In good Company with Nia Vardalos, a taste of Cuba and BBQ improvisations

I was back in Toronto at the theatre on Saturday.My buddy Adam Brazier's theatre group Theatre 20 was doing a production of Stephen Sondheim's Company. This was a show that I wanted to see when I first heard they were doing it, mostly because I usually like Sondheim and curiosity because I didn't know much about this particular show . I wanted to see it all the more when I heard that My Big Fat Greek Wedding star/writer Nia Vardalos was going to be in it.

For those who don't know Stephen Sondheim is a legendary Broadway composer whose works include Into the Woods, Sweeney Todd, A Funny Thing Happened on the way to the Forum, and the lyrics for West Side Story. Back in December 2010 I actually met Stephen Sondheim. Sadly it was not a great stage door experience. If you've read my old myspace blog, you'll know this story, but forgive me while I recount it. There was an evening with Stephen Sondheim with Q&A etc, afterwards I stage doored. One of the theatre employees told the crowd Stephen had left, I had to go to catch the Subway, and came across Sondheim sneaking out another exit about to get into a car, I asked him if I could get a picture. He replied with a "no." Not I am sorry, no explanation, just flat out "no." Nothing else was spoken between us, talk about being unappreciative of your fan base!

My stage door experience on Saturday on the other hand was quite the opposite. Nia  was a complete and utter sweetheart. The Berkley theatre has this outdoor patio stage door area, and eventually I was the only one waiting left there, I was worried I had some how missed Nia even though I was out there right away. I would be surprised if I had, because I am sure people would have been stopping to talk to her. I guess that is the matinee crowd for you. One of the theatre employees was kind enough to double check for me, and as soon as she heard a fan was waiting for her she came right down. She introduced herself, asked me my name. I was able to tell her that I really related to Toula of My Big Fat Greek Wedding, and she said she was Toula too deep down, I even got my DVD signed. She asked me how to spell my name, but the pen I had brought actually had my name one it, so I pointed it out.  That was definitely the cherry on a great afternoon. Here's a pic of us and the DVD:

As to the show itself, I enjoyed it, although at times I thought the vocals were overpowered by the band. I didn't find the songs particularly catchy, nothing got stuck in my head. (Although I really like the song Getting Married Today which was featured on Glee) The performances were great, I really didn't like Louise Pitre's character, which was a testament to her ability because I have met Louise and seen her perform a couple of times and she is a really nice lady. It was strange I didn't even recognize of the actress Marisa McIntyre from when she was on the signing competition show How Do you Solve a Problem like Maria?and she was my favourite, unfortunately I didn't get a chance to tell her because I didn't find that out until after. (Through out my theatre going I have actually seen 4 out of the 10 finalists on that show. 

I had purchased an onstage seat. I had only ever done that once before and I got hit by the actor but that a story for another day/post. There was only me and another lady with seats on stage, and she decided not to sit there during act 2, so I sat in the audience as well. I was too self conscious being the only one up there. I didn't really like the sideview anyway, but at least I can say now I was onstage with Nia Vardalos and Brent Carver. (I had hoped to meet him and have him sign my Kiss of the Spiderwoman soundtrack but that didn't happen.) The seat in the audience wasn't much better because of the guy in front of my kept moving his head.

Before the show thanks to the helpful box office clerk I found myself in the distillery district at a Barcardi Cuban festival.Not really knowing where the theatre was I showed up uber early, and never been to the distillery before. I got to lunch on a pina colada and cubano sandwich (Which if you have seen the movie Chef, you'll understand my curiosity to try one) It felt like I was on a mini vacation exploring new culture, foods and shops etc Here are a couple of pics:

 

Definitely a better than the weekend before when a bad element on my stove was accidentally turned on and it basically exploded and there were sparks and there was need for the fire extinguisher. Even though the element was replaced there was a short in the stove, and so it couldn't be safely used. That happened on the Sunday but I didn't get a new stove until the Wednesday (Of course Canada Day was on the Tuesday so nothing was open and very few people were working). The incident led to some creativity my boyfriend suggested a cookie sheet as a griddle on the barbeque and that is how I made french toast one morning. I became quite adept at using the propane camp stove over the next few days. I will leave you with pics:

Seeing the Lion King and meeting Adam Beach

Sorry it's been a while since I've posted, what can I can say I have been out enjoying the beautiful weather getting tanned. First let me get this off my chest, I can't believe the guy I couldn't stand as the Genie in Aladdin has now won a Tony, ugh! Also from what I've seen on the Tony's I need to go see Neil Patrick Harris in Hedwig and the Angry Inch, like yesterday. His Tony performance was AMAZING! (Ramin Karimloo may have lost fair and square as much as I was blown away by his performance as Jean Val Jean back in January)

That being said, I am now cautiously optimistic Disney musicals again after seeing the Lion King on June 7. They had me from the giraffe costumes. (Not that I am biased because I love giraffes or anything) They stayed true to the movie which is important to me  -I watched it the day after- although I was a little worried in the beginning of act two that they were going to have this sub plot of Scar pursuing a grown up Nala, fortunately that wasn't the case. I ended up watching the movie the next day. Sadly it seems I have lost my Lion King soundtrack, I've got the case but not the CD. I think it is a good thing the music wasn't fresh in my head, I think that may have detracted from my enjoyment of Chicago because I had pre-watched the movie etc.

I was in the upper balcony of the no longer to be torn down Princess of Wales Theatre (YAY!) so I didn't get to see any costume detail up close. It was especially neat to see how the animals were done because I had gone to a zoo the week before and had seen Lion's and giraffe's up close. Anyway I bought a souvenir programme and couldn't believe all the intricate beading and shell-work.  The ingenuity and the amount of work that went to everything was really impressive. There probably close to 150 costumes. I loved how the person wearing the giraffe costume was using stilts for their hands and feet and their head became the base of the giraffes neck.I still think the hyenas were well done and captured the hunched heads just like the cartoon.

The staging itself was phenomenal.  The elephant grave yard scene I think would have been scary if I were a kid. The way they handled the stampede scene was pretty cool. I don't even want to think about all the time that went into making the wildebeest costumes. Julie Taymor is a genius.

The cast was uber talented too. I though the guy who played Scar was fantabulous. The delivery of Scar's snarky comments was spot on just like in the movie. He was deliciously evil. He's my favourite.

Either way after seeing Lion King I am willing to see another Disney musical. Right now they are batting 50/50 that I'll like it. I am not overly familiar with Newsies, so I wonder what I would think of that show... it is coming next year maybe I'll go.

June 19 marked 10 years since my Aunt Mel passed it is hard to believe it's been that long. So there was something I wanted to do when I saw Lion King, we have a picture of her in front of the Princess of Wales Theatre when she took her son to see Lion King, so I got my friends to take one of me. I guess it was my way of trying to feel close to her some how, that probably doesn't make much sense.  I kinda wish I had remembered to pick the same spot, but the spirit is there.Here are the pics, Mel on the left and me on the right.

