Remembering Eartha Kitt

Entertainment Weekly has a well written article on the passing of the one and only Eartha Kitt. We saw the same cabaret tour here in Seattle and it was amazing. Even though we didn't know a single song she sang we enjoyed every one. How many performers can you say that about! EW links to some great YouTube videos so enjoy!

Boom!

On Tuesday, we journeyed across the water and into the rain, fighting the urge to snuggle up under a warm blankie and stay home. Ahh...winter in Seattle. Dark, cold and wet.

Part of the reason we picked up season tickets to the Rep is that I love the play Waiting for Godot. Imagine my annoyance when that shows ends up being canceled (apparently the backer, well backed out) and the substitute show was nothing we were even remotely interested in. But we had wanted to see Boom which was on the seven show subscription pack and we had only bought the five show season.

A nerdy marine biologist calculates that the end of the world is near and posts an online personals ad, hoping to romance the girl that will help him ensure the survival of the species. But when push comes to shove, saving life on earth on the first date proves to be a bit of a challenge. Exciting new playwright Nachtrieb brings us this funny, slightly warped and ultimately hopeful look at the apocalypse.

Thankfully, the Rep was willing to swap our tickets from the uninteresting replacement show for the very interesting "not in our package" show. So even though we were tempted to stay at home and drink cocoa, we climbed in the car and braced our suburban selves to park in Seattle. I hate paying for parking!

After a brisk walk to the theater (hey- we only pain $5 to park) we settled in our seats and waited for the show to begin. Boom has a surprisingly small cast, only three actors and one of them is more of a narrator than a participant. We were pleased to see Nick Garrison again as the male lead Jules. We last saw him as the MC in Cabaret, (remember- he's the one who called me a whore). It was great fun to see him on a small stage and with such a small cast. He did a fantastic job and I hope we see him again soon.

At first I was put off by the role of Barbara, brilliantly acted - dear God I hope she was acting - by Gretchen Krich. But about a third of the way through I was riveted. She has this amazing monologue about her conception that is worth attending the show just for those few minutes!

I will caution that expletives are used frequently throughout the show. The two favorites being "fu*k" and "mother fu*ker". For the rest of this blog post I'll substitution "bunny" and "fluffy bunny". Yes. Fluffy Bunny. I want you to work that in to every day conversation. I think the proper tone will properly convey your meaning. Plus you can say it in front of small children.

The character of Jo (female) was probably my least favorite of the three. She had some good moments, and some not so good one. She is best characterized by her turret's like use of bunny and fluffy bunny in every other sentance. Barbara also likes to say fluffy bunny, but I liked it better when she said it.

If you have a chance, Boom was a fluffy bunny-ing good night out, well worth the trek out of the suburbs. Fluffy Bunny.

NKOTB at the Tacoma Dome

Hummana hummana hummana. I have to confess to being a HUGE NKOTB fan in my childhood. I remember watching the Wonderful World of Disney one Saturday night and live from Epcot my fist crush rushed onto the stage. It was New Kids on the Block rocking out "Hangin' Tough" and I instantly fell in love with Joey. Sigh. He was sooo pretty....

One of my friends (who had way nicer parents than mine) had everything. Cassette tapes, the comforter, dolls, sleeping bag and all the walls in her room were covered with posters. I loved playing at her house. The only thing I had that she didn't was their Christmas album (which is still one of my favorites) because they were Jewish. I let her borrow it on the sly but don't tell her parents!

Since I had mean parents who wouldn't let me go to the concert I had to wait for their reunion to live out my childhood fantasy. And let me tell you it was worth the wait!!!!

I sent out a mass email to all my friends to see who wanted to go with me and everyone turned me down...this is what happens when your friends are either younger or older and are just out of my generation. I am smack dab in the middle of the NKOTB fan base being 2 weeks shy of my 30th birthday. Most of the time its fine, but at moments like these I wish my old buddy wasn't in California now. So my sweet husband came with.

Before the show started people could text message to the big boards to win front row "face time" for 3 songs. Some of the messages were so fun! I wasn't the only one with mean parents that didn't let me go as a kid. There were moms who'd brought their kids who they'd indoctrinated into the NKOTB love. The PA was playing a great selection of classic 80s music so the crowd was getting in the groove before anyone hit the stage. The 80s wear was in full swing including mini skirts paired with leg warmers. The people watching was prime.

