Potted Potter

We went out tonight to see Potted Potter.  Fun for the fan, and a funny Cliff notes version for people unfamiliar with the franchise.  It's two guys on stage going through all 7 Harry Potter books in a madcap romp!  Steve and I laughed pretty much the whole way through the show.   If you sit in the front section, beware of audience participation.

Voldemort and Harry clash wands.

Afterwards, we went to Starbucks and ordered something that tastes like a Butterbeer.  It tastes like the beverage at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, but with whipped cream.  Yum!

33 Variations

We just got back from seeing 33 Variations at the Beck Center.  It isn't a musical, but music is prevalent throughout the play.  The first thing you see when entering the theater is the grand piano at the side of the stage.  The pianist stays there through both acts and illustrates the musical work in the show.

We see two parallel stories in this show.  A musicologist struggling with ALS studies Beethoven's variations on a waltz, while we see the composer's struggles with hearing loss.   It is extremely well interwoven.  We see the musicologist and her daughter and their strained relationship, and we see the composer and his servant and the person who commissioned the variations mull over deadlines and expectations.  In fact, a good comparison is drawn between the daughter (in varied career choices that her mother is unhappy with) and the original waltz, which the original composer fears that Beethoven is mocking through variations.

I enjoyed this show because it touches two very important facets of my life, music and medicine.   I highly recommend seeing it.

Sweetest Day Cupcakes

Today I decided to use my birthday coupon at Main Street Cupcakes.  It also happens to be Sweetest Day.  From left to right we have Orange Float, Chocolate, Shirley Temple, and Mint Chocolate Cookie.  The store also had these over sized Sweetest Day Cupcakes for a dollar more, but we decided to go for the Sweetest Day Rose instead.

Reilly's

Ok, it's a little morbid, but we went out for meat pies before we went to see Sweeney Todd.   Reilly's at the West Side Market has the best savory pies I've ever had.   The crust is flaky and filling is tasty.  My favorite is the turkey and swiss pasty.  You can microwave them to keep them soft, or bake them for a more crispy taste.

Sweeney Todd

Just got back from Great Lakes Theater Festival's new production of Sweeney Todd!  Loved it!  Sweeney  Todd is probably my favorite Stephan Sondheim musical/operetta of all time.  The music is dark and evocative, and the anti-hero protagonists, you can't help but like them!

This production used 7 different types of stage blood!   In the pre-show talk, they said the different formulas were for dripping, spraying, or whatever special effects were needed for the gruesome killings.  The costuming was steampunk inspired.  Lots of black leather, buckled boots, and corsets. I particularly liked the red and gold dress that Mrs. Lovett wears in the second act.

They have added additional performances of this show because they keep selling out!  Go see it!

She Loves Me

I just got back from seeing She Loves Me at the Beck Center.  It was so romantic and dreamy cute!   I heard it was about a couple who hated each other in real life but found out they were one another's beloved pen pals. I thought, well, that's like that movie, You've Got Mail, with Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan.  In fact, the source material for the musical (a play) is the same play that movie was based on!

It takes place in Budapest, Hungary at a Perfumery.   It was absolutely delightful!  This year is actually the 50 year anniversary of the premier of the musical.  And remember, ice cream can make so many things much, much better.

Matthew Bourne's Sleeping Beauty

We just got back from seeing Matthew Bourne's Sleeping Beauty!  I am feeling intensely spoiled.   The show is straight out of London with the original cast.  It hasn't even been to New York yet!


It's a darker, Gothic take on the story of classic fairytale.  It uses Tchaikovsky's original score (which many of you may be familiar with due to the Disney version).   The choreography is amazing.  The costumes are beautiful.   Not a single stitch of dialogue and you know exactly what is going on.  It's extremely magical and sensual.

The show starts in 1890 and ends in modern times.  Princess Aurora is obtained by her parents with help of the evil fairy.  The baby princess is played by a puppet and is extremely energetic, climbing the curtains.  The king and queen forget to thank the evil fairy and the kid gets cursed to die, but the other fairies soften it to sleep.   The princess sleeps for 100 years, and how does her love stay alive until she wakes?  Vampires.

This was a wonderful interpretation of Sleeping Beauty.   I'm going to find more of Matthew Bourne's ballets on DVD.  He has a real gift for staging and choreography.