Phantom of the Opera closed after 35 years on Broadway! #PhantomOfTheOpera #musicals #Broadway #AndrewLloydWebber

Phantom of the Opera closed on Broadway April 16th with show 13,981! You can read about that night here. It went out on a high note! 

Also learn about the monkey music box.

Andrew Lloyd Webber was on April 17th's Tonight Show, and played a bit of song from some of his biggest hits, plus a brand-new musical. 

It all brought me back...

Book 3 in Progress, and a little fangirling

The next Jacob/Beth story is being written. Current word count is 3105. Progress will go faster once I get to the pre-written material I have to edit (part of a previous incarnation of their book with a slightly different plot).

There will be a pause to read the next Dresden Files book as soon as I get my hands on it (offical release Tuesday). I've already read Jim's 5 sample chapters and OMG - so jealous of the fans at Comic Con this weekend that got to buy the book early. I know at least 2 people in the UK that got their book from Amazon already, grrrrr. If you have Ghost Story, don't spoil me! I'll have to thwap you.


On a sad note, Borders is being liquidated. Are you losing your local bookstore? Mine closed a few months ago when they were getting rid of the underperforming stores. It was nice to have one within walking distance for me, but oh well....stuck with the B&N across from the mall now.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows part 2

Tech Guy had a recent work schedule change so he has Fridays off, so we went to the midnight show last night.

Saw it in 3D, but it's really not necessary for this movie. You won't miss out with regular ol' 2D.

Trailers included were Breaking Dawn part 1, Torchwood: Miracle Day, Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows (squee!), The Dark Knight Rises (double squee!), and Cowboys and Aliens (planning to see it).

DH part 2 is about 2 hours even. Everybody brought their A game. There were several lines for showings at our theater, probably at least 10, and our show was full except for the front row (way too close to a screen that large). The 3D glasses are actually Harry Potter edition little black frames. Cute.

Won't spoil the movie here. We had a really good time. I confess to not reading the book series, so I don't know how close it was to that. The audience cheered and clapped a lot, so the die-hards seemed to be pretty happy. If you get misty at all at movies, bring at least one tissue for this one.

Happy Friday, all.

I saw Star Wars in Concert on June 4th at the Hollywood Bowl

Anthony Daniels was an awesome narrator of the Star Wars story. He's done this performance several times over by now, but there wasn't the slightest bit of repetition fatigue.

The two shows, Friday and Saturday, were sold out, and it's really worth it for any fan. So far, these were the only dates for 2011, but I do hope they give cities that haven't had the chance to see it before a shot. Getting a DVD of it wouldn't come close to capturing the show.

I will say, though, merchandise - ouch! I got a program for $25 and they were selling t-shirts for $35. Not surprising, but still, yikes.

The lack of exhibit was a bummer (the Bowl doesn't have room for it), but once we got into the show, we weren't really thinking about it. We could see most of the video screen, except there is some kind of thing that hangs down the front of the arch of the Bowl and from our view, it was in front of a lot of faces in the video. We know all the scenes, of course, so we knew what we'd see, but if people were new then it probably wasn't good for them. The show was originally designed to play in arenas, so I'm not entirely sure why they picked the Bowl for this, but the sound was great. We did have fun...just not perfect fun. People in the center seats got a great show, and kids definitely seemed to enjoy it no matter where they were.
And the surprise?
 
John Williams came out at the end to conduct The Imperial March. JOHN WILLIAMS!!! It was at the very end of the concert, and Anthony Daniels gestures for us to sit and quiet down so he can tell us something. "We have a very special guest" and then it's John Williams. Crowd went freaking wild. A few people had already started to leave, and I'm like WTH five minutes is not going to get you out of the parking lot any faster. You can see a vid here.
 
Pretty good June birthday present, eh?

Wow, can't believe it's been this long since I posted.

Red was an awesome movie and Helen Mirren rocked.

Harry Potter 7.1 - beautifully filmed, and poor Dobby! We loved it.

The Vampire Diaries is having a great second season.

Supernatural. Having a lead with a missing soul is an interesting touch.

Smallville has been fabulous, except I miss Chloe.

Hellcats is fun, Chuck is fun, Castle is funny, Nikita is hot, Gossip Girl--drama!, and I'll miss Undercovers. It was cute. The most recent ep. of Parenthood was the best this season.

Looking forward to The Cape in January.

The Expendables! Great movie, even better Blu-Ray DVD.

Already have tickets to Tron: Legacy in IMAX 3D midnight showing!