a dream is a wish your heart makes...

I haven't had many memorable dreams lately, but the one I had last night was so vivid, I am still recalling things from it.

Initially, I was shopping with two ladies from work, in this new shopping center in Naperville (I am sure there ARE places to shop in Naperville, but I certainly have never visited them. So I am mostly sure that I made this place up). With the two girls from work, we just hung around and ate, because this place had all kinds of food.

Anyway, I loved it so much I brought my mom back with me, to this store that was just a paradise for those who love to shop - it had makeup! Bags! Shoes! Other beauty products! In the dream, I was able to remember how to get there and I navigated our way back (which was very amusing, since although we have family in Naperville, I don't know how to get there). Anyway, the part I remember most was trying on two pairs of silver Steve Madden flats and trying to decide which ones to buy. I was dithering between the two styles and then I woke up.

According to the dream dictionary shoes "represent your approach to life. It suggests that you are well-grounded or that you are down to earth. It also represents your convictions about your beliefs. If you are changing your shoes, then it refers to your changing roles. You are taking a new approach to life. To see new shoes in your dream, suggests that you are overconfident in your success. Alternatively you may be on a life path that is unfamiliar to you."

Okay, but really? I think it just means I want to go buy some cute flats....

Sweeney Todd at the Caddy...

I'm too connected to be truly objective here, so I'm sorry. I had a wonderful time at the show yesterday. It was great. Highlights:

The seats!! Row R in the Orchestra, thanks to the ticket fairy - in the form of one of my colleagues whose aunt, a Bway in Chicago subscriber could not use her tickets.... And on the aisle too!

Judy Kaye's Mrs. Lovett - I was worried. Really. I think we all know how I feel about this. But she was great. "Always had a fondness for you, I did," she sings, and this unrequited love of this man is what drives this Mrs. Lovett to do just about anything. She was less predatory and sexy and more Hyacinth Bucket, a down on her luck lady in a really short skirt... I found it a little hard to believe that her bedding would ever be rumpled. I think her sheets would be ironed with the same precision she polished the "equipment" in By the Sea.

Lauren Molina, Ben Magnuson and Diana DiMarzo - the original Broadway casters, transplanted to the tour. Loved them.

Did not really like the Beadle or the Judge (channeling Darrell Hammond playing President Clinton???) and David Hess was somewhat underwhelming. The moment I fell in love with the show when I first saw it in 2006 was Sweeney's first entrance, when he looms out of the coffin and says "Attend the tale of Sweeney Todd..." I was hooked. Each time thereafter, that line gave me chills. Mr. Hess didn't give it the same delivery, the same fire. There also didn't seem to be any chemistry between him and Judy, but that is okay, since that dream of love and marriage is hers alone.

Anyway, point is, I liked it. I'd go back, if I could...

playing dress up...

Eeeek! The Gala is coming up in a matter of weeks! What to wear, what to wear? My problem in my search for the perfect evening dress, suitable for a totally glam black tie event, is that it's also (ugh) prom season. While I am pawing through the racks of dresses, so is a bunch of the student population of Niles Township. Most of these dresses are bright, candy colors in the "yikes my retinas" shades popular with Carnival cruise lines, and either cut so ridiculously low in the front that you look like Skokie's good time girl, or they are adorned with a ridiculous amount of glitter or, worse, they look like they've been bedazzled.

Here's the thing - I want the vibe to be elegant and sophisticated, not, you know, streetwalker. Also? Many of the women at this event will have ACTUAL bling, so the bedazzled embellishments? Will look cheap next to the real thing.

Today though, I found it!

I have to get it shortened though, because it appears to have been made for a giantess.

My good friend, Sweeney...

Does it surprise anyone that Hedy Weiss was a little befuddled by this production??

When I saw it on Broadway for the first time, I didn't remember much about the story at all. I had seen it 3 years before at Lyric Opera with Bryn Terfel as Sweeney and Nathan Gunn as Antony. With a cast of such distinction, you'd think I'd remember every last detail. Yeah, not so much. I remember a little bit about what it looked like, and the barber chair. I recall "A Little Priest" which Bryn and his Mrs. Lovett (nope, don't remember her, either) sang with gusto. But music? Plot? Alas, no.

So I went into it that April of 2006 with no recollection of the story and also no concept of the concept (the actor-musicians). It was all new to me, and I completely fell in love with it. I am sure it helped that I saw the original cast and that I saw it with people who knew it and loved it and could answer all my questions. But I didn't even have that many questions! So I am not sure what "muddled storytelling" our girl Hedy is talking about.