 

 A couple weeks after Lion King I got to meet actor Adam Beach, a fellow aboriginal.There was a screening of one of his movies for National Aboriginal Day. It is a sad state of affairs that there aren't more prominent aboriginal actors out there, case in point I can't even name one prominent female native actor, Adam is one of the biggest. You would probably know him from the TV shows Arctic Air or Law and Order:SVU or the films Windtalkers and Smoke Signals. I didn't even find out about the screening until the morning of, definitely how I expected my day to turn out when I woke up! 

The movie that was screen was an indie pic, with themes still relevant to aboriginal society today. There were 5 members of the cast there as well, which was neat, four of them signed my little flyer for the movie, and Adam signed my newly purchased copy of Smoke Signals. The Q&A after was really interesting. I found out all about Adam trying to bring the full movie theatre experience to remote reservations with pop up theatres. Also he is starting a film institute in Winnipeg. He's all around just a really cool guy, a little goofy and funny, not to mention easy on the eyes.. sigh. total crush. His mannerisms and speech remind me of my aboriginal relatives, a total 'nish not a Hollywood hotshot and I respect him all the more for it. His answer to the last Q&A question was "Yes, I'm single" even though that wasn't remotely what the question was. I will leave you with a pic of Adam and I.

That's a wrap and We Will Rock You (again)

Last weekend was a whirlwind. The show has closed and we've had our cast party. All that work and time and suddenly it's all over.(Well I still have to go to the unit and put the cleaned clothes away) There may have been a few jello shots consumed, speeches made and presents given. I love the little stuffed frog I got from the cast. It has a little t-shirt with customer designer on the front and the show's name on the back along with the year. So cute! I will keep him always, I am going with the name Dior.

I feel really proud because someone likes the outfit I picked out that they bought it for their own personal use! The shoe covers eventually worked, and apparently looked great so they wouldn't let me burn them. Ah well. Something I forgot to mention in my last post is that when I was turning the shoe covers inside out, I had to trim and zigzag stitch all 60 elastic ends so they weren't flopping all over the place. So I have a couple of pics too, I forgot to share this pic of one the actors helping to set the lights in my last post, one of Dior and a cast and crew pic taken after the last show. (I finally got to be in the back row, that's me in the blue!)

Last Saturday was a total blast from the past. I went to see the Queen musical We Will Rock You for the 17th time. (Not a typo 1-7 ). I mostly did the lottery when it was in Toronto from 2007-2009 other wise I couldn't afford to go that many times. (It was unfortunate that they didn't have the lottery this time around). The sad part is I know people have seen the show over 50 times or more. It's not one of my favourite shows, but I think the audience really connected with the cast and band at the stage door; that is what kept them coming back. When I heard that Erica Peck who played the role of Scaramouche was now playing the role of Oz this time around curiosity got the better of me and I couldn't stay away. (have to say though I miss her in her original role) There were four people in the show that I knew from the old days, but there were a few fans from the old days that I recongized. There were lots of hugs around.

The show was changed a bit from 5 years ago, but it still felt like stepping back in time. Some of the jokes and references were given a modern update. Most of the Canadian specific jokes and references were taken out like Sharon Lois and Bram,like getting a suit at Zellers, or Celine Dion perforrming in Vegas, and the fact that a videotape has been recorded over by Degrassi. One character was completely changed, but I didn't hate it, I think it made the show more cohesive, as much as I liked the actor portraying him back in the day. Overall I am glad I went, it brought back a lot of pleasant memories from the stage door. One of my favourite is when Erica took my sister her friend and I back stage after I had mentioned it was my sister's 13th birthday. One of my more embarrassing moments is when my hair blew into the lead guy's mouth when our pic was being taken. We Will Rock You is a whole other post on its own for another time. I will leave you with a couple pics one of my sis, Erica, me, the other lead Yvan, and my sis's bff. (Yvan is in a McDonald's filet o fish commercial these days) and one my embarrassing moment caught on camera.


 

Last minute fixes and opening night at last!

The show's opening night has come and gone not with out some last minute panicking on my part despite my attempts to avoid that.The shoe covers I made didn't glow, I had assumed the director who selected the fabric had tested it under a black light, but no dice.When we first found out three days before opening so our plan B was to try spray painting a swatch of the fabric but that didn't work either. We found this out with less that 2 days until opening! Plan C was making new shoe covers for the song's lead, and getting white ankle socks.This had me in tears because of the thought of all the hours of hard work would be down the drain. Finally going with plan D I followed a co workers suggestion and ended up painting the vinyl covers with black light reactive paint the night before which with 4 hours to go until opening I was testing them at a glow in the dark mini putt and they glowed. Here's a pic of them all painted (I colour coordinated based on their costumes):

 

Of course this was all in amidst medical testing that had to get done because it was a week over due for an appointment later this month.I had scheduled the appointments the day before opening, thinking I was safe because I was done. I also had to plan for the testing because there was fasting involved, so I was cranky. Of course that morning I also got a call saying that there was a last minute cancellation for that day for another test I needed to get done sure, please pile more on my already filled plate really! (Don't worry I am fine, nothing to worry about I am being referred to a new doctor for my Turner's Syndrome and they have just ordered a battery of routine tests) I was so stressed I bummed a cigarette of a co worker, you know it's bad when I smoke. I maybe have one every couple of years.

Anyway the shoe covers have remained the bain of my existence! After opening one pair kept slipping off, so I had to add extra elastics. Then there was the issue of the paint flaking off and them back to barely glowing. So then I had to turn them inside out and paint the insides because the paint wouldn't flake off that. I am up to about 20 hours of work for something that is barely on stage for half an hour and I know didn't even get used for at least one performance. I am hoping we can have a cathartic shoe cover burning at the cast party!

There was a lot involved getting ready for opening night. We moved into the theatre the last Saturday of April. After the last rehearsal at our unit the cast all went out for karaoke, and it was obvious why I am the costume designer not on stage. I am not trained and am quiet and shy. Anyway normally for a move in I would be setting up costumes after having set them up for transport, but because of the small cast and the fact it was more or less one outfit each the cast was responsible for bring their own stuff to the theatre. I came in the afternoon to help with the lighting, basically it was supposed to involve moving around the stage in various spots while the lighting is being set. Unfortunately it was a big waste of the afternoon, because the theatre wasn't reset to it's default lighting layout after the last production, and so we couldn't get done what we need to get done. I never knew lightening was so complicated. The director was nice and took those who were helping out for nachos and sweet potato fries.

The next day was the first of three dress rehearsals. It was the first chance to see the costumes with the sets and lighting. Fortunately nothing clashed or was suddenly sheer under the lights!  It wasn't until the next dress rehearsal with the black lights that the problem with the shoe covers was discovered.

For the most part rehearsals allowed me to see things like using a yellow bobbin when sewing on the red gingham for the cape was a good call because it would have drawn the eye having red squares on the cape's underside. My other choice would have been to line it.

