Theatre Review: Les Miserables

Playbill: Les Miserables

Pre-Theatre Meal: Marseilles

Accompanied By: Nana & Donna

The second the movie production of Les Miserables was announced I knew that that meant a Broadway revival and that I would be going with my grandmother as it is her all time favorite musical. So when earlier this week she told me she had tickets to go with her friend Donna for Saturday night, I hopped online and snagged a seat. I was torn between a Row C Partial View seat and one a few rows back and to the right for $50 more. Not that I wanted to cheap out on Les Miz, but I liked that the Partial View seat had an unobstructed view of the stage...at least the majority of the stage that wasn't blocked from view. At first when I sat down I thought I had chosen poorly, but the entrance ramp I was sitting next to was used a LOT and made it a semi-immersive theatre experience. I also loved that there were no heads between me and the stage to block my view at all. I wound up loving my Partial View seat completely.

The highlight of the show was hands down Ramin Karimloo who was beyond stunning. After hearing him sing his 1st number in the prologue I literally felt as though I had my admission's worth. He's my favorite Jean Valjean of all time and I don't think he will ever be possible to top. Of course, the entire cast was phenomenal- the best of the best musical theatre actors in the world. His rendition of "Bring Him Home" was a literal show stopper and the action had to pause for the thunderous applause. I almost stood up right then.

Getting to experience this musical reminded me how fortunate I am to live in New York. Getting to sit right up at the stage where I got to hear some of the individual voices of the Ensemble members and was totally blown away- each of them could tear down a house on their own accord. Anyone who gives a hoot about theatre should see this production.

I Made This: Toilet Paper Roll Wall Decor Part 2

DIY Toilet Paper Roll Wall Decor

DIY Toilet Paper Roll Wall Decor

A long time ago I posted Part 1 of my attempts at making wall decor with toilet paper rolls. I wound up making four designs, but ran into a dilemma when it came to spray painting since I live in NYC and don't exactly have a backyard or other convenient spot to spray paint. I attempted to make a "spray paint" by mixing acrylic paint and water in a spray bottle, but the result was a disaster.

Since then, I moved to a new apartment which is located near a sanitation depot which turned out to be a fine spot to go and attempt to spray paint. I got more than a few funny looks for sure, but it was all worth it in the name of some cheap and easy DIY wall decor to spruce the place up. 

I'm quite pleased with the results which turned out to be quite tricky to photograph. The best thing about it is that they were so cheap and easy that I won't feel bad getting rid of them the next time I want to switch up my decor or the next time we move!

DIY Toilet Paper Roll Wall Decor

Theatre Review: Macbeth

Pre-Theatre Meal: Minca Ramen Factory
Accompanied by: Mike

A small production set in the Church of St. Teresa in the Lower East Side which was totally unique and special. Entering the church I assumed it was Episcopalian or Presbyterian because it looked traditional, but I didn't think for a second a Catholic Church would allow a theatre production in it. However, then I noticed the Stations of the Cross and the telltale light in front of the tabernacle and realized that it was indeed Catholic. Pretty darned cool. We knew of this production because of Careena Melia who originated the role of Hecate in Sleep No More and who was a stunning Lady Macbeth in this production. The acting was fantastic and the way they used the space was really creative. It was so neat to see this production just a few weeks after seeing the production at the Lincoln Center to contrast the mega-production with this extremely intimate one. While they were both wonderful in their own right, we both enjoyed this one tremendously.

Theatre Review: No Man's Land

Playbill: No Man's Land

Pre-Theatre Meal: db Bistro Moderne

Accompanied By: Mike

I'm a big geek so when I heard legendary actors of stage & screen Ian McKellan & Patrick Stewart where going to be appearing together on Broadway, you better believe I snagged some Row C seats to see my beloved Gandalf and Picard up close. I almost choked while waiting for the show to start and the elderly couple next to me said "Well I don't know who this Stewart fellow is, but we saw this other guy in another play and thought he over-acted". 

I had a traumatic experience reading "Waiting for Godot" in high school (it made me nauseous to read and my English teacher couldn't explain what the point of reading it was to save her life besides for the fact that it was on the curriculum). In light of that, I chose "No Man's Land" which I knew nothing about. While also very abstract, I didn't care because McKellan & Stewart were an absolute delight. I should also mention that Billy Crudup & Shuler Hensley were fantastic. That said, I'm not sure I would really enjoy this play if I wasn't there for the actors, I hate walking out not knowing what it all meant, although it does make for some interesting post-show discussion.

Theatre Review: Macbeth

Pre-Theatre Meal: Nougatine
Accompanied by: Mike

The set was dark, minimalist and mostly focused on a medieval mandala (a seal comprising of pentagrams within circles). The costuming was similar dark, muted, and minimal, but also somewhat futuristic. The 3 Witches and Hecate were played by old men, which was interesting, but also felt like it was just done to be interesting. Macbeth was played by Ethan Hawke, who played him in a very subdued manner which was definitely a choice, but I never figured out what he was going for other than "broody". This was Mike's first time seeing a show at Lincoln Center and it was great to get to experience such a large scale production at the pinnacle of the world's theatre.

Theatre Review: The (Curious Case of The) Watson Intelligence

Playbill: The (Curious Case of The) Watson Intelligence

Pre-Theatre Meal: Chez Napolean

Accompanied By: Mike

We've really been on a play kick recently, so when some cheap tickets for "The (Curious Case of The) Watson Intelligence stumbled on my path, I picked them up. It sounded very interesting, following the story of 3 Watsons in different times: Sherlock's right-hand man, Alexander Graham Bell's assistant, and IBM's supercomputer of Jeopardy fame. I really enjoyed it, cleverly written with interesting parallel's and great actors, definitely a nice night out- we will definitely make an effort to see some more Off Broadway shows as we tend to really enjoy them.

Theatre Review: The Glass Menagerie

Playbill: The Glass Menagerie

Pre-Theatre Meal: Danji

Accompanied By: Mike

Surprisingly I have never read nor seen the classic Tennessee Williams "The Glass Menagerie" so I went into this play "blind" so to speak. Which is exactly how I like to experience theatre, I love to be on the journey as things unfold with no idea where they are going.

I am a huge fan of Celia Keenan-Bolger since seeing her in Peter and the Starcatcher and she did not disappoint as Laura. I also love Zachary Quinto from Star Trek & Heroes, so it was a real treat to see that he had bonafide stage acting chops. And while this was my first time seeing Cherry Jones, I was not surprised to find she was an absolute power given her long and impressive resume.

I would love to see another production of this play, because I could easily see how depending on the Director's/Actors' choices you could find yourself leaning more towards Tom leaving vs staying, but I for one was very conflicted (although Mike was much less so and thought he should absolutely get the eff outta dodge).