Romeo and Juliet at the Ballet

Marina and I have been regular patrons of the ballet for many years. This year their performances have had more mature themes. Their spring show Romeo and Juliet was not quite a dark as Dracula was last fall, but it was still a complex storyline. We took the train downtown today and on the ride I gave her a brief rundown of the story.

We arrived at the theater a little bit before the show started. We got a snack and ordered drinks for intermission. Then we found our seats and settled in for the show.

The first act was filled with background information, the meeting of Romeo and Juliet and the famous balcony scene. Marina seemed interested in the storyline. At intermission she drank her Shirley Temple and we talked a bit about the show.


The second act really pulled Marina in. She really liked the character of Mercutio because he made her laugh. At the end of Act 2, Tybalt killed Mercutio and she was shocked. When Romeo killed Tybalt she was equally aghast. The lights came up for intermission after that pivotal scene and Marina was upset that they left us hanging.

The last scene was the saddest. Marina watched it all intently. After the show was over she said she really enjoyed it. We didn’t have too long to wait for the train home. She spent most of the ride home watching videos on her phone.

Leaping Lizards!

Marina and I have seen the musical Annie several times in the past year. Despite that, we were looking forward to seeing it again at a dinner theater we like. We had tickets for the matinee performance, so we left the house in the late morning.

We had a smooth trip despite high winds along the way. Shortly after we arrived, we met a young lady and her grandmother who were sharing our table. We enjoyed chatting with them as we ate lunch. Marina ordered the chicken cordon bleu again but she shared her asparagus with me. Our server was an actress we have met several times before. She was playing Miss Hannigan in the show.

As with every performance, Marina loved the show. She especially liked the dog playing Sandy who was a scene stealer! We had dessert at intermission. Marina got the flourless chocolate cake, as usual.

After the show was over, we managed to get photos with many of the cast members. The actress playing Annie was busy on stage, but one of the employees called her over so we could get a quick photo. Marina was happy about that!

We had another long drive home, especially since we got caught in a huge traffic jam. But we had a nice relaxing evening.

Nuggets Night

The Denver Nuggets were playing the San Antonio Spurs tonight. I bought tickets so Marina and I could go. When Marina learned they were giving away Nuggets beanies to the first 5,000 people, she wanted to leave early in hopes of getting one.

We ate a quick dinner at home after school and Marina changed into one of her Nugget’s shirts. We left a bit later than we had planned, but we made really good time on our way downtown. Marina was a bit disheartened when she saw how many people were going in to the Pepsi Center at the same time we were. But as it turned out, they still had plenty of beanies, so we each got one!

We were very early when we got to our seats, so we got up to get some snacks. I was shocked to find my wallet was missing. I decided to go to the car to see if it was there. I found it on the floor in front of the passenger seat, but it took me a while to leave the Pepsi Center and walk to the car and back. In that time Marina got nervous. She texted me a few times. So when I came back she looked very relieved.

When the game started, Marina paid very close attention. I spent more time explaining to her the rules of the game and what the statistics meant. The game itself was very entertaining. It was close throughout, but at the end the Nuggets pulled ahead and won the game.

We got caught in a bit of traffic, but it didn’t take us too long to get home. By them we were both tired and ready to go to sleep.

The Art of Degas

Marina had the day off for President’s Day, so I took it off as well. We both slept in this morning which was nice since it was a cold, snowy day.

The roads weren’t too bad, so we decided to go out for a while. We went  for lunch and then went to the Art Museum. They have a temporary exhibit on the art of Edgar Degas. I thought she might like his paintings of ballet dancers, so we got tickets for the exhibition.

At first, Marina seemed a bit bored. But she did spend time looking at all the practice drawings on display and the paintings. As I expected, she liked the ballet paintings.

After going through the Degas exhibit, we looked at the third and fourth floors which had artwork featuring animals on display. Marina found a video game to play for a little while. She did like some of the animal artwork – especially the ones that featured cats!

We checked out the interactive area where Marina experimented with making sculpture out of wire. But she wasn’t as interested in the hands-on activities as she has been in the past. On our way out we got chai lattes. That kept us warm for the short walk to the car.

Cinderella at the Ballet

Last year Marina and I saw The Sleeping Beauty performed by the Moscow Festival Ballet. This year they came back with Cinderella. Marina didn’t consider wearing a costume this year, but she did choose a blue-green sparkly dress with white heels. I’m pretty sure it was “Cinderella-inspired.”

It was snowing lightly when we left the house but we didn’t have too much trouble getting to the Arts Center. It was pretty cold, so Marina ordered a hot chocolate to drink.

Before the show started, Marina played on her phone. She did put it was a few minutes before the show started. As we were waiting, I found that the mom and daughter sitting next to us were next to us for The Sleeping Beauty as well.

During the show, Marina watched attentively. We both enjoyed the silly antics of the stepmother and the jester characters. Many of the dancers we recognized from last year’s show. The performance seemed by quickly.

After the show we saw that not only had the snow become heavier, but it was sticking to the ground. I had to brush quite a bit of snow off the car before we could even leave. With the snow, the drive home took a bit longer than usual, but we arrived home safely and not too late.

Respect

This evening we had tickets to a show called Respect: The Musical Journey of Women. We have seen all the performers in other shows and it sounded like fun. So we headed out to see it.

The theater was close to home and we arrived early. We bought drinks and when the house opened we picked out seats in the front row. As we were waiting for the show to start an actress we know came and sat by us. We talked with her until the show began.

Marina seemed to enjoy the performance. She particularly liked the youngest character who was silly and fun. She laughed at the funny parts and was happy when she recognized a song. When the show was over, she found the stage door and sat patiently for the actresses to come out. We were able to get photos with all the actresses before we headed home.

A Thrilling Siren Song

This weekend, Marina and I had planned to go to an outdoor festival. However, the temperatures this morning were very cold. So, we decided it was best not to go this year. So as our Plan B, we decided to go to the latest installment of Siren Song.

When it was time to leave for the show, snow had started falling. The roads were pretty sloppy, so we left early and took our time getting there. When we arrived at the theater no one else was there. We talked with the staff until we were able to go into the theater. We took the same seats as last month.

Marina was excited that the theme song for this episode was “Thriller” by Michael Jackson. The episode was full of silliness and at the end the actors reenacted the dance from the video. It was a lot of fun to watch.

After the show was over, we talked with some of the cast members. They remembered us from last month and we took pictures again. We were happy to go home, the roads were a mess and we just wanted to relax for a while.

The Music of John Wiliams

With her growing interest in music and movies, Marina has developed an appreciation for the music written by John Williams. His birthday was yesterday, so the symphony had a concert featuring his music. When Marina heard about it she wanted to go. So I got the tickets. However, when the music list came out, we were both a bit disappointed, very little music we were familiar with was on the list.

We arrived at the concert hall early and since it was a cold night, we ordered chai lattes to drink. Our seats were near the stage by the percussion section. Before the concert began, she played on her phone.

Once the music started, Marina did a good job of paying attention to the performance. She admitted she enjoyed some of the music, even if it wasn’t familiar to her. At intermission we talked to a couple who were sitting near us.

After the concert was over we were able to get home quickly. I was proud of how Marina behaved despite not getting quite what she was expecting.