The dress rehearsal was mostly me fighting my urge not to rush the stage and fix little nit picky things like please wear white or black socks not red,  making sure knee socks are not one higher than another, and that the shirt collar is all the way overtop the jean jacket collar. Just really small things, like pre teens tend not to have big diamond rings ;) etc.

Opening night was exciting. N. and I brought our moms and my Dad as an early mother's day present. There were a few mistakes that the audiences wouldn't have noticed like the fact somehow the last song of act one was missed! It was inserted seamlessly into the beginning of act two I guess the problem was our dress rehearsals went to well. The superstition is that you want a bad dress rehearsal so opening night goes well! In live theatre anything can happen, so it is to be expected. I was so anxious to see how the shoe covers would look, I was squeezing N's hand tightly. My parent's enjoyed themselves, I didn't realize until the day off that I mayn't of mentioned to my Dad when I invited him that it was a musical.  There was a reception in the theatre lobby, afterwards the cast and crew went out for drinks. This one actor very secretively bought everyone a round, what a sweetie! Anyway here's a pic of me and my parents:

It has been exciting seeing the show advertised in the newspaper and on TV. I heard an ad for the show on the radio too. I was tickled when the producer brought us all advance copies of the programmes at the dress rehearsal. It gave me such a thrill seeing my picture and albeit misspelled name with the words costume designer beside it. Also seeing my pic and title our little cast/crew marquis filled me with such happiness! I love hearing the reactions from my friends/co workers who have seen the show. I am glad for this experience, I got to know some great new people, but I think I might take a little break before working on another show.  I easily put in over 50 hours of labour not including going to rehearsals etc. It's not over yet after our last performance I get to bring home everyone's dirty laundry and after washing it putting it back in storage. Yes it's been a lot of work and I may sound like I'm complaining, but despite the frustrations and some times sleep deprivation I've loved every minute of it!

Finishing touches and unexpected emails

It is a little over a week until opening night. We had a mini dress rehearsal last weekend. I almost want to cry from happiness, it was so wonderful seeing my designs coming to life, this one character's whole look is practically my sketch!  (If I am like this now I wonder what I will be like on opening night! )   I would say I am 99% done at this point. I brought home everybody's smelly shoes home Thursday night and spending Good Friday and Saturday making white shoe covers. I have never made them before, it was interesting to say the least. Here's a pic of the process pinning the wrong side of the fabric, and an original shoe and a covered one.

 

 There hasn't been a lot of alterations to do other then hemming a kilt by hand. It's been tons of shopping. At least four cast members are all wearing completely new outfits I purchased. Two are half pulled from either their closets or storage and the rest bought, and three of the guys supplied their own clothes, but I was provided options and then decided.  The director wanted me to get a new shirt for someone and take in the side of a pair of pants as well as shorten them for the next night. (They were practically ready to cut up my Tommy Hilfiger shirtdress and use it as the top! ) When I ran to Wal-Mart - as it was the only thing open on Sunday night - I found a new shirt similar colour palette to my dress, and I just bought new pants that worked better for $12 and saved myself the work I didn't really like the drawstring waist on the other pants anyway! Although the irony because I have to make them in to shorts with a border around the leg. It was a challenge because I only had the material from one partial sleeve to worth with, but I made it work. I am honestly really pleased with everything that will be going on stage. Here is a pic of the shorts and one of the cast at rehearsal. 

 I am glad I was at rehearsal last weekend, because they were actually missing a costume change entirely! This one character is supposed to change into a white robe, but they hadn't been doing it even though the robe was there at the rehearsal space. When I noticed this I literally ran to the other room and grabbed the robe, when I was running back I wiped out. My knee is skinned a little and my elbow hurt when I moved it, but nothing was really injured, just my pride, because it kind of stopped rehearsal.

At that rehearsal I was kind of bummed though because one of the cast member's wasn't there and I had built his character's cape and I couldn't wait to see his reaction. The cape is supposed to look homemade, and I wanted it to read tablecloth, but the trick was is that it can't be too busy because it needs to go over top the tie dye shirt I made previously. Fortunately I found the perfect fabric, it was pricy at $19 per metre when I needed two metres, but there was a 40% off sale and I am doing good with my budget so I splurged. When it's right it's right. I ended up making the cape in about 50 minutes total from start to finish while my apple pie was baking. It's funny how that works needing such little time for something that is going to be on stage for most of the show, but spending close to 18 hours on something that is barely on stage for 2 minutes just to get a certain look. The director felt the cape was too yellow, so I spend 3 hours adding red gingham. My design concept being that the kid combined two table clothes. I definitely enjoyed his reaction to the ginghamed cape though; it's moments like that, which makes it all worthwhile. Here's a pic of the cape before and after the gingham. 

Finally last weekend when I was going through my programmes, I realized I no longer have one from Toxic Avenger which played in 2009 or 2010. I have three photo size storage boxes full of programmes in chronological order (I wasn't joking when I said I was a theatre addict!)  I like to keep them for souvenirs/ reference, plus more than a few are signed.  I decided to try and contact the theatre company Dan Cap Productions to see about getting another one. To be honest I wasn't even sure I would get a reply because I wasn't even 100% sure they were in in operation but the website was copywritten for this year. Dan Cap hasn't put on a show in a few years. (In the years prior there was a legal battle with Toronto theatre giant Mirvish Productions.)

I was definitely not expecting a very timely, kind and acquiescent reply from Dan Cap Productions founder himself Aubrey Dan! He said no promises but that it would take him a little time, but he would look for one for me! I can't imagine David Mirvish doing that for one of his subscribers. (I never did get a reply yet from the Rock of Ages production company) This has definitely given me a new respect for Mr Dan.

Thinking outside the box and finding balance

We are down to a matter of weeks now before opening night and things are in full swing. One of the things with working costumes in community theatre is thinking outside the box. One of the projects I worked on this week involved thinking outside the box. The director wanted legwarmers when we priced them out they were $11-$13 each and I needed 4 pairs, That would have really taken a chunk out of the budget plus there would possibly be time and cost involved of dying them. All this for a 3 or 4 minute number. We decided it would be cheaper to just make the legwarmers until I went to the fabric store. The perfect material was $18 a metre and I needed 4 metres, there was nothing cheaper that worked. So either way this working out the same, and it seems once factoring in the cost of the tutus to spend 20% of the budget on one number was more than a little ridiculous!  The director had a stroke of genius: she had seen fleece baby blankets in the right shade of ballerina baby pink at the dollarstore. For $18 -including the cost of elastic- I made 4 pairs of leg warmers and it took me about 4 hours of labour. The first pair took the longest as I was figure things out since I was straying from the pattern I found online. I think they turned out pretty cute not to mention that they are really warm and cozy and I really want a pair of my own! Here's a pic: (I had to try them on for purely research purposes of course)

 

There is also a lot of balance in costuming in more ways than one. Some actors are more hands on about their costumes than others, you have to balance keeping your cast and director happy while staying true to your vision. For example my $10 outfit find I mentioned in my last post isn't being used in the show after all, so I decided to deduct the cost from what I spent and keep the jacket and shirt for myself  (I totally rocked them at work earlier this week)

There is also the balancing, well more so juggling of your personal life and the show. I am trying to get things done, make time for my boyfriend, and not let my responsibilities around the house slip too much, it wouldn't be fair to leave a stack of dishes or have N. do all the cooking. Plus there is taking care of my physical self, ie finding the time/energy to do my exercises, not eating crap the majority of the time. All important to keep my diabetes reversed. There has been a little bit of a losing battle on this front this past week and a half, with our routines and schedules being out of whack.That is it for now back to work!

