Marval Movie

 I took myself to Bass Hall in Fort Worth on Saturday, and treated myself to an orchestra seat to enjoy the musical "Once".  It was originally a movie created by Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova. A boy and a girl meet - he's Irish, she's Czech and they bond over music for a brief period of time. But once is the spark that changes their lives. It's a nice little love story about chance, dreams, and two cultures.
 Excellent cast and voices. These photos are courtesy of an email from Bass Hall. No photography during the performance!
The musicians were superb and the song "Falling Slowly" is sublime. It won an Academy Award, and it's haunting. If a touring production of "Once" arrives in your town, treat yourself to a ticket and two hours of magic.

Get Ready, Get Ready........to tap your toe.......reach out and touch somebody.....ain't no mountain high enough.......ABC, Easy as 1,2,3......it's a Ball of Confusion........but not if you're with My Guy or My Girl

Hitsville USA - the roots of Motown and Berry Gordy. Quite the story and the epitome of the American Dream

Motown the Musical tells the story of Berry Gordy's dream and the soul/pop/R&B glory of so many artists - - Diana Ross and The Supremes, the Temptations, Smokey Robinson, Marvin Gaye, Jackson 5, Martha & the Vandellas, Stevie Wonder, Gladys Knight and the Pips, the Commodores......  The list is endless and the songs are etched in the songbook of my life.

I wanted to be Diana Ross when I saw her on Ed Sullivan. She was exotic and talented and sexy and beautiful.

And Michael Jackson..........oh my goodness - he was an old soul in a young body - so talented with that sweet voice and those dance moves.

I treated myself on Sunday to a ticket in the mezzanine at Bass Hall.  The lights went down, the show went on, and I was tapping my toe.  Bliss, absolute bliss - the voices were extraordinary and the dancing was like air.

I highly recommend Motown The Musical if the show rolls through your town.

Two Sundays ago, I cleaned up for the theater and treated myself to a matinee musical at Ball Hall. The touring production of Anastasia was topnotch.

In a journey to the past, we see a glorious life in czarist Russia- beauty and splendor. In just a few scenes, shots ring out and the family is dead. Clever scene changes bring us to a young girl sweeping streets for money. She meets two con men who decide she could pass for Anastasia, the young daughter of the Czar. Myth and rumor says she's alive and her grandmother in Paris is offering a reward for her safe return.

Strange circumstances, dreams, comments make this girl more than just a pawn for these men. Maybe?  Just maybe?  She could truly be Princess Anastasia.

The show through song and dance weaves this old tale into magic. Voices were strong. Acting was very good. The sets were gorgeous - one of the prettiest shows I've seen. It was a splendid afternoon where an audience was whisked by theater to Russia and Paris. Anastasia.... I believed in her.