Tag Archives: friendship

review, Les Miserables 2018 National Tour

01 Saturday Sep 2018

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Les Miserables 2018 National Tour review

 

I’ve loved Les Miserables for thirty years, ever since a friend first introduced me to the original London cast album. I played it over and over, learn all the parts by heart. It touched my soul in a deep way, reaching every part of me and bring out every emotion. I’ve never gotten over it. I saw it in 1990 in San Francisco. I saw it in Seattle in the early 2000’s. I saw it this past July in Denver. I have the original London cast CD, the complete symphonic recording, the tenth anniversary concert album and DVD, the twenty-fifth anniversary concert DVD, and the 2012 movie DVD and CD. All I can say is that excepting only the original London cast, the one that first stole my heart, all the other pale next to the 2018 National Touring cast!

 

I could attend Les Miz every year and never get tired of it. When I first saw it live, at the finale when they sang, “Will you join in our crusade, who will be strong and stand with me?”, I was ready to get up and go, biting my tongue to keep from screaming out, “Me, Me, I’ll go, I’ll go!” Les Miz has affected me that way every time. I still cry. I still get chills at the finale. I still want to scream that I’ll go and want to jump up and join them at the barricades. So, I was thrilled when I heard it was coming to Denver this summer.

 

I invited my friend and her daughter, and we made an evening of it. We had dinner at the Limelight café in the theatre complex. We stopped at the customer service counter to pick up my braille program. We took our seats in the orchestra level, and I could barely contain my anticipation. I was not disappointed. I was in awe, blown away, stirred even more than ever before. When it was over, I only wished I could sit right back down and watch the whole thing again, and again, and again.

 

The cast. What can I say about this cast? How can I express how incredible they were? Nick Cartell was the most amazing Valjean I have ever heard. His passion and emotion, his way of singing softly, then belting, giving us the exact right sound for whatever he was singing. He wrang emotion out of me, emotion I thought Les Miz couldn’t reach anymore, because I thought every previous viewing or listening had gotten it all. When he sang “Bring Him Home”, I was spellbound, not even sure I breathed, during the whole thing! I have to admit, that particular song has never been a favorite of mine. Audiences usually love it and cheer it, but my attitude has so often been ho-hum, is it over. Until now. I was on the edge of my seat, listening for the slightest note, weeping as he cried out Valjean’s desperate plea. That song will never be ho-hum to me again. That’s just one example of all the ways he drew new feelings, new chills, new joy and grief from me.

 

Then there was Josh Davis, as Javert. I’ve always found Javert an interesting complex character, but in some ways, his big numbers have never really thrilled me. Josh Davis blew the roof off those feelings. Compelling and powerful, his performance made me feel things I’d never felt during the Javert scenes before. I felt sorry for this rigid man who could not understand mercy and forgiveness, and I cried at his suicide for all the depth of life this character missed.

 

The chemistry between those two characters, Valjean and Javert had me on the edge of my seat every time they were together in a scene. They clicked, for lack of a more flowery way to express it. Two powerful characters, played by two incredible performers. Their scenes sizzled and popped. I could believe in them, in their animosity, Javert’s quest and pursuit of Valjean; Valjean’s efforts always to outwit Javert; the eventual mercy of Valjean and the inability to accept of Javert.

 

Joshua Grosso as Marius was a pleasant surprise. I’ve never really liked any of the guys who’ve played Marius since Michael ball. Nobody else seemed to express the first innocence of and then the grief of this character. Nobody had the anguish to compete with Michael ball’s rendition of “Empty chairs at Empty tables”> I wasn’t expecting to feel any differently this time, but that was okay with me. I’d already been so engrossed in the other performances, if Marius wasn’t the best, I could live with it. Well, here was another person who took me to places I’d never been with this show, who made me feel that grief and pain all over again. I thought of the loved ones in my life who have died, and I wanted to cry out with Marius against the grief. It was just brilliant!

