Theatre Night

 

Last Sunday night I attended one of my Valley Broadway Series shows at Gammage Auditorium in Tempe.  This time it was "MJ", the musical about Michael Jackson.  I wasn't sure what to expect but I thoroughly enjoyed it.  I snapped this photo of the stage just after arriving at my seat.

My friend Julie snapped these two shots during the standing ovation.  All of the actors were excellent, the dance moves were amazing and the staging was brilliant.  All in all, a good show.

Restored Mural

 

Yesterday I mentioned that I had attended an event at the historic Orpheum Theatre in downtown Phoenix.  While I was there I snapped this photo of one of the restored murals inside the building.  The theater was originally built in 1929 but it changed hands many times before the city of Phoenix bought it in 1984 and began a 12-year restoration project.  For a while the theater was used as a movie theater and the owners painted the murals black because they thought they would distract from the movies.  The city hired a restoration company to remove the black paint and restore the old murals.  They are well worth saving.

Taking part in Monday Murals.  

Pink Martini Time

 

Last Saturday night, I was back in downtown Phoenix to see my all time favorite band perform with the Phoenix Symphony.  When I sat down in my seat, the guy next to me asked "are you a groupie too?" I had to admit I probably was.  I've seen Pink Martini perform between 6 and 8 times.  I just love their music.

They performed in the historic old Orpheum Theatre.  Here you see lots of very happy music lovers leaving after the show.  They have such an eclectic mix of music and the songs are sung in a huge variety of languages.  Their next stop was Florida and the band leader Thomas Lauderdale wondered how this song would go over down there.  It was a great show and a wonderful evening.  

Theatre Night

 

It was back to the theatre Sunday evening this time for the Broadway production of "Frozen".  We parked the car next to one of the fountains so that gave me an opportunity to get a nice reflection shot of Grady Gammage auditorium, one of Frank Lloyd Wright's masterpieces.  

I wasn't sure what to expect of "Frozen".  I had never seen the movie so the story was going to be new to me.  I must admit I loved it.  The music was great and the special effects were amazing.  When Elsa's green gown turns into a sparkling ice gown right before our eyes, I was blown away.  I tried to search the internet to find out how they were able to do that but no luck.  Disney is keeping that trick a secret.  

Major Disappointment

 

Last Sunday evening I attended the Broadway touring production of Jesus Christ Superstar, a performance I was eagerly looking forward to.  I'm a huge fan of everything the duo of Andrew Lloyd Weber and Tim Rice have created and I hadn't seen this particular musical in many years.  I was excited to experience its power and passion once again.  What a major disappointment it turned out to be.  

In many cases I've enjoyed revivals of plays.  Seeing a familiar play in a different context is sometimes very stimulating.  In this particular instance it was a bit of disaster. Let me summarize what I think went wrong.  We'll start with the singing.  I wouldn't actually call it singing, it was more like screaming.  The power of Tim Rice's lyrics does not require the singer to scream them at the audience.  The screaming combined with ear-piercing level of volume made it impossible to make out the words to any of the beautiful songs from the play.  

My next complaint was the choreography.  From the moment the play started, the cast was jerking and twisting their bodies as if they were in serious pain or possibly possessed by demons.  Their movements did not convey a message of loving admiration for the play's namesake.  It conveyed fear and terror instead.  

Moving on the the costumes composed mostly of workout clothes that you might see at a dance rehearsal. I could have adjusted to that type of costume if it hadn't been for the Nike trainers.  My imagination could have adapted to the tattered joggers but the trainers emblazoned with the Nike swoosh was a little too much. 

There is a lot more I could add to this but This post is already a lot longer than I had planned.  I will say that at first I worried that my dislike of this production was related to my advanced age however, I've read way too many like-minded reviews many written by students agreeing with everything I've just said and more.  This was just a bad revival.  The producers need to go back to the drawing board.

Humor at the Opera

 

I went Arizona Opera's production of "Ariadne auf Naxos" last Sunday and thoroughly enjoyed a show full of humor as well as music.  The opera was written by Richard Strauss and was full of humorous situations.  I snapped the photo of the opening set before the opera had started.

The opera was performed at The Herberger Theatre in downtown Phoenix.