The show opened just before 8pm with Lady Gaga who we'd never heard of. At first she was a little off putting, it was like Madonna meets Britney. But she actually was really awesome, very pop/techno. We wondered how many arobic classes she has taught to keep that kind of energy going! Ryan is going to look for her videos.

Next up was Natasha Beddingfield who I had orinally been really excited about but her set was much mellower and the crowd settled down. She got us riled up again at the end mainly by mentioning NKOTB. Her voice was amazing, but I think she would be a better fit for smaller more intimate venues.

Just after 9:30 NKOTB finally came onstage and the Tacoma Dome exploded. I have never been at a show where the audience cheered so loud for so long. I could barely hear them singing the cheering was so loud. They did a great job keeping the crowd revved up and I was amazed at how sharp their coreography was. They really did set the standard for the modern boy band. At one point they started taping the crowd dancing so they could watch it later on the bus, I think we gave them a great show!

The men had aged very nicely and Donnie has no problem playing up his hotness. Ryan was a little put off by the butt and crotch grabbing (and Jordan had this awesome unbuttoned shirt ballad) but the female audience was very enthusiastic. Donnie toyed with the audience by starting to take his belt off and then gave us a "no-no" finger wag.

We had floor seats again (farther back then for Celine) but when they moved to Stage B (I heart Stage B) they were literally 15-20 feet away. Damn me for not bringing the camera! They sang two songs on the mini revolving stage and I got to look at their prettiness nice and close. This was when the panties flew...the guys were awesome and were taking fans cameras and taking pictures of each other before they handed them back. By the time the finale hit bras were flying! Saucy!

My fantasy felt complete, they had sung Hangin' Tough, You've Got the Right Stuff and Step by Step. The only thing that would have made it better was if they'd sung something off their Christmas albumn!

My only negative comment is that they used a projector for their screens and it was pretty crappy compared to whatever Celine Dion used. Hers were crystal crisp! Hopefully they can upgrade for their next tour :)

Wikipedia has a great article on the history of the group, and I totally loved this article from the Seattle Times about her own NKOTB love, and lastly, Spew did a great write up of the show (with pictures!) that is more unbiased than mine!

The Drowsy Chaperone

Dear Lord in Heaven- please let this it be good.

These were the first words we heard from the narrator as we sat in the dark of the 5th Avenue Theater. The lights went down but instead of the first stirring musical strains of the overture, there was silence. And then more silence. And then the sarcastic wit of the narrator began.

The premise of the Drowsy Chaperone is so crazy that it is brilliant. We are watching a contemporary Broadway fan that is feeling blue (and there is a whole monologue on what that feeling is) as he sits in his apartment and puts on his favorite record from the 1920s.

What I loved the most is how he pauses the record to tell us about the actors (who died and their face was eaten by the poodles) and their star status (she started as the "Opps Girl") and the relationships between them. One of my favorite moments was when the narrator tells us that the lyrics to the next song are awful, don't even listen to them! But the music is wonderful. And then he is up and dancing along.

This was another show without an intermission, but the "fake" intermission was so funny becuase the second record was from a different show! So suddenly we're watching something else entirely! Rosa the cleaning lady is told not to touch the records, but she just doesn't listen. The narrator does not like intermissions, he feels that they ruin the magic as you are forced back in to reality for 20 minuets. Darn the need for potty breaks.

The other great gag is when the phone rings and the narrator gets annoyed beacuse, yet again, his magic is being ruined! And don't you just hate it when people get calls at the theater?

This was a wonderful show, and for the first time I am sorely tempted to go back and see something for a second time. If you are a fan of MST3000 (and if you don't know what that is I'm not going to tell you) this show is for you. If you like scarcsam, this show is for you! If you loved the costumes in Mame, this show is for you (the same person did them and they are fabulous)!

Now go get your ipod and download the soundtrack!

Electra - Daddy's Revenge Obsessed Little Girl

Due to a scheduling conflict we had to change our opera tickets to Halloween. It was great fun to see costumes mixed in with the regular opera goers. I wore my tiara and a sparkly dress. We saw some life guards in very tight spandex and a fabulous group wearing Greek costumes.