 

Jillian Butler played Cosette. This was another role that hasn’t thrilled me much since the original cast. I never thought anyone sounded great up on the high notes, or they didn’t blend well with whoever was playing Marius. But there she was, another one who took all my low expectations and blew them away. She was beautiful. My friend who had also seen Les Miz before said the same thing. She was the best Cosette I’d ever heard. She captured that sense of young love, of longing for more than what she had, but searching for something different. Her scenes with Marius made my heart ache from the beauty of their harmony. Another one who left me breathless.

 

 

 

Emily Bautista was a passionate, perfect Eponine. When she sang “On my Own” I just wanted to hug her and tell her it would be okay. She grabbed my heartstrings from the start and never let go. I could imagine her pain, how he’d had such a miserable life, and this one boy was the only person who had shown her kindness. Her death scene left me in tears.

 

Mary Kate Moore as Fantine. What can I say? I feel I’ve used every superlative there is. Fantine’s story has always broken my heart, and the same thing happened this time. She breathed new life into her scenes, causing me to feel all the sorrow again, aching for this girl who had been so mistreated by so many. Tears were pouring down my face as she sang “I dreamed a Dream”>

 

I really could go on and on. As I flip through my braille program, I could think of things to say about every scene, every character, every moment. The ensemble was fantastic; the orchestra was exceptional; all the parts together were beyond extraordinary. Just thinking about the experience, my heart is beating a little faster, my soul is aching a little more. I only wish there could be a cast album, but there’s never cast albums of national tours. I wish there could be a DVD, so I could play it over and over. I’d never get enough, and I’d share it with everyone I know.

 

For thirty years, Les Miserables has been my favorite musical, and this cast showed me again why I love it so much. They brought my love of this show to new heights. I salute them all for their hard work and their wonderful portrayals of these iconic characters, their beautiful takes on these great songs. How I wish I could see it again!

 

Oh yes, and if you’re wondering, at the end, during the finale, after I pulled myself together following Valjean’s death, when they sang, “will you join in our crusade, who will be strong and stand with me?” Yeah, I had to grasp the arms of my chair, hold myself back, bite my tone, in order to keep myself from jumping up and screaming, “I will, I will! I’ll join the crusade!”

 

 

 

My Visit with Beautiful

30 Saturday Jul 2016

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My Visit with Beautiful

Today, my friend Sandie and I went down to the Buell Theatre in Denver to See Beautiful, The Carole King Musical. Oh, and of course, my guide dog Petunia came along. Sandie hadn’t been sure she wanted to see it, but I had tickets, and she was a wonderful friend and decided to go. And she ended up having a great time. As for me, well, I’d like to say, there are no words, but if you know me, you know there are words!

I was born in 1957, and I remember so vividly when King’s album, Tapestry, came along. It was like nothing I’d ever heard before. Not like my beloved Beatles, or the stones, or the doo wop bubblegum stuff of the sixties. She was part of the singer/songwriter era, and she was a master of it!

Beautiful tells the story of her life, from age sixteen, when she sold her first song—It Might as Well Rain Until September—to the making of Tapestry, and finally, a Carnegie Hall concert. It’s an ensemble cast, Carole, Gerry Gofin her ex-husband and co-songwriter, Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil, fellow songwriters, competitors and best friends, and Don Kirshner, the record executive who took a chance on Carole. People may not realize the extent of King’s song writing. Her songs were recorded by groups such as the Drifters, the Shirelles, The Righteous Brothers, the Monkees, and even, yes, the Beatles. Have you heard Aretha Franklin sing Natural Woman? Well, Carole King wrote that song.

The show had humor, sadness, and absolutely far out out of sight music! Ahem, think I’m dating myself with that slang, aren’t I? It just seemed fitting for the story.

Back to today. Sandie picked us up up around quarter to noon, and down to Denver we went. We got there in plenty of time, and stopped in at our usual Limelight Café for lunch. And as before, I had a mimosa and a burger. I didn’t enjoy the burger as much today. The day was exceedingly hot, and I wasn’t very hungry. But it was fun to be there, enjoying the atmosphere and anticipating the show.