I'm looking forward to seeing it on Sunday. Will I miss Patti & Michael? Do you want me to be honest? Yes, probably. I came to the show through them, and loved it with them in it. There was this kind of feeling in the theater each time I saw the show, an energy and a connection between the actors on stage and us in the audience. It was the first time I'd experienced that, so I am attached to the whole show in kind of an emotional way. Yes, I know that it's not objective or rational or whatever, but I'm not a critic, I'm a fan and theater goer, and this is just how I feel about it.

HOWEVER - that being said - I'm really really excited about going to see it this weekend! I feel like I'm visiting an old familiar friend. I smile like a fool each time I pass the Cadillac Palace Theater.

So honestly? Don't listen to Hedy. Go and see the show.

happy anniversary... to me!

Can you believe it's been a whole year since I started this job and re-christened this blog? In the span of this year, we've gotten new artistic and executive leadership... and the executive part happened this past week, on the date of my actual anniversary. So really? It's like getting a new job all over again...

coming soon to a freezer section near you?

The Wacky Judge Award on Dancing with the Stars has officially passed from Bruno Tonioli (who this season has not yet topped his best comments of "You're like a crazy bear that got lost in a swamp" or "You're so fun you should be a ride at Disneyland") to head judge Len Goodman, who this year has declared "I've got underpants older than you" to Mario (um, yuck) and also called Jason Taylor a feather duster (yeah, I don't really get it either).

But yesterday, when congratulating Cristian on his kick ass fox trot, Len exclaimed, "If you're in the bottom two this week, I'll show my bum in the supermarket!"

Best.Comment.Ever. It makes me giggle every time I think about it.

a true blue technicolor miracle...

It's Patti! It's Barry! It's a whole lotta glasses! It's a MIRACLE!


(more PattiLow pictures here)

Happy Birthday, Patti!

By the way, Patti, according to the Chicago Tribune Horoscopes: Today's an 8!!
Your Stars, according to the Sun Times say...

IF APRIL 21 IS YOUR BIRTHDAY: Your year ahead could be one of the best, most powerful years of your life! You have even more love to give this year and are adored in return. You're willing to exert yourself for a cause in May, and the benefits of your work reach beyond the financial. Summer brings a new drive to improve. Your willpower is remarkable in August, and you can retrain yourself in any way you desire.

Earthquake!

No, I haven't run away to San Francisco (but let me tell you, this is a very tempting thought.) there was an actual Earthquake this morning in Southern Illinois. 5 point something and the tremors were felt all the way up here in Chicago.

It's funny too, because I woke up this morning with the feeling that the room was moving. But who really thinks "Earthquake?" in the Chicago suburbs at 4:30 in the morning? I don't usually think much of anything at 4:30 in the morning (other than "zzzzzzz") and so my brain said "Hmmm. Weird."and then I went back to sleep.

But no! I was not imagining it (or as I thought, having another one of my allergy-induced dizzy spells). It was all over the news this morning.

Did anybody else feel it??

Ravinia tickets on sale today!

Go. Do. Order.

*** But be warned: if you want to try and see any of the Martinis at the Martin concerts, you have to buy the whole darned series. I'm not ready to commit to that just yet, so I'll either do the lawn or see if they release some tickets later on.

I did get tickets for Dame Kiri te Kanawa's farewell gala concert in July, but there weren't too many options in the pavilion. If you want reserved seats for that concert, I'd go and order them pretty fast.

have you had this?

Someone I know was in a fender bender recently. When the guilty party met up with him to give him a check for the damages, he also got a box of chocolates from Blommer Chocolate. I am not talking a sampler here. I'm talking a box of 2.25 oz bars.*

I'd never ever heard of this company before, but they're local! The wrapper says "Manufacturers of the finest chocolate in the world since 1939" and although I am no expert, I would say that this is indisputably true. Who knew that the best chocolate in the world was located right here in our fair city?? The bar I had was dark chocolate and oh my god was it delicious.


*Nobody gave ME any chocolate when I had my larger-than-a-fender-bender. All I got was heartache and a trip to the emergency room. But oh well.

pack ratishness...

