BroadwayDave

I saw Loving Vincent last October at the theaters up in Pittsburgh. The movie visually is absolutely gorgeous and incredibly mesmerizing. Each brush stroke dances on the screen as time flies by. I so loved this movie that I bought it and have it downloaded on my iPad. And I rarely ever buy a movie.

The last shows in Cleveland are next weekend. Anyone in Chicago seeing this? Would love to hear your opinion! https://hellodollyonbroadway.com

Seeing the Broadway National Tour of this next weekend after it completes it debut launch in Schenectady on the 14th... https://anastasiathemusical.com/tour/

Saw the National Tour of this a couple of weeks ago when it launched in Pittsburgh. Absolutely loved it. If it’s coming to a town near you go see this! http://www.broadwaygoeswrong.com/tour.php

It’s a truly lovely book, and a great read. Love the ending. It makes you smile.

Highly recommend “The Golem and the Jinni” by Helene Wecker and “Memnoch the Devil” by Anne Rice, two wonderful books I’ve read this year. Also read Ron Chernow’s “Alexander Hamilton” before I saw the show back in July. Currently working on the 2nd book of Ken Follett’s Century Trilogy, “Winter of the World”.

I think maybe Greg Bear’s EON may fit into this category?

I’m still relatively new to this, and have only seen 28 shows - 24 Broadway National Tours and 4 on Broadway, and in 9 different theaters. My first preference is always front row balcony, or in the case of some theaters, the mezzanine, or whatever the first elevated level is called that’s over the orchestra section. Only three times have I sat in the orchestra section: once was front row; another time was three rows back; and the worst was farthest on the side, house right. I was lucky and all three occasions worked out well enough. Even when I’ve had seats that weren’t front row balcony, I’ll try to get an aisle seat that affords the best direct view of the stage. Because some aisles have more seats than the ones in front of them, like the Connor Palace in Cleveland, this worked brilliantly and the view was completely unobstructed. And for my upcoming season tickets in Pittsburgh I have an end row seat just off center, however they are five rows back in the first tier section of the balcony. Now, for some shows, sitting as close to the stage as possible is much more important. As in the case of “The Band’s Visit”, everyone recommended getting a seat so close that it allowed you to see the smallest nuances and tiniest expressions in the faces of the actors. That’s were I sat front row orchestra. The disadvantage was that the height of the stage at the Barrymore Theater chopped off the cast at the ankles, and in some cases mid-shin, depending on where there were standing, if you were seated in the front row. And when I saw “My Fair Lady” at the Lincoln Center, the balcony section was curved deeply to the point it put you just far enough away from the stage that small binoculars would have really helped. Even when sitting in the balcony front row. Keep in mind too that sight lines from seats in the far house left, or house right, even in the balconies, will obstruct or block your view if the action takes place deeper in the stage or on the sides. This was the case for “The Lion King” at the Hippodrome in Baltimore, where platformed sound structures on either side of the stage blocked a couple of scenes that happened on the far side middle section of the stage. And for “Hamilton” several scenes occur on the far sides and deep in the stage. Because of the way the set is designed, if you have a seat on the far sides you will miss some of the action. And some theaters have support columns, like the Academy of Music in Philadelphia. There are seats marked on the seating chart as obstructed, even if they are in the center sections of the balcony and mezzanines. One thing I’ve found very helpful is to compare seating charts to actual photographs online of the theater. Even a website like A View From My Seat is very helpful in visualizing what each theater offers. This helps a lot in determining if the extra seats in the row on a websites seating chart actually extend out far enough, or even exist.

Heading for Cleveland in the morning. Very excited! Got this in an email...will definitely be wearing RED!

One thing I do remember about the 1990 trip was that it was long before India had all these Americanized fast food restaurants. It was literally almost eat their food or nothing. And I loved it. Turned out that one of my favorites was papadum. Still love it whenever I can still get it.