After lunch, we walked across the courtyard to the will-call to pick up the tickets. One of the highlights of the day happened there. For over a year, I’ve been working with a woman at the theater complex named Jessica. She answered many emails about seating for people with disabilities, gave me the ins and outs of getting season tickets, braille programs, or anything I needed. She and I had emailed this week, and she told me she would be managing the box office, so look her up. And we got to meet her. I was so happy to have the chance to meet her face-to-face, to thank her in person for all she’s done, to give her a hug. Thanks for everything, Jessica. She’s going to help me exchange dates for tickets and things like that, if I need that in the future. One show I want to see very much is Finding Neverland, but my tickets are for New Year’s Eve. Now, really, who’s gonna want to drive to Denver with me on that day? Not to mention driving home after 5:00 on such a night. Anyway, she’s a gem, a pillar of the highest quality customer service. From time to time, after working at Nordstrom in the nineties, I come across someone who is so above and beyond the norm of customer service, and I think to myself, that person has the Nordstrom spirit. And that’s how Jessica is. I’ve always been thankful, that she was the one to answer my email about seating all those months ago.

Did you think I’d never get to talking about Beautiful? Finally!

The show was fantastic. Carole King was an amazing writer, but she didn’t have the best voice. Not the worst voice, but not one of the best. And I like that the actress playing her, showed that. There were a few songs where the actress let go and showed what a great voice she has, but for the most part, she stayed true to King, who was a little shy about her singing and didn’t have as much confidence in it as everyone else did. The people who sang the parts of the Drifters and the Righteous Brothers were over the moon, mmmm, so good! The songs that King/Gofin had written but didn’t record, were all jazzed up, so it wasn’t just a straight rendition of the pop hits we know. Every performer was top notch. The woman who played Little Eva, man, when she sang the Locomotion, the place was rockin! I was moving to the songs in my seat, trying not to sing along, and failing, wanting to clap but nobody else did. Grin. It was fun, it was happy, in spite of some of the sad parts, it was joyful, a true delight.

At the end, of course there was a standing ovation, and then the cast came out and did I Feel the Earth Move Under my Feet. We were finally all standing, clapping and singing along. I’m sure there must have been people dancing too. It was an experience!

We went to Applebee’s on the way home and then came back here. Sandie stayed for a bit, helping me with some things. I got some DVD’s I’d ordered from amazon, plus some new silverware—it’s got red handles, isn’t that cool? If you know me, you know my signature color is red. Now, I’m relaxing, listening to a little music, writing this blog entry. It was a wonderful day, a beautiful show, a perfect day out with friends. If you have the chance to see Beautiful, don’t miss it. Even if you didn’t grow up with her music, her story, her strength, her talent, it’s a story worth telling, and a show very much worth seeing.

The Final two days of Class

22 Friday Jul 2016

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Last Two Days of ZoomText Fusion Training

Wednesday 21 July 2016

Kindness of strangers and a Dog Day evening

First of all, thank you all for your patience as I was delayed posting this. It will be a long update, to cover Wednesday and Thursday. Someone asked where this was all happening. I was taking a class in an adaptive technology software program called ZoomText fusion, a screen reader and magnifier combined, putting it simply. The class last three days and was held in Littleton Colorado.

I worried all Tuesday night about getting to class on Wednesday. Would it be another disastrous start to the day? And it could have been. I asked the front desk to call the taxi at ten to eight, and at 8:30, it still had not arrived. Crap, I thought, though I’m sure I thought worse than crap, I’m going to be late again! Suddenly, a guest in the hotel walked up to ask if I wanted any breakfast. I had been sitting there a while, waiting for the blasted cab, after all. I politely thanked him, told him no and that I was waiting for a cab. And out of nowhere, he offered to give me a ride! And what did I do? I did exactly what I would have warned any other single woman not to do. I got in a vehicle with a man I did not know and trusted him to take me where I needed to go. And he did! I don’t even know his name, think it was Walter, or something like that. I have good instincts, so I felt I could trust him, and the hotel people knew I’d left with him. He was a businessman, and he was very kind, and I got to class five minutes before start! Thank you sir for your act of generosity. And for being a good guy!

