Do You Hear The People Sing?

They say once you've done something three times, it becomes a tradition (Okay, I'm not sure if 'they' actually say that, but I think it makes sense). So this is the third happening of what is now a grand tradition of taking the train to visit my aunt and seeing a musical in San Francisco. Yesterday, my aunt took my cousin and I to see the 25th anniversary tour of Les Miserables. All I can say is: WOW! 

The production was incredible, and there was not a mediocre talent on stage. Betsy Morgan's Fantine absolutely blew me away and her range was unbelievable. The characters being portrayed seemed so real, I forgot there were actual actors on stage. Especially with Peter Lockyer (absolutely amazing) I could tell where he ended and Jean Valjean began. He was just astounding, he poured so much emotion into the part, and yet he never seemed drained. By time he sang 'Bring Him Home' I couldn't hold my tears in anymore and by the finale they were streaming down my face. 

Note to self: if when I see it again (considering the movie is coming to theaters in December) I must remember tissues and water-proof mascara!

The three lovely ladies (but not prostitutes) 

My traditional souvenir coffee mug!

I am so in love with the music from this show, and the fact that it is entirely sung-through is always so impressive, the actors must have so much stamina (especially when you consider that Saturdays are two-show days, since we were at the matinee, these guys still had one more show to do).
It will be interesting to see how they do the movie, whether they treat it like the light-opera it is, or if they trade the more 'recitative-ish' songs for dialogue, like in Rent

It's a Mad Extravaganza!!

The only thing better than a trip to the theatre, is a somewhat impromptu trip to the theatre! This morning, I hopped in my car, drove to my friend's house and continued on from there to Hollywood to see La Cage Aux Folles at the Pantages theatre. The Producers are right...no matter what you do on the stage, keep it light, keep it bright, keep it gay! There was so much fabulous, I don't even know where to begin!
I guess I'll begin with the only thing that was not-so-fabulous. George Hamilton cannot sing. Other things George Hamilton doesn't do well? Dance, enunciate, and have regular-human-colored skin (the man looks like an elderly Oompa Loompa!) He may have been decent if Christopher Sieber and Michael Lowney weren't such incredible singers. Other than Mr. Hamilton's sub-par vocals, I have nothing else to quasi-complain about! Our cheap seats did not come with a cheap view and everything was wonderful and full of theatre-magic! This show does not allow you simply spectate, the audience is a very important character in this show...and we all played our part serving as patrons of the club. The cagelles were ridiculously incredible. I swear, those guys are ten times better in heels than I will ever be! Michael Lowney (Jean-Michel) was very talented, and had a sort of swoon-y Jo-Bro quality about him (and so full of charm for a straight kid!) Christopher Sieber (Shrek: the Musical, Into the Woods, Spamalot, Pushing Daisies [Smell of Success], worked with Olsen twins, etc.) was HI-LAR-IOUS as Albin/Zaza! His range was just...wow! His timing was spot on! AND I got to meet him at the stage door after the show.

I even got an autograph...well, sort of:

I knew the Playbill would be black, so I brought a silver gel pen...just in case! Well, gel pens are unreliable, and the blasted thing didn't work. Bugger.

My favorite takeaway line from the show comes from Zaza's song I Am What I Am, which closes out the first act:

"Life's not worth a damn until you can say 'Hey world, I am what I am'"

And I truly believe that! You've got to be yourself! Don't let others tell you what you should or shouldn't be. Don't let anyone tell you you've got to hide!

And of course being what I am...I cannot have an adventure without acquiring one of these:

 

Don't be jealous of my Vanna White skills! (Or my jammies, which have pies on them.)

It's hard for me to say nice things about the Central Valley, it being so dreadfully hot and all...but it'd be hard to make a 12 hour round trip excursion to Hollywood (that includes taking in a show) from anywhere else...

Illegally blonde

I have a confession to make: I'm not a natural redhead, I dye my hair (gasp). My natural hair color is sort of a cross between blonde and brown. The words most-often used to describe it are "dirty blonde" or "dishwater blonde" and as flattering as those terms are, I'd rather not attribute them to my hair. So, for the past 3ish years I've had Light Auburn locks and for whatever reason, I was starting to get bored with it. So I decided maybe I should try a brighter red...

WRONG decision, don't let the smile I'm wearing in this picture fool you...I was not happy with this orange-y reddish Ariel-esque hue. So, I Googled "I dyed my hair and I hate it" and I was led to a product called Color-Oops that will strip any dye from your hair (and is guaranteed to make it smell horrible, even after multiple washings). I picked up a box after work and figured we'd start from square one, maybe even try my natural hair color for a while.

WRONG! This is not my natural color...I don't even think this is a natural color. It looks blonde, but it's really pretty yellowish. I talked to my stylist, and she said I can go back to using my regular box dye, but to wait a few days since my hair was dyed and stripped in a period of less than 24 hours. 

So do blondes really have more fun? I guess I'll just have to wait and see...

Bunheads

I am hooked on this new ABCFamily show. I can't tell if the name is ridiculous, or based on the brand of ballet accessories (toe pads, ribbons, snoods, etc).

Bunheads is created by Amy Sherman-Palladino (the genius behind Gilmore Girls). I don't think I can find actual words to express how much I love this show! It's about ballet (well, sort of), it's got Kelly Bishop (playing a version of Emily Gilmore), and it stars Sutton Foster as Michelle, a fast-talking, classically trained ballerina turned Vegas showgirl. She marries her stalker fan, Cameron Frye (aka Hubble), and she moves to California Stars Hollow (also known as Paradise, but not the real Paradise, California...the fake one, which is probably in Ventura County since Ojai, Oxnard and Simi Valley were all referenced in the last episode) to live with him and his mother. Then he dies. Because Michelle has the worst luck with men. 

So, yes, it's a pretty cheesy premise...but it's a great show. And Sutton Foster. And ballerinas.

Lauren's Choice

Tonight I had to make the hardest decision OF. MY. LIFE!!!!
Okay...I over-reacted. A little bit...
We were playing a semi-friendly game of Apples to Apples and I was judging the round. I mean, it really shows how well my friends know me that these cards were played, but how am I supposed to make this choice:

How, I ask you...HOW?!? It's not fair making me choose...
On one hand, I have been to Disneyland 25 times whereas I've only seen about 8 Broadway shows/national tours, on the other hand I have 1,625 showtunes on my iPod, but only 403 Disney songs. I'm still really stressed out thinking about having to make this decision in real life. What a quandary!

I finally just closed my eyes and shuffled the cards and picked one at random.

Secret ingredients

It is no secret that I love to bake. Love love love!! I like to experiment with my baking, or find different twists for classic recipes. In my next life I'm going to open a bakery...I think I'll call it 'That One Little Pie Shop'... and on my menu will be this triple berry & peach pie I just pulled out of the oven. It smells delicious (even though there was a bit of a cinnamon disaster). 

As an amateur baker, I am always open to baking tips and Pintrest is good...but gramma is better!

She told me that adding two tablespoons of vodka (yes, vodka) to the piecrust while mixing it will result in an extra light and flaky crust. I tried this little trick...and guess what? It worked!

Most piecrust recipes call for ice water, the particular recipe I used called for two tablespoons of H2O, I substituted the water for vodka, and added an additional teaspoon of water.