Don Quixote Ballet

The Ballet opened their season with Don Quixote, not a familiar story for Marina. We saw the musical The Man of La Mancha over a year ago, but she didn’t remember it very clearly.

Out trip to the theater was pretty easy. The downtown area seemed deserted. We quickly found a parking spot and walked to the theater. Before we went to our seats we picked up drinks. Marina got a Shirley Temple and a bag of popcorn for during the show.

The show didn’t have much of a plot, but that was fine with us. It had gorgeous costumes, lively music and wonderful dancing. We were both entertained the whole time. At the end of each intermission, Marina was excited to see more of the show.

After the ballet ended, Marina said she really enjoyed it.

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.

Miscast

Marina and I have a lot of friends in the theatre community. Tonight many of them were scheduled to perform at Miscast, a fundraiser for the Actor’s Fund. Since we knew so many people we decided to go even though it was a school night.

The first song presented was “The Battle of Yorktown” from Hamilton. It was performed by a female cast. It was amazing and marina loved it. Next up was “Feed Me” from Little Shop of Horrors. A friend of ours was playing the role of Seymore and she was great. At the very end, her husband appeared as Audrey. He was hysterical!

The rest of the show had lots of songs that were funny with testimonials on how the Actor’s Fund had helped so many people in the community. The songs included one from Hairspray featuring one more friend of ours. And “Get a Gimmick” from Gypsy where another of our friends was dressed in drag. It was so fun!

After the show was over, we spend some time catching up with our friends. Marina even got to try the plant puppet from The Little Shop of Horrors scene. We talked with our friends for a bit. We also met some new people.

Marina introduced herself to the MC of the show. She thought Marina was “a doll.” I also introduced to a veteran actor I know who encouraged her to audition for shows at school.


It was late before we finally left. Marina was ready for bed as soon as we got home.

Miss You Like Hell

A friend of ours has a leading role in the musical Miss you Like Hell at a local theater. So this evening we went to see the show. Marina was very excited to see her.

After dinner we drove to the theatre. We arrived early, so we checked out the new murals which were recently added outside the building. We went inside and got drinks. Once the house was open, we found our seats in the front row. The show didn’t have a lot of people there and we were the only ones in our row.

Once the show began, Marina followed the action closely. The story was about a mother and daughter. Our friend’s character was a 16 year-old girl with divorced parents and there was a lot about her that Marina identified with. And throughout, there were lines that were very similar to what Marina and I have said to each other.

The end of the show was sad and Marina got a bit teary, something that doesn’t happen very often. Clearly, it affected her.

After the show we waited for our friend in the lobby. She gave us each a warm hug and we gave her the roses we brought for her. She also introduced us to her “stage mom.” I got a few photos of them in the theatre before we left. We talked with her for quite a while before we headed home. Marina and I were pretty tired by then.

Dinner With Harry Potter

Marina has been obsessed with Harry Potter lately. So she was very excited when our favorite pizza place scheduled a Dinner with Harry Potter and Hermione. Of course, she wanted to wear her Hufflepuff outfit and she brought her stuffed owl as well.

We arrived just after the seating started and the owner told us where our table was. Right when we sat down Harry and Herimone came by. We recognized both performers from previous dinners. They spent quite a lot of time with us throughout the evening which suited Marina just fine. She was so excited to talk about her for all things Harry Potter.


Even with all the fun she was having, Marina managed to eat a Caesar salad and a slice of pizza. When it was time for Wizard Training it was dark outside. Marina was fully engaged in the activities. After Wizard Training, she chatted with the characters for quite a while before letting me know she was ready to go. Clearly this was one other favorite character dinners. 

They're Creepy and They're Kooky

A three years ago, Marina and I saw the musical The Addams Family. We both enjoyed it. So when another theater announced it on the schedule I knew Marina would want to see it. I decided to arrange a group trip for our church to go.

Marina wore her black dress with the lace collar, like Wednesday Addams. I wore a Maleficent inspired dress that fit the Halloween theme as well. We arrived early so I could arrange for the tickets and seats for the group. Then we sat down to have a drink before the show. one of the church members arrived with his granddaughters. One of them is in one of Marina’s classes. So the two of them hung out together.

When it was show time, we went to our seats. Marina sat with her friend. The show was fun and charming. We all really enjoyed it. After the show was over, we waited around and said hello to one of Marina’s teachers from the Broadway Showcase class who played Grandma. I also introduced her to the actor who played Lurch. On her own, Marina met up with the actress who played Wednesday.

After taking photos with the cast, we headed home. It was a busy weekend and Marina and I were ready to relax.

Miss Saigon

This summer, we saw the opera Madame Butterfly. Marina enjoyed it so I was looking forward to taking her to see Miss Saigon which is based on Madame Butterfly. Before going to see it we talked about the Vietnam War a bit so she would understand some of the background.

We left the house a bit early to make sure we had time to park. We didn’t have too much trouble. We took a few pictures outside the theatre and then went inside. We bought drinks and Marina wanted a snack. We had a good view from our seats and we were excited to see the show.

Miss Saigon was an emotional, intense show. Overall Marina liked it, but she was bored in a few parts. She was very impressed with the helicopter in the recreation of the fall of Saigon.

When the show was over, Marina was clearly exhausted. Fortunately we were able to get home quickly.