I have experienced the “music of the night.”
For the first time ever, I went to the theatre and had the privilege and opportunity to see “Phantom of the Opera.” I loved it! The music was entrancing. The story was captivating. The pure talent that emanates from the actors is just . . . amazing!
Some of the teachers with whom I work and I have been planning this little adventure for a long time now. I believe the tickets were purchased way back in March. (Thank goodness because there is no way I would have been able to afford this now – at the end of the summer!) As the day was drawing nearer and nearer, we were all getting very excited. Some of us have seen it before, but some of us haven’t. It’s such a classic, though, that anyone who enjoys the theatre would be eager to see it. It’s the Phantom, for crying out loud!
The day was a really long one for me, though. My mom, who has been here for a few days, was scheduled to fly home. Seven of us had tickets, but not all of us would be driving together. It turned out that there would be three vehicles being driven! Katy and I would drive together; we’d take Mom to the airport, putz around for awhile, and then head to Outback Steakhouse for dinner.
Mom flew out of Ontario, so we (Katy and I) would actually be more than halfway to our destination of Orange County Performing Arts Theatre in Costa Mesa. I didn’t know if Katy and I would be able to find anything to do, but I shouldn’t have been worried! She and I decided to go to a movie. It wasn’t because we *wanted* to see something, though! It was all because we both wanted to stay off of our feet. Katy has a bone spur, and I have apparently sprained my ankle, somehow, without knowing when or how I did it. We were pathetic! The two of us were hobbling all over the place!
We went to the mall to check out the movies. The times weren’t that great, so we just went and got something to eat, thinking that it would be just as much fun to search for earrings to match my outfit.
I drank a lot of water at lunch.
A lot.
After finding a couple pairs of earrings and a couple of funky-colored nail polish (for the toenails, ya know!), we left the mall. Fortunately, we found the earrings in a store very close to the restaurant! Not a whole heck of a lot of walking was needed.
We finished the drive to Costa Mesa. We actually went a bit farther to Newport Beach, since that is where Outback Steakhouse actually is. It was still a bit early, so we went to the beach! You’d have to really know me to realize how incredibly wonderful this was for me. I love water. I love the beach. I live so very close (a couple hours at the most), and I never think to go. I just realized that as Katy and I were wading in the ocean. Why the heck haven’t I taken myself to the beach? Well, now I know how to get there, and you better believe that next summer is going to be very different. Heck, I might even go in a couple of weeks, after I’ve gotten myself settled in at school.
The beach was beautiful! The sand was gold specked. Looking down at the ground, you see the gold dust. I don’t know what it *really* is, but it looks like gold dust! It was so neat. I went away with gold-specked feet! That went very well with my pretty, pedicured toes.
After a nice walk along the beach, we headed back to the car. Katy had to change, and she did so in the car . . . in the parking lot! Heh! She calls herself an out-of-the-closet nudist. She’s so uninhibited. Crazy would be another great descriptor!
Once 5:00 P.M. rolled around, we were pulling into the parking lot of the steakhouse, our mouths salivating (even though we had eaten lunch five hours ago!). The rest of the gang arrived, and we proceeded to have a delicious steak dinner and a lot of great conversation. Our waitress was being trained, and her trainer looked at us and said, “Are you from [city name]?” We all kind of said a collective “Oh oh,” and found out that she was a graduate of our school. Not only that, but her mother works in our school district (she was actually our school’s secretary when it first opened). Imagine that. You just can’t get away from it!
Finally we were on our way to the theatre. Besides having little idea of how to really get there, the trip was quick. I had to go the bathroom so badly that when we stopped to ask for directions, I slipped into a restaurant to use their restroom. Whew! Yep, all that water from lunch and the TON of water that drank at dinner was starting to flood my bladder! Thankfully, we made it to the theatre with time to spare (cuz, yes, I had to go the bathroom again by the time we got through the line with our tickets).
Needless to say, the show was brilliant -- costumes, the sets, the amazing talent. The whole package was amazing. I am not even going to attempt to spill my thoughts about it because I’m still mulling it over in my own mind. Besides, there are others that have done a much better job at reviewing should someone really be interested in that kind of thing!
We (the handful of teachers) have begun planning more activities like this. Back in May we went to the same theatre (and same restaurant) and saw “Riverdance,” which was also fantastic. I’ve seen “Mamma Mia,” but want to see it again since it’s returning to the area. I want to take the others to it. That’s a production that is a must-see. We’re also planning to see “The Lion King,” which is closing at the end of the year (in L.A., I mean). So much to do, so little time!
While sitting in the seats, basking in the brilliance of the production, it’s not hard to get lost in the “music of the night.”
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