Scrappy Travels

Like most people, I fell in love with Leslie Odom Jr. on the cast album for Hamilton.  He's so good as Aaron Burr that I literally can't imagine anyone else singing that particular part.  Unfortunately, when I finally saw Hamilton he'd already left the show, so I never had the chance to hear him sing live (though his replacement, Brand Victor Dixon was amazing!).  That's why I was ecstatic when it was announced he'd be touring and he'd be making a stop in Washington DC.  After months of waiting - I'm pretty sure we bought these tickets in April - it was finally time to see him. And it was like falling in love with him all over again.  He was beyond phenomenal!  He has a beautiful voice, which most people already know.  But he's also a pretty lovely entertainer - lively, and fun.  He began with a Hamilton number - obviously - but promised there would be more later.  His reasoning for this was that if he had performed all of his Hamilton in the beg

The Minack Theatre is one of the most beautiful spaces I've ever seen.  I may seem to be exaggerating, but every piece of that theatre from the landscaping, to the overlook of the ocean to the theatre itself cut into the cliffs is just breathtaking. I can't even imagine what it's like to perform there, but it must be an absolute thrill. Unfortunately, we did not have the chance to witness this first hand, but the next time I'm in England, it's on the top of my to-do list.  So,  you may be wondering what makes this space so special? Well, the Minack Theatre, in Porthcurno Cornwall, is one of the world's leading outdoor theaters.  It was built over the course of two years in the early 1930s by Rowena Cade. She and her gardener, Billy Rawlings moved boulders and granite to build the stage and the terraces.  Their goal was to give theater troupes a place to perform Shakespeare's The Tempest .  Can you even imagine a more inspired place to perform this

Groundhog Day Production Photo I've never been a huge fan of movies or shows that are labeled as "boy" shows or movies.  I understand it's perfectly acceptable to be a fan even though I'm a girl, but I just don't enjoy them.  I do enjoy all the stereotypical girly things like love stories, romantic comedies, and the usual whodunnits.  This love of all things "girly" also applies to the theatre.  So it was a bit of a conundrum as to why I wanted to see Groundhog Day .  Because in the list of boy movies, that one falls pretty close to the top.  But Andy Karl's attitude toward the entire production in the wake of his injury was pretty uplifting.  After tearing his ACL 2 days before opening night, he could have left the production and no one would have faulted him.  But he stuck to his guns and his #ChampionsAdapt attitude, and blew audiences away.   He was the sole reason I wanted to see this show.  Also, he's a Maryland guy - you have to

This was posted on all of Hamilton's social media feeds on Tuesday August 8th.  I'm fairly certain that the folks behind Hamilton knew exactly what they were doing when the posted it - basically working the entire fandom up into a frenzy.  What does it mean?!  How is Friday going to be, in Lin's own words, a #BitofaDay?  It's all so puzzling.   As a member of this particular fandom, I have been pondering this very idea for the last few days.  And while I may be completely off base, I do have a few ideas.  I'm pretty sure, that whatever it is, will be something I never even thought of because if there's one thing the Hamilton-crew can do, it's definitely surprising their fan-base. So, my thoughts, in no particular order but in increasing levels of ridiculousness... ~ Lin's making his return to Broadway playing the lead.  Javier Munoz is rocking the part, but maybe, just maybe Lin is missing his long locks so much that he's willing to step ba

I'm not what you would call outdoorsy.  I like being outdoors - but when I am, I prefer to be sitting on a patio and eating, or watching a show on an outdoor stage.  I am definitely not a fan of traipsing through any wooded areas or hiking up large hills.  I've never been camping but I'm pretty sure I'd just hate that too.  Though, somehow I found myself at Tintagel Castle in Cornwall doing most of these things that I've just claimed to hate. Now, I'd like the record to reflect that before visiting Tintagel, I didn't know these things would be required of me.  I assumed it was a castle that I would look at, take some pictures of and then move on. That's what I get for not doing the proper research beforehand. However, if I had done the research, I would never have gone, and would not have had the awesome experience I had.  There's something to be said for being completely in the dark. Tintagel Castle is said to be the birthplace of King

Hamlet - Almeida Theatre In 2015, I visited London.  In addition to all of the fun things we had planned for that trip, the main reason we chose to go during that summer was to see Benedict Cumberbatch play the role every actor wants to play: Hamlet.  I was fairly excited, as I loved his work on Sherlock , and couldn't imagine an actor more well-suited to the role.  To this day, I'm not quite sure what happened, but that version of Hamlet was the worst I've ever seen.  The production was too big, and too loud.  My main annoyance, at the top of a long list, was the production team's decision to move the "To be or not to be..." soliloquy to the very beginning of the show.   The first words spoken on that stage were "To be or not to be...".  They changed the entire flow of the play, for what I can only assume was the desire to get Benedict on stage as quickly as possible.  I later heard that, after many complaints, they decided to move the spee

A few years ago, a show premiered in England that had everyone talking.  It was a fairly simple concept - over the course of 8 episodes, the detectives would solve the murder of an 11 year old boy in a small, sleepy town on the coast.  The show of course was Broadchurch .  And I'm not sure why it took off the way it did, but it was probably the combination of a superbly talented cast, a compelling mystery, and stunning cinematography.  I, like everyone else, was hooked on the show from the very first moment.   This year, after 3 successful series, it's coming to an end, which is unfortunate.  However, the gorgeous filming locations still exist in West Bay Dorset, UK.  This means that any time you find yourself in the UK - as I did last month - you can visit this gorgeous area of the country, and relive the television magic.  To say this part of the country is beautiful, is an understatement.  And luckily for the residents, they're seeing a boom in their tourist economy

I've always thought that in musical theatre, there were two camps.  In the first camp, you have the Sondheim fans; the lovers of all things Into the Woods or A Little Night Music. And in the other, you have the Andrew Lloyd Webber fans; those that gravitate to "Jesus Christ Superstar" or Phantom of the Opera.  I have always been in the Andrew Lloyd Webber camp.   Jesus Christ Superstar was the first musical I ever saw, and Phantom was the first I saw live.  So you can say Lord Lloyd Webber has a special place in my heart. Sondheim, on the other hand, not so much.  Until recently (we're talking just last month) I'd never seen a single Sondheim show.  In my mind, he was too classic for me.  I like new and different, and I'm not such a fan of the high soprano.  However, as I wrote about here , I saw the marvelous production of Sweeney Todd at the Barrow Street, and just fell head over heels for it.  So I decided that it might be time to give Sondheim ano

I’ve never been a huge fan of tours.  I like exploring things on my own and happening upon new sites and restaurants.  Or I do what every other crafty person does; I search Pinterest for fun things in whatever city I’m traveling to, and then note them in my phone so I can find them (or get lost trying to find them) when I arrive.  However, in 2015 when I went to England and Belgium, my travel partner in crime booked 2 tours for us.  The first was a Secret Garden Tour of the Cotswolds and the second was a Chocolate tour of Brussels.  Well, to say that these tours were awesome would be a huge understatement. They were phenomenal, and I had so much fun – and I ate so much food – and they totally converted me to being a tour person. When left to my own devices, I chose Pancetta Ciabatta - Yum! That’s why, when this year’s England trip rolled around, I actually mentioned a food tour of London as being something I’d like to do.  Of course, the travel partner in crime, already aware