Frozen Finale

Last month, we saw Frozen on it’s opening night for the pre-Broadway tryout. Now that there is only one more week of the run, we decided to see it again. I was curious if there were any major changes since it started. We invited one of Marina’s friends and her mother to go with us. The girls were so excited that they decided to wear costumes to the show. Her friend was Elsa and Marina wore the Anna coronation dress. (She wanted to wear the trekking dress, but it is now too small for her.)

We arrived at the theater with enough time to use the restroom and get drinks and snacks. We were at the back of the orchestra, but our seats had a great view. As we watched the show, I noticed that the second act did seem to have a faster pace than the first time we’d seen it.

We had a great time and would have to get together again soon.

Company

As Marina is growing up, I am more willing to try taking her to shows with more mature themes. This weekend was the opening of Company at a local theater. Marina has enjoyed other works by Stephen Sondheim, so I decided to give it a try with her.

Marina decided to wear an animal print dress with her black cat hat and shoes. She took her stuffed fox with her, but she left it in the car. We met two of our friends at the theater. Marina ordered hot chocolate to drink during the show since it was a chilly night. As usual, she was excited when the show began.

Company is a musical comedy about relationships. Marina thought it was very funny and, like me, she was impressed by the singing ability of the performers. At intermission I gave her money and she bought a Hershey bar. She liked the big dance sequence at the beginning of the second act.

After the show was over, our friends had to leave but Marina wanted to stay and meet the cast. The actors we met were very nice and took photos with her. There was one actress we were hoping to speak with, but she left before we got a chance to. Marina was a little bummed, but she still had a great night.

In the Heights

Today was my birthday. We had tickets to see In the Heights. One of our friends has been obsessed with this show for a while and she has shared this enthusiasm with Marina. So both girls were very excited to see the show.


We had seats in the front row. Once the show started, we all enjoyed it. Our friends both knew the music pretty well, so they knew exactly what to expect. After the show was over we all agreed we liked it.

Once we got into the lobby, Marina started looking around for the actors in the show. First, we found the actress who had played Vanessa. We were surprised to find out we’d been chatting with her mom before the show. She was happy to pose for a photo. Next, we found Usnavi and Sonny. We looked around for the actor who had played Benny. We had met him before and he remembered meeting us after Hairspray. By now he knew we’d be asking for a picture.

We had hoped to meet the actress playing Nina, but didn’t see her. But when I came out of the restroom I found her talking with Marina. She waited so I could get a photo!

Pirate Festival

At the Unicorn Festival this summer, Marina and I ran into Captain Jack Sparrow who gave us a flyer promoting the Pirate Festival. Of course, Marina was excited to attend it. It was scheduled for this weekend, so we made plans to go. We both dressed up as pirates for the occasion.

When we arrived at the festival, we entered right by the Mermaid Cove, so of course we checked that out. Some of the mermaids we actually knew! After a short visit, we wandered around the festival. We ran in to Captain Jack Sparrow, who Marina was happy to see. After looking around, we stopped for lunch since we were both hungry. We each ate while listening to a band perform.

After we ate, we picked up a treasure map and went through the festival to check in at each stop on the map. When Marina picked up her “treasure,” a fish necklace, we stopped at a stage to find out what Marina’s steampunk name would be. It was Countess Henrietta. Not sure how she felt about that.

I got a text from a friend of mine saying she and her family had arrived at the festival. So we met up with them. We tried to find a spot to watch the cardboard boat races. The races took a really long time, so we went with them while they ate lunch.  While in line, Angie and Adam ran into the MC for the Circus, so we all decided to watch the show. It was full of magic tricks and acrobats. We all enjoyed watching it.

Marina wanted a turn on the “gerbil balls” so we got in line for that. We went back to see the mermaids and chatted with one for a while. At that point, Angie and her family had to leave. We stayed around for a little while after that but then Marina decided she was ready to go. We made sure to say goodbye to Captain Jack before we left.

On the way home, we agreed that we’d like to go back to the Pirate Festival again in the future.

