Rock Shic

#904 Dinosaur fun with Jurassic World Tours 🦖

Me and my boo boo!!  A much deserved break

The boys are ready!!

Dinosaur action!!

 

My monkey has been so engrossed in all of his coursework (more on that later)... that I decided to reward him with a little treat over the weekend to see Jurassic World Live Tour.  So dedicated was I to the cause that I even agreed to schlep all the way to (gasp) Newark!!! On a SUNDAY night no less!!  There must be trophies for this sort of thing no? :)

Jokes aside, it was certainly fun times.  The story is a familiar one... the need to preserve and respect wild life (albeit very extinct ones) whilst also warding off those who want to harness special powers for evil.  My favorites were the velociraptors who truly came to life (hint: there were real humans underneath!).  Another family I went with observed that they had initially thought those dinosaurs would be animatronics, but apparently not! Oddly enough, I actually prefer the real thing if you know what I mean. Lends an air of authenticity to the whole experience, even if it was just an actor in costume at the end of the day. 

I took some videos so you can judge for yourself.  Part of me wishes that I could have taken our little guy with us, as he would have been even more “wowed” by all the action, but alas the show was a bit too late at night to have taken my three year old... especially on a Sunday night all the way to New Jersey!  Next time — let’s aim to stay a little bit closer to home (maybe even, dare I say it, a date night??!).  Makes me realize how nice it is to introduce our children to these unique experiences, be it dinosaur explorations at the museum or musical theater to unleash our inner creativity.  They are all equally important!  See below for some related posts in the past, and you can find more under Theater family experiences and Museum outings.  

 

Related Features:

 

#1. Gustafer Yellowgold at Symphony Space -- Creative Fun for the Whole Family

Gustafer Yellowgold at Symphony Space

#2. The Lion King

The Lion King

#3. Dinosaurs at the Natural History Museum -- Exploration with Littles

Dinosaurs at the Museum of Natural History

 

 

Me and my silly, at Prudential Center -- can you tell he loved the show?

Super pretty!

Ready, set, action!

#889 Gustafer Yellowgold at Symphony Space 🎻☀️ – Creative fun for the whole family

Gustafer Yellowgold

 

Symphony Space – 2537 Broadway, NYC

 

Hello hello hello!

My goodness it’s been quite a week since we last checked in, and this mamma’s been doing a lot more gallivanting than writing, but what else is new.

First off – hello February!  Can it be February already? I still remember it being January 1^st somehow and me thinking that I had heaps of time to recap and reflect on best moments and lessons learned from 2018.  Sigh... and yet here we are.  Time stops for no one.

Today we had quite a treat!  We zoomed up to the Upper West Side to Symphony Space to catch a wonderful production of Gustafer Yellowgold at Symphony Space, then feasted on Peruvian chicken at nearby Pio Pio (was only a block away but somehow with all these kiddos in tow plus the cold weather it felt like hiking Everest), then rushed back downtown for munchkin’s piano lesson, then hosted our big man’s very first sleepover at the apartment!! Whew! (Technically he’s had “sleepovers” before when we go away on weekends but this is the first time where our guest of honor’s mummy and daddy are actually away so… #legit).

Suffice to say, we had a great old time, and the highlight was most definitely the Gustafer Yellowgold show.  How incredibly original and creative!  It’s written and illustrated by the two-time Grammy nominee Morgan Taylor (who headlines the entire performance), and features our protagonist Gustafer.  He hails from the sun, which is fueled, somehow, entirely by raisins (makes me think of a reference to “A Raisin in the Sun”)… and has a best friend named “Slim” the purple Eel.  The one hour production essentially peels away at Gustafer’s many layers and portrays him in a multi-dimensional way that appeals to both children and adults alike!  For instance, one of the numbers feature Gustafer in the midst of an existentialist identity crisis whereby he didn’t want to assume the family business of trading raisins… while another episode featured Gustafer with his lady love whose name is “Ellen Lemon” (who seems to both understand and support Gustafer on all of his endeavors).  The plot even thickens when we are introduced to Gustafer’s overachiever brother Ben, who somehow invents a “Sun Pod” fueled by raisins and… well, the rest is history.  In a way, the narrative encourages each of us to be true to our authentic selves and not be shy of embracing our idiosyncrasies and loves.  For instance, Gustaf is all about his buddy Slim who helps him “warm up” in wintry Minnesota (yes, somehow when Gustafer is beamed down to Earth he finds himself in Minnesota?).  Another chapter introduces us to the robotic “Cakenstein” that Gustafer created out of sweets – and it was definitely one of the morning’s crowd-pleaser and highlights for me.