Class went well. We covered so much each day, and I only hope I retained a lot of it. I was getting to know the other members of the class and enjoying their company very much. We got lunch from this incredible place called Etai’s. I had a turkey avocado sandwich with a seasonable fruit salad, chips and carrot cake. The sandwich was so good, and the variety of offerings on the menu blew me away. Oh, Etai’s, please come to my neck of the woods, please. They deliver too, and it would be so nice to have something besides pizza to order for delivery on a Friday night, when I actually want dinner but will not cook.

Wednesday night, I’d arranged to get together with a few friends, guide dog puppy raisers and a former trainer. Dot picked us up from the class and we went directly to her house. She had three dogs there, her old career change guide dog puppy she’d raised, an eight-month old puppy she had, her own dog, and a retired guide she was dogsitting. Then we had Barb with the dog she’s raising, Melissa with the dog she’s raising, and Becky with her career change guide dog puppy, that she raised a few years ago. At one point, we had seven large dogs, Labradors and my golden, running and raising cane in the back yard. It’s a testament to the fine training all the dogs have received, that all seven got along. They had fun, and there were no fights or other problems. Seven well-trained dogs, five experienced dog handlers, great food, great friendship, a perfect evening. Dot made the best food, homemade chicken salad, with these amazing appetizers, and Sangria. It was lovely outside on the patio, just sharing time with friends and laughing at the antics of seven dogs. I never wanted the evening to end. Well, except for being tired.

Thursday, 22 July 2016

Last Day, saying Goodbyes, Coming Home!

If I’d been stressed about the morning situation on Wednesday, it was almost nothing to the stress I felt about it Wednesday night. I probably only slept about three hours. Okay, so yeah, I have insomnia anyway, and I don’t sleep well in a strange place. Add to that the fact that a hotel is never really quiet. Room doors opening and closing, people or luggage bumping walls, it all wakes me up. I knew I’d have to finish packing everything, and somehow get me, my dog and my luggage to the center for class, on time!

That morning, I call the front desk, even before heading over, at 7:30 and asked them to call the taxi. By the time I got Petunia relieved and got to the lobby, it was close to eight, and they had heard from the cab company that it would be another fifteen minutes for the cab. If they showed up, of course. Surprisingly, to me, anyway, they did. At first I thought the cab driver was going to try to refuse the ride. He kinda freaked out when he saw Petunia, but he didn’t object more than saying a few things about how nobody told him there’d be a dog. For those who don’t know, a person with a disability is legally allowed to be accompanied by a service dog in places or services of public accommodation. This definitely includes taxis. Anyway, he didn’t object, and he was reasonably friendly. We got to the center in plenty of time, in fact, I was the first one there. Go me.

Last day of class. I had such mixed feelings about it. I was eager to get home, brain and body tired, wanting desperately to sleep. Petunia doesn’t care much for traveling apparently, as she hadn’t eaten Wednesday night or Thursday morning. I needed to get her back home to her own environment. At the same time, I had enjoyed the class greatly, loved learning the new stuff, was becoming friends with classmates, and part of me hated to have it end and to go back to my quiet lifestyle. Hmmm, I guess there still is a social lady inside me.

At the end of the day, we got to evaluate the class, and I gave it all the top marks I could. I’m very happy I was asked to take the class. I learned a lot and feel like I have the beginnings of a grasp on the program. Obviously, I won’t have a deep grasp until I get to play with it in real life time, but it was a good start.

My classmates and I shared email addresses, and I already heard from a couple of them. I do hope we keep in touch. We’re all scattered around the state, so we probably won’t see each other, but keeping in touch by email will be nice.

We all got a fun goodie bag for completing the training, with shirts, demos, thumb drives of materials we covered in class and a nice certificate of completion. I must admit I had some trouble concentrating in the latter half of the training day though.

Sandie picked us up at the end of the day, and we were finally homeward bound! Petunia got in the back seat and crashed. We made it home in good time, dumped my luggage, relieved all parties, and then we were off to dinner, for the humans anyway. We went to chili’s and had a good dinner, and I had a margarita too. But I was just tired and wanted to get home. Once we did get back, Petunia finally ate her dinner, and Sandie did some yard work for me.

