Looking forward to “date night” tomorrow night with Cosette…
and then rest of her overly dramatic friends & family!!!

When offered a free theater ticket… I’m pretty much in for anything!!!
So tonight was date night with my Mom, Dad & Aunt Marilyn.
Yeah… us and a bunch of freaky singin’ & dancin’ felines!!!

Last night was fun night of musical theater with my friend Pam. We saw a production of the Stephen Sondheim classic “Into The Woods.” Very clever. Lots of witty words in quick rhymes & slick timing. Very fun. If you haven’t heard of it… it’s where they take most of the popular fairy tale characters and throw them all together in one story. So it’s Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, Rapunzel, Prince Charming, and another Prince Charming, The Baker and His Wife, Jack, his Beanstalk and many more!!! An entertaining evening at the Mercury Theater in Chicago.

It was a “practically perfect” evening with Mary Poppins and my friend Pam last night.

Followed by a very sweet treat… which I now want s’more of!!!

Tonight was another fun night of “culture” downtown Chicago…
err, or was that in Oklahoma?!… OK !!!

Yes, we all know the story. We all know the songs. We all know the words.
It was great to see the live production on stage for the first time after seeing the classic film version since childhood. It was very well done with some beautiful voices. There were a few people who might not be the “true” triple threat. But all in all it was fun. I tried not to sing out-loud too much. And for the record, I can say that I still don’t care about Poor Jud Fry.

Part of the fun is also seeing the beauty & majesty of the Civic Opera House in Chicago. It’s one of the largest & grandest theaters in the city. With beautiful art-deco & art-nouveau accents everywhere in it’s beautifully restored state. Everywhere you turn there are stunning architectural accents. Just walking around the lobby and theater is a visually stunning experience. And the people-watching ain’t too shabby either!

Last night I went to see the new, pre-Broadway musical “BIG FISH”. The stage version was wonderfully whimsical & beautifully staged with all of the crazy characters that we first met in the 2003 Tim Burton movie version. A very sweet story of father & son and the mythical stories they shared that were always a bit too “fishy” to believe!

Last night I drove out to Oakbrook to see “Sunset Boulevard” at Drury Lane.
It’s a classic Andrew Lloyd Weber stage production. A musical remake of the 1950
Billy Wilder classic black & white movie. Chronicling the faded glory & delusional life
of silent screen actress Norma Desmond. To this day, the classic movie is still listed
as the 16th best movie ever by the American Film Institute. I’ve seen the movie…
and tonight I finally saw the musical at Drury Lane. It’s a good production with a
creepy, eerie & delusional Norma Desmond…. who is ready for her closeup Mr. DeMille.
Of course we had to get food first… so why not indulge at The Cheesecake Factory!?

While we were at Drury Lane for “Sunset Boulevard”, there is also a lot to see in the lobby.
Lots of things that sparkle. And since I was with my metalsmith friend Pam who is known
by some as the “Queen Of All That Sparkles”, we had a lot of sparkle to admire!

But it’s not just the chandeliers to admire… the pressed textured tile ceiling is pretty
darn impressive too! Love the pattern. Love the grid. Love the subtle coloration.

Sadly, not everything is quite wonderful at Drury Lane. The carpets are quite “lovely.”
And yet somehow I have a weird fascination with the crazy carpet designs found in
hotels everywhere! I may need to start a collection of hotel carpet photos?!

I went to the Steppenwolf Theater tonight with two high school friends to see our friend
Ora Jones starring in “Three Sisters.” Not only is she starring in the show…
and on the cover of the playbill… but her mug is also on the banners along Halsted Street!!!

The play is an adaptation of the Anton Chekov classic. So there’s a lot of talking,
and not a whole lot happening… at least as far as I could figure it out…

And no, she doesn’t always look this sad & downtrodden… but the make-up artist did
a great job. I’m sure she just loves seeing herself like this every time she comes to work!!!

The fun of this holiday week continues… as I spend my days trying to clean my place,
taking down the Home Show remnants, dismantling the tree and packing away all of my
holiday decorations! But it’s also been a fun week to play with friends who also have
some extra time on their hands. Tonight I went out with my friend Nancy for a great
dinner at “Prairie Moon” in Evanston, followed by a night of live theater.

I first heard about “The Secret Garden” many years ago when it was live on Broadway
and snatching several statuettes on the Tony Awards. I still remember Mandy Patinkin
performing this one song “Lily’s Eyes” on the show and I’ve been entranced ever since.
Check out their live & abridged Tony performance from over fifteen years ago…
“The Secret Garden” Original Cast at the Tony Awards.

I’ve never seen anything about it being performed live (or undead?) in the Chicago area.
So when I finally saw it was coming to Evanston for a few short days, I had to get tickets
right away. I had never heard of the theater group, or the theater itself… so I was a little
apprehensive. Especially because the show involves a lot of ghosts & spirits who are
“haunting” the residents of the house, as well as singing many duets – and I was concerned
that the production could be really cool or really cheesy. You know, ghosts on stage are
never easy! And the lead character is played by a fifth grader?! Could go either way…
Luckily, it turned out to be a wonderful performance – and I’m looking forward to their future
productions as well.