A digital travel diary. · WP v1.08 · Updated
On the spur of the moment, Inna purchased tickets for the Klezmer musical "Old Stock - A Refugee Love Story," playing for only 2 days at the Bing Hall at Stanford University. . . . . . A brief Synopsis according to Sydney Festival:. A dark, funny and high-energy klezmer-folk tale inspired by the real-life story of two Romanian Jews seeking refuge in Canada in…
Read More: Review: Old Stock – A Refugee Love Story
I originally purchased tickets for the Cirque du Soleil Volta production on Wednesday, February 27. Still, Inna had an evening class scheduled, and I was forced to sell our tickets to the show.. . . . . . However, a bit later, Inna found tickets for the March 12 show and purchased them. . We really enjoyed the show and all of the incredible acrobatics..…
Read More: Review: Cirque du Soleil Volta
Plot Summary:. . With the Spanish-American War over, newspaper sales were down, and Joseph Pulitzer decided to increase the price that newspaper boys pay for 100 newspapers from 50 to 60 cents. The boys (many of them orphans), loosely organized, decide to strike to force Joseph Pulitzer (and other newspaper publishers) to back down. With the help of Governor Theodore Roosevelt, the newsies eventually prevailed..…
Read More: Review: Newsies at Bellarmine
“Murder, greed, corruption, exploitation, adultery, and treachery…all those things we hold near and dear to our hearts“…so begins the international award-winning Broadway and West End musical, CHICAGO. . . . . . What can be said about Chicago - one of the finest (and possibly my all-time favorite musical) - that hasn't already been said? With subtle, sarcastic lyrics by Fred Ebb, music by John…
Read More: Review: “Chicago” on Broadway (Ambassador Theater)
Summary. . A group of young puppets and humans living on Avenue Q tries to work out their personal and financial problems.. . . . . Puppets. Princeton: "A fresh-faced kid just out of college.". Kate Monster: "A kindergarten teaching assistant, a bit older than Princeton." . Nicky: "A bit of a slacker who lives with Rod.". Rod: "A Republican investment banker with a secret.".…
Read More: Review: Avenue Q Off Broadway (New World Stages)
Summary. . A pregnant waitress with an abusive husband tries to bake her way out of her problems while having an affair with her doctor.. . . . Musical Numbers. Act I. "What's Inside" – Jenna and Company. "Opening Up" – Jenna, Becky, Dawn, Cal, and Company. "The Negative" – Jenna, Becky, and Dawn. "Door Number Three" – Jenna. "Waiting Room" – Patients. "When He…
Read More: Review: Waitress on Broadway (Brooks Atkinson Theater)
Plot. . Directed by Tony winner Bartlett Sher, the stellar cast - led by Lauren Ambrose, Harry Hadden-Paton, Norbert Leo Butz, Diana Rigg, Allan Corduner, Jordan Donica, Linda Mugleston, and Clarke Thorell - tells the story of Eliza Doolittle, a young Cockney flower seller, and Henry Higgins, a linguistics professor who is determined to transform her into his idea of a "proper lady." But who…
Read More: Review: My Fair Lady on Broadway (Vivian Beaumont Theater)
In the late afternoon, we took a short taxi ride to Vallarta Adventures, where we boarded boat #4 for the one-hour sail to Las Caletas for the Rhythms of the Night - Savia dinner and show.. . . . We saw a few people dressed in attractive costumes when we arrived onshore in Las Caletas.. . . . Drums were being beaten, calling us to…
Read More: Rhythms of the Night – Savia
Today, I saw the TheatreWorks production of "Around the World in 80 Days" at Lucie Stren Theater in Palo Alto.. . Around the World in 80 Days by Laura Eason takes the classic work from Jules Verne and adapts it for the theater. It centers on the story of Phileas Fogg, who tackles the wager that he cannot cross the World in just 80 days.…
Read More: Review; “Around the World in 80 Days” at Lucie Stern Theater
After hearing our friends' favorable review of "Something Rotten," I decided to see it in San Francisco's Orpheum Theater (if I could get reasonably priced tickets). . . Today, on Sunday, September 3, when I checked my iPhone's TodayTix app, I realized that some seats could be available at the $40/ticket price. At 09:00, I got the $40 Rush tickets (which turned out to be…
Read More: Review: “Something Rotten” at Orpheum Theater