The Music Man

Today we went with some of our friends to our favorite dinner theater. They are presenting The Music Man and one of our friends was playing Harold Hill. We were excited to see him as well. We had quite a long drive so we all talked the whole way there.

We were all hungry but unfortunately they had a computer glitch and it took longer than usual. When it finally arrived, Marina said her stomach was upset and she didn’t want eat. We convinced her to try and she ate quite a bit of her barbecue chicken and corn. She did try the potato salad, but didn’t eat much of it. She said she felt better after that.

The show started a bit late to allow everyone to eat. Once it started, Marina was excited, as usual. She paid close attention throughout and even made a few comments to me in places. At intermission she had cheesecake. She loved that it was a mini round cheesecake rather than a slice.

After the show ended, Marina said “I think I have a new favorite show!” Some of the actors we know came to our table after the curtain call and we introduced them to everyone. Of course, we took photos. As we were leaving we saw the actress who played Marian the Librarian and Marina wanted a photo, so we took that as well.

The ride home seemed shorter, We were all tired, so we didn’t talk as much. We all agreed we had a fun time, so we’re already talking about doing it again!

A Chorus Line

We had tickets to see A Chorus Line. Marina decided to wear a long skirt with sparkly stars on it. My GPS gave us a strange route to the theater, but Marina acted as my co-pilot and we arrived with plenty of time.

Since we were early, Marina wanted to play on the concrete dragon installation outside the center. She walked along the entire length of it and sat on the head for a moment

We picked up drinks and found out the show did not have an intermission. That was a bit surprising. We had seats in the front row and Marina was happy about that. During the show, she was really into it. She loved the dancing and the music. The Song “Dance Ten, Looks Three” she laughed hysterically.

When the show ended, Marina said it was “fabulous.” She wanted to meet some cast members and we were fortunate to find three as we were walking out. They were gracious enough to talk with us for a while and pose for pictures.

We got home late and it took Marina a while to settle down. She had a snack and finally put herself to bed after a while.

Festival Italiano

We’ve checked out many cultural festivals this year. Today was the beginning of the Festival Italiano. We were looking forward to checking it out. Marina put on the colors of the Italian flag – red white and green. She said “Look how fabulous I look!”

It being held at an outdoor mall. It felt like a street fair. When we arrived we looked around all the booths. We were hungry for lunch, but we wanted to see what all our option were. After looking around, Marina decided she wanted to try the Sicilian pizza. It was a huge piece – big enough for both of us.

Next we looked at some of the items for sale. Marina spent a lot of time looking at pieces made of cork and she loved the glass pieces for sale.

Next, we checked out a kids area. I signed Marina up for stomping grapes. We saw a group of kids playing chess and Marina joined them. After that we watched a group of Italian flag throwers. It was an amazing performance!

We shared a dessert cannoli and then got in line for grape stomping. We met at four year old girl and her family. When it was their turn, the ended up in the same tub. Marina thought stomping the grapes was fun. She stayed at it for a long time. She also thought the grapes and the juice tasted good!

After she spent some time coloring a picture, we met with a walking Mona Lisa painting. It was a man in a costume and he was really funny. Marina asked for some Italian ice. We sat down while she ate and listened to a singer perform songs by Frank Sinatra. She liked that he finished with “New York, New York.”

After the singer finished, the announcer came out picked people for Simon Says. Marina volunteered me, so I made sure he picked her as well. Neither of us got very far. When he announced he was having a bubble gum blowing contest, she wanted to participate in that as well. He also needed adults and since he didn’t have enough adults, Marina asked me to join, so I did. Then at the last minute, she dropped out.

I hadn’t tried to blow a big bubble in a long time. When the contest started, the first bubble I blew was huge. I could hear Marina’s surprise in the audience. So I made the finals. In the finals, I blew another really big bubble and ended up winning the contest. Marina was so excited, she ran up and hugged me. I won a set of blue fuzzy dice which she hung in my car.

Shortly after that, we left the festival. We’d had a great afternoon.