Oom Pah Pah!

Today we had plans to meet some of our friends at a dinner theater to see Oliver. Marina has been looking forward to this. It took about an hour to drive there to the theatre. So Marina brought the Hamilton CD again. 

We actually made good time getting to the theater so we arrived early. We were happy to see that an actress we knew was our server. Our friends arrived shortly after we did.  They brought Marina a set of colored pencils and a drawing pad as a birthday gift. We all ordered lunch and settled in. Marina ordered the fish and chips. Another of our friends, brought our food to the table. He even wished Marina a happy birthday while he was there.

We all enjoyed the show. An actor we know was playing the villain, Bill Sykes. After it ended, our friends had to leave quickly. We stayed around and took photos with several of the performers. We had another long drive after we left the theater.

My Fair Birthday

To celebrate Marina's birthday, we had tickets to see My Fair Lady. We had a long drive to get there so Marina brought the Hamilton soundtrack into the car and we listened to it along the way. She sang along with most of it. The entertainment was nice since it took over two hours to get there.

When we arrived it was raining pretty hard. We went inside as quickly as possible. We checked in and went to our table. The nice older couple we were sharing with were already there. All of us had a nice conversation as we had dinner. We even shared pictures of our pets! The actor playing Henry Higgins was our server.

Before the show, the host announced Marina’s birthday. She was both pleased and embarrassed. The show was a good one. I’ve wanted to take Marina to see this show for a long time. She really enjoyed it. She especially liked the fancy costumes. At intermission she had a big piece of chocolate cake. I put a candle in it and we sang “Happy Birthday” to her.

After the show, the cast was lined up in the lobby. We got photos with all of Marina’s favorite characters, including Henry and Eliza. We were pleased to see the rain had stopped when we left the theater. The drive home didn’t take quite as long as the drive there, but it was just before midnight when we finally got home. Marina went to bed right away.

Xanadu

This evening, Marina and I had tickets to see the musical Xanadu. I was excited because when I was young it was my favorite movie and I still love the music. We were also looking forward to seeing our friend who was playing Sonny. We were disappointed this morning when we found out that he was sick and wouldn’t be performing. We thought about switching our tickets and going another day, but ultimately we decided to go.

We arrived at the theatre about fifteen minute before the show began. Marina was pleased that our seats were in the front row. The show was funny and interactive. At one point Kira used a duster on us. The actors came into the audience repeatedly. I could see that Marina really enjoyed it.

After the performance ended, we stayed to speak with the actors. Since we enjoyed the show, we decided that we’ll come back and see it so we can see our friend in it.

St. Patrick's Day Princess

Since today was St. Patrick’s Day, we made plans for a special dinner with Merida and a leprechaun. Marina wanted to go even though we didn’t have any younger kids to take with us. We both decided to dress up. I recently bought Marina a new Merida costume (she’d grown out of her last one) and she was excited to wear it. I dressed in a green medieval princess gown.

When we arrived we found our seats were on the patio, right where the entertainment part of the dinner would take place. When the leprechaun came by our table she gave Marina a lucky gold coin.

Merida was played by Danielle, an actress we have met before but we don’t know her as well as some of the others. Despite that, she spent a while talking with Marina. They even discussed marina’s desire to visit Scotland.
We ordered the Hawaiian pizza for dinner. Marina was too full to try the special St. Patrick’s Day dessert.

A Musical Jekyll & Hyde

Marina and I enjoy going to dinner theaters despite the distance from home. One we like is currently showing Jekyll & Hyde, a show Marina and I have seen before. We had tickets for tonight’s performance. Marina decided to wear her Victorian costume with a cape.

When the show started we were both very impressed. The actor playing Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde was very talented. After the show we got photos with him and another actor we know. We hung around a bit longer than usual, but eventually had to get going since we had such a long drive home. We listened to the soundtrack to Hamilton on the way home which made it seem to go by faster.

Mad Hatter Tea Party

Marina and I love having high tea. I saw advertising for a Mad Hatter Tea at a place I hadn’t heard of before. I decided to make reservation. We invited a friend to join with us. Marina decided to dress up as the Cheshire Cat. I wore a Queen of Hearts costume.

We arrived a bit early and waited in the lobby for a while. Most of the other women were dressed up for tea but there was one girl dressed as Alice and her sister was the White Rabbit. Before we sat down to tea, we had a short tour of the castle. It is a bed and breakfast and we got to check out some of the rooms.

