vacation a few days early, and hold the snow until next winter?  I'd gladly take a blizzard then.  Really, I don't mind.  Just let me enjoy my concert in peace.  

Your friend,

Kristen the Warm Weather and Sunshine Lover

Friday Five

1. Because I already bought tickets, this makes me so happy!  I absolutely adored Tales of the City when I read them years ago.  The 70s & 80s in San Francisco was such an interesting time, and the books captured that time so well.  I can't wait to see those books come alive on a New York stage, if for only one night.  

2. I finished Clinton Kelly's memoir - "I Hate Everyone Except You" - this past week and I have to say it might well be the funniest book I've read in a very long time. He's just so clever and sarcastic, and it really comes across in his writing.  I'm hoping he writes another soon because I could use some more laughs in my life!

3. I've never been the person that stays up to watch the late shows.  I love them all, but I'm just way too old lady-ish to make it past midnight.  But in today's political climate, it sucks to miss all the good stuff that's happening on these shows.  That's why I love the new Late Night in Review on the New York Times.  Each morning they share the best lines, and the best segments, and preview the next night's shows.  And if it turns out I missed something amazing, then I can just go online and watch what I missed.  It's just so much easier than staying up past my bedtime...

4. I've been looking back at Twitter to see what my other favorites are from this week, and it's been hard to really find anything.  It's been pretty slow here.  However, looking at all the ridiculous things I've liked in the past few months has made me laugh and smile quite a bit, so I suppose Twitter is one of my favorites this week.  Social Media may be the end of civilization, however you can't argue that there is some good in it.

5. And lastly, because I had such a great time seeing Brandon Uranowitz at 54 Below, I have to share the video I've had on repeat since then.  I didn't think I'd like anyone better singing this song than Christian Borle, but Brandon was amazing!

          

Friday Five

1. Excuse the language on this one, but it's amazing!  Our President's press conference yesterday was ridiculous to say the least, and Seth lets him have it for it.  
            

2. Seeing a show I've never seen before live.  I had read Peter and the Starcatcher but never caught it on Broadway.  So when Bowie Playhouse announced they'd be doing it, I was pretty excited.  I gotta say, even though the actors were pretty great, the show is still just as weird as it was when I read it.  I just don't get it.  But the rest of the audience seemed to love it, so maybe there's something wrong with me...

3. The best news I've heard all week is the casting of Miranda Hart as Mrs. Hanigan in Annie in the West End.  I've been wanting to see Miranda Hart in something fabulous since her television show went off the air, and now that I'll be in England this summer, this is the perfect excuse.  I'm pretty sure she'll be brilliant!

4. I'm sort of a sucker for Children's books about very diverse things.  I like kids books to share stories about lives in other places or about things that you don't usually see kids books about.  Add to that, great art that I've always loved and you've got a winner.  That's why I'm pretty excited about this kids book about Keith Haring.  I've always loved his simple drawings (his artwork was the logo for the original Falsettos!) and now there's a great kids book about his life and why art's so important.  Can't wait to snag it!

5. Coming from someone who saw this show in person, I have to say that this review is spot on!  I'm so happy for Brandon Uranowitz and also I'm pretty happy for me, because with reviews like this, it means he's gotta do another engagement, right?!

Newsies - Read All About It!

I sort of missed the whole Newsies on Broadway thing a few years ago.  Well, I suppose that's not totally accurate. I sort of deliberately missed the whole craze.  I had seen what Disney did to my Mary Poppins, and had been avoiding any and all Disney on Broadway attempts since then.  However, when the chance to see it in a movie theater, for a whole lot less than the price of a Broadway ticket, came up, I decided to take the leap.

This new craze of filming shows and showing them on the big screen might just be my new very favorite thing!  I still much prefer theater, however if it's a show I'm just a little interested in, it doesn't make sense to foot the bill for a theater ticket.  So seeing them from the comfort of a movie theater for about a quarter of the price is the next best thing.  And what makes this Newsies on Film thing even stranger is that Newsies closed a few years ago.  They re-assembled the cast and crew to film it and then release it on film.  Now that's dedication to arts!

So after all that, what did I think about it?  I thought it was amazing!  Disney may have finally won back my heart.  I've actually never even seen the original movie either, so I walked in completely unsure of what to expect.  But now after seeing the musical, I might need to see the real movie as well.  Jeremy Jordan and Kara Lindsay were fabulous as the leads.  I only knew Jeremy Jordan from playing a jerk on Smash, so it was nice to see him place a nice guy for a change.  It was also fun to see Andrew Keenan Bolger act since I've fallen in love with his writing.  But that's just the main characters.  The rest of the cast were immensely talented.

The choreography was very dance heavy, so I'm thinking most of the newsies had a dance background, which meant huge tapping and gymnastic numbers.  Those are always crowd pleasers and in this case, they were show-stoppers.  At one point the dancers are all dancing on individual newspapers.  It's hard to explain, but it was awesome!  And I haven't even mentioned the music yet.  I'm not sure how I've never heard these songs, but now that I have, they're stuck in my head, where I'm sure there'll be for a while.

All in all, Newsies is fun for the whole family and I highly recommend it.  After seeing the crowd that was there for this first showing, I'm pretty darn sure Fandango will be showing it again - loads of times!

Snowy Days

Like I said yesterday, I was lucky enough to see 2 shows and one live taping while I was snowed in in New York.  Some of these things were better than others.