We joined the Bravo Club (major discounts and fun events for those of you under 40) and we hit their event before the show. Free wine is always a plus in my opinion! And we even had a pleasant conversation with a guy who just got back from Nepal.

The show itself is very short, and there is no intermission. But it is a very powerful work. What I noticed the most is that while a Broadway show intertwines the score with the lyrics, the singers in Electra were often times singing in direct contrast to the orchestra.

Electra is a Greek tragedy with a story that starts before this oprea. Helen of Troy has been abducted and the Spartan's need to be big bad asses and go get her back. It's a pride thing. But someone has offended the God's, so the King sends for his daughter (telling her and his wife that he's making her a high priestess). Lie! Instead he scarifies her so the winds will change and he and his army can leave the harbor. Needless to say this makes his wife very unhappy. So when he comes back from war (and that tricky Trojan horse trick) his wife and her lover kill him in the bath tub.

According to Greek law a son must avenge the killing of his father so the young prince is spirited away before he can be killed first. This leave Electra and her sister living at the palace and so this opera begins.

Electra is obsessed with revenge for her father's death (she even keeps the sword he was killed with so that she has it ready when her brother returns) while her sister just wants to live a normal life. But their mother has paid a price for her treachery, she has been unable to sleep since she murdered her husband and she lives in fear of the return of her son. Since this is a tragedy, and a Greek one at that, I'm sure it comes at no surprise that things don't end well.

At the end the prince comes home, the mother and lover are killed, and Electra has nothing to live for so she dies. But what was the most moving moment of the opera was when Electra's sister (the one who just wanted to be normal, have babies and be like other girls) is holding the body of her dead sister, and the newly returned brother slowly distances himself from her and locks her out of the palace!!!!!

Those Greeks sure knew their drama.

All for One and One for All!

On Tuesday we saw the first show of our Seattle Rep season. When the dear husband and I started dating in 2000 he got me a season package for my birthday. But that was when we were both under 25 and it was soooo cheap for the 5 show package.

Now we have to pay full price, sigh, but we got excited about seeing the 3 Musketeers and I have always loved Waiting for Godot. I am really disappointed that Godot got bumped and I am not excited at all to see the replacement!

But back to the Musketeers. Overall it was a good show. Not great, but good. The Seattle Times wrote an accurate (and slightly scathing) review and we had to agree with their conclusions. And like the reviewer, we both had a hankering to go rent our favorite musketeer movie on our way home.

Celine Dion

OMG. This - was - amazing!

First off, we took the Sounder train to the Tacoma Dome which was so easy. We will definitely be taking it again to see NKOTB next month. Correction- Sounder isn't available for NKOTB. I'm so bummed...but the lucky ticket holders for AC/DC will!

The opening act for Celine was great. He does impressions, mostly by singing famous songs and changing the words. Willie Nelson singing about all the pot he's smoke, Bob Dylan being intelligible in concert (he nailed that one as we've seen Bob Dylan and it wasn't pretty) Michael Jackson and his plastic surgeries...but the bests were Jack Nicholson and Tom Cruise.

We had awesome seats on the floor (thank you dear husband) in row 7. Celine was right in front of us and we felt like she spent most of the time facing us. Listening to other people discussing the show on the train, not everyone felt that way. The coolest part of the evening was when Celine walked RIGHT PAST ME. She was literally two feet away. And she walked past me TWICE. I could have reached out and touched her if the burly security guy hadn't been in the way. But totally cool. For some reason I had it in my head that she was really tall, but as she walked past me she is teeny tiny!

Celine changed clothes even more times than Dolly by disappearing into the stage and then popping up in a new outfit. She started out in the short pink and silver sequined number that I loved. Her costumes must be measured to the millimeter because they were so short that we were both expecting to see a panty shot (it never happened). Celine is in amazing shape and looked great in all her outfits. Next up was a black and white mini dress number that seemed to have lots of large beading with theigh heigh (or taller) black boots. Then she wore a western style outfit with black flared pants and a sequined vest. Then she changed into this white retro mini dress with these awesome theigh high boots that wrapped around. I need these shoes! Next there was something with this billowy cape, then it was this great gold and silver sequined minidress and then she ended in this black number that also billowed. Or something pretty close to that order! She changed clothes a ton!

