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.