BroadwayDave

For quite a few years after turning 50 I gave up on birthdays. I live by myself, have relatively few friends, and fewer co-workers or neighbors who care.
 
Due to some drastic changes in my health a few years ago I decided to start treating myself: go up to a Pirates ball game or see big musical performance, have a special meal in a fancy restaurant (since I rarely eat out), and/or plan something special by going somewhere I’ve never been.
 
I’d be interested in hearing what amazing things you do on your birthdays. Whether it was small, huge, and something in between, what did you do that was special for your birthday?

Bought a ticket for this as the last of the shows I’ll be seeing this summer in NYC. Snagged a front row center Loge seat.
 
So now it’s: 1) “Hello, Dolly!” twice (with Bernadette and Bette), 2) “The Band’s Visit”, and now 3) “My Fair Lady”. Wish I had more time and money!

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

I just saw this. I am always behind on everything because I still get the disc Netflix (I know, HISS). At any rate, if you have never seen it I would recommend it. I did not know that much about Vincent Van Gogh so the narrative was interesting for me. However, it is not the narrative that was the most fascinating part for me (though I never realized that he only painted for about 8 years and produced over 2000 works of art, besides probably being the father of Modern Art). Its cinematography is what is incredible. It appears to be the usual animation but in actuality each frame of the movie is individually hand-painted on canvas in the style of Van Gogh. There are live actors but they are also individually painted in each frame after being photographed doing the action. The main character (who is not Vincent) is played by a guy who is really handsome (if you need an extra incentive). Very occasionally you will see one or two of the actors in regular film but that is seldom. There were 100 painters involved to paint the 65,000 frames. It took four years to complete. So, if you would like to see an interesting film with incredible cinematography this is a good one. It is very much like the movie The Russian Ark by Alexander Sokurov, not in how it is filmed but how incredible the cinematography is done. The Russian Ark is an hour and a half long movie filmed in one take, no cuts. So if a mistake was made the director had to start from the beginning and go again. To make it more stressful the director was allowed to film in the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg and thus only had only one day to complete the film. Considering the topic and the fact that there were hundreds of people involved in the cast it is unbelievable it was done. That film is one that absolutely should be seen if you have not done so. It has been judged by many to be in the top ten Russian films ever made. Any way Loving Vincent is also fascinating and I really recommend it.

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

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

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

Today I saw the show for a second time. I was happily surprised to get a center row orchestra seat in row K at tkts for $119. Several understudies were in the cast but I really wanted to see Lauren Ambrose again before she leaves. Her voice is stronger and even more beautiful than when I saw the production the first time. She was wonderful. I’d highly recommend the show to anyone who hasn’t seen it.

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

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

 

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

I have tickets to see it November 10 with Betty Buckley in Chicago. I saw it twice with Bette (once in Previews and once after it opened) and once with Bernedette. I've seen Betty perform in concert but never on stage. I loved her in eight is enough

It was because of my love of Indian food that I was interested in visiting India. I first discovered Indian restaurants in NYC in the 1960s, and became a regular at them when I lived in London in the 70s. When I visited India in the 80s and 90s, the best Indian food was usually found in big hotels, although I did eat in a couple of good independent restaurants in Mumbai. Even street food never made me sick, but the water was something else. In the countryside, the safest thing to drink was coconut water from a coconut slashed open right in front of you.

This sounds like one of my trips to India and Indonesia. We even stayed in the Shiv Niwas in Udaipur.

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

Saw Carol Channing play Dolly 20+ years ago when I was just a kid in Minneapolis. I was too young to understand how special it was to see her reprise the role, but I do remember how good she was.
 
 

YES INDEED! I like curry! I like the smell when one walks into some Indian places.

Good Indian food is among my favorites. The hotter and spicier, the better.

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

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

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

Marty Balin, singer, guitarist, and founding member of Jefferson Airplane has died. I will always remember him for his beautiful vocal on Today, for me the most beautiful ballad to come out of the San Francisco music scene in the 60s.

India is an amazing place. I'm heading back in December, but seeing Agra and New Delhi this time. Mumbai was fascinating and kinetic.
 
If I let local politics affect my yearning to see the world, I'd be like most Americans and just stay in the States.

Visited several states about 10 years ago and found them fascinating and charismatic.

India is a fascinating country: I’ve been there three times.