Taking time off to see Chicago, Rock of Ages and a Game of Thrones

I've taken a little time off this past week from costuming to go to the theatre.(I know doing something totally different right?) I couldn't resist the urge to see World Champion/Silver medal olympian Elvis Stojko tackle the role of Billy Flynn in Chicago and my mom got tickets for us to go see Rock of Ages at Casino Rama.

My first introduction to Chicago was the 2002 Oscar winning film which I immediately loved, in fact I even wrote a movie review in my university student news paper. Basically that is what I had to compare the performance to other than a community theatre production back in 2004 up in Sudbury that I don't really remember.

Right away I was put off by the vocals of Terra C McLeod in All That Jazz which is one of my favourite songs from the show. She did this weird vocal trick that I didn't like. I thought that the actress playing Roxie, Bianca Marroquin was okay. I guess I am used to the film version where it plays things very seriously, this production really played up the comedic aspects of the show, for me it didn't work. I was irritated for example during the cell block tango how the actress playing Mona shook her head from side to side like an airhead every time she she said Lipshitz. Elvis Stojko's voice and performance on the other hand took me by surprise and made the show for me. He has this really deep, rich voice that resonates, and he can hold that long note at the end of "We both reached for the gun."

It was kind of neat getting to see late broadway legend/Law & Order star Jerry Orbach's cousin play the role of Amos, a bit of trivia for you Jerry Orbach was the original Billy Flynn. I also recognized one of the ensemble members from when she was in We Will Rock You. Overall though I was underwhelmed and prefer the movie. The stage show leaves lloose ends that the movie doesn't *minor spoiler* like how exactly did Velma Kelly get out let of her murder charges? I am glad I got to see Elvis, but I am glad I didn't pay more than $25 for my ticket! Elvis sadly took of pretty quickly at the stage door so I didn't get an autograph or anything.

With Rock of Ages I had the exact opposite experience, where I liked the stage show better than the movie. I thought the story in the stage show made more sense and I didn't like the changes made for the movie. I had seen Rock of Ages with my sister back in 2010, I thought it was okay, we were familiar with some of the cast from their We Will Rock You days, that can make it hard to suspend belief as you see them as so and so playing a role as opposed to just the character. I think the movie had the same problem, I liked it, but for example you don't see the character of Stacee Jaxx you see Tom Cruise as Stacee. Because with this production the cast was all unknown to me it really allowed them to inhabit and become their roles for me. I quite enjoyed the actor who played Lonny he was great, I thought the character in the Canadian production played by Aaron Walpole was really annoying, but this guy was super funny. I did find that the actress Shannon Mullen who played the lead Sherrie tried a little too hard to emulate Julianne Hough from the movie.

Overall it was a lot of fun, and our seats were great so I got a close look at the costumes. There is a little irony though with the venue because a lot of the bands whose music they were playing Joan Jett, Pat Benatar, Foreigner, Whitesnake, Journey have played that exact stage. I had come straight to the show from work and we'd stopped at Arby's for dinner which turned out to be pretty funny because there were three different references to that restaurant in the show! One of my complaints is that as we were leaving my mom saw the actor who played Lonny and I missed him. My other minor complaint is that I didn't get a programme, because there was none. I have emailed the show's production company to see if I can get hooked up with one, if I don't I have a couple cool souvenirs a pic with the show's fictional band Arsenal's name on it and a protest flyer prop from the stage. Here's a pic:

         

As if the shows weren't enough this week with work I got to go the Chorus entertainment building on Thursday night for an advance screening of Game of Thrones season four episode one which premieres tonight. It was really fun, everyone's name was on a guest list, we had to check in. There was free booze and passed appetizers of lobster/phyllo puffs and coconut shrimp (Popcorn too of course) A good night! We also saw the pilot of this new series Silicon Valley which was pretty funny. It's been an interesting week to say the least now time to get back to work!

A month to go and shopping until I drop

With just over a month until opening night for the show, I thought I would post a little update. Cast and crew had our deadline to hand in our programme bios and had our pics taken last weekend. I am finally starting to get to work on the show now that I've had my sit down with the director and we've settled on ideas. She felt we were 90% on the same page. The tutus I mentioned in my last post are done, I probably spent a good 12 or more hours cutting tulle and tying it to elastics. I had seen the technique before but had never done it before. It looked like a big pink fluffy cloud when they were all hung up together, it kind of freaked out my boyfriend a little. I had to hang them to keep the cats away or they would have been shredded and not the way I wanted!  I used a total of 16 metres of fabric, and the cost was 10% of the total budget, little scary, but I am happy with how they turned out. My co-workers got a kick out of watching me work at my tulle covered desk (Someone even offered to pay me to make some for her nieces!). Here's a pic of the tutu cloud and one of me in the tutu.

I have also done another technique that I have never done before: tie dying. I apparently missed out on that rite of childhood even though I was Girl Guide. One of the characters is described as having hippie parents and pride in his homemade clothing, what says homemade and hippie more than tie dye? I tried to do a spiral technique, but I didn't use enough colour so the shirt came out whiter than anticipated, but I still really like it quite a bit here's a photo. 

 

Every once in a while there are costuming miracles. Traditionally in the show one of the characters wears a very specific uniform, and although I wanted to go in a different direction, that is what the director wanted. The miracle comes in that the actor's father actually the uniform that we needed! It totally helped out my budget and reduced my work load! (Bonus)  On the last show I worked one of the cast member's wife had a actual nurses uniform from the 70's which is exactly what we needed, I even got to try it on. 

Things seem to be coming together, I feel like I am in good shape. At this point after my last shopping trip 5 of 9 cast members have all their main outfit.  No one realizes the amount of shopping that actually goes into costuming. The tulle, elastics, and tie dye kit didn't magically appear, we need to shop for supplies. I met up with one of the cast member's earlier this week to shop for his costume. Why can't I do that with everyone? It is so much easier than carrying around my binder of measurements and a measuring tape! I have probably spent over 3 hours thus far in secondhand clothing stores. I still have a few more pieces to get and there are some shoe covers to make, but mostly it is just odds and ends. No real major builds, just possibly some alterations like shortening an actual Scottish kilt with out cutting it, because I don't want to wreck it. Anyway I scoured Goodwill yesterday because it was their end of month 50% off sale, I got $34 worth of stuff for $17! I bet when whoever donated their clothing they never thought it would be a costume one day! A thrifty costumer am I, one character's entire outfit cost $10 and I love it! Here's a pic:

 

The important thing is that I am having fun, if I am not why do it?  Rehearsal last weekend was a blast. The show calls for audience volunteers and as the cast stumbled through a run through of the first act I helped out by being an audience volunteer, so much fun! I had a hard time not singing along and wrecking the harmonies ( Not that I am totally tone deaf or anything) So that's the latest, I will continue to keep you posted if I can.

