Harry Potter and the Cursed Child in San Francisco

I bought a ticket for Harry Potter and the Cursed Child the day they became available online and it seems like I have been waiting forever to see it!  This was actually the reason for my trip to San Francisco and seeing it yesterday was absolutely magical!  It is nineteen years after the Battle of Hogwarts and Harry Potter (John Skelley) now works for the Department of Magical Law Enforcement and his wife Ginny (Angela Reed) writes for The Daily Prophet.  Hermione Granger (Yanna McIntosh) is now the Minister of Magic and her husband Ron Weasley (David Abeles) manages Weasley's Wizard Wheezes.  Their daughter Rose Granger-Weasley (Folami Williams) and Harry's son Albus Potter (Benjamin Papac) are on their way to Hogwarts when Part One begins.  Albus soon forms an unlikely friendship with Scorpius Malfoy (Jon Steiger), the son of Harry's nemesis Draco (Lucas Hall).  Both boys are unpopular and bullied.  Albus is bothered by his father's notoriety and feels that he is a disappointment while Scorpius is plagued by unfounded rumors that he is really Lord Voldemort's son.  Feeling that they have something to prove, the boys decide to steal a time-turner from the Ministry of Magic and they go back in time to save Cedric Diggory (William Bednar-Carter) from his fate.  This act changes the future so now Lord Voldemort rules and Dolores Umbridge (Katherine Leask) is Headmistress of Hogwarts.  Darkness has descended as Part Two opens and Scorpius must enlist Hermione, Ron, and Severus Snape (Andrew Long) to help him go back in time to change the future.  However, the mysterious Auguery (Emily Juliette Murphy), who hopes to fulfill a prophecy that will bring back Lord Voldemort, forces Albus and Scorpius to use the time-turner once again to restore the alternate timeline leading to an epic confrontation in Godric's Hollow.  I loved this show so much!  I loved the continuation of Harry's story and the exploration of father-son relationships.  I loved all of the choreography, especially the Wand Dance where the new students at Hogwarts learn how to use their wands.  I absolutely loved the staging of the magic, especially running into Platform 9 3/4, traveling by flue powder, Harry and Draco dueling, using the polyjuice potion, and the Dementors flying through the audience (which was amazing).  I loved the set, especially all of the House Banners, the Forbidden Forrest, and the moving staircase.  I loved the music, which was composed by Imogen Heap, especially "Unbroken Friendship" which plays when Harry forbids Albus to see Scorpius again (it is so haunting).  Finally, I loved all of the performances but my favorite was Steiger as Scorpius because he is hilarious!  This was such a fun and immersive theatre experience because all of the ushers wore vests denoting their House affiliation during Part One and then wore vests with the Dark Mark for Part Two (all of the banners in the lobby changed from the Houses to the Dark Mark, as well).  Many in the audience also showed their House affiliation (I proudly supported my House, Ravenclaw).  I am so glad I got to see this show and I highly recommend it to fans of the Harry Potter series.

Note:  In between Part One and Part Two I went to dinner at a fabulous restaurant and most of the people sitting around me had also just come from the show.  We all talked to each other about how much we were enjoying it.  It was a lot of fun!

Hamilton in San Francisco

I honestly do not think that I will ever get tired of seeing Hamilton because I love it so much!  I planned this trip to San Francisco almost a year ago to see another show but, when I found out that Hamilton would be playing at the same time, I had to get a ticket.  I have now seen it nine times in seven cities and I was just as excited last night as I was standing in line at the Richard Rodgers Theatre before seeing it for the first time. Last night's production featured the And Peggy Tour, which I had never seen before (the only company I have not seen now is London and I think that needs to happen).  When the Philip Tour was in SLC, I really enjoyed Joseph Morales as Alexander Hamilton and I got a ticket to see the show in Las Vegas because I knew it was the Philip Tour and that I would get to see Morales again.  However, on the night I was there, Morales was out and the understudy went on.  I was initially really disappointed but Julius Thomas III happened to be the understudy and he was phenomenal!  Thomas is now Alexander Hamilton in the And Peggy Tour so I was really looking forward to seeing him again.  I think he has a beautiful voice and his renditions of "Dear Theodosia" and "Hurricane" were beautiful.  I also like how emotional his version of "Quiet Uptown" was (I had spontaneous tears streaming down my face through the whole number).  I enjoyed the rest of the cast but three really stood out to me.  First, Donald Webber, Jr. just might be the best Aaron Burr I've ever seen.  His version of "Wait For It" was so powerful it gave me chills!  I also loved all of his facial expressions in "The Room Where It Happens."  Second, I thought Brandon Louis Armstrong was a riot as Hercules Mulligan/ James Madison.  He incorporated more physical comedy in the role than any other actor I've seen.  He made me laugh multiple times.  Finally, I was so impressed with Colby Lewis because he was the understudy for George Washington.  He is very tall and quite handsome so he gave the character a different energy than I've seen before.  I loved "Right Hand Man" because he almost seemed like a rock star!  Because I've seen it so many times I have started noticing the ensemble more and I particularly loved them in "Ten Duel Commandments," "Guns and Ships" (especially sending the letter from Washington to Hamilton), "Washington On Your Side," and "Hurricane" last night.  I am so glad that I got to see it again!

