The Lion King

There isn't enough I can say about this musical! It was absolutely wonderful! I will begin with talking about what I thought it would be, then what it was.

First of all, I went to see this with my mom, which is a plus. I love including her in things I love to do.

Second, when I first heard about The Lion King, the musical YEARS ago when it opened on Broadway, I was not excited about it.  I wasn't excited about the movie when it came out.  In fact, the only reason why I saw the movie (for the first time on VHS tape- not even in theaters) was because my brother and sister wanted me to watch it with them because they loved it and kept quoting lines from it during my visit over the summer that the movie was released on tape.  So I watched it with them, and loved it! Loved the music, loved the storyline, everything. Then, when I heard about it going on Broadway I was exceptionally limited by my own mind.  As much as I like to think I have this wonderful imagination, I could not fathom how they would be able to put singing animals on stage.  There was no way that my mind could conceive that and accept that it would be good and worth the money to see it, versus watching the movie.

Boy was I wrong!

This musical was completely magical! From before the overture began to the very last curtain call. A lot of times when you see a musical on tour, there's a sense that you are missing some of, or a lot of, the key elements that went along with having the Broadway stage at your disposal.  For one, the Broadway stage is fitted with grooves and apparatuses that are needed to support shows and plays with huge sets that move and transport you from one place to the next.  For example, when I went to see Aida on tour, after seeing in on Broadway, there were a lot of staging elements that were missing and the musical felt "small" on the stage at the Landmark Theater, versus the stage at the theater I saw it on in New York. The musical was still good, but it just felt cramped to me.  I'm sure that those who hadn't seen it on Broadway didn't feel slighted at all, which is more than likely why I was and am so enamored with the production The Lion King that I saw after not having seen it on Broadway.  But there were so many elements that were in this traveling production that I know were present on Broadway that I am pretty darn sure that the only thing missing was a bigger stage.  The animals still came down the aisles, the birds still flew from the balconies...I mean, it was a visual paradise! The only thing that was off from the traveling play versus the show on Broadway was that the guy who played Timon was in a green body suit.  Now, on Broadway, he blended in with the greenery of the forest that was a part of the set on stage.  But in the traveling production, he was in front of a yellow-orange screen & backdrop with long lines of grass on the stage floor.  It wasn't a green washout like on Broadway, but that was even OK.  There's even the song the Rafiki sings to Simba when she (it was a lady in this production) finds him after feeling that he is still alive that I SWEAR I have heard before. I don't know where, but I knew that song like I had sung it before and I'd never seen the musical & never heard the soundtrack...to my knowledge.  The same thing happened when I went to see Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat when Joseph sang "Close Every Door."

I would CERTAINLY see this production again, in fact, I'm trying to get the funds together to see it in a few months. It was really awesome. 

On a sadder note, though, I couldn't help thinking, as I was watching the musical about the little girl who played Nala on Broadway and had passed away about a month before I saw the show on tour. She was such a cute little girl who had a passion for Broadway and had been diagnosed with cancer. It was hard to imagine, as I watched the performer who played Nala that night, that such a young, vibrant personality had been snuffed from the earth by a truly vicious and unrelenting disease. So, I end this post with her picture and a reminder to cherish the life you have and the people you live it with.  They can be gone faster than you know.
                                

Book List 2010...Better Late Than Never

So, last year I made a goal of reading 36 books over the 12 months of the year. If I were reading up to my usual speed and frequency, this would have been an easy feat, but since I was not...I didn't make it. However, I will share the list of books I read for 2010. I'm trying again to reach 36 for this year...but I'm off to a very slow start.


1.)  No More Playas by Brenda Jackson
2.)  Marked by P.C. and Kristen Cast
3.)  Night Pleasures by Sherrilyn Kenyon
4.)  The Warded Man by Peter Brett
5.)  Night Embrace by Sherrilyn Kenyon
6.)  Dance With the Devil by Sherrilyn Kenyon
7.)  Kiss of the Night by Sherrilyn Kenyon
8.)  Night Play by Sherrilyn Kenyon
9.)  Seize the Night by Sherrilyn Kenyon
10.) Any Rich Man Will Do by Francis Ray
11.) Sins of the Night by Sherrilyn Kenyon
12.) Unleash the Night by Sherrilyn Kenyon
13.) Dark Side of the Moon by Sherrilyn Kenyon
14.) Devil May Cry by Sherrilyn Kenyon
15.) Dream Chaser by Sherrilyn Kenyon
16.) Acheron by Sherrilyn Kenyon
17.) Eclipse by Stephanie Meyer
18.) Nappily Married by Trisha R. Thomas
19.) God Still Don't Like Ugly by Mary Monroe
20.) Orange, Mint and Honey by Carleen Brice
21.) Stone Cold Surrender by Brenda Jackson
22.) Jared's Counterfeit Fiancee by Brenda Jackson
23.) The Someday List by Stacy Hawkins Adams
24.) Dead In the Family by Charlaine Harris
25.) Breaking Dawn by Stephanie Meyer
26.) Betrayed by P.C. and Kristen Cast
27.) Chosen by P.C, and Kristen Cast
28.) Untamed by P.C. and Kristen Cast
29.) Hunted by P.C. and Kristen Cast
30.) Tempted by P.C. and Kristen Cast
31.) Burned by P.C. and Kristen Cast
32.) I Am Number 4 by Pittacus Lore

