Sweet Charity

Last night we caught an evening performance of Sweet Charity at the Pantages Theatre in Hollywood, which formerly was a movie house and home of The Academy Awards for 10 years. Compared to the tight theaters in Times Square this theater was pretty grand.  80s star Molly Ringwald plays the lead role as Charity Hope Valentine in the national tour of the free spirited late 60s musical about a lounge hall dancer in New York City trying to find love despite her profession and disappointments. There is also a film adaptation by Bob Fosse and stars another famous red head, Shirley MacLaine.  The story was written by the awesome Neil Simon (Odd Couple, The Goodbye Girl), and includes such hits as "Hey, Big Spender" and "If My Friends Could See Me Now."  The score has been playing in my head all night and this morning.

Two summers ago, I saw Sweet Charity on Broadway with Christina Applegate and really enjoyed the dancing and fun sets, plus Christina's quirkyness in the role and comedic timing. She also looked beautiful. I had blogged a review on the show here. It's too bad the musical didn't last long on Broadway though, but this production and choreography is based on the 2005 revival that I had originally seen. So the sets, costumes and dance numbers wee the same, just some new faces.

As for Molly, I always liked her but after seeing Applegate and MacLaine in the role, she came off looking more like orphan Annie in her red dress than the sexy and charming Sweet Charity. Her singing was better than I expected, no qualms there and I'm always impressed with actors that are triple threats, but I guess Molly is only a double threat since her dancing seemed forced and out done by the cast.  Just the fickle fingers of fate, I guess.

For more information on Sweet Charity and to see which cities the show will be stopping at next, go to: www.sweetcharitythemusical.com

Two glorious years

Today is my blog anniversary! :-D

It seems longer, but then again it also seems like just yesterday I was having an online poll to select a blog title. I had come up with a list of random titles for my friends to choose from. My blog was 3 votes away from being named 'Tiki Tara' or 'Tara's Tantrums' and 5 votes shy of being called 'A Blog With No Name.' The latter two wouldn't have been too bad. 

Stats:  

I've written 330 posts to date, that's 165 posts a year and averages to 14 entries a month

Paid $334 in hosting bills

Highest traffic days are Mondays and Wednesdays

I have two domains: WhenTaraMetBlog.com and TaraMetBlog.com; the first redirects visitors to the second

Received only eight negative comments (phew) but have been bashed on other blogs four times now

Almost gave up twice, but know that this blog has become a part of me and that life without it wouldn't be the same. I know, sad

Have a Google PageRank of 5

Been interviewed four times

Happy that you're reading this

Onion in a blender

"watch it spin around to a beautiful oblivion." Alright so Eve 6 sang 'heart' not 'onion' but it would do the same thing.

In fact, that's what happened to me yesterday. I had cooked brisket in a slow cooker for several hours mixed with apple juice, white wine, onion soup mix and 4 chopped onions. After the meat was done I poured all the cut onions and liquid into a blender to puree and make into a gravy. But it wouldn't start. So, my boyfriend starts pushing buttons at random to make it work, BUT he did not realize he had to hold down the top while doing so, just in case.

Boiling onion soup went flying around the kitchen, burning us and covering our counter, teapot, crockpot and cabinets. After running my hand under cold water, all I could do was laugh and clean it up.  I've only seen that happen in movies, yet he claims that he's never seen it--but I guess that part was already obvious. So, blenders erupting actually happens in real life too. 

PS: I scored my first media placement here at the new company, by getting my client in DM News (direct marketing news), check it out, New advergame builds brand Affinity. 

Step right up to the Costco Circus

Last night I opened a membership at Costco. Not at just any Costco but apparently the third busiest Costco in the country. The cashier said if I came on a weekend I'd never want to come back. The place was still a mad house after work and I was overwhelmed by the options. I needed paper plates but did I need a 200 count? I felt dwarfed by the shopping cart alone and was navigating like a child behind the wheel of a car as I swerved into each aisle adding soup, easy mac and other quick snacks into the cart. I wanted to get bottled water but couldn't even lift the thing to put it into the cart, so I gave up. It didn't help that I wasn't used to this store's layout since I'd only been to one in Connecticut before. A $50 membership and a $117 bill later I left with a headache and a filled trunk of junk that I probably didn't need. Can't wait to go back and get some more though :-/ 

Video: Wearing Patriotism on Your Sleeve (Or Back) My cousin, Ryan, designs the shirts featured in this video. Check it out.

Let's go ...

Mets apparently. My Yankees unfortunately didn't make it past the division series, but to any Red Sox readers at least they were there and won one game. So heart break aside, I went to Game 3 of the Mets vs. Dodgers playoffs at Dodger Stadium. I wore a shirt that said NY Baseball but left it ambiguous to which NY team I was a fan of. My boyfriend meanwhile was decked out in a Mets hat and Beltran shirt. We arrived in the 4th inning after sitting in traffic for an hour and a half on the stadium exit (see picture below). We had to listen to the first 3 runs being scored on the radio. We kept ourselves entertained though by beeping our car horn at guys running out to pee on the side of the road. Pretty funny. 

As we walked down the steps of the Top Deck to our seats, we were booed, jeered and had peanuts thrown at us. I wanted to yell that I wasn't even a Mets fan but saying I was a Yankees fan probably wouldn't have redeemed me. When they re-showed the Yankees/Tigers score up on the board, the whole place clapped at my Yanks loss. Grr. They were also cheering NY sucks when the Mets were playing. I felt offended, they should have been cheering Mets suck not the whole state of NY. So somewhere between a peanut hitting my head, my boyfriend being yelled at in the bathroom and the chanting, I started rooting for the Mets. After all, I've always felt if the Yankees couldn’t win (which isn’t normally the case) then at least lets keep it in New York. 

After they won and it was time to leave, my guy wisely put a jacket on over his jersey and put his sunglasses on top of his hat’s logo, but to no avail. We were still accosted verbally in the parking lot only a few feet from our car. I know, we were on their turf after all. 

In other weekend news, I also went to the Grand Avenue Festival in downtown LA, where we got to sample some popular downtown restaurant eats for $5 a dish and hear the Hip Hop Orchestra, Dakah, play in the beautiful Walt Disney Concert Hall. The ensemble was amazing, I was gaping even. I'm usually bored by classical music but this was upbeat and creative.

I also made homemade apple sauce. I'm always amazed at how easy it is and how much better it tastes than the jar stuff. I prefer using McIntosh apples and was excited to finally see them at a Ralph’s super store after coming up empty at the farmers market in Santa Monica. I used about 4 peeled apples and one with the skin still on for coloring. I cut them up and put them in a pot with 3/4 cup of apple juice (most recipes recommend water but why not use juice or cider for extra flavor?). The apples will practically melt before your eyes, but you'll have to do some chopping with a wooden spoon. Then add in as much sugar and cinnamon as desired usually a 1/2 cup of sugar or less. My friend likes to add in a couple of red hot candies for extra coloring and spice. You could also add a splash of OJ for another zing to it. 
Here's a photo before the cinnamon was added and all the apple bits mashed some more:

The three different tasters who feasted on my apple sauce all said it was great, I even used some as topping for pancakes the next morning, yum.