You can follow Gustafer here and all of the fantastic productions for little ones at Symphony Space.  As I sat listening to these numbers, I thought to myself how lucky we are to be surrounded by such rich and diverse imagination! Then I look at the little one’s expressions and they are absolutely glued to the stage.  To see that look of wonder in their eyes… there is absolutely nothing like it.  Kudos to the team behind this delightful performance!  We’ll definitely be back again.

 

#887 The Big Apple Circus at Lincoln Center 🍎🎪🤸🏽‍♂️

 

Big Apple Circus

 

Lincoln Center’s Damrosch Park – 137 West 62^nd Street, NYC

 

The wintry weather here in NYC didn’t stop us from gallivanting out and about the city this long weekend!  We had loads of fun and enrichment, first off with the Circus this Saturday!  

I’ve always heard about the Big Apple Circus at Lincoln Center (now in its 41st season!!), but have never ventured to experience it myself until now (it always seemed like something befitting for families and my kids were never seemed quite old enough... or yet to be born, ha!).  However, now that my oldest is five, it seemed like the perfect opportunity and venue for him to experience the circus!

First off – I was happy to report that there were no clowns (which I find rather creepy).  Moreover, there didn’t seem to be any overt cruel treatment of animals, which is a big thing in my book.  No elephants, lions, and the like (hubs told me that apparently it’s illegal to have elephants in Manhattan? I looked it up and it’s true!).

There were some gorgeous horses and cute puppies, but the real highlights for us were the performances by humans.  Indeed, it reminded me of Cirque du Soleil performances, plus what was back then called the “Absinthe” production that hubs and I saw at South Street Seaport (many, many moons ago, before children).  The circus show is aptly hosted by Ringmaster Stephanie Monseu and features quite an impressive roster of artists performing various astonishing feats.

So in summary, I must admit that I rather enjoyed it!!! It is a "One-Ring," two act show (with a twenty minute intermission) in between.  Sure it can be (to pardon the pun) “quite a circus” at times when you’re there (thought the production itself is located right inside Lincoln Center, and I am always happy to be there as I find the grounds and architecture absolutely stunning).  Hubs was lamenting that it wasn’t a great place for him to be with his arm injury, but dem the breaks.  There are tons of other kids around, and I love that they had a VIP lounge with entertainment for children beforehand, plus an opt-in opportunity to do pony rides, in addition to some delightful pre-show entertainment right by the snack box!

Of course, if you ask munchkin, he’ll probably tell you that some of his favorite moments entailed: (1) eating cotton candy; (2) playing with his shiny new spinning toy; and (3) possibly something to do with dudes doing quadruple flips on Trapeze (which admittedly was insanely awesome!).

I believe this week might be the LAST week to catch the Big Apple Circus in NYC (tickets here) #bigapplecircus – as they’re headed next to our nation’s capital in DC in February through March.  So please catch them at Lincoln Center (btw now and Sunday, January 27, 2019), if you can!!

 

Related: 

A Neverland Puppet Show

The Hamptons Film Festival

The Lion King at Minskoff Theatre, Broadway

#883 Sound of Music – Do Re Mi 🎶🎵

 

The Sound of Music

 

 Artis-Naples

 

5833 Pelican Bay Blvd

Naples, Florida 34108

While we were away in Naples over Christmas and New Years, munchkin and I caught a performance of the Sound of Music – one of my all-time childhood favorites.  Suffice to say, little man is also OBSESSED!!! The Sound of Music Theater Production is touring at the moment (see information here on "Sound of Music on Tour") and we were oh-so-lucky to have caught them while they were performing at the Artis-Naples Performance Arts Center.

You will recall that Artis-Naples is near and dear to our hearts from way back when (we are utterly in love with the Chihuly ceiling they have!  Plus some very rad Andy Warhol paintings).

The performance was lovely and I was particularly enthralled with the Reverend Mother (anyone else out there get the chills when they hear “Climb every Mountain?!”).  We sang along (with our inside voice of course) to all of our favorite tunes – including the classic “Do-Re-Mi,” “My Favorite Things,” the quirky “Lonely Goatherd” and the ever so melancholy but beautiful “Edelweiss.”

We glossed over the whole Austria-Nazi historical undertones (I’ll let hubby cover that tricky bit when our little guy is older).  Overall I thought it was a wonderful performance, thank you Artist-Naples for such an enriching afternoon!  Little man and I are still humming our favorite tunes and will continue to do so!

P.S. Mamma’s looking forward to introducing the joys of the Sound of Music to Rockshic Baby 2 once he starts preschool!

 

Related: 

A Neverland Puppet Show

The Hamptons Film Festival

The Lion King at Minskoff Theatre, Broadway

#880 The Lion King 🦁

 

The Lion King

 

Minskoff Theatre

200 W. 45^th Street

New York, NY

I have long wanted to take my little buy to see the Lion King on Broadway.  As a matter fact, I’ve even wanted to see it myself when the show first came out! Can you believe that the Lion King has been playing on Broadway for twenty odd years!  It really is incredible.