So I got one of those binders from Playbill.com to house my (admittedly modest) collection of playbills. I never, ever throw anything away, ever, so I had playbills from the first show I ever saw (Cats, at the Chicago Theater) continuing on through the years (Teri Hatcher in Cabaret! Aida's pre-Broadway run!). I have them from New York, from shows I have seen and ones I haven't (the Patti collection). I saved all the stuff I got when I was in London - oversized playbills from She Loves Me and Don't Dress for Dinner (interestingly, I also saved random maps and ads from the London trip and discovered an ad for Sunset Boulevard - Patti was already out of the show by that time, and Betty Buckley had taken over the role. I can't decide if that makes it better - on one hand, I didn't miss out on seeing Patti - or worse - I DID miss out on seeing Betty!).

But I appear to have a few mysteries on my hands:
1. I found two Cats playbills. One from that first performance I remember in like 1991 at the Chicago Theater, and then another one from 2002 at the Shubert Theater. But here's the thing: I don't remember seeing it more than once. Not even a little bit.

2. I know I saw Rent multiple times (I had a phase... saw it many times for rush tickets in college.) but I can't find ANY of those playbills. Not one. Considering the fact that I have junk from 1991 and also from London, I find it very hard to believe that I would have gotten rid of them. Especially since I think one of them was signed by a few members of the touring cast at that time...

3. My Spamalot bill has also gone missing. Hmmm.

come and visit your good friend sweeney...

It's easy, look, they even tell you where to go to get tickets. If however, the Broadway in Chicago website makes you want to beat your head against the wall (kind of like hunky Jason the football player on DWTS last night) just go to the box office instead.

Note: If you are really, really nice to me I might even go to the box office for you. But I'd have to really like you, or some kind of chocolate or other kind of bribery would have to take place.

It will be almost exactly completely like this (but without The Patti):

the drowsy chaperone...

First, I need to say THANK YOU, Broadway in Chicago, for FINALLY giving midwestern lovers of musical theater something to watch other than Wicked, Jersey Boys and POTO. This year we actually have musicals stopping off here that were actually on broadway in recent history. Aside from the obligatory Rent and JCS tours, we've also had (or are getting) My Fair Lady, Avenue Q, Dirty Dancing, Sweeney Todd (!) and most recently, The Drowsy Chaperone I remember hanging out at Tower Records in Lincoln Center with Kari and Sarahone rainy day and seeing walls filled with the Drowsy Chaperone cast recording. I remember thinking that if it ever toured to Chicago, I'd see it then. I was curious, but not curious enough to spend my hard earned ticket budget on the New York production.

So, a few weeks ago, I made good on my previous musing. I ambled over to the Oriental Theater box office and purchased tickets (golly gosh! sometimes working right downtown within blocks of the "theater district" has its advantages!) for yesterday's matinee.

We had a very chatty usher who assured us that the show was "hysterical" and that we'd be laughing from the first line nonstop to the end. While that was certainly true of the guy behind us (he laughed - loudly- at everything. Sometimes I laughed just because he laughed.) I wasn't rolling in the aisles. Standout performances were the Man in the Chair (Jonathan Crombie), the titular Chaperone (Nancy Opel) and Georgia Engel as Mrs. Tottendale (is there anyone cuter than her?? I really don't think so.).

Was it an earth-shattering, transformative theatrical experience? No. Did I leave humming the songs and with armloads of (overpriced) merchandise? (Surprisingly, for me) No. But it was entertaining, and cute. At times I think it tried too hard to be clever and funny. Very obvious humor that worked (I mean, I did laugh.). I did enjoy the bit with the phone ringing and the Man in the Chair's diatribe about ringing phones in the theater that ruined the moment. After my Sunday in the Park with George experience, I could totally relate.

But, overall, a nice way to spend a Sunday afternoon. At least, you know, until we got on the Edens expressway...

+ Update: I was ruminating a bit more on The Drowsy Chaperone last night. Generally, I liked it. I liked it's message - that theater can be a wonderful, wonderful collective experience that has the ability to take you out of yourself and into another place, even if it's for a short time. I know this to be true, I've seen it happen. That's what makes distractions like ringing cell phones during the last line of Sunday in the Park with George* or one of the actors talking at you from the stage about Broadway Cares** even more disturbing, if you're right there in the moment with them.

Drowsy doesn't exactly live up to the moral of its own story. If a show is done right, and everyone is doing their jobs well, you'll be living in the story and in the moment on your own, without the show telling you "Now we're taking you to another world! Aren't we clever?!? Aren't we funny?? Don't you {heart} us?"***

* "White: A blank page or canvas. His ---- RIIIIINNNNG! --- favorite. So many "Hello? I'm in the theater..." possibilities... Curtain. And thank you for spoiling my moment!