Celine gives an amazing performance, you would be hard pressed to tell the difference between the live show and a CD. Amazing. The best part was how sweet Celine was. She connected to the audience and almost cried on stage at one point. You could totally tell that she and everyone else in the band were having a great time and loved what they were doing. My sweet husband commented how she looked like someone who was just about to make it big, not a performer that made 200 million in ticket sales while performing in Vegas.

One of the highlights of the evening was when she did a tribute to Queen (complete with photo montage) and sang The Show Must Go On. She sang one song in French which I really liked (I had been curious how many she would do) which I knew from her (duh) French Albumn. She also sang It's All Coming Back to Me Know (one of my favorites!!!) River Deep, Mountain High (anoter of my favorites!!!), Because You Loved Me, and she ended the night with My Heart Will Go On (oh come on, you know you like it to).

Playing Dress Up

We got invited to the best birthday party last Saturday! It was a Black&White/Mobster theme so Ryan and I had lots of fun!

You can't tell from the picture, but my boa lights up! I love Halloween! The only downer was Ryan had to leave his fedora at the door, but I think we still look pretty good. As the birthday girl put it "you guys are SO hot!".

I have to point out that the dear husband married me in that tux 7 1/2 years ago and he is still looking good!

Don't you want to invite us to your next themed party???

Shrek - the Musical

August sure was a busy month! We wrapped it up by seeing Shrek the Musical. Seattle is the first city in the world to see the show, and our input will affect any changes before it opens on Broadway. It was a good show, but not totally there yet. The scenes that they dropped in from the movie were ok, but fell flat to us. Where the show really shined was with it's original material and cast.

My favorite song was when Princess Fiona was waiting in her castle and singing about how this will be the day that her handsome prince comes for her. There are three Fiona's that rotate through the number to show the passage of time and the frustration of waiting.

My second favorite is when Shrek and Fiona are bonding and trying to one up one another on how awful their childhoods are. Their unifing characteristic is that they both feel abandoned by their parents. 

Strong moments were anythign with Lord Farquad - the creativity of the costuming was fabulous. I felt bad for the actors knees, since he was running around on them all night! 

But they really need to figure out the dragon and how to work it (it was part giant puppet part lady and part back up singers in spiky dresses). The singer's voice was amazing, so I hope they figure it out soon. 

Donkey needs to just forget that Eddie Murphy ever existed and just create a new role for himself (and get a better costume). When he got away from the movie moments, he was wonderful but when he was trying to channel Eddie Murphy it just fell flat. 

All in all, we enjoyed it much more than we thought we would and will be picking up the cast soundtrack when it comes out in January. 

Aida

On August 23 we attended our first opera and we were suitably impressed. The costumes and sets were sumptuous and the cast was spectacular. The part that totally blew me away was the voices. There was a full orchestra and I was surprised to learn that opera singers do not use microphones. So even though we were WAY up in the nosebleed section we heard every word. It was just astonishing!

Glorious pageantry, rousing choruses, and a basketful of great tunes elevate the moving tale of forbidden love between general and slave girl in ancient Egypt. The grandest of all grand operas, Aida is also an intensely personal love story overflowing with passions as up to the minute as our own. Verdi’s power to translate human emotion into magnificent music was at its zenith when he created this highly original and enjoyable masterwork, arguably the best evening’s entertainment he ever devised. (Summary from the Seattle Opera)

The other interesting aspect of opera is how much longer it is than say a Broadway show. Aida was 3 hours and 22 minutes with two intermissions. 

Things I have learned - place your drink order before the first intermission and go ahead and get that snack you eyed at the first intermission at the second. We picked up a really neat poster that has the dates the show ran (something you can't get at a Broadway show) and a great book that had the sound recording, history and libretto of the production. 

We are really looking forward to our season at the Seattle Opera!

Dolly Parton - Yee Haw!

On August 8th we saw Dolly Parton. Now, even though I had a nasty case of bronchitis, the show was amazing! It's really difficult to not sing or cheer at a show!

