Donna in Hollywoodland

No Strings

I was a volunteer usher at the UCLA Frued Playhouse for The Reprise performance. Tonights performance was "No Strings" - a musical by Richard Rogers. Scott Bakula starred in this. So the show was sold out.

Labels: losangeles, plays, theater, theatre

Sunday in Toluca Lake

Volunteered at Falcon Theatre this afternoon.
For the play, "Balancing Act".
It was the second time I have seen it.
Yeardley Smith is so funny in it.

After that, it was time to run errands.
I went to Marie Callender's and had a wonderful dinner.
Chicken with Mushrooms and Artichokes.
The portion was so huge, it was three servings - so I took some home for lunch at the office tomorrow.

I had actually been craving artichokes lately. And whenever I buy them, I don't seem to get around to cooking them.
Artichokes are a difficult vegetable to prepare.
So this was a perfect dinner... It satisfied my artichoke craving.

Then I ran into Trader Joes . The one on Riverside Drive is actually pretty small.
But I got most of what I needed. Especially my two favorites, the Organic Cranberry Juice, and Organic Decaf Chai Tea.
Then I realized on my way out, that Trader Joes has a monthly drawing.
If you bring your own grocery bag, they will enter you in a drawing for a free gift certificate.
I have to remember to bring my own bags in the future.

The only thing I noticed ... Our weather has been really weird lately.
We have had really blazing hot days, and then today seemed to cool down a bit.
But at both Marie Callender's and Trader Joes - the air conditioning was turned up to a bone-freezing chill.
At the restaurant, I had to ask to change tables, because one side of the restaurant was so cold. And where I ended up sitting - I was still cold.
Then I hurried through Trader Joes because it was so cold there to.
And it wasn't just me - believe me, it was freezing cold in both places.
I wonder if it was because it was just so warm outside, and no one adjusted the temperature once the weather started to cool off for the evening.

Labels: food, losangeles, restaurant, theater, theatre, volunteer

Alex Theatre

The Alex Theatre in Glendale has a wonderful tour.
We got a complete history lesson about the theatre.
And we went everywhere, all the way down to the basement, and up to the projection booth.
We got a great tour backstage.

I have to say I loved being on that huge stage !!!

I took a bunch of pictures.
I will eventually put them up on my Flickr page .
It takes me forever, because I take so many photos - but eventually they will be up there, I promise !

UPDATE: Here ya go: The Alex Theatre Tour Fickr Set - great pictures of the theatre !

Labels: glendale, losangeles, theater, theatre

The Geffen and The Newsroom Cafe

I went online and bought tickets from Goldstar Events .
This is a great on-line service that allows you to purchase tickets for plays and other events at a reduced price.

I got tickets for the play "Heroes" at the Geffen Theatre .
Even though my ticket was almost half priced, I ended up with fantastic seats in the 3rd row.
It was great being up that close.

The actors in the play were George Segal , Richard Benjamin , and Len Cariou .
The play is a comedy about three friends in a French military hospital in 1959.

After the play, we stopped off at the Newsroom Cafe on Robertson Blvd in Beverly Hills.
We sat at one of the tables for four.
One of the waitresses came over and asked us to move to a table for two.
There was hardly anyone else in the restaurant, most of the tables were empty.

But we decided that we would just switch tables and not make a fuss.
As we switched tables, the waitress looked at her watch.
I said "Well, I guess she is expecting a big dinner rush."
My friend said "Well, if she is our waitress, she is not getting a big tip." He was alittle mad that we had been asked to move, since the restaurant was mostly empty.

Well, she wasn't our waitress - we had a waiter and he was nice.
I ordered a shark dinner special, it was very delicious.

We kept looking around the restaurant, and there were no other people coming in.
When we finally left at close to 7pm, there were still very few people in the restaurant, and mostly empty tables.

It was very annoying to be asked to move to a small table when there was no one else in the place.

We went for a quick walk up and down Robertson Blvd, passed The Ivy .
Looking for Stars - or at least some paparazzi who were looking for stars.
It was a pretty quiet night.
We saw a few stick thin women in very expensive skimpy clothes - obviously Models.

One little skinny woman walked passed me - accompanied by a tall, humongous guy who looked like he belonged in a street gang.
My friend said "You don't think they are dating do you?"
I said "No, I think thats her body guard."
I don't know who she was, I didn't recognize her.

Then, I passed a skinny rock & roll looking guy.
I couldn't tell if his long blond hair was a wig, or a bad dye job. I think he was wearing a wig so maybe no fans would recognize him.
Since he was trying to be incognito, I looked him straight in the face, trying to figure our who he was.
He nodded and half-smiled at me, as we passed.
I think he was trying to figure out if maybe we knew eachother.
I mean, why else would I be looking directly at him...
Could it be because he was wearing a really bad wig, so obviously he is somebody famous - and I wanted to figure it out.