When munchkin turned four, we treated him to a special show of Aladdin… he may have been a bit young at that stage (though he did sit through the whole thing), but he didn’t have a lot of feedback at the time for us.

What truly sealed the deal, for me at least, was when he performed “I just can’t wait to be King” for camp last summer.  What a delight!  We were so proud of him as he roared and soared on stage, and that was when I knew that it was not a question of “if” but “when” he was going to see the real thing on stage! 

We went with his fellow buddy/summer camper, and I loved every moment of it.  The classics were as familiar to me as they were to him (perhaps much more so to me, who am I kidding!) – though I did try to familiarize him to the songs and plot summary prior to the musical, with both books and film.  My favorite part was when they stitched together Mufasa’s image with stars – all done via seamless choreography (you have to see it to fully comprehend what I mean).  It was simply gorgeous! 

The Minskoff theater itself was breath-taking, with so many lovely details paying tribute to “the King.”  We also loved that there were live exhibits of the gorgeous, Tony-award winning costumes on display.  So much to take in!  Munchkin went home with a little snowglobe that played “the Circle of Life,” which was the best treat!

Related: 

A Neverland Puppet Show

The Hamptons Film Festival

The Lion King at Minskoff Theatre, Broadway

 

#854 A Neverland puppet show!!! 🧚🏻‍♀️💫

Mamma’s on a roll here! Really raising the bar for April here.  These pics were taken over the weekend, I had booked us tickets to the Peter Pan Marionette theater puppet show in Central Park.  Did you know there’s a literal Swedish Cottage inside with marionette puppets right in the high 70s/80s close by the Museum of Natural History?!! I didn’t either.  I happen to chance upon the discovery and loved the concept.  

The best part was, my little guy (who is definitely the more problematic one in this household) absolutely LOVED the show! He kept the entire time, eyes glued to the stage, I was truly impressed.  The production value was quite good as well! We will definitely be back. 

Now about that rather intense plot that is Peter Pan... I never quite appreciated how dark these children’s tales can be.  Jealousy? Running away from home? The lost boys? Tinker bell poisoned?!!! It was all **crazy** intense (though quite possibly the lack of sleep also kicked in for Mamma, which no doubt compounded the issue!!).   

Related:

Museum Exploration with the Littles 

 

#473 Waiting for Godot

Hubby and I recently (okay, so I’m applying the term ‘recently’ rather librerally as it has been a while!) went and saw the play “Waiting for Godot” at the Cort Theatre (138 West 48^th street), starring the great Sir Ian McKellen (Gandalf!!!) and Sir Patrick Stewart.

Having twice witnessed Patrick Stewart as MacBeth on Broadway, not to mention his one man tour-de-force in “A Christmas Carol” several years back, I knew that he would bring a solid presence and performance on stage.  However, this was the first time I’ve ever seen Ian in action and I was absolutely, positively blown away.  The man is a virtuoso, and every fiber of his being comes to life when he is in his element.

To be fair, “Waiting for Godot,” a tragicomedy by the playwright Samuel Beckett, is a very obtuse play, wrought with existentialist symbolisms and recurring motifs (Jean-Paul Sartre anyone?) that flew way over my head.  Hubby had read the book before coming and even he had a difficult time explaining the plot (or perhaps he just gave up on me). 

Still, in spite of my pedestrian understanding, I enjoyed the play tremendously – what better way to grapple the meaning behind the popularized and ironic idiom 'I'm waiting for Godot' than from the very source?  I can’t rave enough about the theatrical prowess of both actors, and I am super excited to see their other play, “No Man’s Land,” come February when we return from New Zealand! (Tickets booked just yesterday for the last evening showing, beyond excited!!).

I highly recommend seeing both plays (though I can only attest to the excellence of one for now) before it's too late, the limited engagements for these two shows ends March 2^nd.  You can also find a recent New York Times review here.  After all, this is probably the last time that we get the pleasure of seeing Xavier and Magneto, together on stage!!

P.S. I must admit that I only learned about the opening of these two plays whilst reading my weekly Time magazine in bed (original article here).  It does amaze me sometimes how fortunate I am, to live in a city where such great cultural excursions are at my fingertips! 

Oh, and did I mention that this theater excursion even brought us uptown to see the great Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center? 

Lucky gal! 

Stewart as Vladimir and McKellen as the adorable Estragon

A standing ovation for the two master thespians. I'll have to take better photos next time!

En route to the Cort, we passed by the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree #luckytiming

Rockefeller Christmas tree in its splendor

Pre-show aperos at Del Frisco's. Which, handily, is located right near from the theater.

The charming duo doing their thing.

