Busy Bee

I don't think I've ever been this busy in my life. My schedule goes pretty much like this: I go to work from 9-5, come home, shove some sort of food down my throat, and I'm out the door at 5:45. I get to the theatre around 6, the show starts at 8, and around 10:45 we finally finish and I scramble to get changed, pull 75 bobby pins out of my hair, and get home at a reasonable time for me to get ready for bed, talk to Dave for a few minutes, and collapse (usually after we're finished talking... sorry, honey!).

Although it's exhausting, I think it's worth it. The show is going very well. It's so much fun to make people laugh! I'm having a blast!

On Sale Now!

Tickets to my show are now available! You can buy them online at livearts.org, or charge them over the phone by calling 1-800-594-TIXX. (An important side note: there is another show called "Little Match Girl"... make sure not to mix them up when purchasing tickets online!)

The show opens with a FREE preview night on Dec. 6. The official run is December 7-22, with performances on Wednesday (8pm), Thursday(7:30), Friday(8), and Saturday(8) evenings, and a Sunday matinee (2pm).

Ticket prices range from $10-22.50 (More expensive on Fri & Sat nights). Another option is to go on "pay what you can" Wednesday. You just show up at the box office that day--there is no way to buy tickets in advance for those days. Get there early to make sure to get a seat!

And check out the website for a chance to win free tickets to the show! Livearts.org

Hope to see some of you there! It should be a great time!

A very FRUSTRATING pet peeve!

Let's get this straight, English speakers of the world--- there is no such word as "FUStrated."

I can't believe how many times I've heard people say this. It's not only people I know, but people all over television, including newscasters! Ahh! I don't know what I'll ever do with myself if "fustrated" actually becomes part of the English dictionary...

So stand up, my fellow Americans! Let us help those who have strayed from the grammatical path of truth. Save your family and friends from the FRUStrating effects of a linguistic letdown.

The Little Theatre That Could: A Celebration of 35 Years

It's been a few weeks since the show at The Four County Players ended, but thanks to Dave, I have a few bits of video to remember the event. For everyone who couldn't make it out to The Middle of Nowhere, Virginia, I bring my performances right to the comfort of your own home! My only request is that you don't make fun of me for being incredibly awkward... except for my brother David, whose job is to make fun of me. :)

How Could I Ever Know? (from The Secret Garden):

Somewhere That's Green (from Little Shop of Horrors):

CHOCOLATE FESTIVAL!

Let's just say, I was in heaven.





And yes, the Browns are wearing brown. In honor of chocolate. But we actually didn't talk about it first-- we both just knew it was right. :)

Weil, Gotshal, and Manges

It's official. Dave has accepted the offer in New York City, and we'll be moving there next summer.

Holy cow.

Child's Play

Gabe and I used to have hours of fun making up things to play.... for example, this is "walk the dog":

As a kid, our minds think so simply. "Ok, I'll be the lady, and you be the dog. Let's see... this jump rope is the leash, and since mom told me I'm not allowed to wrap it around your neck, we'll go ahead and have you put it in your mouth. Oh my gosh, we look so real."

I loved being a kid. And I'm not gonna lie, it's fun to be the big sister-- I don't have to be the dog.

Sorry, Gabey. :)

Happy Birthdays

Now it's been a few weeks since their birthdays, but I just got the pictures from the celebration, so I'm renewed in the birthday-wishing spirit! Two of my sisters, Monica and Julianna, have their birthdays right next to each other in September. I couldn't make it to Ohio for the party, but it looks like they had fun with their birthday crowns and cheesy cards (ahem... DAD).

Happy belated birthdays, Moni and Juji!

p.s. also of note is my awesome and beautiful sister Cecilia, who is not pictured, because her birthday was in June... but I guess you can have a happy belated b-day too, Cece! :)

Drumroll please!

At the request of my loving husband, I will FINALLY share will you my recent news. Not just that, but I can't hold in my excitement anymore...

I GOT THE PART!

I will be playing the role of Anne, one of the leads in A Little Night Music at the LiveArts theatre in downtown Charlottesville. I can't believe it! I'm so excited!!!