Just like Eartha Kitt, Dolly knew how to connect with an audience. The show was at the WaMu Theater (where we last saw Daft Punk) so it was much smaller than say a show at Key Arena. She started right on time at 8pm and there was no opening band. She played for about an hour and then we had an intermission! Then Dolly changed outfits and came out again for another hour. I was so please because she sang one of my favorite songs - I Will Always Love You - which she does SO much better than Whitney Houston. 

During her vamping section she made some great jokes about her buxomness and how hard it is to look that good and how all her instruments where white with sparkles, even the piano! 

She played a new song Backwoods Barbie which is the title of her new album. The back story of how she always admired the town hooker and wanted to be pretty just like her was hilarious! 

All in all, a great show and we would definitely see her again!

Eartha Kitt

A few weeks ago we had the privledge to see the incredibly talented Eartha Kitt at Jazz Alley. You may know her as the Cat Woman paired with Adam West in the 60s (she was the one with the definitive meow) or perhaps her rendition of "Santa Baby" that gets played over the holidays. There's her role as Madame Zeroni in the hit movie Holes and her voice acting as Yzma in the Emperor's New Groove (both the movies and the television show). She just won a second emmy at age 81 for her voice work on the tv show.

But did you know about all the other work she's done? A dancer, a caberet singer, and a broadway star?

My husband and I first saw her as the fairy godmother in the touring musical Cinderella and we were amazed at this woman in her 70s dancing around and showing of these amazing legs! At 70!

Well, she is now 81 and she can still dance and her legs are just as lovely. Her show was amazing and we felt privledge to be there. She was so funny and honest and just wonderful. If you ever get the chance to see her live, don't miss it!

Jazz Alley is a great venue and while the food was pricey it was worth every tasty bite!

New Puppy! Welcome Fiyero

When my husband and I started dating he came with a dog and I came with a bunch of cats. One of his friends once told me that he must really love me to move in with cats. That was seven years ago and while his dog and several cats have passed on, the last four years have been empty with just cats in the house.

After a lot of discussion we decided not to go with another Sheltie. We didn't want Sabrina's awesomeness to color a new dog, and as she had always been more Collie like then Sheltie like, we started looking for Collie breeders. There aren't a lot of them available and while we talked to breeders in Oregon, Washington and Canada it took us two years to find a breeder that we liked, was a responsible breeder and go though the adoption process. If people parents had to think about having a baby as much as we did answering the application questions there would be less bratty kids in the world.

We were ecstatic to pick up a puppy last Friday from Marko's Collies and bring him home. He is such a sweetie and his puppy training is going well. I've been reading a great dog book "Be the Dog" that focusing on being the pack leader for your dog. The author is local and I heard him talk on NPR. I need to find one of his cat books and see if I can't break some of our bad kitty habits.

Fiyero is a show puppy, so the dear husband will be showing him. Mama is a champion and Dad is only a few points away so we have high hopes for puppy. We chose a name from the musical "Wicked" and if we ever get a girl she'll be Elphaba. Yup, we are that cheesy.

High School Musical!

Ok, I have the best husband in the world! Not many men would be happy to accompany their wife to see Disney's High School Musical - the Musical without any children as a scapegoat for attending. And have a fun time too:)

The best part about attending shows that attract kids is their pure enjoyment. Little boys were excited to be there, tween and teen girls were excited to be there and the number of families (mom, DAD and kids) was just great. I love to see a new generation be exposed to the joys of musical theater. I think the best example of this was when Troy is singing "Get Your Head in the Game" and he ponders if he should try out for the musical and this little voice shouts out "Yes!"- it came from the main floor but we heard the excitement up in the balcony.

The set design was just great, they managed to use rotating locker segments to dress the scenes fantastically. The voices and talent of the actors was just great (and I did compare by watching HSM 1 & 2 the next day). Reading the cast list I got a jolt to see that Mr. Bolton (Troy's dad) was played by Ron Bohman who has been Phantom in Phantom on Broadway. Yow-za!

There were some minor changes in the stage version, but a nice summary is on Wikipedia. The most notable change was the kiss at the end! Shocking!

My only disappointment was in the swag, nothing was quite to my taste but I take comfort in knowing that the Disney machine has enough merchandise out there that I should be able to find something. To date my best show swag has been my embroidered Lion King bag. It's awesome and is the best work back I've ever had! Next up on our show schedule - Shrek the Musical.