Note:  I got talking to a woman sitting in front of me on the plane and she mentioned she was going to Hamilton.  I told her that I was going too and she actually found me in the theatre!

When in San Francisco...

I am in San Francisco for a weekend of theatre.  I have been to San Francisco before and, to be honest, it is not my favorite city.  I had no intention of doing any sightseeing (I have tickets to Hamilton and Harry Potter and the Cursed Child) but once I got to my hotel I spontaneously decided to head to the Golden Gate Bridge.

My Uber driver warned me that I might not have a very good view because it was really foggy but I thought the effect was really cool.

Stay tuned for more from my trip to San Francisco!

Hamilton in Chicago

On our last night in Chicago Sean and I were able to see Hamilton at the CIBC Theatre.  This was my eighth time (it was Sean's second) seeing this amazing show in the sixth city (New York, Los Angeles, Denver, Salt Lake City, and Las Vegas) and I was just as excited as I was the first time!  Because I've seen it so many times I immediately notice the different variations from production to production and I really loved this company, especially Miguel Cervantes as Alexander Hamilton.  He was the first person to play this role after Lin-Manuel Miranda and he was hand picked by Miranda who told him not to do what he did on Broadway but to make the role his own.  Cervantes played him with a lot of swagger and he had cocky grin on his face (we were sitting so close that we could see the facial expressions of all the actors), especially in his interactions with Aaron Burr (Akron Watson).  This arrogance throughout the show made his rendition of "It's Quiet Uptown" even more poignant because he was humbled and very emotional.  This is one of my favorite moments in the show and I always judge every actor playing Hamilton by whether he can move me to tears in this song.  I was practically sobbing!  Tamar Greene, as George Washington, is a large and imposing man and he absolutely dominated the stage during "Right Hand Man."  I had goosebumps when he charged onto the stage ("We are outgunned!  Outmanned!  Outnumbered!  Outplanned!") and I had goosebumps again when he raised the roof in "One Last Time."  Every Thomas Jefferson I've seen has done something different in the Cabinet Battles.  Paris Nix did the running man and it was absolutely hilarious when Hamilton mimicked him!  I also loved it when he gave a pamphlet to the conductor ("Have you read this?") during "The Reynolds Pamphlet." Most of the actors I've seen play King George have been completely over the top but Andrew Call gave the character a bit of angry vulnerability in "You'll Be Back," especially when he laughed while telling us that he will send a fully armed battalion to remind us of his love.  This is one of the best productions I've seen and I am so glad that I was able to see this brilliant show again, especially with my nephew who sat riveted the entire time.  It was the perfect way to end our wonderful trip to Chicago.

The Field Museum in Chicago

Sean really likes going to museums and Chicago has a lot of them to choose from (my favorite is the Art Institute of Chicago).  He picked the Field Museum, an incredible natural history museum that we both really enjoyed!  There were displays of animals from around the world, artifacts from different regions (I loved the Polynesian displays), and fascinating science displays (Sean spent more than an hour at a microscope station).  However, we both absolutely loved the dinosaurs!

Maximo the Titanosaur!

Sue is the largest and most complete (90%) Tyrannosaurus Rex fossil ever found and it was very impressive!  There is a really cool light show which shows which bones are not real and explains what they have changed from the original exhibit after studying the T. Rex (they positioned her shoulders differently and raised her tail).  It was fascinating!

We spent most of the morning here and it was definitely well worth our time.  I would highly recommend a visit if you are ever in the Chicago area.

Sightseeing in Chicago

I have a tradition of taking Sean on a road trip every summer (we've been to the Four Corners Monument, Grand Canyon National Park, Zion National Park, and Mount Rushmore).  When we were trying to decide where to go this year every place that Sean suggested was farther than I wanted to drive (I don't mind long road trips but a long road trip with a fourteen year old boy seemed a bit daunting).  I asked him where he would go if he could fly anywhere in the U.S. and he answered Chicago.  I liked this idea because it meant we could go to Hamilton while we were there (I didn't have to twist his arm because he likes this show, too).  We had two days of sightseeing in the Windy City and we were able to cross off everything on Sean's list!

Our first stop was the Skydeck at the top of the Willis Tower, which was once the tallest building in the world.  I went out on the ledge with Sean for about two seconds but he actually sat down on it (it is a lot scarier than you might think because you can see through the floor straight down to the street).

The views of Chicago from the Skydeck were pretty spectacular!