I had to eat my words-- I complained in my last post about how it takes so long to hear back from casting directors after auditions. In this case, I auditioned on Monday, had callbacks on Tuesday, and they contacted me Wednesday morning. Now that's impressive! Maybe that's how it's always been, but since I've never been a lead I never knew how early they called their main characters. :) Rehearsals start right when my other show is in performance, so there won't be too much of an overlap. But suffice it to say I'll be very busy through Christmas! The show runs December 7-22.

So, I'm thrilled. This is a big step for me and I can't wait to get started.

And yes, I have to kiss a guy in the show. So weird.

And now I wait.

In case you're wondering, I DID make callbacks for A Little Night Music. Yay!

I sat patiently for an hour and forty-five minutes while they had other parts read and sing, only to read two scenes. Once. But I feel like it went well anyway. Of course there's no way to tell-- everyone else was good too. One good sign was that the music director pulled me aside and said, "We're not going to have you sing today. You've already impressed us there, and we don't need to hear you again." Wahoo! At least if I don't get the part, I know that I was a worthy competitor.

Now comes the excruciating period where I wait, wonder, second-guess my performance, and play over everything that was said to me until I go crazy! Ahh, the anticipation!

There's No Business Like Show Business

This is somewhat old news, but I'm still excited, so I'll announce it officially on here: I'm in a show!

Now, I've got to clarify-- it's not really a SHOW show, but a musical revue kinda show. It's at a little theatre outside of Charlottesville called The Four County Players. They've been doing theatre in central Virginia for the past 35 years, so they're having a big 35th anniversary revue, with performances of songs from some of the musicals they've done over the years.

I've recieved my solo assignments and I couldn't be more excited! I'm singing "How Could I Ever Know" from The Secret Garden, and "Somewhere That's Green" from Little Shop of Horrors. Two of my favorite songs! I'll also be taking part in the opening and closing group numbers.

I hope it will come together well. There were some really talented people at auditions, so I'm sure it's a great lineup of performances. I can't wait!

To find out information about the show, you can check out the theatre's website: www.fourcp.org

And in other news, I auditioned for A Little Night Music tonight at another theatre in town called LiveArts. I feel like I did really well. Hopefully I'll find out soon if I've made callbacks-- they're tomorrow night!

A new post is on the horizon...

I've got one working up. Maybe a few. Tomorrow's my day off, so I'll finally make time for my little bloggy-poo.

Also, bloggy-poo is gross.

Rosa's Reviews

I've spent a summer in NYC, and you'd better believe I made my way to see some Broadway shows while I was here. I wouldn't miss it! I would have gone to many more shows if they didn't cost an arm and a leg. But thanks to BroadwayBox.com discounts, I was able to see a few shows this summer without breaking the bank... too much.

I thought I'd give a quick rating to each of the shows. Nothing big, I don't want to get carried away describing all of them. But I would like to give some stars and tell you generally why I felt the way I did.

So, here they are (in alphabetical order):


My rating: 5/5 stars
Why: It's one of the greatest stories ever with some of the most beautiful music ever composed. Seeing it come alive on the Broadway stage was a dream come true for the little girl inside me. Absolutely magical.





My rating: 3/5 stars
Why: An enjoyable, totally musical-theatre kinda show, but not that memorable. I remember enjoying myself during the show, but I can't really remember anything else about it. Maybe one song. It was cute, but I wouldn't recommend paying full price to see it.



My rating: 4.5/5 stars
Why: One word: HYS-TER-I-CAL! Dave and I could barely breathe we were laughing so hard at some points in this show. I'd give it a full five stars, but I have to admit, the music is somewhat forgettable. I walked out of the theatre and couldn't remember more than a line from one or two songs. They were good songs, just not memorable. But it didn't matter. The show had a really creative setup, the characters were hilarious, and I left the theatre wishing I could see it again that night. I absolutely recommend it.



My rating: 2.99/5
Why: I wanted to love this show. It was good, but I left the theatre a little empty. I admit, I did see it as a preview, so it wasn't quite ready for the big-time. But, when I see a show I want to go home singing the songs and reliving the great moments over and over again in my head. I seriously forgot about the show after we left the theatre. I'm so sad to even say it, because I had been waiting excitedly for months to see the show. To be fair, I think the reason I didn't like it is because the story is so poor. The performers did their best with the material. The acting was good, the singing and choreography was excellent, but I was left wanting. I'm glad I saw it, but it really needs to step it up to stay on Broadway.