** Lookit, I'm happy you guys care! I care too! Really! It's a great cause, and I am happy to support you, supporting it. But really? Really? At the end of the show? In costume? Spoiled the mood for me, like totally. Whatever mood I had left, that is, after that damn cell phone went off. Maybe it's just me, but I need some time to absorb what I've seen, to come out of the park or out of Bobby's apartment or out of the Man in the Chair's living room and having I-don't-remember-who in costume start yakking to me was a little unexpected. I was told it happens all the time, but I can only remember one other show where that's happened to me (Avenue Q). Isn't there a better way?? It's not like I won't give you money. I will! I have!

*** Update on the Update. Geez, someone had her cranky pants on yesterday. Just ignore me - it was a lovely little show, very sweet and funny. I didn't hate it - I apparently just have very very high expectations for my entertainment...

did i mention?

...it's 54 degrees today?
...that I still have this darn cold?
...that my kitty is diabetic and her trip to the vet will cost me 400 bucks? (it's worth it. But still)
...that my new obsession is odwalla orange juice? and the funny thing? is that i used to not like orange juice.
...that I picked up my diploma? I can officially add "MAM" (Master of Arts Management) onto my business cards.
...how happy I am that it's Friday???????

Once Upon a Dream...

You know, I thought that Disney wrote that song (isn't that what it's called, "Once Upon a Dream"?) but actually, it's Tchaikovsky from The Sleeping Beauty. Who knew?

The dancing in The Sleeping Beauty was glorious. From ABT, I expected no less. The costumes were gorgeous, and sparkly and the sets were very elaborate and fitting for the telling of a classic fairy tale. Aside from that... some parts of it kind of dragged. There was a whole scene in some forest where the Prince dances with Aurora, and I was like, waitaminute, I thought you were asleep? But oh, he was dancing with a vision of her beauty, brought onto him by the Lilac Fairy (or something). She brings the Prince to wake up the Sleeping Beauty, and the entire village, who also all went to sleep. I thought it was just her?

So then she's awake! Hooray! And the two of them get married, and dance. And then their wedding guests (all characters from fairy tales) dance. And the Lilac Fairy dances. And all her minion fairies dance. And then a pair of guests dance - together! And him! And her! And him again! Ok, we get it! And then the Happy Couple dances! Together! And him! And her! Will you just live happily ever after, already??

I've only seen one other full length ballet (Shh! Don't tell my boss!) and it didn't seem to drag on so much. I think I prefer mixed rep pieces, because my attention started to wander a little bit. The dancers all have to be very skilled at communicating the story through their movements, since there is no speech or song or anything. If I hadn't read the story before hand, I might have been a little confused at some of it, and I was wondering how much of it all the little girls in the audience were really getting.

Overall, I was pleased with it, and I would recommend it, to people who enjoy ballet.

The Sleeping Beauty

Tonight: American Ballet Theater performs The Sleeping Beauty at the Civic Opera House. It will be a night of interesting "firsts" for me: my first time seeing ABT (they're usually in New York), my first time seeing The Sleeping Beauty, my first time seeing dance of any kind in the opera house, and my first time sitting within the first 15 rows of the orchestra (because sometimes life on 13 has its perks...)

On a semi-related note, my Yahoo horoscope for today said: "Life is considerably more interesting than it was just yesterday and you can tell that you're entering a new phase of activity. Socializing is good fun and you should meet someone sparkly!"

I am intrigued by the "you should meet someone sparkly" bit. I mean, "sparkly"? I am not sure if this means to tell me that I will meet someone with dazzling wit and charm, or if I will somehow end up backstage around some of the dancers in glitter and sequins...

London Calling...

Could this be true?

If so, it would mark the first time I've gone made an international trek for a diva. Although we did try to make plans to get up to Paris to see Renee during the whole summer in Rome thing, it didn't quite work out.