Two of my favorites where he sang lead... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9aZ7h7O_SBs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3nzzjwZGt6I

I had the distinct pleasure of visiting India and Indonesia way back in 1990 when my brother, who lived in Pekanbaru at the time working for Texaco’s Overseas Oil and Exploration Division, offered me a once in a lifetime opportunity. We spent over 30 days extensively traveling around the two countries and toured Jaipur, Johdpur, and Udaipur, as well as Agra, Darjeeling, and Delhi, then popped over to Bali, Balikpapan, Borobudur, and Jakarta before ending up in Singapore. In India we stayed at some of the old Maharaja’s Palaces turned into hotels like the Umaid Bhawan Palace, Jodhpur and the Shiv Niwas Palace, Udaipur. Among all the well known popular tourists sights we visited in India, one least known and off the beaten path was Khajuraho. Very interesting to say the least! I’ll have to say this visit was one of the highlights of my life, along with the two years that I lived in Italy.

After two Preview Shows to launch the National Tour of “Hello, Dolly!” in Utica, NY, the tour “will celebrate its official opening with a Cleveland, Ohio, engagement beginning September 30th ahead of an Official Opening Night on October 5th.” Very excited that one week from today I’ll be there for it, seeing the show again the next day as well. This will be my first ever back-to-back of the same show with the same cast. Can’t wait to see Dolly again after seeing it in NYC with Bernadette and Bette, and now with Betty! http://www.playbill.com/article/hello-dolly-national-tour-starring-betty-buckley-begins-september-25 http://www.playbill.com/article/well-hello-betty-get-a-first-look-at-tony-winner-betty-buckley-in-the-hello-dolly-tour

Sao Francisco, Brazil? That looks like Rio de Janeiro in the far background.

None of my friends or coworkers know, or even like, muscial theater. Zero conversation ability there. One coworker wants to see “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” next year when the tour comes through Pittsburgh, another the same with “Phantom of the Opera”. Other than the movie with Johnny Depp, and never seeing POTO movie, they’re basically clueless. My neighbor’s kids across the street are much more familiar with quite a few Broadway shows, which really surprises me considering their ages (10 and 12), the older one having a list of over 15 musicals she wants to listen to the OBCR of. I’m slowly educating and introducing her to more shows to add to her list.

Wish I could have gone, but a third trip to NYC was out of the question. Looking forward to the National Tour Launch in Cleveland!!!

I had already picked up most all of the souvenirs I wanted last trip, added a couple more...

Picked up a few new souvenirs...

This is a view from my seat last weekend when I was over in NYC to see the show...

Was in NYC last weekend (Aug. 18-19) and saw the show one final time. Although I enjoyed Bernadette Peters more, Bette Midler was still absolutely amazing to watch in the role as Dolly Levi. And I agree with edjames about Charlie Stemp. What a delight to see him perform. This revival was nothing short of remarkable in the amount of pure joy and happiness that it brought to those who saw it live, and it’s an experience I’ll never forget. In six weeks I’ll be up in Cleveland for the National Tour Launch, and will be fortunate enough to see the show again when it hits Pittsburgh in Aug. 2019. I can’t say enough good things about “Hello, Dolly!” on Broadway, and I hope the tour picks up right where tomorrow night leaves off.

I do LOVE me some MeTV. I often find myself watching it all weekend when 65+ channels of DirecTV Now has nothing much to offer. Also love the fact that they still show “The Love Boat”.

If anyone wants to see more of Jamie Bell, but in an excellent period piece about the Revolutionary War, check out TURN: Washington’s Spies on Netflix. He is the lead star of the series, and was also great in that as well. It was on AMC from 2014-2017, just prior to him in this thread’s title movie.

This was the brief write-up from Playbill describing the current tour... “LES MISÉRABLES- National Tour (through August 11, 2019) Cameron Mackintosh presents the new production of Alain Boubil and Claude-Michel Schönberg’s Tony Award-winning musical phenomenon, Les Misérables. With its glorious new staging and dazzlingly re-imagined scenery inspired by the paintings of Victor Hugo, this breathtaking new production has left both audiences and critics awestruck. Featuring the thrilling score and beloved songs “I Dreamed A Dream,” “On My Own,” “Stars," “Bring Him Home,” “One Day More,” and many more, this epic and uplifting story has become one of the most celebrated musicals in theatrical history. [Equity].”

I watched this when it first became available on Vudu, and enjoyed it as well.