Labels: beverlyhills, celebrities, food, losangeles, restaurants, theater, theatre

Balancing Act

Another volunteer ushering gig, this time over at The Falcon Theatre .
The play is Balancing Act , starring Yeardley Smith.

Its a very funny comedy. Yeardley Smith plays an accountant, who discovers her company is missing funds and the accounting books are off. She goes to her Boss's home to report the problems she has found.
Anyone who works in an office can relate to this comedy - and it is very funny !

Labels: theater, theatre, volunteer

Black-out, Traffic and Baseball

I had to make it from Hollywood to Burbank by 7pm.
I was a volunteer usher over at The Colony Theatre .
So I leave the office by 6pm.
Gee ... that would be plenty of time, don't ya think...

I get on Cahuenga - and it is a parking lot.
We are not moving.
I am thinking "Is it always like this? Do people deal with this every day?"
Because I never really drive from Hollywood into Burbank right after work on a Friday night.

Finally, nearly an hour after leaving the office - I turn right on Franklin east, and jump on the freeway at Argyle.
I exit at Barham, entering all the traffic way at the beginning of the build up.

I see at all the cars behind me, who have just been sitting there while I spun around the long way to get to Argyle.
And these people are not nice. They are irritated from sitting on Cahuenga for over an hour. No one will let me cut in to get over to the right lane.
One guy and an I almost side-swiped eachother.

I am so happy when I finally reached Barham Blvd - and then I realize the problem.
There is a Black-out !
Studio City is entirely dark. Not a single traffic light is working.

As I drive up Olive, I call the Colony Boxoffice. I tell them that there is a black out in Studio City. And traffic is one big parking lot.
I arrive at The Colony 40 minutes late. Thats 7:40 pm.
It took me One hour and 40 minuted to make it from Hollywood to Burbank.

I got there in time to help them hand out programs, and of course help at Intermission.
Just as I walk into the lobby, I hear one theatre patron telling another "Oh, yeah, I can still make phone calls in a black-out, I just can't get on my computer."
An older couple come racing in, and have to wait a few minutes before going into the theatre because the announcements have already started. "We got stuck in that black-out, our entire neighborhood was without power", they tell me.

I actually got complements from the Staff on being very helpful with all the theatre patrons.
But it was just that I was on some sort of adrenaline high from trying to fight all the traffic to get there.

I did get to see the play "Rounding Third".
A very funny story about two guys who coach Little League Baseball.

The people who came to see the play were really into it.
One person wore a baseball jersey.
Another guy brought his kid, for a Father and son night at the Theatre.
The play was very funny. And worth the rush it took me to get there.

Links:
LA Times story on power outage
Baseball Books on Amazon.com
Baseball DVDs on Amazon.com

Labels: hollywood, losangeles, studiocity, theater, theatre, volunteer

Billy Connolly at the Brentwood

I drove over to the Westwood area, to the grounds of the Veteran's Administration.
I had signed up to be a volunteer usher at the Brentwood Theatre.
Billy Connolly was doing his one-man show.

If you need to ever drive to the Brentwood Theatre ,don't get confused. The actual address is on Wilshire Blvd and Mapquest will take you to Wilshire Blvd. But you have to actually drive into the Veteran's Administration grounds.
So...From Wilshire Blvd, go north on San Vicente - and then you make a right on a little street called Bringham. Then you will be inside the Veteran's Administration Grounds and you can make it to the theatre.

When I arrived, I was given my volunteer assignment for the evening. I was going to be in the Member's Lounge serving wine and soft drinks. The manager said that lately they had not been getting many members stopping by before the show.
And the night before they didn't have anyone stop by. She asked if I minded being in the Lounge.I said "As long as I get to see the show, I'm fine with this. I just really want to see it."
She said yes, of course, and about two minutes before eight pm, I should head into the theatre.

After she left, I was in the lounge for a good 20 minutes. The thought flashed through my mind that I had gotten all dressed up in my black pants and white shirt for nothing, because I was just sitting in a room all by myself.
Then a friendly couple came in to have a drink before the show. We had an interesting conversation all about the local theatres. We had seen many of the same plays. It also turned out that the husband worked in the music industry as well, and he knew of the music company where I work.
So my assignment in the lounge was not a waste, I spent it in nice conversation with this lovely couple.
Soon a second couple came in for a drink.
And soon after that it was two minutes before eight, and it was time to go into the theatre.

Billy Connolly's show was a complete sell-out. So the volunteers had to find places to stand in the back. There were no seats available.
And the show was two hours long, without intermission.
So yes, I stood in the back of the theatre for the full two hours.

Volunteering and Standing - not a bad price to pay when you consider that the tickets were around fifty something bucks.