When Sandie left, I thought Petunia and I would both fall upon the bed and sleep, but we didn’t. I unpacked a little, watched a bit of the RNC out of curiosity, and just unwound. Finally, I went to bed, called Doug to catch up and slept till time to get up for work.

I still feel exhausted and brain and body tired to the bone. I want to curl up with a good book or a movie and let the sound lull me off to dreamland for a few hours! But it’s Friday, and that means, the weekend is upon us, once five PM arrives!

Overall, the experience was fabulous. I have to say a huge thank you to the Residence Inn and all there staff. And I don’t even have words to express to the training people how much I enjoyed the class. Thanks, ZoomText University, Mark and all involved! Knowledge increasing is a glorious thing!

Two little comments, I believe I left my charm bracelets in the hotel. I’m kinda crushed about this and need to call them to see if they have been found and if the hotel can send them to me.

And what am I reading, a book called Coyote, about a trip to colonize another planet, but oh, there’s so so much more to it than that. Political intrigue, family dynamics, character development, survival, and all kinds of good stuff. Check it out!

the first day

18 Monday Jul 2016

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Well, here I am, down by Denver in a Residence Inn. My oomtext fuson class starts tomorrow. It’s been a long long day, and I’m too tired to write this all in Word first, so please forgive typos and brevity. I worked today, and we were quite busy. I shut down and 2:30 and finished packig while waiting for Sandie to arrive. We loaded up me and Petunia and our things and went to Sandie’s house first’ We hung out there, had some pizza and relaxed before driving down here to the hotel Their career changed guide dog, golden retriever Olima is absolutely adorable. She took to me, ad I to her I do love those goldens!

The hotel is nice enough. the room is adorable. The staff are incredibly nice and helpful. We brought a few groceries, but as the class will be providing lunch, and I’m going out to dinner Wednesday. I didn’t bring much. We taught Petunia the way around and she picked it up so fast. This dog is top notch. I’m so blessed in her.

Now, i’m sitting here at the desk in the room, drinking some wine and catching up on email. I’m tired I’ve been stressing and agonizing over this trip for days. Now that I’m here, I’m calm, but I’m exhausted i’m going to call the desk in a minute and ask for assistance finding where to relieve Petunia, and then I’m going to bed.

Just a weird thing about the hotel, there are no little bars of soap. Hmmm.
don’t Hotels always have those little bars? I guess I’m washing with shampoo tomorrow. weird. Also, I asked specifically for a disability room with a roll/walk in shower, and I didn’t get one. Wish me luck and keep me in your prayers, getting in and out of the shower.

And tomorrow, the class starst.

A Visit Over the Rainbow to Oz

13 Saturday Jun 2015

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OVER THE RAINBOW

I’ve loved musical theatre since before I can hardly remember. Starting with Disney movies, to live plays in the theatre, to performing in choirs and churches, musical theatre has been in my heart and soul. One of my dreams is to perform, just once, in a musical. Well, I’ve done fantastical holiday musicals, but I mean, something classic and powerful, someone I love to sing.

Well, for years now I’ve wanted to see Wicked. I’ve had the original cast album for a long time and been stirred and moved by the songs. Is there anything like Defying Gravity? Or For Good, an anthem of friendship? And then the crowd scenes with those cool, almost dissonant harmonies, reminiscent of Andrew Lloyd Weber crowd scenes in shows like Superstar or Evita. Yeah, I’ve loved the sound but never got to see the show.

Till today!

I discovered that my friend, Sandi, Petunia’s puppy raiser, loves musical theatre and live music of many varieties, as much as I. Well, this opened so many possibilities before my yearning soul. And then I happened to check the web site of the Denver center for the Performing arts, just checking the upcoming season. And what to my amazed eyes, um ears since I use a screen read, what to my wondering ears did appear, but Wicked, coming to Denver, June and July! Was I dreaming? Could it be true? I hit the email and invited, made the calls and got the tickets, and waited not so patiently for the day. And that day was today.

