Bring on 2019

We had a very nice Christmas holiday. Our daughter arrived on the 23rd, and she and Jim went to see A Christmas Story at the St. Louis Repertory Theatre. I'm probably the only person in America who cannot stand that show, and I have already seen it at both the Rep and the Fox Theatres, not to mention countless movie viewings. I was so excited that she wanted to go so that I didn't have to see it again.

Anastasia

Christmas Eve we drove up to Iowa to see my in-laws, and we didn't tell them that Katie was coming with us. They were very much surprised, and we had a wonderful visit with everyone. On the 27th we came back to St. Louis, and the 28th Katie and I went to the Fox Theatre to see Anastasia. It was excellent, and I had a fun night with my girl. Jim went out to dinner with us before the show, but he graciously let Katie have his play ticket.

cranberry cosmos

On the 29th Andy and Megan arrived after having spent Christmas with her parents and family. We opened our gifts that afternoon, enjoying our customary holiday cocktail (cranberry cosmos) as we did so. That night the four of them went to the St. Louis Blues hockey game while I finished getting things ready for an open house on Sunday. We invited my sister and her family as well as some old neighbors over for the afternoon so that they could have an opportunity to see our kids. It was a very nice afternoon.

New Year's Eve we drove out to a winery in St. Charles County, played some games, watched the local fireworks from our perch on the curb in front of our house, and then toasted in the new year. Katie flew back home the next day.

Aerie's Winery

Wednesday the four of us visited the newly reopened Soldiers Memorial in downtown St. Louis, and then had dinner at Cunetto's restaurant on The Hill. Thursday we stopped by the Audubon Center before driving up the River Road to Aerie's Winery in Grafton. This is the first winery I have been to where they charge by the glass for a tasting, and you can select any wine on the menu. Normally I don't do the tastings because I only like sweet wines and those normally aren't an option. At Aerie's I tried two different wines, and settled on getting a glass of one of them to enjoy as the others drank their selected wines. The views from the winery are incredible, as advertised. From there we hit Ted Drewe's for the requisite frozen custard stop.

Andy and Megan headed out on January 3rd, and actually drove straight through to their home in Virginia. We are trying to get back into the groove of not having company, and also getting back to healthy eating habits again.

The holidays were filled with great food, games, puzzles, laughs, presents and, most importantly, being surrounded by our family. It was a great way to end the year, and to get 2019 off on the right foot.

Happy New Year

Hip Hop Hamilton

Hamilton

Unless you have been living off-planet, you have probably heard of the musical Hamilton. It received a record number of Tony nominations in 2016, winning 11 of the 16 awards for which it was nominated. The Grammy award for Best Musical Theater Album also went to Hamilton in 2016. Despite all of that hype, I knew little of the play other than the fact that it depicted the life of Alexander Hamilton. I never listened to the music as I was told it was "all rap and you won't like it."

As season ticket subscribers to the Fox Theatre, Hamilton was part of our series of shows for 2017-2018. For the first time ever, as subscribers we were not allowed to purchase any additional tickets for a play before tickets went on sale to the general public. For all other shows, we can pick up extra tickets if we want. We were not sure if we even wanted to see Hamilton, especially after we saw the tickets in the same row as ours listed on StubHub for $1,500 each. Wow! More than ten times the purchase price as we don't pay the listed price on the tickets as subscribers. I have to admit, we were tempted to put our tickets up as well. I am so grateful we did not do it.

Hamilton set

Someone suggested to us that we listen to the soundtrack of the show first, so I borrowed it from the library. That was a game-changer, for a number of reasons. First of all, we LOVED the music, even the hip hop and rap. Second, there is a lot going on with the music, and sometimes it was difficult to  understand what was being said. Having the lyrics printed out so we could follow along helped immensely. Finally, listening to the music a few times before seeing the show made it easier for us to follow along. Plus we could pay attention to the other actors on stage, the costumes, the choreography and the lighting since we didn't have to concentrate so much on the words.

Our tickets were for last night, and we knew there would be a crush of people jockeying for parking and entering the theater. We went early and easily found a parking spot on the street before heading to the Triumph Grill for an early dinner before the show. From the restaurant it's an easy walk to the Fox Theatre, where there was quite a crowd at the doors. The Fox recently added body scans with a wand to the purse checks, so it takes awhile to get people in. I think that is the only show we have attended at the Fox that was 100% sold out.