My rating: 5/5 stars
Why: Can I just say, I freakin' LOVE this show. I knew nothing about it when I went, and I was blown away. I loved everything about it- the costumes, the characters, the songs, the story, just everything about it was fantastic. It was really high-energy, and there were a lot of laughs. I know it's a lot to give a perfect score, but I can't really think of any reason to mark it down. It was absolutely enjoyable, and I would go again. In fact, I'm gonna check BroadwayBox right now...


My rating: 4.75/5 stars
Why: Do I even need to explain this one? Aside from having the most amazing score, the production was incredible. I was transported into the land of Oz. I would give it a perfect score, but I was left wanting for a stronger voice on Elphaba both times I saw it, and the first Fiyero we saw was a terrible actor. Like, "How is he on Broadway??" bad. But regardless, this is definitely one of my favorite musicals of all-time. Love, love, love it.(Now if only there hadn't been the guy with the biggest freakin' head in the world sitting in front of me, moving his head every three seconds... I seriously almost strangled him.)

Wow, I'm looking back at these pictures and realizing how blessed I am. Not only did I get to see a few shows on Broadway, I think I got to see some of the best out there. Live theatre just so happens to be one of my very favorite things to do in the world. I'm so grateful I was able to live in NYC this summer and take advantage of it!

Hey Dave, I can do an Esther post too!

This has been such a fun summer, and not just because NYC is so cool. One of my very best friends in the world lives upstate, only a few hours away! She'd been on a mission for the past year-and-a-half, but got home in the spring, so I couldn't miss an opportunity to spend time with her!

I've been lucky enough to see Esther three separate times this summer. First, I spent a few days visiting her in her hometown. Then two weeks later, Dave came with me and we both hung out with her for a few days. And then last week, we were able to steal her away to NYC for the weekend. So, we've put a couple thousand miles on the car, but I say it's worth it!

One of the fun things about Esther and I is that we are very different, it's funny that we've become so close. I'm a girly-girl. Esther is the opposite. For example, I love to do my hair and put on pretty makeup. Esther would rather die... or go white-water rafting or something. But every once in a while, she'll give in to girl-ification, and I pride myself on it. Now let me be clear-- she needs no makeup. She's one of those naturally gorgeous people (jerk), but I still think it's fun to make her squeal. :)

I was able to cut her some bangs, get some makeup on her, and even take a few pictures for posterity. It's been a few weeks and she's totally over the bangs, as I figured she would be, but I still think it was worth it!

It was so much fun to spend time with her, even when I wasn't (and I'm not) very creative with activities and we just kind of sat around sometimes. I love that when you're such good friends with someone, it feels good just to be around them. Ya know? Thanks Esther, for being such a good friend. Love yer freakin' guts.

I'm not ashamed.

Ok, so I'll admit it. I'm a HUGE Harry Potter fan. I've read all the books, and occasionally have been found browsing MuggleNet and other such fansites...

Earlier in the month of July, Dave surprised me with tickets to the midnight movie showing of the fifth HP movie! It was totally fun, and I absolutely loved the movie. I think it was very well done. And I must say, the lady who played Dolores Umbridge was nomination-worthy. So subtly evil.

After seeing the movie, I realized I had only a few days before the release of the seventh book, so I decided to re-read the sixth book. This was a good choice, because when the sixth book was released, it had been about two years since I read the previous book, and it was really frustrating to realize how much I had forgotten. It made it more difficult to follow the story. SO, of course I wouldn't make that mistake again, especially not for the final book!! I read the sixth book in about two days and waited in excited anticipation for the final installment.

Now, as I've already explained to you, I am a huge Harry Potter dork. So that would explain the following picture:



You better believe I waited in line in the morning (the day before the release) for a Barnes & Noble wristband, so I could attend the official HP release party at their gigantic location in Union Square. I wore that little red band all day, and headed to the party around 10:30pm. There were SO many people there, I wasn't actually able to move around to any of the cool activities. Luckily, I found a magazine rack and a comfy spot on the floor, and I waited. And waited. And waited.

