The Merchant of Mumbai

Marina and I  were both looking forward to the current production at one of our favorite theaters, The Merchant of Mumbai. It was a Bollywood version of Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice. When we arrived at the theater, we immediately saw a friend, who has appeared in several  shows at that theater. That was a nice surprise.

The show was a fun one. It used some of the Shakepearean dialog with Bollywood dance numbers. The humor was also played up. And the costumes were gorgeous.

After the performance was over, we got our traditional photo with the cast. It was a great night!

Ballet Fairy Tales

A few years ago, Marina and I saw the ballet Coppelia performed by a small ballet company. We’ve wanted to see other shows of theirs but couldn’t schedule them. Today we were looking forward to seeing their Fairy Tale Suite. Marina decided to wear her new Mulan dress with a light wrap.

We arrived at the theater, it was one we hadn’t been to before. We saw lots of little girls in princess outfits, they reminded me so much of Marina when she was little. The show was a short one, but it was cute, combining the stories of Sleeping Beauty, Hansel and Gretel, Beauty and the Beast and an Asian Empress.

After the show, there was a small tea party in the lobby. We had snacks and met a few of the dancers. After a bit of a wait we saw the choreographer for the show. He also dances in The Nutcracker that we see every year. We were excited to meet him and he was gracious enough to talk with us for a few minutes. After that conversation we went home.

A Gentleman's Guide

After performing the song from A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder in her Broadway Showcase class, Marina became a fan of the show. We saw it last year and we liked it so much that we were looking forward to seeing it again. We made plans to see it with one of our friends.

Marina wore a Hufflepuff dress again today. We met up with our friend early and headed to Conifer which is in the foothills. When we arrived, we located the theatre and looked for a place to have dinner. We found a nearby Mexican restaurant.

After we ate, we went to the theater. Marina was seated next to a young lady. The two of them started talking and found they had quite a lot in common. So they talked until the show started.

We all enjoyed the performance. Marina’s favorite is still “Why Are All the D’Ysquiths Dying?” that’s the song she performed for her class. As we were leaving, the actor who played Monty was behind us as we left. We got a quick photo with him before we drove home.

Puffs

Over the past year, Marina has become a huge Harry Potter fan. She’s especially enthusiastic about the house she was sorted into on Pottermore – Hufflepuff. When I learned about a Harry Potter play called Puffs, I told Marina about it. She asked “Puffs, as in Hufflepuffs?” When I said yes, she insisted we see it.

Since today was Valentine’s Day, I gave her a present of two Hufflepuff dresses. As I expected, she wore one of the dresses with a Hufflepuff sweater and scarf to the show tonight. She was very excited to see it.

We arrived early and a friend of ours was at the box office. She was excited to see us. When the theater opened, we picked seats in the front row. There was a bit of a delay in starting the show, so Marina used that time to talk Hufflepuff with everyone around us.

When the performance finally started, Marina was completely involved. Although the story covered Harry Potter storyline that she hasn’t read about yet, she still got a lot out of it. Because we were in the front row, we were given M&Ms at one point in the show and Kleenex when Cedric died.

The show was funny and we both enjoyed it. After it was over, the cast were in the lobby. Marina wanted to talk to all the lead actors. They loved her outfit. We took some pictures with them before heading home.

The Scottsboro Boys

Marina woke up feeling sick this morning. However, we had tickets to see The Scottsboro Boys. A friend directed the show and another friend was acting in it. Marina wanted to go, so we went to see it.

There was a delay due to technical issues, so we waited in the lobby for quite a while before we could sit in the theater. Marina was pretty quiet during that time. We were glad when the doors finally opened and we could sit down.

Despite being a long and serious show, it went by quickly. The story was about a group of black men who were wrongly convicted of a crime. It was a powerful story and Marina got caught up in it despite being sick.

After the show was talked with the director about the show. We also got a chance to speak with some of the actors, including our friend. Once we’d done all that, Marina was wiped out. We picked up dinner and went home.

Matilda's Return

Marina and I have seen Matilda a couple of times. I arranged a church group to see the current production today. Marina was excited to see it again, especially since one of her friends was in the group.

After lunch we went to the the theater to meet up with everyone. The show was fun. We liked the second act better than the first, especially the first song “All I Know I Learned From Telly.” And Marina always enjoyed watching child actors.

