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.

Frozen Wedding Party

We were excited about tonight's character dinner. It was Anna and Kristoff’s Valentine’s Day Wedding. Marina and I wore our Frozen 2 dresses for the occasion.

It started snowing right around the time we needed to leave. It was heavy enough that it took us an extra 15 minutes to get there. So we were super hungry when we arrived. Our favorite server took our order quickly. We all got salads and polished them off quickly.

While we were waiting for our pizza, Marina socialized a bit with the actress who was playing Elsa. Sven also came over to our table where he played with us.

Our pizza arrived at during the “wedding” ceremony. The actress who was playing Anna finally saw us and gave Marina a big hug. After the ceremony, we took photos with all the characters. Then we got ready for the drive home. The streets were covered with snow, so it took a long time and it was late when we arrived at 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.

Off to Neverland

Eight years ago, the ballet presented Peter Pan. Marina and I really loved the show. When it was announced as part of this season, we wanted to see it again. We invited some friends and family to join us.

Today was cold and snowy. Marina’s school was cancelled. So we were a bit worried about getting downtown to the show. Fortunately, not many people were on the roads and they were clear of snow. We decided to take the light rail to be safe.

When we arrived, we went to the box office. They had a great offer on seats today so I asked if we could upgrade ours. The man we were speaking to was very nice and he arranged for all of us to be on the main floor instead of the Loge level. However, we were all in different sections.

The show was as wonderful as we remembered. The "fairy fixers" that each child got were slightly different but still fun. And the moment Tinkerbell was brought back to life was spectacular!

Once it was over, Marina and I walked to the light rail station. We only had to wait about 10 minutes for the train to arrive, but the trip home seemed very long. We were both very tired and ready to go to bed.

The Pirates of Penzance

When Marina was in middle school, the theater department presented the operetta The Pirates of Penzance. It’s a show I really enjoy and Marina liked it. This weekend, the Gilbert and Sullivan Players were preforming the show with the symphony. Marina and I were both excited to see it.

Marina wanted to wear her tavern girl costume, but she couldn’t find it. So she created her won sea witch look. The performing arts complex was pretty full this evening. So it took a while, but we managed to find a spot on the top level.

When we arrived, we picked up drinks – Marina got a chai latte. We met up with some women who were in costume. Marina called them “Lolita’s.” She liked talking with them. Then we went to our seats which were in the front row.

The symphony was quite a bit smaller than usual for this performance. There was no set, but all of the actors wore colorful costumes. Since we were up close we could see everything well. The show was funny and well preformed. I had to explain the “paradox” of the show to Marina but she got it quickly.

After the show she said she really liked it.

Frozen With Friends

Marina and I were at the last Frozen 2 dinner a few weeks ago. We were scheduled to go again tonight with other friends. However, they weren't feeling well today, so we had to go without them. This time, Marina decided to dress as Elsa in her travel dress.

We arrived early and the staff were still cleaning up from the earlier seating. We chatted with the owner a bit while that was happening. Since the early dinner had run late, she asked if we would wait at the bar for a table to open up. We were happy to wait. When our table was ready, we invited her daughters to join us. Marina loved that.

While we ate, we got to know the girls. Shortly after our food arrived it was our turn to take photos with Anna, Elsa and Sven. We all went together. It was fun to interact with these actresses we have come to know.

The owner very kindly paid for our meal tonight. We weren’t expecting that. We’d had a fun night with all the changes.

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.