Beauty and the Beast at The Straz

Belle and Beast are at The Straz Center in Tampa, May 5 - 10.  My family and I had the opportunity to see this beautiful love story on opening night. 

As a mom, I loved the message behind the Beauty and the Beast story.  It taught us to always be kind and love others. It also showed, not to judge a person by his/her outward appearance.

Once a prince, the Beast was cursed because he was selfish and unkind to an enchantress who saw no love in his heart.  After many years alone in his castle, the Beast met Belle, a beautiful but odd girl.  Belle, at first afraid of the Beast, grew to love him as he changed into a kinder creature.  Belle and the Beast's love for one another broke the curse and returned all of the castle's enchanted inhabitants back to their human form.


Jillian Butterfield as Belle and Ryan Everett Wood as Beast. Photo from The Straz Center by Matthew Murphy

Dylan, my 10 year old, said he enjoyed the show.  Lumiere, the candelabra, was his favorite character because of his hilarious jokes, movements, and candle hands.  I think the French accent had something to do with it too.  Every time Lumiere was happy or excited about something, he lit up his candle hands with silly gestures.

The enchanted objects. Photo from The Straz Center by Matthew Murphy

Jared, my 13 year old, also loved Lumiere.  Patrick Pevehouse did a great job entertaining the kids and adults as an enchanted candelabra!

Jillian Butterfield as Belle and the cast. Photo from The Straz Center by Matthew Murphy

My husband and I thought Gaston, played by Cameron Bond, was quite the character, always flexing his muscles and admiring himself.  I have always loved Gaston's song in the bar...it's just so macho with over the top testosterone humor.  Jillian Butterfield's voice as Belle was amazing.  Of course, I loved all of the songs; Belle, Gaston, Be Our Guest, and Beauty and the Beast!

We thorough enjoyed this family show!  But we won't use antlers in all of our decorating.

What is your favorite Beauty and the Beast song?

Disclaimer: As a member of the Tampa Bay Bloggers, I received four tickets for my family.  All opinions are my own.

Annie The Musical

Oh, my gosh!  Oh, my gosh!  Oh, my gosh!  I've always loved the movie Annie and the sing-along songs (that I know by heart).  My boys and I watched the original 1982 movie over Christmas vacation.  I was beyond thrilled that Annie The Musical was coming to the Straz Center in Tampa.

Dylan, my 10 year old son, was very excited to see Annie The Musical.  Jared, my 13 year old, wasn't necessarily excited about the show, but agreed to go which is a win in my book.

Once at the show, Jared posted this picture to his Instagram account with the caption that he was seeing Annie at the Straz.  Double WIN!

The show started out with one of my favorite Annie songs "Maybe", followed by "It's the Hard Knock Life" and "Tomorrow". 

Annie and the orphans singing “It’s The Hard Knock Life”. Photo by Joan Marcus

Annie and Sandy singing "Tomorrow". Photo by Joan Marcus

Of course, the musical included a couple of new songs like "We'd Like to Thank You" and left out some from the original movie like "Sandy".  Although I didn't love Issie Swickle's singing voice, she did a great job portraying little orphan Annie.  Lynn Andrews was fierce and hilarious as Miss Hannigan!

This is a fantastic story and show for the whole family.  My boys thoroughly enjoyed Annie The Musical!  Dylan saw the signs for Potted Potter and Beauty and the Beast coming soon to the Straz.  Now he wants to see those shows too!  I've created a broadway monster!

What's your favorite Annie song?

Annie The Musical is preforming at the Straz Center Feb 17-22, 2015.

Clothing Drive - At performances of Annie, Tuesday, Feb. 17 through Sunday, Feb. 22, donations of primary school uniforms and other children’s clothing will be accepted at the Straz Center. The drive benefits Metropolitan Ministries who serve families in need in Hillsborough, Pinellas, Pasco and Polk counties.

Disclaimer: As part of the Tampa Bay Bloggers, I received four tickets to see Annie The Musical.  All opinions are my own.

The Phantom of the Opera in Tampa

Cameron Mackintosh's new production of Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera is performing in Tampa as part of the new North American Tour.  This amazing musical, with new scenic design, choreography and staging, shouldn't be missed!