Our next stop was the Cloud Gate (otherwise known as the Bean) in Millennium Park.  Have you really been to Chicago if you haven't posed for the obligatory picture in front of the Bean?  We went to the Hard Rock Cafe for dinner (Sean got his first HRC pin to start his collection) and then called it a day.

We started bright and early the next morning at the Field Museum (more on this coming soon).  Sean loves museums and this is the one he chose to visit.

Next we went to the Navy Pier so we could ride the Centennial Wheel, a large ferris wheel with incredible views of the city and Lake Michigan.

After lunch (deep dish pizza at Giordano's) we finally got on the hop-on hop-off bus for a tour of the city (it's a long story).  This is one of my favorite ways to see a city.  It was raining when we started but it stopped after a few minutes.

Chicago skyline and Lake Michigan.

The old water tower and pumping station.  These buildings are some of the few that survived the Great Fire of 1871.

Some of the buildings downtown feature some really cool architecture.

In the evening we had main floor seats for Hamilton at the CIBC Theatre and we both enjoyed this cast very much (more on this coming soon).  This was such a great trip!  I really like Chicago and it was fun to spend time with my nephew (who now wants to move there).  Where will we go next year?

La Boheme in San Francisco

The main reason I wanted to go to San Francisco was so that I could see La Boheme, one of my very favorite operas, performed by one of the best opera companies in the world.  It has been on my bucket list for a long time and I've been looking forward to it for weeks.  It was a magnificent production!  I really enjoyed the performances and the doomed love story was very affecting.  Marcello (Audin Iverson), a painter, and Rodolfo (Arturo Chacon-Cruz), a poet, are penniless and live a hand-to-mouth existence in a Parisian garret.  One evening their neighbor Mimi (Erika Grimaldi) knocks on the door looking for a light for her candle.  She faints from breathlessness (she is suffering from consumption) and Rodolfo catches her in his arms. They soon fall madly in love.  Marcello, Rodolfo, and Mimi meet friends at Cafe Momus in the Latin Quarter on Christmas Eve.  Marcello sees an old lover, Musetta (Ellie Dehn), with her new suitor Alcindoro (Dale Travis), a rich old man, and she tries desperately to get Marcello's attention.  Musetta eventually leaves with Marcello, leaving the bill for Alcindoro!  After a few months, Marcello is jealous of Musetta's flirtation with other men and Rodolfo is guilty because he feels he is endangering Mimi's life with his poverty so the couples separate.  Later Musetta brings a dying Mimi to the garret because she is desperate to see Rodolfo.  Marcello, Musetta, and their friends go for the doctor but Mimi eventually dies in Rodolfo's arms.  What could be more romantic?  I loved every one of the actors who all sing their roles beautifully.  I had tears in my eyes after almost every duet and aria (except when I was laughing).  I loved the staging, especially the scene where Musetta is flirting with Marcello as she is having dinner with Alcindoro at the same time.  The costumes and scenery were all amazing.  The Cafe Momus was a lot of fun with hanging lights and I loved Musetta's pink dresses, especially against the dark tones of the rest of the costumes.  By the end of the opera I was completely overcome and the gentleman sitting next to me leaned over and said, "It was good, wasn't it?"  Yes, it was!  I am so glad I had the opportunity to see such a wonderful production!

24 Hours in San Francisco

Last week I took a really quick trip to San Francisco to see the opera La Boheme and it was so much fun.  I had a JetBlue credit that was going to expire and I decided on San Francisco because I've always wanted to see a production of the San Francisco Opera, which is considered to be one of the top opera companies in the world.  Even though I only had literally 24 hours hours in the city, I got to see a bit.  When I have a short time in a city I've never been to before, I like to take a hop on/hop off bus to see as much of the city as I can.

I got on the bus at Alamo Square and had a great view of the Painted Ladies, the beautiful Victorian houses that line the street.

Haight Ashbury.  This year is the 50th Anniversary of the Summer of Love!

The iconic Golden Gate Bridge.  Everyone kept telling me that this was the perfect time to visit San Francisco because it was so clear.  Usually the city is shrouded in fog and it is rare to get such a good view of the bridge.

Views of the bridge as we drove across it.

Chinatown.

Coit Tower in the background.

Fisherman's Wharf was a great place to get off the bus and wander around.

The Hard Rock Cafe at Pier 39.  I started the tradition of collecting a pin from the Hard Rock Cafe in any city that I visit.  I have hundreds of them.

The Transamerica Pyramid.

Union Square.

City Hall.  Thursday night it was lit up in blue and yellow to celebrate the Golden State Warriors winning the NBA Championship.

My hotel was in the Civic Center near the opera house.  There were lots of great places to eat there and then I attended a magnificent performance of La Boheme (more about that).  I left San Francisco the next morning and, even though it was a quick trip, I really enjoyed it!