Always impressed by the over-the-top beauty & craftsmanship of The Cadillac Palace Theater. It never ceases to amaze me how they used to build these magnificent buildings… and that somehow a few of them have been saved & restored to their original beauty!

Another great show at the Cadillac Palace Theater… FIDDLER ON THE ROOF
just in time for the holidays?! Well-played with so many classic songs…
I tried my best to not sing too loudly… as I already knew the lyrics
from when we did the show in high school!

Thanks to my friend Pam for the wonderful Christmas gift surprise!!!

And we all know how much I LOVE a good “Sunrise, Sunset”!!!       … get it???

Another wonderful evening of musical theater last night at The Cadillac Palace Theatre. One of my all-time favorite shows with two of my favorite friends. Thanks for a magical night. Hard to believe that “MISS SAIGON” has been around for over twenty-five years now!!!

Sure, it might not be the most up-beat of shows…
but I’ve now seen it a couple times now and I love it more every time!
Even this revival with a few changes of lyrics & new songs.

The evening in the theater starts with this dramatic image on the the stage curtain to set the mood for the amazing show to come.

Save

Save

With Halloween right around the corner, it was a fun night of maniacal musical mayhem with Seymor, Audrey and Audrey 2… at the Drury Lane Theater in Oakbrook.

And I did… get on my feet, that is!!! A great night of musical theater. So much fun with Gloria Estefan and the Miami Sound Machine. Okay, so not actually them… but a rousing musical adaptation of their rise to fame… and a fateful night with a bus. An incredible sing-along for those of us who grew up in The Eighties. C’mon shake your body baby, do the Conga!!!

Especially fun for those of us who have memories of seeing Miami Sound Machine at the Rosemont Horizon. Sure, we had to sit through a soccer game to see them perform those three songs during halftime on a folding stage they rolled in just for her! And the saw them again during her superstar days during her World Tour when they performed here in Chicago. I remember the days surrounding the bus crash… and her triumphant return with “Coming Out Of The Dark” at the American Music Awards. All of which is represented in this musical. Two thumbs WAY UP!!!

And some amazing architecture & craftsmanship at the Cadillac Palace Theater.

Save

More Fun Day Sunday with the pre-Broadway PRETTY WOMAN at the Oriental Theater. Great to see Samantha Barks as Vivian. Nice throwbacks to the movie… just wish the songs were better! Kinda makes me happy our tickets were free! Makes me want to watch the movie again though!

I must admit I was hoping for more! I loved her as Eponine in “Les Miz”….
but she never quite got a chance to shine as bright as Julia ROberts did.

What’s better than one Broadway show?… TWO!! It was a “Double Feature” yesterday with an evening performance of JOSEPH AND THE AMAZING TECHNICOLOR DREAMCOAT at Oakbrook’s Drury Lane Theater. Very fun & entertaining… but one of the STRANGEST adaptations I’ve ever seen. Instead of the traditional desert of the Bible, this show took place in a Las Vegas hotel room. Seriously. And every time the Narrator sang one of her songs to progress the story, she performed it as a different Las Vegas icon. Britney. Cher. Liza. Celine. Bette. Shania. Her impersonations were fun, but it totally took away from the story. Well that, and the fully-decked out Vegas showgirls… several of whom were burly guys in drag??? Go, go, go Joe!

Here’s an example… like this scene where the Narrator is totally upstaging poor Joseph as she sings ala Celine Dion. And with every impression, we also got an awkwardly humorous moment where Joseph takes a celebrity Selfie of himself with the Vegas Icon!… only to be projected on the large LED screen behind them.

Save

Save

Save

Save

Tonight we saw the sequel. The first Phantom was AMAZING!!!…
this one, not quite so much.

Enjoyable, but not quite amazing. But what I DID learn tonight..
apparently love never dies… and it never dies… it never dies… never dies!!!

Save

Save

Save

After a great matinee, we also found cheap seats for CHICAGO at the Ambassador Theater. My friend Tiffany got “day-of” discount seats for us… in the SIXTH ROW!!!

Another fun Broadway show…
followed by a late-night subway adventure down to Greenwich Village for pizza at Joe’s…
a New York culinary institution with celebrity photos all over the walls.

With a free day to play in New York, I zipped down quickly to TKTS to find some discount tickets. I scored a great seat for a matinee showing of KINKY BOOTS at the Al Hirschfeld Theater. It’s the new musical by Cyndi Lauper!!!

The lobby of the theater is a mini museum of Hirschfeld illustrations.

RANDOM HIRSCHFELD FACT : and my Summer Camp kids LOVE this one…
When Al Hirschfeld signed his illustrations, he always added a number next to his name. That number corresponds with the number fo times her hid his daughter’s name NINA into the illustration. Look closely at both sleeves to see a NINA in each of them!

The ceiling of the theater is incredible…

And the show was AMAZING too!!!

I even found myself leaving the theater when the stars were exiting the Stage Door…
and scored autographs from the two lead actors! Including Jake Shears, lead singer of the Scissor Sisters.

Save

Save