I already figured that since it was a comedy show, that is was going to be raunchy and irreverent in places.
If you go to something like this, you have to know what you are getting into.
And I just don't see the point in getting all offended if the comedian says something that you don't agree with.
Its comedy. So just enjoy the moment. At least I kinda sorta think that way sometimes.

My favorite part of the show was when Billy Connolly talks about the need for Reading Glasses once you get passed a certain age.
His son and him go fishing, and he leaves the glasses at a coffee shop along the way. They have to go back to get the glasses because he couldn't see to put the bait on the hook.

Its something I can relate to because the last few years I have needed reading glasses.
And since I need them all the time, I always put them on top of my head. Then I can't find them. I look all over the place.
And finally the last thing I do, is I pat the top of my head, and there they are.
Once I had them on top of my head, and was squinting to read something. My friend said "The glasses don't work if they are on top of your head. You have to wear them over your eyes."

The rest of the show was alot of different funny stories.
The most disgusting is when Billy Connolly tells about the three different times that women have vomited on him. He think he's made some kind of record by being vomited on three separate times by three different women.
Yes, they were gross stories. But they were also funny.

He talks alot about religion. Jokes about alot of new age stuff - Angels, Feng Shui and more. Its all "bullocks" and "shite", which actually sounds more polite than if he would have said the American equivalent of those words.
He says something along the lines of "For those of you have religion, thats fine for you - just keep it to yourself" before he goes into one of his religious comedy bits. He came off as being somewhat respectful of other peoples beliefs, while still going for the laughs.

One of his running jokes was about three Great Religious Leaders who had had spiritual visits while they were alone. #1 Moses and the Burning Bush (so funny ... Billy Connolly wonders why the Bush didn't ask for any
water, or why Moses didn't offer to put out the fire), and #2 Mormon Leader Joseph Smith and the visit by Angel Maroni and #3 one other visit which I have forgotten whom it was.
He asks the question - why wasn't there any other people there ? Why were Moses and Joseph Smith both alone at the time ?
How convenient.
He repeated the phrase "How convenient" enough times that you knew he was expressing his doubt about the reality of the event.
His reasoning being because there were no witnesses then it might not be true.
I laughed along, because it is a comedy show, its funny and entertaining, and I was having a good time.

After the show, I head out to the parking lot to my car.
I am walking behind a young, hip, well-dressed couple.
The woman is saying "You know, he's right - there were no witnesses to any of those things. He has a really good point when you think about it."
She seemed to somehow turn a Comedy show into a religious lesson and was taking it all way to seriously.
Like she had been in a college course and had learned some great scholarly truth that would influence how she viewed religion the rest of her life.

It was a Comedy show... told by a comedian ... get a grip. Put it in proper perspective.
Don't think about it. Just enjoy it, then let it go.

Thats the reason why I wrote previously that I "kinda sorta" believe you can go out to be entertained and just enjoy the event for the entertainment value, and not be to worried about the perspective that it comes from.
I guess in a perfect world you could do that.
But there are those people like the hip young couple in the parking lot, who just can't seem to distinguish between a comedy routine and a real life religious lesson.
They take the words of a very funny comedian to heart, as something to believe - when its just meant to be silly entertainment.

What I really wanted to say to her was "You have to take these things by Faith. You can't prove them.
You just have to take it on Faith that its true. And the fact that the story has been passed down all these years, and its helped people - well that has to account for something too."

Anyway, as for me, I completely enjoyed the funny evening. I was happy to volunteer so I could stand in the back and watch Billy Connolly do his two hour comedy show.
If he comes to your town, I recommend that you see it - for the laughs - and just buy your ticket way in advance, because it will sell out.

Links:

Billy Connolly Official Website
Daily News Review of Brentwood Show

Billy Connolly DVDS and movies
Billy Connolly Music and CDs
Billy Connolly Books

My favorite Billy Connolly movie (and Cinnamon the Cats too!)
Garfield - A Tale of Two Kitties

Labels: celebrities, hollywood, losangeles, plays, theatre, volunteer

Stage Struck Opening Night The Colony

I volunteered tonight over at The Colony Theatre .
Its opening night for "Stage Struck".

I stood in the aisles, and helped people find their seats.
Since it was opening night, it was a really fun event.
Lots of very nice people who were there to see a good play.

Then right before the show started, they gave me a ticket and told me to go ahead and sit down and watch the show.
They really treat their volunteers very nicely.
I really enjoyed the play "Stage struck". Its about a Stage Manager, and his Actress wife.
You can read the LA Times Review online.

Then afterwards, there was a reception with yummy pasta and a salad.
Very delicious.
I so enjoy the opening nights at The Colony Theatre .
A fun evening of theatre.

Labels: acting, theater, theatre, volunteer