Broadway Show Review: Come From Away

We went into this one only knowing a little of the premise.. and we came out LOVING IT! Oh my word, but it blew me away. So much energy. So uplifting and powerful and happy even though the subject is sad. The actors were amazing and never stopped. Like... it was a non stop show... we only had a chance to clap for them like three times through the whole thing! Crazy!

If you don't already know, this show is about when on 9/11, and the air space was closed and the planes were all ordered to land. This tiny island in Newfoundland had an airport that could hand them... and 38 planes landed and were then stranded for five days until they allowed them to fly again. This little city of Gander... population 9000, took care of these stranded people.... 7,000 of them. They opened their homes and hearts and gave them everything they needed. And there was bonding all around. So much so, that when it was time to leave to go home, everyone was sad and wanted to some back!

I couldn't figure out how they would make a musical from something like this, but believe me, they did, and it was awesome. The cast is only 12, and they play all the parts... both the Gander people and the plane people. And somehow, it works and you can keep them all straight! It's so cool. They songs are very upbeat and fun and in the end, like I said. the story is very heartwarming and happy.

Anyway, here's a little taste of it:





So if you ever get the chance to see this one, don't pass it up!

A to Z Blogging: War Horse Review

So the other night we got to see the play production of War Horse. Oh my gosh, it was AWESOME! When we knew we'd be seeing this one, we wondered how they could do a play about a horse, on the stage.

With the coolest puppets ever! That's how. I can't describe it so let's see if there's something on YouTube....



There's three people making him work, but after awhile, you forget about them and it's just a horse, a horse that seems totally alive. It was awesome. And with our front and center seats (literally front and center) we got a very close up look at this most awesome puppet. I have no words. It really was amazing.

The kid that played Albert was awesome too. He could show emotion like you wouldn't believe.

And the war scenes. So intense! It felt like we were right in the middle of the action. Guns, and smoke and scary scary stuff.

It's a play, not a musical but there was music. Lots of wonderful  Irish folk songs, complete with the accordian and all.

It was definatley a hold your breath sort of play. I loved it. So glad to have had the opportunity to go. If you get the chance, don't pass it up. Go!

Here's a little trailer:

Review: Twelve Angry Men by Reginald Rose

Book: Twelve Angry Men by Reginald Rose
Genre: a play (I can't think what that's officially called for genre purposes!)
Rating: ****
For: Keeping up with the 7th grader
From: the 7th grader's backpack

When I found out my 7th grader was reading this for school, and that I'd never heard of it, and then teacher at parent teacher conferences looked at me askance, I decided I better read it. It's TINY, so it took me about an hour last Sunday evening to get through it, and it was fun!

This is a story written in script form about 12 men on a jury in the 50s, who convene in the jury room to discuss and decide on the case of a young teenager being tried for murdering his dad. When things begin, 11 of the 12 are convinced the kid is guilty and only one juror, the 8th, says, "Hey, shouldn't we think things out here?"

Then begins a fascinating discussion as they go through the evidence and how the 8th juror uses his smarts to rebut every piece of it. Slowly but surely, he convinces every last one of the jurors to change their minds. (Sorry spoiler I suppose!)

It's a fun little look into human behavior, the power of persuasion, following the crowd or standing up for something... those sorts of things, not to mention the process of a trial by jury and the "without a doubt" clause and innocent until proven guilty.

All good things for 7th graders, and the rest of us, to learn!

Very fun little piece to read and something different to squeeze in between my paranormals and fantasies! Weird that I've never heard of it... have you?

There's a pretty famous (I guess) movie that's been done and the whole thing can be found on YouTube here if you are interested. Perhaps I'll watch it one of these days.