Last night I saw yet another show that was in previews, Something Rotten. It was so much fun!
I didn't know a lot about this show going in, but it's basically takes place during Shakespeare's glory days and is about his competition who wants to create the next big thing...which it turns out is a musical! The show is ridiculously silly and includes so many musical theatre references that I couldn't stop laughing. I hope it does well!
Here's the trailer for it, it's a silly fun one.
And then here's some preview songs from the rehearsal. It was 100 times better seeing the numbers with all the costumes and sets though!
Kari's sister and twin-in-law were visiting over the weekend! And they kindly let me tag along with all of their show plans. So I went to 2 musicals this weekend! What fun!
First up - It Shoulda Been You
I didn't know a lot about this show going into it, but I was pleasantly surprised! I wanted to see it because David Burtka is in it and he was just as excellent as I was expecting! The basic premise is this couple are getting married but the parents aren't super excited for it. It actually started out, not bad exactly, but just not super new or exciting. It was very predictable. But then...there was a twist that I won't give away and the show got 10 times better!
The worst thing about seeing a show is that there aren't any good preview yet. But here's a press event where Tyne Daly sings a funny song. She plays the mother of the bride.
Saturday morning I gave Kari and her family a break from me and Seth and I decided to get some culture and we ended up at The Museum of the City of New York. It's a museum devoted to the history of NYC. It was actually pretty fascinating to know more about where I live!
The stair wells had cool quotes in them
They had a video narrated by Stanley Tucci that went through 400 years of history. There was a cool activism room which talked about activism throughout the eras. So everything from the dutch riots in the beginning of the city's history all the way through to Occupy Wall Street and the People's Climate March.
From the section on women's suffrage
From the section on the garment workers' strike
From the gay rights movement section
There was also a section on the gilded age of NY. They had all kinds of fancy jewelry and paintings on display.
The museum was great fun and interesting. Then, after the museum but before the show, there were silly shenanigans!
It was soon time for Finding Neverland! I was so looking forward to this. Matthew Morrison stars, and there was even Melanie Moore from So You Think You Can Dance! Oh and Kelsey Grammer.
The story is based on the movie of the same name. I loved the movie, and I also loved the musical. It had such big booming numbers and you could tell they went all out on the set design. I loved the combination of traditional big broadway numbers and the less conventional dance routines. There was humor, there was good singing, and there was definitely emotion. I definitely teared up towards the end. I'm sure this is one I'll be seeing again!
This show is also still in previews, but here's a fun video of them in rehearsal.
I also really love this rendition of the Finding Neverland song sung by Matthew Morrison.
Last night I saw Hedwig for the 3rd time! At least I keep seeing it with different people each time. It's such a fun rocking show that I've very much enjoyed it each time. I went with more friends this time and it was fun as two of them hadn't seen it before so I got to be excited for them as well. This time I saw it with John Cameron Mitchell, who wrote the show and originated the role of Hedwig in both the off broadway production and the movie. So that was pretty interesting in that you really were watching the creator of this character. The other interesting thing was that he had hurt his knee early on in his run so was wearing a knee brace and it was cool to see how he changed the show around to incorporate his limited mobility. There were a lot of crate jokes (Hedwig kept asking for a crate to put her foot up on). And there was a fantastic joke where Hedwig joked that we were seeing the original cast.
Today I won tickets to see a new musical that's playing at The Public Theater! Lin-Manuel Miranda wrote a musical called Hamilton which is about, as the name might suggest, the life of Alexander Hamilton.
It's completing a sold out run at The Public Theater and then it will make it's way to Broadway. Kari has been really wanting to see it and the only way to get tickets right now is to try for the lottery. So she's been trying for at least 2 weeks and I've been joining her when I can, but we haven't had any luck. So I didn't have high hopes for today but surprisingly enough, my name got pulled!
The show was really great. I honestly didn't know what to expect. I mean how interesting can the life of Alexander Hamilton really be? But the story of the show was actually very interesting and Lin-Manuel Miranda put an intriguing spin on the whole thing.
After the show we hung around in the lobby and got to meet the cast as they came out! They were all really nice. One of the cast members I was most excited to meet was Jonathan Groff who was on Glee and some other shows (as well as one of the voices in Frozen!). He was also really nice which I always appreciate.
All in all, a very good day!
The outside of the Public Theater
Statue of Alexander Hamilton during his famous duel
Us with Lin-Manuel Miranda (the writer and star of the show)
Kari and I went to go see Radio City Music Hall's Spring Spectacular. Which is basically their Christmas show without the Christmas part. Instead...there was a random Easter theme that didn't make a whole lot of sense, especially since the show will be running for at least a month past when Easter actually falls.
I was so excited to see the show because I knew there would be a lot good dancing, and it starred Laura Benanti and Derek Hough. Laura Benanti I just think is a talented and funny actress and Derek Hough is one of the pro dancers on Dancing with the Stars!