My birthday at the ballet

My blog is called confessions of a theatre addict, but so far I have really only talked about one kind of theatre: musicals. I also quite enjoy ballet. For my birthday earlier this week I saw Swan Lake for the first time. I am a huge fan of Tchaikovsky's work and thought it would be a great way to commemorate the day, especially it being the only one of his major works I haven't seen.

I took ballet for the first time when I was 4 and studied it off and on, but never got very far, never en pointe. It wasn't until I was in my early 20's that I saw my first ballet. I was living in Vienna (Wein), Austria. The Staatoper there offered 2€ standing tickets. At the time I didn't like the performance of Kadettenball because I thought it was unconventional. I wonder what the more seasoned ballet goer I am now would think if I saw it today. (I think I have seen probably close to 30 different performances since 2006)

I digress, these days I still line up for tickets, but a little more expensive $35 but better seating! Because I don't live in Toronto ensuring that I get good seats means getting up before the sun. The rush tickets go on sale at 11 when the box office opens, usually there are over 60 people queued up. Being there early is key my plan was to get to Toronto around 8, catch the subway and arrive by 8:30 at the opera house. Slight snag we arrived discovered the subway doesn't start running until 9! There was someone else waiting too so we suggesting splitting a cab. This young guy was from Orlando, Florida, and paid for the $60+ cab-ride that was only supposed to be $30 max at flat rate, my boyfriend N. handed him a $20 though.

When I last lined up a year ago, we could wait in the subway/lobby area, but I guess the building manager had a fit and now it is not allowed, N. and I were definitely not expecting to wait outside (I am not sure he would have agreed to go if that was part of the deal, birthday or not) for two and half hours. What we did was everyone waiting when there wasn't that many of us, we rotated waiting outside and inside the door out of camera view.

There was a bit of injustice in the line. This woman who was fifth in line (I was seventh) had her daughter show up at ten to eleven and join her in line they needed four tickets and it is a max of two tickets per person.  This is unfair because now someone who did wait in line for a long time didn't get tickets, I feel really badly for them, especially because it wasn't even for good reasons, the grandkids had activities like swimming. Even a little girl who was in the ballet, lined up with her mother so they could get 4 tickets. Seriously if seeing the ballet is that important to you put in the effort! After acquiring out tickets we went for a sort of French themed brunch of crepes, and I treated myself to a mimosa.

I was like going to the pre-ballet talks which usually talk about the particular ballet's history, or technique. I find them really interesting especially because I dabble in the production side of theatre. I particularly love getting seats near the stage, so I can get a close look at the costume details. This talk was really dry and I didn't really find out anything that wasn't in the programme. One thing about the ballet that blows my mind is that they spend $170,000 a year on pointe shoes alone!

As to the performance I was meh on the first act, although the violence implied against the character of the serving wench stood out. It was amazing watching the dance of the four little swans in act II - for those that don't know it is a famous dance where four ballerinas link arms and ance in sync- it is quite something to see.

I loved the third and four acts, perhaps, because that is where more of the action takes place. The sets and costumes were really luxe as well. The dancer playing the Swan Princess Odette and the dual role of Odile was fantastic. I could really tell the difference in her movements as she portrayed both parts. It was also impressive watching her all those consecutive fouettes that Swan Lake is famous for. I wasn't able to count if she did all 32 or not (Fouettes are basically turns when you are balanced en pointe on one foot) I enjoy learning about the technique of ballet.

I didn't stalk former prima ballerina/current Artistic Director Karen Kain this time;O), I already have a signed programme that she signed. After the ballet N. got me a little pair of ballet slippers for my Pandora bracelet. We returned home and I got my fav homemade eggs benedict, I guess you could said I had a somewhat French theme, ballet, crepes, hollandaise.(All sort of fitting because I just found out I am going to need to make tutus for the show I am working on) Anyway there was the special Wicked cake he bought me. I will leave you with a pic of my special cake, and of the ballet slipper charm. 

 

And sew it begins

I have officially started work on costumes the show. Less than 2 months until opening night! Last night I started by taking cast measurements. I really had only done it a bit on the last show, but it went pretty well. I only have 3 people left to measure. I think measuring another person is rather intimate because you are in such close proximity. With my little arms I was more or less hugging people as I was trying to get the measure tape around their chests and waists etc. One trick I picked up from the last costume designer I worked with was measuring the guys to the sides when measuring their hips so so your hands don't accidentally slip somewhere they are not supposed to! Also asking them to hold the tape when doing the inseams. I couldn't help thinking about the episode of Friends where Chandler goes to Joey's tailor and was measured shall we say inappropriately and how I didn't want it go down like that. I didn't find it nearly hard as I thought it was going to be being 4'9" measuring someone over 6 feet. I was expecting to have to use a stool, but I didn't need it after all.

It was alot harder than I thought it was going to be just to grab people during a quiet moment, because of the nature of the show, alot of the cast is on stage at all times. One of my LOL moments was when a buddy of mine Kevin came over when he had a second and said "do me, do me quick."

While I was waiting, I started to go through the immense wardrobe area for which you need a moving scaffolding and a clothing hook to getting certain things down. There are about three long rows of clothes, and each one has another row suspended on top of that.  The theatre group moved to a new facility and it's not quite as easily accessible as the old storage area. I did manage to pull a couple pieces that could work. Now it is a matter of finalizing my ideas for the characters, pulling, shopping (I am sure my mom would love to come to Value Village with me) and altering. The producer also wants me to estimate what kind of budget I will need, keeping in mind that this is community theatre and there is no money ;O)  I am sitting down with the director on the weekend to show her my ideas etc. Enough blogging time to get back to work, I will leave you with a pic of our storage area, hope I don't get lost!

A Wicked post

I seem to be getting into the blogging grove this year. This one will be about another one of my favourite musicals: Wicked. For those unfamiliar it is a prequel to the Wizard of Oz, and tells the story of the Wicked Witch of the West (Elphaba) and The Good Witch of the North before Dorothy came to Oz. A word of warning spoilers will abound from this point about both the stage show and the book it is based on so proceed with caution.