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#467 Post Baby Chic - Week 15 - Sweater Glamour

#390 Modern Korean at Danji

#278 Fireworks for ScarJo

This has been quite the culture week!  Between seeing Maria Stuarda at the Met (of the unfortunate plight of Mary Queen of Scotts), and watching Scarlett Johansson on Broadway mid-week in the recent Broadway revival of “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof,” I feel as though I need to hit up MoMA or something just round up the whole experience!

Recently, I feel like there’s been a trending surge of big-name celebrities on Broadway… Jessica Chastin in the “Heiress,” Paul Rudd in the just-closed “Grace,” even Katie Holmes was in some play recently no? Of course, celebrities on Broadway is nothing new, perhaps I just feel like we’re especially spoilt for choice these days.

Mind you, I’m not actually a huge ScarJo fan (though I did like “Lost in Translation”), I think hubby likes her more (for obvious reasons), and he was particularly bummed that he couldn’t make it.  Though I must say, I was quite impressed with her in the lead as the infamous, fire-driven, sex-charged Maggie in this remake.  (Makes me really want to find the original starring Elizabeth Taylor on-demand).   In fact, the last great Broadway theater I saw (also perfected by the great screen goddess Liz), was the play “Who’s afraid of Virginia Woolf,” which is still playing, and which I highly recommend.  The main characters between the two plays seem to have something in common – they’re both childless and seemingly miserable.  Interesting message for society, no?

Back to ScarJo.  First of all, she looks FANTASTIC! (Not that I’m being superficial… okay maybe a little).  I also thought that she carried the entire first act with tremendous verve and grace (Katie Holmes she is not!), which is not so easy to do, particularly given the heavy subjects dealt with throughout the play (alcoholism, sibling rivalry, scandals and infidelity, greed and treachery, cancer and homosexuality, just to name a few).  I would say that by the end of the first intermission (yes there are two!!!), she had sufficiently won me over. 

My one quip with her, which my girlfriend agreed upon, was her weird, raspy southern voice that she carried throughout the show.  It seemed quite out of place, relative to her peers and surroundings… and in my gf’s view, “as though she’s trying too hard.”  Sorry ScarJo!  But you still rock in my book!!! Kudos to you.  The show runs through March 30^th, so you better get on it before it’s too late! 

#115 Nights of Chekhov

Shirt: Patterson J. Kincaid | Blazer: Helmut Lang | Boots: Guess | Bag: Ted Baker | Necklace: From Buenos Aires | Ring: Clobba Castro (587 Castro St, San Francisco) | Sunglasses: Cole Haan 

Another week, another destructive Russian play to be had.  Last evening hubby and I went to the New York City Center for the premier of “Uncle Vanya,” headlined by the ever-lovely Cate Blanchett (who I swear is aging backwards, à la Benjamin Button perhaps?) and Hugo Weaving (better known as Agent Smith from the Matrix).  Given that the weather has cooled down a bit (and perhaps inspired by the gravity of the playwright himself), I thought it appropriate to give my new black blazer a twirl.  I find that a fitted blazer can make even the most pedestrian outfit look polished.  That said, why not pair it with some easy-to-wear leggings, leather knee-highs, breezy top, and voila! A theater-ready outfit is born, fit for opening night!! Of course, I couldn’t resist some statement accessories… it was drama night, after all.

P.S. Definitely go and catch the play if you can... it's on until Saturday (July 28)!

#93 A Simmering Broadway Date

Blouse: Nasty Gal | Denim Skirt: Ben Sherman | Sunglasses: Cole Haan | Necklace & Ring: Chevron Chain & Geometry Ring by We see Stars | Bracelet: Urban Outfitters | Earrings: House of Harlow | Shoes: Nine West | Bag: Jasper & Jeera Anthropologie

It’s Saturday night, the last day of June (which seemed so eerily fleeting), and hubby and I wanted to celebrate… nothing in particular.  We see each other so infrequently on the weekdays that weekends provide us with a great opportunity to catch up and just ease into chillax mode.  As it happens, we had tickets to see John Lithgow perform on Broadway in “The Columnist.”  I highly recommend it, and not just because I think that John Lithgow is an unusually fantastic actor.  The play itself also happens to be exceptionally well-written (courtesy of the Pulitzer-winning playright David Auburn), and based on the life and politics of a true character (the late journalist Joseph Alsop).  Plus, it’s only playing through July 8^th, so consider yourself warned!

I must admit that there was a part of me that dreaded leaving the cozy confines of our air-conditioned apartment, which is exactly why I opted for a crisp sleeveless (well sort of sleeveless anyhow) blouse and my trusted denim skirt – the fashion equivalent of a summer pro-forma uniform.  Of course, the studded blouse did inspire me to breakout some additional fun accessories, just to make things a bit more pronounced & striking!  Happy weekend everyone!!!