First up was Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812.  Here's the thing.  I'm the one person in my theater friend group that's been promoting this show.  I'm the only one that actually wanted to see it.  I mean, it's based on War and Peace, so I was assuming it was going to be a hard sell.  But I thought Josh Groban would tip the scales for them.  Unfortunately, he didn't so that's why I bought one ticket for me. 

Of course, Josh Groban just happened to get a cold the day I finally would get to see it.  But understudies are usually fabulous too, so I was still positive.  Based on the stage alone, I would enjoy the show.  Have you seen a more beautiful Broadway stage ever?'

But even the wonderful understudy and the beautiful stage couldn't make me like this show. I hate to say it, but I hated it! I think it may have had something to do with it being just too giant.  There were actors everywhere - dancing on the stage, in the audience, on tables in people's faces.  There was so much going on, I never knew where to look.  Also, the music was so loud, I couldn't understand what anyone was saying. Every other review I've read has said this show was amazing, so I'm not sure what it was exactly that made it so terrible to me but I'm not willing to spend the money to try it again, just to see if Josh Groban would make it better.  

That was Wednesday - luckily, my fabulous experience at 54 Below erased most of the Great Comet disaster of that day.  On Thursday, the snows came which was no good since I had a ticket to see a Live with Kelly taping.  So after trudging through the snow, I finally arrived at the studio where I was ushered to my seat to see Jeffrey Dean Morgan co-host.  Of course, Kelly Ripa was there too.  But let's be honest, I was there to see JDM.  Anyway, aside from the frozen feet that were snow-logged, I had a blast.  It's so weird to see the behind the scenes action up close.  But for the most part, it all looks like it does on television.

I thought it was a little weird that the producers would instruct us when to clap and how loudly to clap.  Also, during commercial breaks I assumed the hosts would just chat to each other, but no.  They would chat with the audience and take pictures with people who asked.  It was all very interactive.  I had a blast and I would definitely do it again - hopefully on a day when it's not snowing 3 inches per hour...

After retreating to my hotel room to beat the cold, I bravely made a decision to go back out in the mess to see if could snag tickets to some show that evening for cheap.  It seemed a waste to just watch tv in Manhattan when Broadway was a block away.  The show I got luck with was In Transit.  This was something that I sort of wanted to see because a friend had seen it and said it was "kinda cute."  But it wasn't anything that I just had to get tickets too.  However, after seeing it, I'm totally in love with it!  It was fantastic and so much better than the Great Comet.  It's a musical that's totally sung Acapella - no band whatsoever, which is impressive enough. But add to that the sweet story and the great jokes, and you have a great little musical.  This was definitely one that I would see again.

Thank goodness I liked it, because after all that snow I think I was owed at least one win... : )

Mendel Sings it Out

When I was stuck in New York, I had the pleasure of seeing 2 Broadway shows and a taping of Live! with Kelly, all of which were lovely in their own ways.  However, the real reason I was in New York was to see Brandon Uranowitz in his very first show at Feinsteins @ 54 Below.  And I have to admit, I've never been so happy to see a solo performance in all my life!  I had the very best time, and left having the biggest smile on my face.  He definitely made me a very happy girl!

A few months ago, Brandon - who played Mendel in the Falsettos production I keep gushing about - announced he'd be doing a few shows at Feinsteins and that this would be the very first time he'd ever done something like this.  Because I loved him in Falsettos, I bought the ticket immediately.  Also, I knew from some digging that famous friends sometimes show up un-announced as special guests, and I had hoped that this would be the case.  Then a few weeks ago, he announced that Stephanie J. Block would be joining him for one night only - and somehow I got lucky, that it was the night I'd be there. Woohoo!

Even though I was excited about the show, I was still a bit nervous.  I don't really like going to events like these alone.  Making awkward small talk with the person you've been seated with is just odd.  But again, I got lucky and was seated with 2 other theater-nerds that were there by themselves as well.  We spent the hour leading up to the show gushing about our love for Broadway and specifically Falsettos.  If that wasn't enough, we were graced with the presence of Andrew Rannells and Christian Borle who were there to cheer on Brandon and Stephanie.  I must admit, I got a little tongue-tied at that point, and had to make a serious effort to not continuously stare at their table - which was about 10 feet away!!! (I was so good at trying not to embarrass myself that I missed the chance to sneak a smile at Andrew when I heard his voice as he was heading to the men's room and I was heading to the ladies...Why can't I be not me for like 30 seconds?!)  This seems to happen a lot at 54 Below, and if I lived in the city, I think I'd go broke just hanging out to see who I could spot going in.

The best pic I could snap of Rannells and Borle...

Anyway, enough about my crush on cute Broadway stars, it was finally time for the show to start. And here's where I gush.  If he hadn't said that this was his first time doing something like this, I would have thought he'd been performing like this for years.  He was unbelievable!  He was funny and sweet.  He told hilarious stories about himself and his life, while singing the beautiful music of Bill Finn.  He shared the stage with Stephanie J. Block, his partner and another friend, and sang gorgeously with all 3.  He was gracious to his friends in the audience that came, as well as everyone else that was there to see him.  To put it simply, he was absolutely fabulous! He represented the music well and also was able to throw a lot of himself into the show, which is always a trait of a great performer.

In the end, I left thinking  that all I want to do is sit down and have lunch with this amazing man. And I hope that he realizes just how well he performed, because if he never does this again, I'll be super sad but super happy I got to see him at least once.