Tonight was the first night of LES MISERABLES in Chicago! My all-time favorite musical. Plus, this might just be my favorite production of the show… and I’ve seen it “several” times!!! The cast was amazing… their voices INCREDIBLE… piercing right through bringing on goosebumps… and if I’m being totally honest, little tears on more than a few occasions! It’s only here for three weeks… so get tickets right away if you can… you WON’T be disappointed!!! It’s AMAZING… and you’ll see why it’s my favorite!!!

While I’m sad that Pam’s friend got strep throat at the last minute… but I was more than eager to step-in for an impromptu night of musical theater. Great show, fantastic Bob Fosse stylized choreography & beautiful architecture at another classic Chicago theater … and ALL THAT JAZZ!!!

More beautiful architecture at The CIBC Theater… formerly The Shubert Theater… in downtown Chicago. Not quite as over-the-top as some of the other theaters in town, but still beautiful with its ceiling treatments, corbels & crystal chandeliers.

Divorced. Beheaded, Died.
Divorced. Beheaded. Survived.

Another night of musical theater last night… or in this case, more like a “pop concert” loosely wrapped around a bit of history. The six wives of Henry VIII sing about their tragic lives… with plenty of beautiful voices, but not much of a story! It’s like a mini-history lesson with The Go-Go’s!!!

While the inside of the Nederlander Theater was painted with red light for MOULIN ROUGE, the lobby architecture is equally impressive. Our friendly usher Nancy told us some history about this statuesque & landmarked theater that was built back in 1926. This place is so incredible… even more lavish & over-the-top at every turn. The sure don’t make ’em like they used to!!!

“Hey sista, go sista, soul sista, flow sista”…
Another fun night of musical theater last night. Long-awaited…
as MOULIN ROUGE was one of the biggest shows around when the world shut down about two years ago… just as it was about to arrive in Chicago! When we all did our best to survive the craziness of a worldwide pandemic. So again, it felt GREAT to be back in a theater with a live cast performing on stage.

So let’s talk about the elephant in the room… sure, we had to show proof of vaccine & stay masked the whole time… but I’m still loving it. And yes, the show was well worth the wait!!! Oh yeah, and there REALLY is a big elephant in the room!!!

“Voulez-vous coucher avec moi, ce soir?”… thank you Lady Marmalade!!!

Everything went “wrong” last night… at The Broadway Playhouse in Water Tower Place. A fun slapsticky who-dunnit farce… kinda like if Sherlock Holmes and Monty Python had an illegitimate Broadway baby!!!

Masked & triple-vaxxed… it felt so great to be back to live theater last night! It has been FAR too long. Sure, some last minute free tickets helped too! We went to see the new “revival” of OKLAHOMA! An updated twist on the original Rodger’s & Hammerstein musical.

While there were a lot of talented performers onstage, I think there were also a “few” bad choices along the way. I understand trying to update it a bit… but I was “confused” by the lack of scene changes, the IKEA furniture, the total black-out dialogues, the video close-up projections & the dream dance scene… which honestly, is a little much in the movie too?!

But again, the talent was there… and it felt so great to back in a beautifully classic theater again! One step closer to a small bit of “normal” again.

And while I’m sliding down that proverbial slippery slope, here’s another fun musical diversion for the “HAMILTON” fans out there… okay, really for any of you missing live musical theater these days!!! Such a great flashback to better times… and be sure to wait for that final note!!!

Anyone looking for a little mid-afternoon musical holiday diversion?!
Any “HAMILTON” fans out there… if so, you’ll LOVE this one!!!
Brilliantly written. Perfectly performed.

Now I really want to see the entire show “Hamilton-ized.”
Maybe some of the “Island of Misfit Toys” can become the Schuyler Sisters??? Hermey as Thomas Jefferson… or even better, the Abominable Snowman as Aaron Burr?… or would that be Aaron BRRR…!!!