I first heard of it through the media tv shows etc. I living in Paris, France when it first toured Toronto, so I missed it, plus I was still a NYC virgin at the time. When it returned to Toronto in fall 2006 I loved it and saw it 3 times before it flew away. I read the book in the summer as preparation, the novel is definitely WAY different and more sinister than the musical. Elphaba and her love interest Fiyero die in the book, but are given a somewhat happier ending where they've faked their own deaths. Fiyero also turns out to the be Scarcrow. The stage show delves more into the origins of well known characters like the Tinman, and the Cowardly Lion, and how they became who they are. I would say the musical is trying to have it's cake and eat it too with the ending, with out straying too much from the traditional OZ cannon except the Scarcrow doesn't die in the movie.

One of the best days that my sister and I shared involved Wicked. She was 12 at the time, and I was introducing her to ballet. We had gone to see a matinee of the Nutcracker, and I got to meet one of Canada's premiere ballerina's Karen Kain. My sister was blase about Karen Kain, and she didn't think anyone would know who she is, so when we were at an ATM, I turned around and asked the guy behind me if he knew and he did!  After that we decided on a lark to go try the Wicked lottery for the 8pm show. My parents actually got us a hotel room and tickets to Wicked as an early Christmas present prior to it and we loved it. I digress with the lottery basically there are about 20 tickets available for $25 if your name is drawn you get up to two tickets. (Wicked isn't alone in the practice Book of Mormon, Rent and We Will Rock You also have/had lotteries) We were so happy when we won! It was just a great day. I tried the lottery on Wicked's last day, but I didn't win.

When Wicked was in Toronto, I was lucky enough to see Todd K. Freeman as Dr Dillamond (For you Buffy The Vampire Slayer fan he played Mr Trick in seasons three), and the talented Megan Hilty. Megan Hilty reprised her role as Glinda on the TV show Ugly Betty and went to to star in the TV show Smash. I have a pic with her:

 

The next time I saw Wicked was the following summer 2007 on my first trip to NYC. The morning of I did a Behind the Emerald Curtain tour and got to see some of the set models, and original cast member's Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth's costumes. It was pretty interesting. The sets on the what is referred to as a "sit down" production as opposed as a touring production are more elaborate. Not everyone understands, why you would see a show over and over again, but each actor brings their own spin to the character. A couple years later when I was watching the Golden Girls, I recognized Lenny Wolpe who I saw play the Wizard.

A year later I was on the road again to see Wicked. The tour was in Ottawa, so I went to visit my friend Laura  (Who I never would have met if not for a mutual love of Wicked!) They still had the same husband and wife team of Clifton and DeeDee Hall playing Fiyero and Nessarose. Deedee played a student in the film Sister Act 2 which was one of my favourites. Here's a pic of me and Clifton and Deedee.I have to admit the first act of shows tend to be my favourite but the actress playing Glinda and Elphie really brought something to their characters older years in the second act, made me appreciate it in a whole new way. Here's a pic of Clifton and I as well as Dee Dee and I. Also one of Laura and I at the show being rebels.

 

The last time I saw Wicked was in Toronto back in 2010. I went with N's aunt and she surprised me that Christmas with a really cute charm of green oz glasses. 

 

Now Idina Menzel who originated the role of Elphaba, was also an original cast member of Rent. In my Rent blog post I talked about meeting her. I don't know why I didn't get any of my Wicked stuff signed by her. I brought the stuff with me, but I think because I had more Rent signatures, I made a choice. Next time I will get my Wicked Grimmerie and soundtrack signed, especially since they are both signed by Kristin Chenoweth who originated the role of Glinda.  Here's a photo

 

I met Kristin Chenoweth in June 2012 when she gave a concert at Massey Hall in Toronto. The stage door was CRAZY, the security guards weren't expecting that at all. It was neat getting to hear her sing the song Popular in Japanese and German. I would have also loved to go up on stage with her and sing For Good, but I was too shy, plus with where my friend Siobahn and my seats were we never would have gotten chosen. Here's a pic of Kristin during the show.

 

Lastly my mother started me off collecting Wicked ornament when she bought me a Wicked Witch of the West ornament one year. I then found out Carlton Cards had ones from the musical and starting getting them every year. I have 5 now and they all play music. I was also given a Wicked Witch Barbie one year too. So that's the story of me and one of my favourite musicals I will leave you with pis of my Wicked corner on my bookshelf and of the ornaments in the tree.

 

Do you hear the people sing?

I saw Les Miserables yesterday with my friend Verena. To be honest I was planning on seeing it, because I am not a huge fan of the show. After all  the rave reviews and gushing Facebook statues I had to see what all fuss was about, so I broke down and bought a ticket.

I remember the first time I heard music from Les Mis, someone singing along to the Castle on the Cloud for in an audition a talent show when I was in grade 7 or 8. Previously  I was interested in seeing it, so I had rented the1998 film starring Liam Neeson and Geoffrey Rush thinking it was the musical, not realizing it was an straight book adaption.  Whoops, now I know that musical adaptations get A LOT of fanfare, so I don't know how I made that mistake! I finally saw it when the 25th Anniversary Special aired on PBS in 2011 or 2012 and was underwhelmed by the 25th Anniversary special. I wonder if that had anything to do with the fact a Jonas brother was playing Marius?;O) I still decided to give the movie with Hugh Jackman a chance.

With the movie I thought Hugh Jackman was great, and Helena Bonham Carter was fab as Mme Thenardier. I think that Amanda Seyfried (Who I adore) has too much vibration in her voice, I noticed it in Mamma Mia when she sings high notes. Again I didn't fall in love with Les Mis, but I liked the music, some of it is really catchy.(The title of my post is taking from song lyrics from the show for those not familiar)  Here is a pic of  me with Hugh Jackman in the background at the Princess of Wales stage door in 2011)





The production sucked me in with the first number Look Down. The ensemble was really strong, I had no issue with their numbers. This production definitely made me more of a fan, there is nothing like live theatre. I still wouldn't say it was one of my favourite shows, but I have a new appreciation for it. I would probably even see another production sometime.

When you start working on shows from the production side, you see other shows through from a conceptual lens. I think you catch mistakes more easily, either that or I have an eye for details, like one the street lights not being turned on etc. One of the characters goes off a bridge in to the Seine and I was expecting to see a trap door, and was surprised to see the bridge split apart and the projection screen behind served as the water. I thought it was interesting how they did it.I definitely wouldn't want to design the whole show on my own for costumes at this point anyway there are SO many!

One thing I am finding consistent with all the versions I haven't been bowled over by ANY of the females playing the leads with the exception of Madame Thenardier. In this production Fantine and Cosette were unremarkable, there vocals were far from stand out. Fantine's acting was fine, Cosette was a little much for me.  In the film I thought Anne Hathaway was okay her vocals in the finale were great. I wonder if it is because Idina Menzel and Lea Michele did such a great version of I Dreamed a dream on Glee that for me all pales in comparison? Plus Lea didn't that beautiful snippet of On My Own in Glee's pilot. (I have seen both Idina and Lea perform live by the way)

I was really looking forward to Canadian Idol Winner Melissa O'Neil's rendition of On My Own. I was disappointed. The pace of the song was really sped up, so it wasn't the melancholy ballad I am familiar with. I don't know if because it was sped up or because she was trying to sound emotional and not make it pretty a la Anne Hathaway but it sounded rough in a few places, and I was cringing in places. (Before I get crucified, yes I realize Anne plays Fantine not Eponine in the film and doesn't sing that song, but that was the technique she brought to her singing, in an interview she felt it was inauthentic if she tried to sound pretty) I thought Melissa's acting was great though. No complaints there. I had met Melissa back in 2008 when she was featured in Dirty Dancing. Here's a pic.