Now, the purpose of this goal was for me to read through some of the 86 books on my own personal bookshelf that I have yet to read and have owned for years. But it didn't work out that way.  Out of 32 books, 22 were borrowed from the library, 5 were newly purchased in 2010 either in paper or on my Kindle and the remaining 5 were from my bookshelves! This year hasn't started off any better. I've spent more time in the library than on my own shelves. But I'll get to them eventually.

The Color Purple

I made it to see The Color Purple while it was on tour last season.  I could say it was my Thanksgiving gift to myself. I'm glad I went to see it. After hearing so much about it while it was on Broadway and not being able to make it to New York, I was elated when it finally came on tour.

Having said that, I must admit that, for me, the hype had me so excited that the musical itself was a little of a let down.  Let me qualify this by saying that the music was great. The singers were great. I even got to see Latoya London from American Idol playing Nettie and that was very exciting for me.  I think what let me down wasn't the music itself, or the acting, but the storyline.  The story of The Color Purple has been present in my life through book and movie for almost all of my life.  So much so that when the movie comes on TV, I don't even watch it anymore. I avoid that channel at all cost because, while I don't want to see it, if I flip past it, I will stop and recite the lines I know by heart along with the movie. I've read the novel by Alice Walker three times.  I think part of me was thinking that the playwrights of the musical would have taken some creative license with the storyline and changed or added some things, like they do in movies.  They did add some things for the benefit of fitting in the songs (like the scene for Push the Button) but there was so much that was pretty much exactly like the book or movie that I found myself wanting to fast-forward to the next song.  But, that was my issue & my issue only.  I went with a friend who absolutely loved it in its entirety.  So to each her own.  I don't regret seeing it, I still think it was money well spent, I just expected more.

Having said that, I must say that I was exceptionally disappointed in the AUDIENCE! You know how they have the announcement every time before a play or musical stating to "please refrain from taking flash photography during the performance" or "taking pictures during the show is prohibited" and "please silence or turn off your cell phones."  Well, leave it to the one musical I go to, with a predominately black (us) audience and a predominately black cast to have folks taking pictures with flash DURING THE SHOW and cell phones ringing in both sections of the show (before and after intermission).  You know that part of you that wants to look around in aggravation and exclaim "are you serious?" I spent a good part of the musical suppressing that part because that wouldn't make me any different than them.  But it was so disappointing.  It was also disappointing to realize how many people have not read the book! I mean, come on! Its an African-American Fiction Classic!!!! You should have heard the audible, loud gasp that went through the crowd when Celie said her baby was her daddy's baby, and then later that her daddy was her step-daddy!!! Come on people!

So anyway, that was that experience. I probably will not go see it again as I have other musicals because, while it is a classic, I have been inundated with The Color Purple all my life....I'm classic-ed out. lol

Getting Back

Ok, it's been a while since I've posted here. The last few months have been so packed with deaths and births and other, time consuming activities as well as starting a new blog and a new journey that I have neglected to continue working on the blog dedicated to my passions. I have not stopped reading. I have not stopped attending shows. I just haven't taken the time share them here, so those things will be coming and coming soon. I haven't forgotten about you, blog nation, I just took a little break.

More to come.

My Holiday Love

I know that many focus on different things during the holiday season. As we are different people with different backgrounds and interests, our tastes are destined to be different. Me? I love the decor. I love the music. I love driving around and seeing other people's lights (because I'm too lazy to deck the outside of my house). But I think what I love most about the holiday season are the shows. The Nutcracker, The Trans-Siberian Orchestra (though they are not coming to my neck of the woods this year), The Symphony. The same shows every year, but because they only play during the holiday season, they are something I look forward to year after year. This year, I get to treat myself and my mom to The Lion King! I literally cannot wait. I bought my tickets 9 months ago and have been sitting on them looking forward to this weekend all year long. Now, it's just a few days away and I am excited to see it. I'm excited for my mom to see it with me. I love being able to share things like this with her. After that, it's Christmas parties and social gatherings and OH! I'm going to Christmas Town this year! I can't wait to see that and to take some pics to enhance my own display at home! To be completely surrounded by the sights and sounds of Christmas in...get this...GERMANY!!!! I couldn't believe when I saw that was the theme for this year. I'll do a blog later about my love of German and Russian history and where that came from, but that is nothing short of the bee's knees for me and I am super excited! Keeping in mind what this season means for me, both as a Christian and as a lover of wonder and fantasy makes this season an awesome experience...even if it got here so fast that it feels like it just left.