The Phantom of the Opera is one of my favorite musicals.  Mike and I first saw it at the Straz Center in 2008 where I fell in love with the thunderous organ cords.  It's back in Tampa for a 5th time.

I was so excited for the opportunity to see the latest production of The Phantom.  Unfortunately, my husband, Mike, already had plans.  I intended to invite one of my sisters but my 10 year old, Dylan, really wanted to see the show with me.  How could I say no to some culture and a musical with my little boy.

Before the show, I explained the background of the story.  I told Dylan that the phantom lived at an opera house in the late 1800s.  His face was disfigured so he wore a white mask to cover up.  It was rumored that the phantom escaped from a freak show and was always treated cruelly.  He fell in love with an opera singer named Christine and just wanted to be loved by someone.



Before the show started with the famous chandelier still covered

This was Dylan's first musical with an orchestra.  Like me, he also loved the powerful organ cords and recognized certain instruments like the flute and triangle.  His school music teachers would be proud.


Ready for Act Two to start

Act Two began with a New Year's Eve masquerade in the Grand Ballroom with incredible dresses and costumes designed by Maria Bjornson.


Original costume design by Maria Bjornson. Photo credit Straz Center

The set design was amazing including a major mechanical piece used as the walkway and stairs to the phantom's lair.  The stairs magically appeared out of the side of the set piece as the Phantom led Christine into his lair.


Katie Travis as Christine and Chris Mann as Phantom

I truly loved The Phantom of the Opera's musical score with the "Angle of Music" being one of my favorites along with the Phantom's theme song.

Dylan and I thoroughly enjoyed The Phantom of the Opera with his only complaint being an uncomfortable chair.  He enjoyed the live orchestra and captivating songs.  I was happy to introduce Dylan to this musical and the arts.

See The Phantom of the Opera at the Straz Center December 17, 2014 - January 4, 2015.

*Disclaimer - Through the Tampa Bay Bloggers, I was given two tickets to see The Phantom of the Opera in exchange for review.  All opinions are my own.

STOMP at the Straz

My husband and I saw STOMP years ago and loved the show.  It's back in Tampa at the Straz Center so we took the opportunity to see this fantastic show again but this time we included our two boys, ages 12 and 9.

STOMP was an explosive percussion performance that appealed to audiences of all ages.  STOMP's eight member group used anything but conventional percussion instruments during their 90 minute show.  They started the show using push brooms to make sweeping sounds and then added tapping and banging sounds.  Needless to say, they broke a couple wooden brooms with their vigorous floor pounding.   The broken brooms were tossed off stage and a replacement broom tossed right back to its user. My boys found this hilarious!

My nine year olds favorite part was what he called the train scene but I think it sounded more like motorcycles.  The lights were off with only the troupe's headlamps lit.  The deep, loud, percussion music rumbled throughout the audience.  Dylan said he could feel the vibrations in his bones.  When the lights illuminated the stage, we saw four group members in bungee seats playing the various items on the wall.  It was amazing how seemingly simple, banging on common household items could create such beautiful music and rhythms.

The STOMP performers continued to amaze us with magical rhythms using matchboxes, wooden poles, garbage cans, zippo lighters, shopping carts, plastic bags, newspapers, inner tubes, paint cans and even kitchen sinks.  There was some boy humor throughout the show.  My boys laughed when four performers pulled the drain plugs on their kitchen sinks that were positioned at waist height.  One guy even shook his sink when he was done...if you know what I mean.

One of my husband's favorite parts was the huge steel drum stilts worn by performers who proceeded to smack the drums with long sticks.

 

My twelve year olds favorite part was a quiet comedy scene involving newspaper.  Who knew how many different sounds newspaper could make by ripping, shaking, crumbling, and folding it.

One of my favorite scenes included zippo lighters.  The theater was dark, then I heard the flick of the flint hitting the striker, saw the flame and finally heard the snap of the lighter closing.  All eight performers had two lighters.  It was like watching a domino light show.  A flame started a one end and quickly made its way through the group on stage.

Our entire family thoroughly enjoyed STOMP!  My youngest son was learning about the different families of musical instruments in school.  He knew right away that the show used percussion instruments (there's that FL education at work).  It was fun for him to see a wide array of real world percussion items.  We had a wonderful and educational evening!

Check out the STOMP performance at the Straz Center April 30 - May 3.