The show itself had good moments and terrible moments. All of the dancing was great and the numbers with the Rockettes in particular were fantastic. But it definitely had a weird plot. The plot is basically the main guy (Derek Hough) is given a mission from God (the voice of Whoopie Goldberg) that in order to get his wings (It's assumed he's an angel but never made perfectly clear) he must help this old NYC tour guide keep his job. So he and the tour guide give a whirlwind tour of NYC to Laura Benanti's character who wants to fire the tour guide and turn him into a virtual app. Also the Easter bunny randomly shows up throughout.
One of the other fun parts was they gave us light up bracelets to wear during which lit up in different colors depending on the part of the show. It was a lot of fun!
So in conclusion, the show was super cheesy and the plot was weird. But I had a good time and watching the Rockettes dance is always super fun.
I think my two favorite songs were the opening where they did a dance to Taylor Swift's Welcome to New York and then in the middle of the show when they did this fabulous tap number to Singing in the Rain.
Here's the official preview for the show.
And here's the singing in the rain number that someone recorded.
1) I made a cake that was supposed to be the BBC Worldwide logo. It was alright. Not great, but the essence was there.
2) I finished my Harry Potter pillow! I had seen someone do this on etsy and decided to try and make my own version. I'm quite pleased with the results! It is made from fleece and felt.
3) I toured the Kings Theatre in Brooklyn. This is an old historic theatre they just renovated and it was beautiful inside!
4) Seth and I went on a snowy walk in Central Park. It was really nice to walk around with the fluffy white snow falling down around us. There was also a guy doing ice sculptures in the park for an event. But it got too cold to stay and watch for too long.
5) I saw the movie version of The Last Five Years with Anna Kendrick and Jeremy Jordan. It was much better than I was expecting, though to be fair I went in with extremely low expectations. The music was pretty and the actors were good though. Here's the trailer!
Here's all the Harry Potter parts of my epic adventure with my mom to Universal Studios.
THE RIDES
Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey - This was the first thing we rode. The basic storyline is that you're supposed to attend a History of Magic lecture with Professor Binns, but Harry, Ron, and Hermione help sneak you out of Hogwarts to fly on the quidditch pitch instead. I have to admit, I missed a lot of this ride due to keeping my eyes closed. It wasn't even that scary, it was more the fact that I was so nauseous by the motion of the ride that I was afraid I'd be ill. Even so I was a bit wobbly on my feet after the fact. The part at the beginning where you walk through Hogwarts was cool though.
The castle was very impressive
See how we are all smiles? This was before the ride...
Part of the line winds through the Hogwarts greenhouses
Luckily we didn't have to wait in the overflow line
The Mandrakes!
The entrance to Dumbledore's office
The sorting hat
Some of the portraits actually moved and would chat with you and each other
Dumbledore talked to us from his office
Harry, Ron, and Hermione explaining how they are going to sneak us out
of the castle
The Fat Lady portrait. Who actually talked!
Newspapers with moving images also lined the walls
Ollivander's Wand Shop - This wasn't a ride so much as an experience. A group of people all went inside Ollivanders and then an associate chose someone who got to test out what wand would choose them. Lights flashed and other various things happened when the person chose their right or wrong wands. It was pretty cute.
The outside of the wand shop
So many wands!
The Hogwarts Express - This is how you can easily get between the two parks and the ride is different each way! It's set up as a little video that makes it seem like you're heading through the countryside of England on your way. It's a little hard to explain but was quite cute with a lot of Harry Potter references that was fun to see.
Hogsmeade Station
The train platform at Hogsmeade
In the train carriage
The Diagon Alley side is set up as King's Cross Station
It was funny because I've been to the real one!
Platform 9 3/4
Yes - Hedwig moved
Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts - This was probably the ride I had the most fun on. I even convinced my mom to go on it twice! (I went on it three times). In this one you're supposed to be opening up an account at Gringotts, however it also takes place during the 7th book when Harry and company are stealing the horcrux. You get caught in the middle. This one was part 3D movie and part roller coaster. I thought it was just enough of each to be fun and thrilling but not nauseating. Plus it had a cute story!
Gringotts
To get on the ride you have to walk through the lobby
of Gringotts - full of animatronic Goblins
Flying with Buckbeak - This was a kiddie coaster where you fly around with Buckbeak through Hagrid's yard. It was fun!
Hagrid's hut
The coaster
THE AMBIENCE
One of the best things about the parks was how detailed all of the shop windows and other parts of the Harry Potter world was. It was so immersive and I loved it!
The Knight Bus
Entrance to Diagon Alley
You can see Kreacher peeking out of the window
THE EXPO
Part of the fun was all of the expo activities. There was a stage where they had various demonstrations and played some of the movies. And then there was a huge expo hall where there were various Harry Potter groups with tables set up and fun things like photo ops.