 

I have to admit I was truly blown away by Ramin Karimloo who was playing the lead Jean Val Jean. His vocals are incredible.He truly was the star of the show. He will be playing the lead in Broadway this spring I wonder if he can be nominated for a best actor Tony because it is a revival production not sure of the rules on that. He has my vote if he does get nominated. Ramin has also played Phantom in Phantom of the Opera, it is rather interesting that often actors who play Phantom also play Jean Val Jean. I may be a little pic of  Ramin fangirl now. He alone was worth going to see even if I didn't

I went to the stagedoor which is the same place I met Hugh. (My photographer Verena needs some practice ;O), it didn't go well) It is a really goofy pic .He was polite but you could sense Ramin was kind of a hurry, I don't blame him for not wanting to be out in the frigid whether. I will leave you with the pic of us.

Taking another bite out of the Big Apple.

So as I promised I owe a blog post about my trip to the world's theatre capitol NYC! This will be a long one so settle in (Hope was worth the wait!) It was almost 5 years since I was last in NYC. A visit was long over due. I went with my boyfriend N. to celebrate 5 years together. Ironically a few days after we started dating was the last time I was in NYC. In the vein of Meg Cabot,I try to keep my personal life private which is why I only refer to him as N. and you won't find any pics of him on here. 

 On Monday December 9 we spent the night in Toronto the day before we left, because my mom gave us a life experience package at the former Skydome hotel (Now called the Renaissance Hotel and the skydome is now called the Roger's centre) The room was pretty lush, two flat screen TVs. Our package included champagne and chocolate covered strawberries, breakfast for two, and tickets from a selection of local attractions. It was fabulous. Here's a pic of the room.

 

For the attraction we decided to go tour the Steam Whistle Brewery. It was fun getting tipsy at noon ...something to try once. There were samples before and after the tour, plus everyone got a freshly bottled of beer right of the assembly line, time stamped and everything. It was awesome, I really like the beer too. We ended up being lumped in with the George Brown College school tour, the instructor was treating us as if we were his students, he wouldn't let us fall behind. The brewery is located in part of an old railway roundhouse. Here's a pic from the tour:

 

After the tour I went back to the Chickery, because I still wanted to meet Chef David Adjey. I had something different this time and was much happier with the food. Chef Adjey was pretty cool, he said they were trying to reboot his former  show The Opener on A&E. He promised us extra sides, but never delivered Naturally I got a picture with him

 

At 6:40 that night we caught the overnight bus to NYC. It was a bargain at 100 USD round trip for the both of us. We were all prepared for the trip and had the laptop to watch movies etc. We had even been considerate and got a splitter so we could both listen with our headphones and to not disrupt our fellow travellers. I was disappointed to see that others weren't so considerate and were just playing youtube videos on their phones with out headphones, or listening to music really loudly even with headphones.

We arrived in NYC shortly after 6 am, first thing I hailed a cab like the New Yorker I am at heart. Our destination was to the Dominque Ansel Bakery home/inventor of the cronut. For those living under a rock ;O) the cronut is pastry that is a donut/croissant hybrid. In the summer people line up at 4 in the morning for  them. When we arrived we were second and third in line. This guy Robert was ahead of us in his sleeping bag. He is professional line sitter, so people pay him to wait in line for him. Someone for example was paying him $40 to acquire a $5 pastry for them, and he does things 4 or 5 times a week. ! The longest he ever waited for something was 18 hours. It wasn't all that cold but eventually the staff came out and gave us complimentary hot chocolates and madelines while we waited for the bakery to open at 8. While we were waiting this girl who stated she was a stripper, wanted to get warmed up in Robert's super large sleeping bag, she came over and was all "Hey boo", he let her sit beside him, but made sure she knew she still had to go to the back of the line with her friends. She was inexplicably in nothing but sweats even though her friends had her coat. She was definitely drunk if not high.

When the bakery opened Robert let me go in first which means I got to hold the golden loaf, I thought that was pretty sweet of him, he'd never been first before. The cronut has a new flavour every month, and has the texture of a flaky croissant, but friend like a donut. In December it was orange and champagne with gold dust sprinkled on top. It was worth every penny let me tell you!  I get a kick out of the fact I got one with out a problem, but Emma Roberts niece of Julia Roberts got bumped to the back of the line this summer when she tried to queue jump! Anyway here is a pic of the queue and the cronut

After the cronut we made our way to American Museum of Natural History (For those who have seen the movie Night at the Museum, that is where it is set. Personally I like to see my animals live not stuffed, but I acquiesced as this was one one really touristy thing N. wanted to do on his first trip to the big apple. especially since they had a butterfly exhibit that was pretty cool going on. The butterflies liked my right boob, that seemed to be the only place they were landing (Pervs ;O) )

 

Kind of a funny story, there is store back home that has these gemstone bracelets with initials on them, I have never been able to find a K. When I saw the exact bracelets at the museum gift shop I figured I would have no problem finding my initial if not my name. No dice, are you kidding me? One of the biggest cities in the world and I can't find a K? I did get one that says I <3 N. though. A cute little souvenir.

We made our way to try White Castle for lunch, as I had never been to one before. I was underwhelmed, and don't get what Harold and Kumar went to all that trouble for. I asked N. which one of us was Harold and who was Kumar, he replied you're the Indian, you're Kumar. (As one of my co-workers points out wrong Indian I am feathers not dots.) White Castle burgers are itty bitty, but still calorie laden! That is one thign about the US calories are listed everywhere UGH! I don't need to know some venti drinks from Starbucks are 500 calories!

Project Runway haven Mood Designer Fabrics is just around the corner from White Castle so of course I had to go, didn't buy anything but a "Thank You, Mood" t-shirt. I was hoping to meet Swatch the dog or run into Tim Gunn, but no such luck. Still it was cool to see three floors of fabric, imagine what I could do for my upcoming show, if you let me loose in there with an unlimited budget.... sigh. Anyway here is a pic of me at Mood and the burger.

  

Then it was off to try and get my first celeb autograph of the trip. James Bond actor Daniel Craig and his wife Rachel Weisz (Runaway Jury, The Mummy) were doing a play Betrayal together, but we couldn't get tickets - not that we wanted to see a play about infidelity on our anniversary trip anyway. I am a HUGE Rachel fan, so I was super excited to stage door. We knew the show ended around 3:30 so we went and hung out. Sadly she never came out, and Daniel was only signing playbills, he politely informed me so I couldn't get Skyfall signed as a Christmas present for someone, he was polite about it, and I sorta got a pic with him. 