After the show, the cast were in the lobby for meet and greets. We talked a bit with a friend of ours who was in the cast. We also ran into the actor who played Miss Trunchbull. We’ve met him a few times, but this time he remembered us. I also introduce her to the actress, who played Miss Honey.

There was a line to meet the actress playing Matilda, but Marina was willing to wait in it. When it was her turn, Marina spent a while talking with her. She was especially interested in how she memorized all her lines.

After meeting most of the actors, we went home. Everyone from our group was already gone.

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum

 We had tickets to see A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum this evening. Marina was amused by the name of the show. Since she likes the works of Stephen Sondheim and it’s a comical show, I thought she would like it.

We arrived at the theater early, so we ordered drinks. Marina got hot chocolate and a cookie. Then we took our seats. Marina liked the set which looked like Ancient Rome.

When the show started, Marina really enjoyed it. She thought it was weird and funny. She decided she wanted to meet one of the actors and ask him about a tattoo she saw on his arm. It wasn’t long before he came out. He was happy to talk to Marina about it. We also met up with the actor playing Pseudolus and an actress we’ve met a few times before.

After a bit of a chat, we went home.

Goodnight Moon

A friend of ours is currently performing in the children’s show Goodnight Moon. He offered us free tickets if we wanted them. We invited my niece and nephew to go with us.

We arranged to meet at the theater. Marina and I arrived early. The building was decorated for the show which was fun, but we had to climb a lot of stairs to get there. After I picked up the tickets we waited for everyone else to arrive. When the theater was opened for seating we found a group in the second row.

When the kids arrived I brought them to the seats we saved. Marina was thrilled to see them and insisted on sitting next to my nephew. She played with him until the show started.

Goodnight Moon was funny and charming. After the show, we waited in the lobby for our friend. He greeted us with hugs and we introduced him to everyone. We had a nice chat with him before heading home.

The Hills Are Alive

Over three years ago I took Marina to see The Sound of Music. She really loved it. So I decided to take her to see the production currently running. We’ve been there several times and every show has been very good. We left for the show after church.
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We had a pretty good snow storm yesterday but fortunately for us the roads were clear. We got to the theater much faster than expected. Since we were so early, we decided to look around. We’d never seen the gallery inside the Center. So we went to look around. We saw quite a few works we liked but we both agreed that the Chihuly exhibit was our favorite.

After looking at the gallery, we picked up drinks and went to our seats. We had plenty of time to settle in before the show. We both enjoyed the performance. The cast was very talented and the sets were great. After it was over, we found the actors playing the Trapp family posing for photos in the lobby. So we got a photo with Marina before we went to the car.

We had a quick trip home as well. It didn’t feel like a long trip that we made today.

The Thanksgiving Play

A friend of ours is currently performing in The Thanksgiving Play. We hadn’t been to this theater before, but, of course, we wanted to support her. So we bought tickets for this evening’s performance.

When we arrived we found it was located inside a former church. The updates to the space were really cool and we enjoyed looking around before the show.

Marina likes sitting up front and tonight our seats were right in the front row. Marina was excited to see the show. It turned out to be a ridiculous comedy about political correctness. Marina laughed throughout, so clearly she got most of the jokes.

After the show we met our friend in the lobby. Marina gave her the flowers we brought her. We talked there for about 20 minutes. After talking for a while we headed home.

The Necromancer’s Stone

Marina and I have become regulars at the Bitsy Stage. Their current show is The Necromancer’s Stone – a show about voodoo. We’ve been looking forward to seeing it for a while.

We arrived early, so Marina had a chance to talk with one of our friends for a while. She even got to try on a snake puppet they created for the show but ultimately didn’t use. We picked out seats, but Marina stayed in the lobby until just before the show began.

The show was filled with fun special effects and crazy characters. We both enjoyed it. After it was over we caught up with our friends who were acting in the show. Before we left we took our traditional photo with the cast. It was a fun evening.

Carrie

Marina has been interested in the Stephen King story Carrie for a few months now. I tried to get her to read the book this summer and while she was interested in it, she never did. So when I heard a local theater company was presenting the show I thought Marina would enjoy it.

The theater is a long drive from home. It was rush hourwhen we left, so the drive took longer than planned. We were able to find parking near the theater. As it turned out, much of the cast of Pippin, which we saw a week ago, were also attending the performance. Marina wanted popcorn munch on during the show. She ate a lot of it.