I snapped the photo to the left in the lobby of the theatre where the Christmas Tree was situated right under  the chandelier that hangs around the skylight.  

Theatre Night

 

Last Thursday I joined a friend to see the Phoenix Theatre production of "Bandstand".  I snapped this photo as I was walking to meet my friend at a restaurant for dinner before the play.  

When we returned to go to the play, it was dark and this is where I spotted that mystery shadow I featured yesterday. You can see just a sliver of that bench and wall on the far right of this photo.

The Orpheum Theater Lobby

 

I didn't remember that the lobby had niches with busts in them.  I believe there were four altogether. 

At one end of the lobby is the "peacock" staircase.  It's called that because of the beautiful peacock that is located on the underside of the stairs.

It's such a beautiful place.  I'd love to explore it more.  

The Orpheum Theater

 

Saturday evening, I went to another Phoenix Symphony concert and this time it was at The Orpheum instead of Symphony Hall.  I hadn't been inside the Orpheum Theater in a long time so it was nice to see it once again.  I featured some photos of the outside of this historic theater back in 2019.  You can see those here.  

The top photo is looking forward toward the stage and this photo is looking toward the back and the balcony above the theater.  I love the lighting they use to light up the ceiling.

This photo just concentrates on the details above the proscenium arch.  I love the seven rows of ribbons that frame the stage.  Each one has a different pattern. They don't build theaters like this any longer.

Tomorrow I'll show you some details from the lobby area.  It was exciting to once again be inside this historic building.  

Busy, Busy, Busy!

 

After almost two years of staying close to home, things are finally starting to happen again.  I've gotten to take two trips, one to California and one to New York and group activities are starting to open again.  

The annual Canal Convergence event in Scottsdale has been going on for the past two weekends and when I went, I saw that it was drawing a pretty big crowd of people.  That's where I saw the interesting fire on the water show and where I saw several of these bright star-like structures.  

I went to the symphony Friday night.  One of their first live performances in almost two years.  I snapped this photo before it began when the orchestra was warming up their instruments.  The Symphony made the decision to perform in symphony hall to a vaccinated crowd only.  They checked vaccination status at the door.

While life is slowly moving forward, there is still a threat out there so I for one plan to do things as safely as I can.  

Last Full Day in New York

 

Yesterday was our last full day in New York.  We have a few hours on Monday and then an evening flight home to Phoenix.

As you can see from the left, we spent some time at the Guggenheim Museum on Sunday.  They had a fabulous Kandinsky exhibit on display.

Then we did a very touristy thing and took a carriage ride through Central Park.  I've never done that before but I have to say I thoroughly enjoyed it.

The trees in Central Park we only beginning to turn but we saw a few great colors anyway.

Then we ended the day with another Broadway show.  This time it was SIX, a new musical all about the six wives of Henry VIII.  Only these six wives were a lot more liberated and modern.  It was fun!

As I write this, I'm not sure what we will be up to Monday morning before we leave for the airport.  I'll report on that later.

Back to the Theatre

 

I was back at a theatre production Sunday night after two years of dark stages.  The first play in this season's Broadway series was "Hamilton".  I saw the show the last time it passed through the area three years ago and loved it so I was excited to see it again.  The story told in this production felt even more powerful than the first time I saw it.

It was an excellent production performed before a full house of masked theater goers.  I wonder how that looks from the stage; all those people out there with masks on.  

I do have to say that the crowded theatre did make me feel bit nervous.  I think it might be a while before I'm comfortable in crowds again.

Clutter on the Stage

Last Sunday evening, I went to see the musical "Once On This Island" at Gammage Auditorium in Tempe.  Imagine my surprise when I arrived at my seat and saw this rather cluttered looking stage.  I was also surprised to see some members of the audience seated on the stage.  They certainly got a close-up view of the show.  The story is based on a fable of love and death and temperamental gods in the French Antilles.  It was basically a colorful new twist on the Romeo and Juliet theme.

Weekend iPhone Photos

I have a few iPhone photos from this last weekend, another busy one for me.  First up is the scene inside the Mesa Art Center Gallery.  It was opening night for a new exhibit and a pretty good sized crowd had turned out for the opening.

