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.

Hedwig and the Angry Inch

It’s been a while since we saw a show with some of our friends So, I invited them to see Hedwig and the Angry Inch with us today. I wasn’t very familiar with the show, but it was labeled a “punk rock musical.” So Marina dressed in her animal print dress.

We arrived at the theater early and settled into our seats. I wasn’t able to get four seats together, so Marina and her friend sat two seats away from her mother and I. I think they enjoyed that. We were all in the front row and we were told we’d be part of the show. That made Marina nervous.

The show was staged like a concert. It was loud and intense. There were funny moments but also sad and heartbreaking times as well. At the end of the show Marina told me she really liked it.

After the show ended, Marina wanted to meet both cast members. We’d seen both before in shows last year. The actress playing Yitzhak remembered meeting Marina and talked with us for a few minutes before meeting her family. The actor who played Hedwig we'd seen in two productions last year, but we had never met him before. He was very friendly as well.

After we got our photos, we went home. But not before making plans to hang out with our friends again.

A Mermaid's Life For Me

After seeing The Little Mermaid last night, Marina was in the mood to go swimming. Since we had no plans today, we decided to go to a nearby recreation center. Marina has grown so much that none of her swimsuits sit her anymore. She ended up wearing one of mine! And, of course, she brought her swimmable tail along.

The pool was pretty full, but we managed to find a place to sit. Marina lost no time putting her mermaid tail on and getting in the pool. There were two other girls also swimming in mermaid tails, but they weren’t very friendly to Marina so she didn’t talk with them long. After a while she drew a crowd around her. She was more than happy to show off her tail to them.

After about four hours at the pool, we went home for dinner. After we ate, we got ready to go out again. We knew Ariel and Jack Sparrow would be appearing at an ice cream store, so we decided to go. Marina wore her Ariel costume again.

We didn’t have any trouble finding the ice cream store. When we arrived, Ariel and Captain Jack were already there. We bought ice cream for ourselves and found a table not too far from them. We were pleased that we knew both performers there. Ariel greeted us with hugs and Captain Jack said, “Hello, love,” to Marina. We got photos and visited with both for a while.

After we ate our ice cream and the characters left, Marina spent some time talking to another Ariel fan, a young lady in a wheelchair and her caregiver.

The trip home went quickly. Marina clearly enjoyed her day as a mermaid!

Mermaid Music

The first musical I took Marina to was the pre-Broadway tryout of The Little Mermaid. She was three at the time.  We haven’t seen it since. So we were excited that a local theater was presenting it this month.

At first, Marina picked out an aqua colored dress to wear. Then she changed her mind and decided on her Ariel dress. As always, she looked really pretty in it.

We arrived really early for the show. Around the same time as the show, the theater was hosting a Princess Ball. Marina was disappointed that we couldn’t do both. We waited outside the ball room to see if we knew any of the actresses. As it turned out, we did! She was dressed as Ariel for the ball. We got a quick hug and photo with her before she went in. 

Marina and I ordered drinks and then we went in to find our seats. We weren’t as close as we usually are, but our seat had a very good view. We were happy to discover that our friend Brittany from was in the ensemble.

We both enjoyed the show. Marina particularly liked he song “She’s in Love,” which she performed in her Broadway class last month. She was also pleased to see Ariel wore costume similar to hers in the “Kiss the Girl” scene.

When the show was over, the entire cast came out into the lobby for photos. We quickly found Flounder and the mersisters. There were huge lines for most of the other performers, so we decided to wait for Brittany. She was happy to see us. When the lines died down, we got photos with the main characters including Ursula, Ariel and Eric. Sebastian was played by Randy, an actor we’ve met several times in the past year. We were sure to get a photo with him as well.

 

 

As we were leaving the mersisters walked by us. Marina called them all into a group hug, which they happily gathered joined her for. That was the perfect close for our evening.

Snowy Stock Show

Every year, we like to attend the Stock Show. We decided to get tickets to the Xtreme Dog Show today. This morning was snowy and icy. We slept late and left the house a little later than we planned. Marina wore a Jessie cowgirl shirt and her pink cowgirl hat with a tiara. We also took our warmest jackets. We quickly found parking and went to will call to pick up our tickets. It was a very cold walk!

We started by looking around the trade show area. Of course, Marina found lots to look at there. We also took her picture with all the rodeo queens we saw. We went up to the kids’ area but Marina wasn’t as interested in the activities there as she used to be. We stopped to eat lunch while we were there.

After lunch, we went to the pavilion for the Xtreme Dogs Pat and Chat. Several of the dogs from the show were there. Of course, Marina wanted to pet them all! One of the dogs was a ten month-old puppy.  Everyone wanted to pet him! As the crowds died down, the owner let Marina hold him. She was thrilled! She also loved petting a fluffy Pomeranian.

Next, we went into the stadium and looked at the show animals. We saw several bulls being judged. Then we went to the paddocks and saw bulls and pigs being prepped for competition. One of the pigs was making quite a racket while being bathed.

We made our way to the event center for the Xtreme Dog Show. Before going to our seats, we went to the lower level and looked at the baby animals – chicks, piglets, lambs, calves and even an alpaca.

Before finding our seats for the show, we took a few more photos with Royalty. Then we sat down and had a snack while waiting for the show to begin. Once it started, we both enjoyed ourselves. It began with dogs competing in a skills relay. It was fun. We also watched amazing frisbee catching, a woman with a choreographed dance with her dog, jumping contests and sheep herding.

Once the show was over, we were ready to go home. Fortunately, the walk back to the car wasn’t quite as cold as the walk in.

Red Riding Hood in the Woods

One of Marina’s favorite musicals is Into the Woods. I saw it listed at a theater we haven't been to before. Marina wanted to see it again, so I bought tickets for us to go this afternoon.

Marina wanted to wear her Red Riding Hood costume. I was surprised it still fit her. Instead of the cape that went with the costume, she wore my red Belle cape. She really likes that one – she says it’s “cozy.”

We found our way to the theater and had time to get drinks before the show started. Our seats were in the front row and Marina was pleased with that. When the lights dimmed she acted very excited.

This version of the show was much like a radio play – we could see the musicians and the special sound effects being played on percussion instruments. There was no set but the costumes and lighting effects were really good.

At intermission, the actor playing the narrator walked through the audience. He asked Marina if she was ready to join the show for Act 2. She loved that! She even approached an usher to find out where we could meet actors after the performance.

Marina loved the show. Afterwards we waited in the lobby to meet some of the actors. Many of them we saw in Company last fall. We managed to meet the actresses playing Cinderella, Red Riding Hood and the Witch. They all loved Marina’s outfit. We were also hoping to speak with Prince Charming and Jack, but those actors didn’t come into the lobby, so we decided to go home.