We both enjoyed the show. The cast was talented and followed the original story fairly well. The fire effects at the end were pretty cool as well. As we were leaving we saw many of the cast members in the lobby. We spoke with several of them and took photos before starting out journey home.

Another Slice of Sweeney Todd

This evening we had plans to go to Breckenridge again to see Sweeney Todd. This time we were going with two of our friends. We met at their house so we could all drive up together.

It was about a two hour drive to the theater, fortunately we didn’t run into any traffic.  We arrived right around dinner time.  We had decided that this time we planned to eat at the Cajun restaurant Marina wanted to try. It wasn’t crowded, so we were able to sit down right away. Marina ordered a root beer and fried catfish. She decided she liked it.

After dinner we had plenty of time before the show started. So we spent time in a gift shop near the restaurant. It had all sort of unique items in it. We had fun looking at them. Marina fell in love with a headband with mermaid fin/ears on it, so I got it for her. We browsed a t-shirt shop as well before heading to the theater.

After we picked up our tickets, we found there was a Victorian Haunted house leading into the theater. Marina decided she didn’t want to go through it, so the rest of us did. Marina met me at our seats.

Just like the two performances before, Marina enjoyed the show. Her favorite character was still Toby. As we left after the show, the actor who played Toby was right behind us. So we talked with him for a few minutes and took a photo before heading home. It was a long drive and Marina was ready for bed when we finally got there.

Pippin

Marina loved circus acts and acrobatics. Because of this, I have wanted to take her to see the musical Pippin because it features a circus theme. So tonight we went to the preview performance at a theater we hadn't visited before.

The theater is a 45 minute drive from home, but with rush hour it took even longer. So we left early to make sure we made it on time. We hit lots of traffic and it took us quite a while to get there.
Fortunately, we had time for dinner. After we ate, we drove over to the theater. It turned out to be inside a historic building that used to be a church, It was small, but charming. Marina loved the circus-like set for the show.

The performance we attended was a preview show. There weren’t many people there. So at times when the actors tried to interact with the audience they often approached Marina. She loved that. The show was fun and Marina enjoyed it.

After it was over, the actors came out right away to speak with the director. One of the actors is a man I work with. So he came over to talk with us. We also met up with an actress who we have seen in a shows before. She went right up to Marina - she had recognized her during the show! We also got a chance to speak with the actor who played Pippin. He thought he recognized Marina too! The whole cast even gathered around Marina for a photo. It was so cool!

After the show we were ready to go home. We had a long drive but fortunately we didn’t have any delays along the way.

The Wonderful Music of Oz

This evening we had tickets to The Wonderful Music of Oz, a concert featuring many of the songs inspired by the book The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. Most of the music came from the film The Wizard of Oz and the musicals The Wiz and Wicked. We were looking forward to it.

We arrived early and settled into our seats. We were in the front row. When the musicians came on I recognized the drummer as a musician we had met before.

The performers were Kelli Rabke, Scott Coulter and Chris Blum and they were accompanied by John Boswell who was an amazing pianist. The show featured wonderful performances of songs we know. Marina was especially happy to hear “Popular” and “Defying Gravity” from Wicked. I even answered a few Oz trivia questions.

After the show, all the performers were in the lobby, so we met them all. Scott even took a selfie with us! We took photos and chatted for a little while before heading home. It had been a full day!

Sweeney Todd

Marina enjoyed seeing the musical Sweeney Todd this summer. As it turns out, several theaters are performing that show this year. We decide to check out the show at one of them tonight.

After dinner, we got ready to go to the show. The traffic wasn’t too bad considering we were at the end of rush hour. We quickly found a parking place and walked to the theater. When we arrived the doors were already open. So we went in to pick our seats. Marina was pleased that we were able to sit in the front row. She was excited to see the show.

This production was different from the last one we saw but Marina didn’t mind. Her favorite character was still Toby.

After the show, we waited to catch up with the actor who played Sweeney. We’ve met him a few times before and we brought photos for him. At first he didn’t remember us, but he loved looked at the pictures. He spent quite a while speaking with us and he even encouraged Marina in her acting aspirations.

After our conversation was over, Marina and I headed for the car. It was pretty late and we were both tired.