The energy in the theater was so different than we have ever experienced. Expectations were high, and the actors did not let the audience down. The crowd responded in kind, cheering, clapping and whistling after each song was completed. Everything about the musical was exceptional, and it was without a doubt the best show I have ever seen. Before the last note ended, the entire house was on its feet.

I'm so happy I didn't throw away my shot to see Hamilton.

Worldwide Photowalk 2017

Before getting to Worldwide Photowalk day, I have to mention that the opening play at the Fox Theatre this year is The Bodyguard. As much as I enjoyed the film version starring Whitney Houston and Kevin Costner, I had a hard time thinking that a theater performance could come close to replicating the movie. I was so wrong. This production is magical, with phenomenal dancing, singing and acting. I think I summed it up best in my tweet, "The Bodyguard is a concert within a play!"

Saturday was Worldwide Photowalk day. This was the tenth year in a row that professional photographer Scott Kelby from Florida has encouraged photographers from around the world to get together to walk, shoot photos and have fun with other photographers. I had never heard of it before, but one of the gals in our Women in Focus group signed up to be a group leader in St. Louis, and set up a walk at the National Museum of Transportation.

Jim decided to come with me since it would be a mixed group of photographers and not just women from my group. There were 15 of us at the museum, shown in the picture which was taken by a passing stranger. While I knew a few of them, many I met for the first time. What a nice group of people!

At the museum, we all kind of went our own ways to take pictures. I had not been to the museum in years, and was surprised by how much more has been added since the last time I was there. For the $8 admission fee, you certainly get to see a lot of cars, trains, bicycles, a couple boats and even a plane. Twelve of us met again at the entrance at noon and headed out to eat. Amazingly, we found a restaurant that could seat us, despite the fact that it was lunchtime on a Saturday. Jim and I hope to do more meetups with these photographers in the future.

National Museum of Transportation

Someting Rotten!

Something Rotten!

Jim took his annual trip to Chicago this weekend with a riding friend to go the the motorcycle show, so I had the house to myself. I don't particularly love that since my little house buddy is no longer here to keep me company. But I am adjusting. Friday night I took a gal pal with me to see "Something Rotten!" at the Fox. I knew nothing about the play other than some vague reference to Shakespeare and the fact that it had been nominated for 10 Tony Awards. Since I am not a huge Shakespeare fan, I chose not to read anything more about the show as I didn't want to have the wrong attitude going into the performance. This show has you laughing from the very beginning. It is fabulous - maybe the best play I have ever seen, and that is saying a lot. I highly recommend it!

Saturday my niece came over to borrow one of my cameras. She is photographing the rehearsal dinner of her co-worker's stepson. I am a little anxious for her as shooting indoors is always tricky. I try to avoid it myself, and usually resort to using my iPhone because it seems to do better in low light. Without bringing in auxiliary lighting, which I don't own, it is hard to take flattering pictures. The built-in flash on the camera always seems to be too hot, washing the people out. I am not available that night, or I would go with her and take a second camera so she would have more pictures to choose from. Oh well...Coincidentally, the dinner is at 3rd Degree Glass. My Women in Focus group has a show opening there on Friday night, so at least I'll be able to scope the area out for her and see what the lighting is like. At any rate, it was great to see my niece as we never seem to be able to get together, especially one on one.

Cathedral Basilica

Sunday I went to the Cathedral Basilica as my photographer friend wanted to retake the photo she is planning on using in our show. The cathedral was completed in 1914, and designated a basilica by Pope John Paul II in 1997. Installation of the mosaics inside began in 1912, and the last of the 41.5 million tiles was laid in 1988! Covering 83,000 square feet, it is the largest mosaic collection in the world. What an amazing building! No matter how many times I go inside, it just strikes me dumb.

Sketch of Church

From there we went to Grand Center, where the skeletal remains of a burnt out church stand. Located at 460 N. Spring Street, the church was built in 1884 for a Baptist congregation. A fire in 2001 destroyed the church. Some reports say that lightning struck the building; others insist an electrical fire was the culprit. I have looked at many photos of it, but never seen it in person. The lighting with the bright sun wasn't particularly favorable, but at least I know where the church is now so I can go back. We had intended to end our photoshoot at The Grove, but despite the sun and temperature it was chilly out due to the high winds. We decided to tackle that location on a warmer Sunday morning.