My Fair Lady

We caught My Fair Lady at the Paramount. Parking was an adventure, we ended up in the same garage twice, which was not cool, but the show itself more than made up for it. The parking debacle really made an impression on how valuable the free parking with our 5th Ave season tickets is!

The sets were amazing as were the actors. We love the movie version (but don't get us started on how Julie Andrews was robbed) and the set and costume designers brought out the best elements of the movie. Including the stunning white dress Eliza wears to the embassy ball.

While our Professor Higgins had an excellent voice, I didn't feel that Rex Harrison talked his way through that much of the movie. We had an extra treat in that the actress playing Eliza also starred in the new Mary Poppins musical in London. I can't wait for that show to make it to town and it was great to have a chance to hear her voice. An interesting bit of staging (and different from the movie) was how Alfie Doolittle's song and dance was transformed in to a giant stomp-like piece. It was intense and very well received by the audience.

We were so glad to be able to see My Fair Lady done by a professional company.

I picked up an awesome souvenir shirt that says "I'm a Good Girl I Am". Which I'm sure all of our friends will agree!

Cabaret was Ooh La La!

On our actual anniversary (when State Patrol caught me speeding 5 miles out of town!) we got an email to upgrade our Cabaret tickets. I called immediately and we were booked for the "Kit Kat Klub" complete with cabaret tables where the orchestra pit normally is AND a bottle of wine to drink during the show!

This was our "surprise" show, neither the DH or myself had seen a movie, knew any plot or had any kind of expectations. We loved it! This actually ended up being one of our favorites of the season.

We got all dolled up and I did a bit of research for 1930s fashions and I even had a dress in my closet that was totally period appropriate. Ice blue, halter neck, dipping in the back and matching vintage fur. Check! The DH was his usually dashing self in his tux.

At the intermission someone asked the DH if we were part of the show! Even better (and the highlight of my night) was after the intermission. The MC character was vamping with those of us in the Kit Kat Klub seats. He started with an older lady and was all "darling, look at you, why it looks like your head is erupting". She did have an odd feather collar. We were in the center, and he chose to vamp with me next!!! He was "darling, look at you, you look fabulous, just like a whore. And look at you (to the DH) you're just happy to be with her." Then he proceeded to call me a whore a few more times. Then he went to the other side and started teasing this gay couple. He made a rhythm joke and I laughed, and the MC looked back at me and said "the whore gets it". It was awesome!!!!! Normally I would object to being called a whore in front of that many people but in this case it was great. Plus I felt extra good because there were a lot of dressed up women in the Kit Kat Klub he could have called a whore instead.

It was amazing being 4 feet away from the stage. We could see every detail, bump and grind. It was quite a saucy show but it was right up our alley. I called the 5th ave and moved our season renewal from the balcony (which we had enjoyed and re-upped for) to the main floor.

The staging was amazing. At the end of act one when they dropped all these Nazi posters I had this conflicted feeling, I wanted to applaud the actors and their performance but I just couldn't bring myself to clap with the propaganda banners hanging. It was such a horrible feeling that trying to imagine living during the 1930s when it was happening must have been just awful. Thankfully, the MC came out and mocked the salute which changed the mood enough to allow the audience to applaud. The other touching moment was the story line between the German landlord and the Jewish fruit shop owner. Their duets and acting were so moving!

We would defiantly see this again!

Mame! and Matchbox 20

Back to back Saturdays couldn't have been more different. First up we saw Mame which was one of our "surprise" shows at the 5th Ave. We didn't have any idea what we were getting in to but we both loved it! As part of our season tickets we got an extra "bonus" ticket so we took a friend who just started a neat new job. She loves Mame and was very excited to go. Over dinner she was telling us about a reviewer who called it dated. Fie I say! As a younger theater goer the costumes were amazing (so sparkly!) and I already know all about what it's like to live today. I find it to be enjoyable to have a peek back to the past. I loved the idea of the young nephew following his aunt and her friends around learning all kinds of new vocabulary words :)

The following Saturday we caught Matchbox 20 at the Key. The show started promptly at 7pm (which is always nice). This was the third time for us and they put on a fantastic show as always. The crowd was really diverse- we saw 'tweens with their families, young twenties, guys without girls, girls with out guys, and couples of all ages.