I was in London once - when I was in high school, I think in spring of 1995. The trip kind of rocked, in retrospect, but it was my first trip away from home AND my first trip out of the country, so at the time, I don't think I enjoyed it as much as I could have. I'd really wanted to go, and a friend was going to go with me, but she bailed at the last minute so I went with people mainly from the drama department, who I didn't know very well. As I say though, it kind of rocked, because our "chaperones" despite promises to our parents that we would never be left alone, etc. totally left us alone - a LOT. They were the worst chaperones possibly in the history of anything (Robert Johnson, I am looking at you here. And I am not just saying this because you spent four years calling me "Nicole") I totally got seperated from the group in Windsor and it was ME who found THEM rather than the other way around. I'd probably still be there, speaking with an English accent and walking the Queen's corgis or whatever, if I hadn't located them. A year or two later, when we went on the choir trip - to Minnesota, mind you, our director put tape on our doors so that they could tell if we went from room to room at night. Letting us wander unattended through the Mall of America gave her a minor heart attack.

We stayed in the gloomiest kip of a hotel you'd ever want to stay in (the Enterprise Hotel, right near one of the tube stations, I want to say Earl's Court). The rooms were spread out and in odd locations. There were crazy French people in one of the rooms who would knock on doors and run away. We were nowhere near other members of the group. One night, Mr. Johnson knocked on the door to "check" on us. Here's how it went

Knock knock.
Us: Yeah?
Him: Are you all in there
Us: Yeah
Him: OK! Good night!

And he left! We were all in there, at the time, although we sneaked out later. One night, the chaperones (all teachers, and the head of the fine arts department!) all got totally trashed and so we were up to our own devices. One afternoon, I remember wandering around Piccadilly Circus and Oxford Street, completely alone, but totally happy. I was 15 or 16 at the time. I went shopping. I bought Doc Martens. I had high tea. No big deal. We saw two shows She Loves Me and Don't Dress for Dinner - I don't remember much about either. What I do remember was wanting with a fiery passion to go and see a new show called Sunset Boulevard... one of my classmates did sneak out and go see it. I don't know now, if Patti was still in at that point - does anyone know??

So yeah. Gypsy? London? I'm in.

play ball!

Now really, I'm about as big a baseball fan as... Well, okay, I'm not a baseball fan at all. If I had to choose, I'd probably pledge allegiance to the Cubbies, but it's more of a family thing, and I went to school on the North side...

the a-ha moment...

I may take my Diva lessons from a few awesome teachers but there is one I figured out all by myself. Ready?

Those kids at Steppenwolf know their shit, people. So whenever an especially good and Pulitzer Prize worthy play appears on their stage, just go and see it. Subscribe now. All that. Do not, I repeat, do not wait until it goes to Broadway. Although that's fine too.

Read more about Tracy Letts' Pulitzer Prize win here

And go see it, if you haven't already. It's three hours worth of intense, but it's worth every second.

new york minutes...

No trip to NYC is complete without a trip to the Met...

I just wandered around it though.

No viewings of "Satyagraha" in Sanskrit (!!) for me!

Post Patti Pizza (alleged "Chicago Style" deep dish)

Nice try, Manhattan, but no dice.

Here she is, boys!

Lookit, it's not just me who thinks so. What are you waiting for?

Times Square

Waiting for my waffles at Nice Matin!

Just going through the photos I took last weekend. Reality keeps trying to knock on my door, however hard I try and keep it out... I also seem to have developed some sort of cold/flu thing, while I was still taking antibiotics. I know that antibiotics wouldn't help a cold anyway, but this is the kind of reality I am looking at here, people. From one illness to another... Zicam and OJ, I guess. A few more to come...

what's next?

What can I possibly do this month that will top last weekend?? Uh, nothing, is the answer you are looking for, but I can certainly try...

April 5 - La Boheme Live from the Met Broadcast (coming soon to a movie theater in Niles!)

April 9 - American Ballet Theater presents The Sleeping Beauty (Civic Opera House) - free tickets! whee!

April 13 - The Drowsy Chaperone at the Cadillac Palace (not free tickets!)

April 16 - Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater at the Auditorium - more free tickets! wheee!

April 27 - Sweeney Todd at the Cadillac Palace

May 9 - is our gala. Free tickets but I have to work.

Also in the cue: I'd love to see Can-Can but it's somewhere I've never heard of, so we'll have to do a little research. Like, soon, since I think it closes this weekend. Also, Better Late with John Mahoney (did you know he was British? from Manchester? This was news to me, so thanks, Time Out Chicago) at the Northlight Theater and Gas for Less at the Goodman Theatre.

But 13, I hear you saying, tell us more about Patti, please! Well, okay, I will. But later. I've got some pix on my camera that I'll put up. So soon. I promise.