 

As it was after three by this point we were finally able to check in to our hotel. We got a bargain, but as they say you get what you pay for. The  Carter Hotel is located in Times Square, and was $129 USD, I checked the hotel the day before and they the same room for $109, I asked if they could do an adjustment for us, but they wouldn't. I was assured though by the front desk clerk that he would put us in the nicest room he had available though. I knew that this wasn't a luxury hotel so I had low expectations, but I didn't expect there to be a sticker from someone else's tee on the comforter, and I expected the bathroom to have a bath, not be a tiled room with a curtain and a grate in the floor. After moving rooms to one that had a fabulous view of a brick wall, but at least we had brand new out of the package clean blankets. I should have known when I girl Vicky I volunteer usher with knew it by reputation and I saw that there was a wikipedia page about our hotel. A lot of sketchy things happened there, murders, suicides, I just figured it would be a bit of colour, but it had gotten good reviews lately. I wouldn't stay there again though.  I did like that the front desk still had mailslots for each room behind it, that was cool. Our closet even had a fire escape plan in it from when it was the Dixie Hotel. Here's pics of the bathroom, our first and second room and the fire escape plan.

After freshening up we went for dinner at Sardi's. I had made 6pm reservation for us the week before so we could have a nice leisurely dinner before going to see a play at 8. I had to send my food back though because the chicken was over cooked, the second time it was fine. I swear I had a run of bad luck with restaurants over cooking my food. It was still neat to go there and we could see the whole restaurant from our corner table. Here's a pic of our view and a close up of a drawing of former Wicked and 9-5 performer Steph J Block. 

I knew I couldn't convince N. to see a musical, as he isn't a fan so I didn't see one this trip, as much as I would have liked to have seen Matilda or First Date. We agreed on seeing Sir Ian McKellan and Sir Patrick Stewart in No Man's Land by Harold Pinter. For those who don't know Ian McKellan plays Gandalf in the Lord of the Rings movies and Magneto in X-men, Teabing in The DaVinci Code. Patrick Stewart plays Professor Charles Xavier in X-men but trekkies would know him as Captain Jean Luc Picard in Star Trek:The Next Generation. Billy Crudup from Stage Beauty and Almost Famous was also in the play too.

When we were in line to pick up our tickets, a familiar face walked by. I had an rubbernecking"oh hi, your Edward Norton" moment. (He was in Fight Club and the "good" Hulk movie). He was seeing the play, I tried to get a pic with him, but he didn't co-operate, but I can't blame him he was just a regular guy out on the town. I seem to have met/seen a lot of comic book actors in the past:Mark Ruffalo (Hulk in the Avengers), Gwenyth Paltrow (Pepper Potts in Iron Man and The Avengers), Colin Ferrell (Bullseye from Daredevil) and Hugh Jackman (Wolverine in the X-men movies) Ironically I have never actually read one of the comics, but come across as a total comic book nerd having seen a lot of the movies ;O) . I digress, the play itself didn't hold my attention, that fact that I was up since 4 am had absolutely nothing to do with my dozing off at all really. An expensive nap to say the least. *hangs head in shame* The stage door was great though even if they were only signing playbills, mine was signed by all of the cast. They were super polite about not signing X-men/LOTR stuff too. Ian posed for a pic with me, he was sweet. Here's a pic of my playbill (The Canadian in me feels so wrong typing that it's programme!) and one of me and Ian McKellan, a pic of Billy Crudup and Patrick Stewart.

On the way back to the hotel we checked out the stores that were open late in Times Square. I totally wanted to ride the ferris wheel in the Toys'R'us but it wasn't running. Each car had it's own theme Barbie, My Little Pony etc. Here's a pic and that was day one.

 

Day two was not as eventful and a lot shorter, because our bus left at 6:40, and by this point my feet were killing me because I decided to just pack a pair of high heel boots  that I thought were broken in enough. We were out of the hotel asap, and had breakfast at this cute cafe, again calories were posted. We also stopped by the Cake Boss Cafe too and had a cannoli. For those who don't know Cake Boss is a reality show on TLC where this Bakery out of Hoboken, New Jersey makes amazing inventive cakes. Here's a pic of me and the cafe along with the pastry

We made our way up Fifth Avenue and Rockefeller Centre. Being the tourists we are we took a pic in front of the big tree. Of course we had to stop at the Nintendo store around the corner. Afterwards we went to Dylan's Candy Bar. This store is owned by designer Ralph Lauren's daughter Dylan. They have mini chocolate bars, with your name on it, but I couldn't find my name, they didn't even have my mom's name Cynthia or any variation, rather surprising.  It is three floors of candy, N. was disappointed by the selection of sugar-free candy, as we know a lot of diabetics. The store was also featured on Project Runway for an unconventional challenge where they had to make couture out of candy. Here's a pic of the storefront.

 

Next stop was the Jewish Museum on the Upper East Side. There was a Marc Chagall exhibit on that I was excited to see. While living in Europe 9 years ago I became quite an art aficionado. I found the paintings very dark especially compared to the ceiling he did of the Opera Garnier in Paris. That was my first introduction to Chagall's work. I thought he was French, but he was actually a Russian Jew. A bit of trivia his paintings about the pogrom of Russian Jews inspired the title of the musical "Fiddler on the Roof. " The museum also had an exhibition on Art Spiegelman who basically invented the graphic novel with his work Maus. It was okay, we had other things we wanted to do so we didn't see the whole museum.

 It was almost a theme day when we went to Katz's deli in the East Villiage.I say it is a theme because it is a Jewish deli. Katz's just happens to be where the famous faking scene from the movie  When Harry Met Sally was filmed. They operate on a ticket system which you are handed when you walk in, they write down everything you have on it, and you need it to leave. Let me tell you although expensive the pastrami on rye was orgasmic (As was the cheesecake)

 

When planning our trip I had finally worn N. down and he had agreed to go to the Life Cafe for breakfast (I really wanted huevos rancheros). When I went to look up their hours of operation to my horror I discovered that it had closed in 2012 :o( At least I got the chance to have them once before it closed.( I have the geeky pic from my last trip to prove it) Walking around the East Village was nice, even though each step was painful. N. though it was the heart and soul of the city. After that we made our way to Macy's to see the store windows then to the bus. The store windows were cool and it was neat the people could interact  with them. Here's a pic

The bus was late getting there. The ride back was a lot better, less packed so we had four seats all to ourselves and a table, with no loud people around us.  There was a long wait at customs because these passengers on a previous bus had 20 bags among three people, and every bag was being thoroughly inspected.  The bus driver was pretty nice to us though he dropped us of at Union Station instead of Bay and Dundas, so it was easier for us to get home. Overall it was whirlwind trip, but a lot of fun. My cats were definitely happy to see me, they'd never been left that long before.