Spent the morning walking around the Farmer's Market in Cerritos (and sampling THE sweetest and best tasting cherries I've ever eaten!!), shopping at the lovely Trader Joe's (we really need one in Hawaii!!) and checking into my hotel in Cypress. :)
Sleeping Beauty Wakes - for the LAST time! :(
Spent the afternoon in Sleeping Beauty Wakes bliss. :) Somehow coming back a second weekend to see the show is so much more special. I see multiple showings of shows a lot, but rarely do I come back for a second time during the limited run to see the show on different trips. The advantage to that, of course, is that the second time, I'm fully able to appreciate the show - practically on a different level.
The audience for yesterday's matinee was primary deaf and hard of hearing - which, I found out later, was a group who was invited to do a talk-back with the cast at the Starbucks down the street after the show. It was interesting to see everyone in the audience speak to each other... because as a teenager, I learned quite a bit of sign language - and through I'd never try to use it, I know enough to understand the gist of what people are saying. And I've never been in such a quiet theatre during intermission.
The show itself was LOVELY as always. It's going to be such a shame when the show closes because it really is beautiful. I already miss it! :( Aside from a few minor technical problems (Kevin's mic blew right after his "Wake Up Call For Love") :( it was clearly THE BEST performance that I've seen of the show. :)
Kevin - and why I adore him...
Kevin... I've missed him, the real him. Spoke with him for quite a while after the show - less about business and more just idle chatter... which I love. He's alternately sarcastic (which I adore about him), silly, and candid - which is the Kevin I love speaking with... There's another Kevin too that most people see when they meet him -- the one who NEVER swears and is VERY reserved about the things he chooses to say. And sometimes, when it's been a while, I'll see that Kevin too... But I like the Kevin - who swears like a pirate and constantly makes fun of me in sarcastic ways - so much more. :) That's the Kevin I spent time with yesterday and I couldn't be happier. :D
Saw Russell briefly while I was talking with Kevin. "You came back!" he told me. :) I got a few pictures taken with him, but he was in a rush to head to Starbucks for the talk back - so I didn't get to speak with him too much. He did a lot of joking around when I asked him to pose for pictures with people and he got Kevin in a headlock when I asked the two of them to pose together. :D His extremely likable personality REALLY shines through - he doesn't need to even speak for anyone to see that! Like I said in an earlier post, the man just ooozes charisma!
No Strings
The evening yesterday was spent seeing Bets in No Strings at UCLA. The production was gloriously staged - the costumes (by Bob Mackie) were just stunningly beautiful and the entire way that Kay Cole staged the show was lovely... The actual premise of the show and the book left a little something to be desired, though. The book is markedly dated, the dialogue was a little too wordy at times, and the characters seemed a little 2 dimensional...
This is absolutely NO reflection on the Reprise production of this show - none of the above was their fault and they did a wonderful job with what they had to work with, I think. The music was splendid (I always love listening to the gorgeous 17 piece Reprise orchestra) and the performances were great! :) And I'm not being biased here at all when I say that Bets was literally THE BEST thing about the show - she really was. The show actually came to life when she was on the stage - and she looked beautiful! Her Comfort O'Connell reminded me of a flashier, sexier, and more worldy Adelaide (from "Guys & Dolls"). She really is the best character actress in LA!
After the show...
Spoke with Bets a bunch after the show - which was just wonderful! I'm usually rushing around after the show (usually trying to make the curtain of an evening performance somewhere across town) but this was nice to just have some time to chat. Just chatting with her about things going on in her life and in mine was wonderful. :) I always love seeing Bets - she's really one of the warmest, sweetest people and I feel SO extremely blessed to know her. Got to see Lee Martino there as well - who is such a sweet person!
Today I'm off to UCLA again to see Bets in No Strings one last time and then I head out to Redondo Beach to see Misty in Annie Get Your Gun - so another wonderful day of theatre awaits. :) I will update later with the pictures I took yesterday - my wireless connection is not cooperating with my ftp client. :( And I will do an update on my horrible situation with work - in which, in a nutshell, something happened before I left on Friday that made me realize that I'm going to need to seriously look for a new job if I want to maintain my sanity... :P
To all the Moms on my friends' list - hope you have a beautiful Mother's Day!! :) HUGS to everyone!