Finally, at 2:00am exactly, I had the book in my hands! I hopped in a cab and headed home. And then I collapsed in my bed. I didn't have any energy to even read. Ha!

The cool thing about not working over the summer is having a free schedule to read all day and night. I actually denied tickets to a Yankees game with Dave, because I didn't want to lose reading time, and I didn't want to have anyone shout anything out about the ending... Like I said, D-O-R-K. :)

I managed to finish it in just a few days. I laughed, I cried. Now I want to read them all over again. J.K.Rowling is a freakin' genius. I can't believe one person put all of this together.

I can't believe it's over. But I'm happy. It's been fun, Harry Potter.

Take me out to TWO ballgames

At Dave's work, sometimes a few of the lawyers with Mets season tickets are too busy to make it to the game, so they send out the tickets to the summer associates. We were lucky enough to be able to go twice last week! What a treat! The only down thing is looking in the mirror after having a dinner of hotdogs, popcorn, and ice cream twice in one week...



And of course, it's not a game without a blue cotton-candy stained tongue!



Even though they were mezzanine seats the second time, they were great seats! There really isn't a bad place to sit.



I can't remember the outcome of the Mets vs. Twins, but the last game we went to, the Mets absolutely crushed the SF Giants, 10-1. Sorry, Dave!

Going to the game makes me really feel like it's summertime. So much fun!

Oh gelato, how I love thee

I don't know what it is about gelato...

Maybe it's the creamy texture of those delicious concoctions, or the way it slides down your throat with so much satisfaction. Whatever it is, I'm in love.

And whatever you do, don't remind me that I have NYC's best gelato place one block away from my apartment....

My Apologies!

Holy cow! I must apologize to my lovely friends who posted comments on my blog-- I had no idea! I didn't realize my settings were such that I had to "approve" comments, so I never really thought that anyone was actually looking at my blog... I'm flattered that you would be! This renews my spirit to try to find interesting things to post. I'm a "beginner blogger", but heck, I'm gonna keep on truckin'.

So, again, my friends, I'm sorry to have left you thinking that I just didn't care. I'm going to go change my settings right now!

In other news, I had a "Rosa moment" today-- I was bending over to get something out of the fridge, and I stood up... into the freezer door. I've been writing this post with a frozen bag of corn on my nose. I thought you'd appreciate that. In fact, I've included a picture for your enjoyment:

Oh, the joys of being a clumsy fool.

Sniff, sniff

I just want to say that I've never appreciated people wearing cologne and perfume as much as I have since I've been in NYC.

I have a pretty sensitive nose, and I've always been a "smelly" kinda girl-- always sniffing things, whether it be candles, soap, laundry detergent, you name it. As a kid, I loved going outside of our house where the air from the dryer came out. I would sit there forever and sniff the warm air.

Anyways, the point is, this city is full of a lot of... smells. Delicious food, car exhaust, roasting peanuts, burnt hotdogs, sweat, fresh fruit, urine, fish markets... you get the idea. Some good, some very, very bad.

All I'm saying is, I have really learned to appreciate the guy/girl with all the perfume on. Some might complain, but I say it's a nice break. Who doesn't like to sit on the subway next to fressia and flowers instead of, well, some of the other smells I've mentioned?

Spray on perfume lovers, spray on.

Celebrity Sightings

I've only been in New York City for a few days, and I've already spotted a few famous faces! Yesterday I walked past the young actress Abigail Breslin, and I'm proud to note that I was a lot taller than her. Yay for being taller than an 11-year-old!

Then, on my way to dinner, I walked right past Kate Flannery, who plays Meredith on the hilarious show, The Office. I even turned around and winked at the camera when I walked by. Hehe.

I also spotted Jerry Stiller when I was visiting a few weeks ago. Unlike the others I saw, he wasn't surrounded by cameras and people trying to get autographs-- he was humbly walking along the street with a backpack on, seemingly trying to decide on a place to eat lunch. Cool.

Let the adventures begin!

try, try again

I want to try to do the blog thing. I've had this one for over a year, and posted maybe once... I decided to get over it, and give it another shot. Yay!