Today, my wife and I saw Constellations at TheatreWorks of Mountain View.. . . . I had never heard of this particular play and thought it might be a musical, but it turned out to be entirely different.. . The basic idea of the plot is to imagine a universe where all possibilities are explored sequentially. In this incarnation, the two main characters, a beekeeper…
Read More: Review: “Constellations” at TheatreWorks
. . . . . The West End transfer of this farce is a play within a play and a study in chaos. . . The show is a farcical play-within-a-play. Cornley Polytechnic Drama Society is producing a hoary old sub-‘Mousetrap’ mystery called ‘The Murder at Haversham Manor.’ From the first moment, in which a hapless stage manager attempts to secure a collapsing mantelpiece, we…
Read More: Review: “The Play that Goes Wrong” at West End (Duchess Theatre)
. . First, the red curtain rises just a foot off the stage. And it artfully reveals the star attraction of this mind-blowingly lavish revival of a classic Broadway musical: 40-odd pairs of tap-dancing feet, hammering the boards in perfect unison.. . . . Helmed by Broadway director Mark Bramble, 42nd Street is as American as a McDonald's apple pie, a steaming, golden spectacle of…
Read More: Review: “42nd Street” at West End (Theatre Royal Drury Lane)
Today, we saw a TheatreWorks production of Hershey Felder's Beethoven. . . . The production primarily focuses on reminiscences of a Beethoven acquaintance while playing pieces of some of his most famous compositions, such as Moonlight Sonata, Pathetique, parts from Choral Symphony No. 9, and, of course, Fur Elise. . . . . . We enjoyed the concert, and Hershey Felder beautifully played Beethoven's famous…
Read More: Review: “Beethoven” at TheatreWorks (Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts)
While in New York City, on the spur of the moment, we decided to purchase tickets to see The Illusionists -Turn of the Century. We were not planning to see it, but Inna read some fantastic reviews and was curious about this Broadway-quality magic show. Using the TodayTix app on my iPhone (extremely useful for last-minute tickets), I purchased three discounted tickets for the Christmas…
Read More: Review: “The Illusionists Turn of the Century” on Broadway (Palace Theater)
What can be said of Cats - a musical I first saw performed in Houston, Texas, in 1993? Has it changed at all? Is it better on Broadway?. . . . The plot for the latest Cats revival remains the same. A bunch of Jellicle cats prances around the stage, using Cat-like movement and choreography, singing about their unique characteristics. There is a Jellicle Ball…
Read More: Review: “Cats” on Broadway (Neil Simon Theatre)
The sorry state of the world gives us a new reason to appreciate the depth of feeling so powerfully, so ingeniously embedded in "Fiddler on the Roof," the much-loved and much-revived 1964 musical comedy that has returned to Broadway.. . . . The superb new production, currently playing at the Broadway Theater, certainly honors the show's ebullience of spirit, as embodied in the central character…
Read More: Review: “Fiddler on the Roof” on Broadway (Broadway Theatre)
How does Les Liaisons Dangereuses on Broadway compare to the famous movie Dangerous Liaisons (starring Glenn Close, John Malkovich, and Michelle Pfeiffer)? . . . . . . Having never read the book by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos (and only seen the movie), I was not sure what to expect. I had nothing to fear. The Broadway adaptation of the book was mostly accurate and…
Read More: Review: “Les Liaisons Dangereuses” on Broadway
Although I was familiar with some of the songs by Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons, I was never aware of their true story or path to rock 'n' roll fame.. . Consequently, I was apprehensive when purchasing tickets to the Jersey Boys musical, playing at the August Wilson Theater on Broadway. Overall, I enjoyed the performance of Jersey Boys. Still, it does not fare…
Read More: Review: “Jersey Boys” on Broadway (August Wilson Theater)"Murder, greed, corruption, exploitation, adultery, and treachery…all those things we hold near and dear to our hearts "…so begins the international award-winning Broadway and West End musical, CHICAGO. . . . . . What can be said about Chicago - one of the finest (and possibly my all-time favorite musical) - that hasn't already been said? With subtle, sarcastic lyrics by Fred Ebb, music by…
Read More: Review: “Chicago” on Broadway (Ambassador Theater)