Tickets are available
Friday, May 2 - 8:00pm
Saturday, May 3 - 2:00pm and 8:00pm

Ticket prices range from $49.50 - $69.50.

Disclaimer:  As a member of the Tampa Bay Bloggers, I was given four tickets to see STOMP at the Straz Center in exchange for this review.  All opinions are my own.

Radio City Christmas Spectacular featuring The Rockettes Review

This show was amazing!  I've always wanted to see the Rockettes perform live on stage.  They were everything I imagined and more in the Radio City Christmas Spectacular.  I think my love of the Rockettes started with the 1982 movie Annie when she, Daddy Warbucks and Grace visited a show at Radio City.

The Radio City Christmas Spectacular started off with the dancers in adorable reindeer costumes. I must say, all of the show's costumes were absolutely incredible.  Santa's reindeer danced to "Sleigh Ride" in this opening scene.

Santa introduced "The Twelve Days of Christmas" by lifting the curtain just high enough to see the Rockettes' famous legs.  The audience got quite a kick out of that move.  With the curtain up and out of the way, the Rockettes tapped out the twelve days of Christmas with a different dance movement to signify each day.

The Nutcracker scene was performed by dancing animals or rather dancers in full clown, teddy bear, ragdoll, and mice costumes.  It was unique.

"Parade of the Wooden Soldiers" was my favorite scene! The dancers were in complete synchronicity as they marched, turned and fell after a cannon's boom.  Their billowy hat feathers shook with every meticulous, straight-legged step. Such precision! 

 

In "New York at Christmas", the Rockettes boarded a life size double-decker tour bus, taking the audience on a guided tour through the streets of New York City, including Central Park and Time Square. The bus and background moved enabling the audience to feel as if we were actually in New York City sight seeing with the Rockettes.

 

I also very much enjoyed "The Living Nativity" scene.  It featured some of my favorite Christmas songs while telling the beautiful story of the first Christmas using pageantry, music and scripture.

"Let Christmas Shine" featured the Rockettes and the entire company with a touching message of hope and love for the Christmas season.  The Rockettes performed their signature kick line with head-high kicks.

I thoroughly enjoyed the Radio City Christmas Spectacular performance. It was a fantastic show suitable for the entire family.  Even my 12 year old son said he'd go see the show!

The Radio City Christmas Spectacular featuring The Rockettes is performing at the Straz Center in Tampa, December 12-29.

For more information and to purchase tickets visit the Straz Center online.

Disclosure: I was given two tickets to see the Radio City Christmas Spectacular in exchange for this review. All opinions are my own.

War Horse Review

I thoroughly enjoyed seeing War Horse on stage at The Straz Center for the Performing Arts.  Maybe that was because I have seen the movie and knew what to expect.  Just like with reading the book before seeing the movie, I had previous background knowledge.

"A heart-warming tale of loyalty and friendship, and winner of FIVE 2011 Tony Awards®, WAR HORSE tells the story of young Albert and his beloved horse Joey. When Joey is sold to the cavalry and shipped from England to France, he is soon caught up in enemy fire, and fate takes him on an extraordinary journey, serving on both sides before finding himself alone in no man’s land. But Albert cannot forget Joey and, still not old enough to enlist, he embarks on a treacherous mission to find him and bring him home.

Based on the beloved novel by Michael Morpurgo, this powerfully moving and imaginative drama, filled with stirring music and songs, is a show of phenomenal inventiveness that is currently playing to packed houses in London and around the world. At its heart are astonishing life-sized puppets created by South Africa’s Handspring Puppet Company, that bring to life breathing, galloping, charging horses strong enough for men to ride."

The life size horse puppets were amazing.  The puppeteers' movements and control were spot on with actual horse movements.  I was astonished with realistic head tosses, tail flicks and various gaits.  I felt as if there were live horses on stage performing alongside their human actors.

War Horse didn't have as much singing and musical performances as shows I've seen in the past so I thought my husband would enjoy this show.  It's also a story about perseverance, overcoming obstacles and living to tell about it.  War Horse has fight scenes, tanks, and battles.  Again, I thought my husband would like this show...but I was wrong.  I enjoyed it!

To purchase tickets and see what other performances are coming soon, visit The Straz Center online. 


Disclaimer: I was given two tickets to the War Horse show in exchange for this review.  All opinions are my own.