After the tour we sat down to tea. We drank rose tea which we all enjoyed. We started with a broccoli cheese soup. The next course was a salad with a turkey and cheese crepe and mini sandwiches. Next we were served cinnamon chocolate chip scones with lemon curd, homemade jam and whipped cream. We finished off with four mini sweets. By then we were all stuffed.

After we ate, we looked around a bit and took some photos before heading home. It was a lovely tea.

Captain Marvel

Marina has been into super hero movies lately. We’d heard good things about Captain Marvel who opened last week, so we decided to go see it tonight.

There seemed to be a lot of previews and Marina and I were getting a bit bored with them. Fortunately they finally ended and the movie started. We both really enjoyed it. Marina especially liked the cat.

Frozen Pizza Party

Last month we went to a Princess Pizza Party with our friends at a pizzeria. While we were there, they advertised for an Anna and Elsa party. Since our friends are big fans of Frozen, we all decided we wanted to go to this one too.

The pizza party was this evening. Marina was excited to see our friends again. She decided to wear her Elsa coronation dress. She put on her own makeup and I put her hair in a bun. She looked so pretty and she loved playing with the long cape.

We arrived early and waited outside with other families. The weather was nice and Marina enjoyed playing with the kids.Our friends hadn’t arrived when we were seated. But they showed up a few minutes later.

Marina and I ordered the same pizza we got last month. While we were eating, Anna and Elsa stopped by our table. We were happy to see that they were played by two actresses we know. It seemed that they spent a bit more time with us than the other tables and they called Marina by name!

Marina and the girls listened to the princesses sing and she happily sang along. After the performance, we said goodbye to Anna and Elsa. Then we went back to our table to finish our dinner. It was another fun night but it was getting late.

Marina and the Wolf

We had tickets to Peter and the Wolf at the symphony and Marina wanted to dress as a wolf. She wore the wolf hat I bought her last year at the Red Riding Hood opera with a grey dress and black leggings. Then with makeup she added a black nose and whiskers. She looked so cute!

We ran into more traffic than we expected going to the concert hall. But we managed to park in the garage and get through security with time to get drinks before going to our seats. As we went to tour seats, the symphony photographer asked if he could get a photo of ”the wolf.” Marina was happy to oblige. The crowd arrived fairly late, so the show was delayed in starting.

This performance featured a mime troop. Early on we were introduced to Maggie who played the part of Peter. The musicians who played the parts of the animals stood in for them. Even the conductor Christopher Dragon got involved in the action as the grumpy grandfather. It was a fun performance to watch.

As we left, many children admired Marina’s costume. She loved that!

The Basque Things in Life

This afternoon we were excited to go back to our favorite children't theater for a show. It has become our habit to invite Justine to come with us. Marina was very excited to spend time with Justine today.

Before the show, we all went out to lunch We had to hurry a bit, but we finished with plenty of time to get to the theater.

When we arrived the manager recognized us immediately and checked us in. Marina found a table with books and little sheep.  The show was called The Basque Things in Life. It was the story of a group of Spanish Basque people who relocated to Idaho. The main character discovered the Lamiaks – wood nymphs with duck feet who work while people sleep. It was a cute show.

After the performance was over, we talked with some of the performers and got our traditional photo of Marina with the cast. Then we headed home.

A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder

Last year, Marina performed the song “Why are all the D'Ysquiths Dying?” from the musical A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder in her Broadway Showcase class. I saw it was on a local theater’s schedule this year, so I was sure Marina would want to see it. When I found out her Broadway Showcase teacher was in the cast, I knew we had to see it! Marina wore her Victorian inspired costume for the show.

Marina was very excited to see the show tonight. She was even willing to smile for photos before it started. We arrived early and bought drinks and Marina picked out a snack. We were able to get seats in the center of the second row.

There was a delay for the start of the show due to technical problems. Marina got a bit restless but she kept herself occupied by reading the program from cover to cover. We ended up waiting about fifteen minutes until it began. The show was dark but very funny. Her teacher played a whole group of characters and it was fun to watch him change from one to another. Marina loved the show.

At the end of the performance, we waited to talk to her teacher. He recognized Marina and gave her a big hug. He spent a few minutes talking with us. We met the actors playing Monty and Phoebe. After our conversations with the actors, we went home. We both enjoyed the evening.