This was my favorite piece in the exhibit.  It's a painting on silk called SanTan Sunset by Cheri Reckers.  There are some mountains south of Phoenix called the SanTan Mountains so that is where the name comes from.

After the gallery opening we stepped next door to the Art Center to hear a concert by Renee Fleming.  We had balcony seats as you can see but her beautiful voice carried perfectly up to our ears.

My friend Glenda was dog-sitting for Tucker again and I couldn't resist a photo (or two or three) of this cute little fellow.  You might remember that I photographed Tucker a little over a year ago.

Busy, Busy Weekend

I had a very busy weekend last weekend that started with jazz, moved to classical and then on to Broadway musical with lots of activities in between.

It all started Friday night when I went to The Nash to see and hear the New Guard Big Band featuring the great vocalist Dennis Rowland.  The Nash is not a very big place so that band was all squeezed together on a tiny stage and Rowlands sang from off to one side behind the musicians.  What a voice he has.  It was an outstanding performance by one and all.

Saturday night it was downtown to Symphony Hall for the Phoenix Symphony performing Verdi's Requiem, a masterful piece that required a full chorus and four soloists.  That was another knock-out performance with the all the drama of an opera and the genius of Verdi's symphonic writing.

Sunday night it was out to Tempe to Grady Gammage Auditorium for a performance of "Fiddler on the Roof" which you probably guessed from the names given to these three drinks.  As always, the bar serves up three drinks themed to the performance.  I had the one called tradition.  The drink was great and so was the outstanding performance by a stellar cast.  I was singing "If I Were a Rich Man" all the way home.

It was quite the cultural weekend, just the kind of busy-busy I love.

It All Started Here

Did you know that Steven Spielberg grew up in Phoenix Arizona?

The Phoenix Theatre Company recently added this Steven Spielberg Entrance to the theatre that sits right behind the Phoenix Art Museum.

In 1964 when Spielberg was just 17 years old, he premiered his first feature length film called "Firelight" right here in this theatre.  It was then known as Phoenix Little Theatre where he worked in the properties department.

Spielberg visited Phoenix in 2013. He's pictured here holding a photograph of himself standing by the marquee advertising his film.

Orpheum Theatre

I knew I had posted a photo of the old Orpheum Theatre in downtown Phoenix before but, I didn't realize it was way back in 2008.  Here's another view of the theatre from the side.  I love all the ornate carvings in the side of the building.

Here's a couple of views of those carvings up close.  They really don't make buildings like this any longer, do they?

Here's an updated view of the front of the theatre.  That's the Phoenix City Hall building looming over it in the background.

Beethoven, Strauss & Bubbles

Last Sunday I went to the Symphony with three other friends where we enjoyed renowned pianist Stephen Hough playing Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 1 in C Major.  What a wonderful piece of music it is.  The second half of the show featured a piece called Ein Heldenleben (A Hero's Life) by Richard Strauss.  Another excellent and piece of music that I'm so thankful our conductor, Tito Munoz, described before it began.  It made listening to it that much more exciting.

My friends and I also celebrated the event with some bubbly.  Champagne goes with everything!

Taking a Look Backstage

If you saw the thumbnail version of this photo, I bet you thought it was a colorful sunset.  This is looking into the audience at Grady Gammage Auditorium at Arizona State University.  Last Saturday I joined a group of people for a backstage tour of the theatre I visit so often for plays and other events.  Unfortunately, you can only see the first balcony in this shot.  There is a another one above the one shown here.  The theatre seats 3000.  At the very front of the stage is a section that lowers to create the orchestra pit.  We all rode down to that level and further into the basement riding on the front area of the stage.  That was a unique experience.

Then the group headed up into the rafters where we got to see all the controls for the various curtains and lights.  One of the group even got to lower a light bar and bring it back up again.

On one of the walls backstage were these mementos from the various plays and musicals that have graced this stage.  Many of them signed by crew members.

We got to peek into a series of dressing rooms right behind the stage.  Our guide told us that actors love doing shows here because the dressing rooms are so close to the stage.

It was a great tour where I learned a lot more about this great Frank Lloyd Wright designed theatre.  To see the outside of this fabulous theatre, click the link under the first photo.