Church of God

Anything Goes - Despite Tornado Warnings

Anything Goes

We were at the Fox Theatre tonight when the tornado warning sirens were going off in St. Louis County. I had never really considered the best place to be in the Fox should a tornado hit. We were not advised to take shelter since the storm was off to the west, and the show did indeed go on! And what a show it was. I have never seen Anything Goes before, but what a high energy production. The music, dancing, singing and set design were great. We thoroughly enjoyed the show, and it was nice to forget about the storm for awhile.

Reality set in as we made a mad dash for the car, parked several blocks away. Interstate 44 was thankfully not very crowded, because the pouring rain made it very difficult to see the lines. It was probably the worst weather conditions I have driven in for a long time. Creeping along at 40 miles per hour made the drive home a lot longer than usual, but we made it safe and sound. So far other than some water in the basement, I don't think we had any damage here at the house. Tomorrow will tell. To all of those in St. Louis and Oklahoma who did not fare so well, my thoughts and prayers go out to you.

Not So Fabulous Night at the Fox

Friday night we saw "August, Osage County" at the Fox. I knew nothing about the play, and I try not to read reviews because I so seldom agree with the critics anyway. I had heard that it had won lots of awards on Broadway though. The first thing we noticed is that the theater was not even half full, which is strange in and of itself. The lady who has the seats next to us asked if we knew that the production had two intermissions, and we admitted that we were not aware of this. She said her friend had seen the play and didn't get home until after midnight. By now I'm thinking that it better be a great play because I would be nodding off that much after my bedtime on a Friday night.

The set was awesome, as always, depicting the inside of a three story house. Sadly, that is all that was awesome about the production. The play begins with an obviously drunk man attempting to hire a native American woman to live in the house to help care for his mouth cancer stricken, drug addicted wife (played by the actress who was Roseanne Barr's mother on her show) so that he can continue to drink without having to worry about the little woman. His speech was so labored and hard to follow that I found myself silently cheering when he committed suicide early on in the play. The rest of the story consists of various relatives coming to the house for the funeral, all of whom are angry, bitter, and/or heavy drug or alcohol users. From pot smoking and sexual advances between a 30 something man and his fiances 14 year old niece to a relationship between what initially appeared to be first cousins but ended up to be half-siblings, the play trotted steadily downhill. There was a lot of screaming, dropping of the F bomb left and right and a small amount of humor dispersed.

I would have left at the first intermission (earlier were it not been for the fact that our seats are in the center of the row and we would have had to climb over people), but Jim wanted to tough it out. A good number of people did leave, including the two elderly couples behind us. I had to agree with the one man who said, "I come out at night to be entertained. This is not entertainment." I suppose I sadistically wanted to see if it could get any worse - it did. We pulled into our drive at midnight, and I was wondering if I could sum the play up in two words. I found that I only needed two letters - P U!

Grease IS the Word!

Last night Katie and I went to see "Grease" at the Fox Theatre. Jim is still up in Iowa with his mom following her open heart surgery, so Katie scored the second ticket to go with me. I have to say up front that "Grease" is not a favorite show of mine. The whole story line bugs me. Bad boy meets good girl. Bad boy gets good girl. Bad boy dumps good girl once he gets back with his bad boy friends. Good girl becomes bad girl to get bad boy back. Really?

The Fox has been heavily promoting the show because Taylor Hicks, winner of Season 5 of American Idol, is in it. Seriously, he has one song in the show. They brought him back out at the end to do a reprise of the song "Grease", and following the show he sang one song from his new CD, which he would conveniently be signing and selling in the lobby. I don't care for Taylor Hicks, never have. And for the record? My name is Kim Wolterman and I am an Idolholic. I couldn't believe Taylor won Season 5. And look where it's gotten him. Signing CDs at the Fox Theatre riding on the Teen Angel wings of "Grease." Enough said.

The travesty of the whole thing is that Ace Young plays Danny, the bad boy lead in "Grease". Ace was also on Season of American Idol, and finished 7th. He was fabulous in the play, and very cute to boot. Did you hear one mention of him in any of the advertising of "Grease"? No, it was all about Taylor, the one song wonder of the play.

Okay, I'm done ranting. The gal who played Sandy, the good girl lead, had played Elle in "Legally Blonde the Musical" at the Fox. She is as cute as can be and very talented. The entire cast was great, and very high energy. So despite the fact that the plot sucks, the production was really great. Go, greased lightening!