We planned to go to a matinee. It’s an hour drive down to Denver, so Sandi picked us up a couple hours in advance. We drove down, arriving before will-call opened and so we decided to grab a bit of lunch at the Limelight Supper Club. Ooooo. What a glorious name for a restaurant in a complex of theatres! We each had a mimosa. I had a hamburger, and Sandi had an omelet. I didn’t expect the burger to be great, and yet it was delicious. The meat had so much flavor. I could hardly stop eating. And the mimosa actually did have tastable champagne. Wow.
After lunch, we picked up the tickets and headed into the theatre itself. I’d arranged for disabled seating so there would be room for my leg and for Petunia. I’d also asked for a braille program, and we stopped at the coat check area to pick that up. The disabled seating isn’t in a row of seats exactly. We were at the back of the orchestra section of the seating, and there was plenty of room for Tuney to stretch out and be comfortable. As we waited for the show to begin I greedily read my program, devouring it like a hungry person, so gleeful was I to be able to read the same info the sighted audience could read.

Then, the show began.

Oh, what can I say? There are no words, truly. When the crowd starts off singing, “Good News. She’s dead.”, well, I began to cry. I’d waited so long, so very long, and at last, here I was, in a real theatre, with Wicked beginning, not a local music group but a profession touring cast. I was overwhelmed with emotion. After that, I was utterly and completely mesmerized, captivated by the show.
The singers were so good. Good isn’t a strong enough word, but incredible, fabulous, marvelous, fantastic, wonderful, they just don’t say enough. The girls, Glinda and Elphaba, well, they were just beyond description. I love Idina and Kristin, but these performers today are every bit as good. Elphaba blew me over the rainbow singing Defying Gravity, and Glinda made me cry with For Good. They carried the show. All the performers were excellent, but the show is about the two friends, and they made it their show in every way. I never wanted it to end.

Alas, it did have to end. We gathered us, the dog, the precious program, and we headed back to the car and on our way, away from Oz. Sigh.

On the way to dinner, we stopped at Sandi’s house to let Petunia get some water and relieve. Tuney was over the moon when she realized where she was! She grew there of course, and she was so happy to see it again. But when it was time to leave, she was ready to go with me and didn’t look back.

We stopped at Chili’s for dinner and then came home. It’s now 11:00 PM as I finish writing this, and I’m still unwinding. I’ve been home for nearly three hours, but the high has not faded. I’ve got the musicals play list going, and every time a song from Wicked comes around, I stop what I’m doing, and stand still, listening, remembering and yearning to be back there again.

Generosity of True Friends

29 Sunday Mar 2015

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I believe it was Kalil Gibran writing in his book the Prophet, who said, “Your friend is your need answered.” I read that book years ago and was moved by several of the entries, but the one that touched me the most was the entry on friendship.

over the years, as romances came and went, as jobs came and went, as I lived in one place or another, as I lost touch with family members or lost forever family menbers, the relationships that have stuck no matter what, were the friends in my life.

Friends, true friends, are the ones who stick by you no matter what. Through thick and thin, through sorrow and joy, through ups and downs, through all the stupid things I’ve done, there have been friends who have never faltered. The Bible in Proverbs says there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother, and I have known that as an absolute fact too many times to count.

So, recently, I have come under a terrible financial crisis. I’ve been sleepless, not eating, constantly worried. How would I pay my bills, what would I do if something in my condo broke down, what if one of the animals got sick? What if I got sick, since I don’t have medical insurance, how will I buy groceries … and on and on and on. Well, a group of very special women, wonderful incredible true friends surrounded me with their love and genuine goodness and put together a fundraiser to try to help me, to try to raise enough money for me to pay off some bills and be able to get ahead of the game so I can live safely on my salary. I’m blown awy by their generosity, their commitment their desire and effort to help. There’s nothing in the world that can say what they mean to me for this. I’ll post a link where you can read about it and help, if you want. But at least you can say a blessing on these ladies!

Friendship, a blessing from God that withstands everything that comes along. They’re there when nobody else is. They hold you up when you can’t do it yourself. they walk through the fires of hell at your side. They make you laugh and they share your tears. I’m so thankful for all my friendships and all they have brought. I pray I can be the same kind of friend to them.

Here’s the link to the fundraiser, but even if you don’t want to help there, take a moment to acknowledge your friends and say thank you.

https://www.continuetogive.com/SupportSherryGomes