The opening band was from New Orleans and called New Math. They only played for 20 minutes but the amount of energy they used was phenomenal. It was like Sting (in his Police years) mashed with Stomp. At the end all the musicians were on the drums while the drummer was standing on a drum on top of the piano and then he jumped off! That must have been some seriously reinforced musical equipment. I would see them again and wouldn't be surprised if they make it big.


Next up was Alanis Morissette and she played for about 45 minutes. I'm not a fan, but I usually like what they play on the radio. I was really impressed with her performance. She seemed so genuine as she sang. And she sounded amazing! You know how sometimes you buy the CD and see a show live and think "wow, they sure digitally enhanced that performance". Alanis did a great job warming the audience up and I really liked the way she introduced her band members one at a time in between songs so they each got a moment of glory.

And then...there were up! And for 2 glorious hours Matchbox 20 played. It was a 5 hour show with all three bands (and the breakdowns between sets). One of the things we love about them is the light show and they did not disappoint! The start was a giant spaceman complete with countdown clock. The Exile in America Tour was mainly old material with a smattering of new songs thrown in. Post reunion, it was nice to notice that Rob Thomas highlighted his band members better and each of them had solo spots. What was really cool is that they have USB bracelets that you can order with a sound recording of your particular city, so soon we'll be able to relive the magic. Now if only they would release the video....

We saw Matchbox 20 on our honeymoon so we always see them when they come to town, and luckily for us it always hits around our anniversary. As we sat there in the audience waiting for the show to start we had that moment where seven years may have passed by but it felt like we'd barely left that first show.

Belated Theater Reviews

Yowza! How is it mid February already? In an odd paradox I have felt incredibly busy and laid back all at the same time. But let's finish off last year.

From my previous posts, I got a really neat vintage jacket to wear. That led to the decision that I really want a full length vintage fur some day. A friend gave me a short jacket that had been given to her and I wanted to get it cleaned. I asked a coworker who I figured probably had something in her closet and lo and behold she lent me a beautiful fur that had been her mother's that she'd had reworked. Sadly, the weather was awful that night and I didn't dare risk wearing the jacket out. But I did have the DH take my picture from the safety of our patio. Some day I hope to have a theater jacker this lovely. I wore my other jacket instead and got complimented at the theater for wearing something unique.

We saw two shows in December, the first was Whistle Down the Wind. I was on a huge Andrew Lloyd Webber kick whilst in middle school and high school, so I first got the soundtracks for WDTW and Sunset Boulevard from my local library. I have always wanted to see both shows (despite not the nicest reviews when they first premiered). If you've never seen the 1950 black and white film with film legend Gloria Swanson you should! So I was really excited to see WDTW. Now Sunset just needs to come through town...

Now, I am not an overly religious person. The DH and I were married by an ordained librarian who got his license from the back of a Rolling Stones magazine in the 1970s. We believe in something, we just don't like trying to define it and getting up early on Sundays. Hiking on Easter is a great way to feel connected to the world.

Anyhoo- WDTW takes place in a small town in 1959. Three siblings whose mother has just died mistake a runaway convict hiding in their barn as Jesus. Yes, that Jesus. As the minister says in the opening scene, "will you recognize him when he comes again"? All the children in town put their faith in the man in the barn. But of course all the grown ups want to catch/kill him, being that he is a convicted murderer. Despite feeling predictable, and the cynic in me knowing he couldn't possibly be Jesus (thought the ending left that unclear), somehow the show managed to touch me unawares. It wasn't until I was discreetly wiping away tears during the climax that the subtlety of the various plots hits. I knew it was especially touching when I found myself getting teary again as I described it to coworkers over the next few days. Click here for a synopsis.

Sadly, I think the plot of the show was off putting to liberal minded Seattle and our Saturday evening show was half empty. That was a shame because the acting, staging and vocals were amazing.

We saw a second show at the end of December, Jersey Boys which has gotten a lot of buzz. We chipped in for half of our niece's ticket and my brother in law came a long too. It was a good show. A lot of fun. I got a shirt that says "Big Girls Don't Cry". But it didn't have the emotional impact or staying power that Whistle Down the Wind had. If I had to choose between the two of them to see again, I would choose to see the Lloyd Webber production.