Swan Lake presented by Texas Ballet Theater

SWAN LAKE
program

The Texas Ballet Theater presented the beautiful ballet, "Swan Lake".  The Travelling Toe and Dear Friend attended the Sunday matinee performance at the beautiful Bass Hall.

The music was written by the brilliant Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky.  The Bolshoi Ballet premiened "Swan Lake" in Moscow in February,1877.  

 Swan Lake is based on Russian or German folk tales. It tells of a beautiful young princess, Odette, who is turned into a swan by an evil sorceress.  When night falls. she becomes a swan.  A young prince comes upon her while he is out hunting and falls in love with her.  But the evil sorceress and his daughter Odile, dupe the Prince into thinking she was Odette.  When he finds out the truth, he and Odette are doomed forever.

Odette, The Prince and the swans

What a beautiful ballet...the dancing, the costumes, the scenery and the music!!  They all came together to present a wonderful afternoon of enjoyment.

Texas Ballet Theater

Sunset Blvd. the Musical" presented by Tarrant Actors Regional Theatre

SUNSET BLVD
play program

Recently, The Travelling Toe joined in with the Chili Chicks Red Hat Chapter, to see a wonderful production of "Sunset Blvd".  (and yes Dear Readers The Travelling Toe is a happy Red Hatter!)

This musical is based on the film noir movie of the same name that starred Gloria Swanson and William Holden.  The movie was released in 1950.

Sunset Blvd
1950 movie poster

The musical follows the main themes of the movie plot very closely.  The internet describes the movie plot as follows:

An aging silent film queen refuses to accept that her stardom has ended. She hires a young screenwriter to help set up her movie comeback. The screenwriter believes he can manipulate her, but he soon finds out he is wrong. The screenwriters ambivalence about their relationship and her unwillingness to let go leads to a situation of violence, madness, and death.

In this production, Norma Desmond, played by Caroline Rivera and Joe Gillis, played by Anthony Mankins, were absolutely magnificent in their roles. Their voices covered each song perfectly. In the second act, "Joe" seems to acquire weariness that comes from knowing there is no getting out of the situation and his fate is cast.

The music for the play was written by the legendary, Andrew Lloyd Webber, with book and lyrics by Don Black and Christopher Hampton.

"Sunset Blvd" premiered in England in 1991 and made it's debut on Broadway in 1994.  Marvelous Glenn Close played the role of Norma Desmond.

The Travellling Toe must admit that on a trip to NYC in 1996, made a point to see this dramatic musical.  At that time the lovely Elaine Paige was playing the role of Norma Desmond.  What a wonderful night on Broadway!!  She was super!!

Elaine Page

Are You Ready For Your Close Up???



Tarrant Actors Regional Theater

GDPR

Hello Dear Readers:

Due changes in the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) from the European Union, this post is to let you know that "Blogger" by Google has added a privacy policy notice on the host website.

You can click on the following link for additional information on what the GDPR is about: (but do take a no-dose before you do)


Wikipedia GDPR


Blogger, which is powered by Google, has worked hard to ensure that the compliance issues have been addressed.

Dear Reades, The Travelling Toe will only use your email information for blog posting notifications, unless we are emailing each other for follow up comments or chitchat

Of course, you always have the option to unscribe, but Dear Readers would you really want to miss all the fun from the Movie Mavens, the Daytrippers, and associated Dear Friends?  Hopefully not!!

Happy Memorial Day weekend!

"overboard" (movie critique)

OVERBOARD
movie poster

In 1987, the cry was "Woman Overboard" but in 2018 the cry became "Man Overboard"!  

The original "Overboard", way back in 1987, starred Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell. In that movie Goldie played the spoiled uncaring rich heiress who falls overboard.  She is found by Kurt Russell who is a hard working single Dad who brings her home as his wife.

Overboard
movie poster 1987

But in the 2018 verison, the roles were reversed, and it made for merry fun with a Spanish touch!

Here is an overview of the movie from the internet:

Kate is a single, working-class mother of three who's hired to clean a luxury yacht that belongs to Leonardo -- a selfish, spoiled and wealthy Mexican playboy. After unjustly firing Kate, Leonardo falls off the boat and wakes up with no memory of who he is. To get payback, Kate shows up at the hospital and convinces the confused amnesiac that they're married. As Leonardo tries to get used to manual labor and his new family, Kate starts to wonder how long she can keep fooling her fake husband.

CAST:

Anna Faris
Kate

Eugenio Derbez
Leonadro

This is cute RomCom with a few laughs along the way. Part of the dialogue is in Spanish but subtitles are projected on the screen so you don't miss the fun.  If you are like The Travelling Toe and saw the original 1987 version, then you know how this one ends as well....but no spoilers here!!

The Travelling Toe awards this movie 2 third toes up with your very own pizza: 

PS if you see the movie then you will know why the pizza

:Avengers: Infinity War (movie critique)

AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR

The Movie Mavens just had to see the new superhero movie. "Avengers: Infinity War" on opening day.  And even though we don't see any movies in 3D, extreme sound, etc. one of the Movie Maven members went to the theater the day before and purchased our tickets for the first showing on Friday.  We were so glad she was able to do that for us as when we arrived Friday at the theater, in just regular cinema viewing, it was just about sold out!  Whew!!

Here is an overview of the movie from the internet:

Iron Man, Thor, the Hulk and the rest of the Avengers unite to battle their most powerful enemy yet -- the evil Thanos. On a mission to collect all six Infinity Stones, Thanos plans to use the artifacts to inflict his twisted will on reality. The fate of the planet and existence itself has never been more uncertain as everything the Avengers have fought for has led up to this moment.

If you have seen the movie then you know what happens at the end. If you have not seen the movie here is a spoiler.  Did all those characters just float off to another realm or did something else happen?  Perhaps the next Avengers movie will answer those questions. Several of us in the Movie Mavens are deeply upset that perhaps Loki will not make a return....he looked pretty dead when we last saw him!  sniff, sniff

One other thing is that the movie is about 2 hours and 40 minutes long, so plan your liquids accordingly. Also stay for a nugget during the credit roll.

Stan Lee made his usual brief appearance in the Marvel movie. In this one he plays a school bus driver. 

Several of the actors who have played the major superheroes roles, have indicated that they will be stepping down, some sooner than later.  So how will that affect the franchise??  Who knows Dear Readers, but with the money those actors have made playing the Avengers characters, don't think they will be hurting financially anytime soon!!

The cast will not be featured as has been the custom in past posting due the large number of actors featured in the movie.

The Travelling Toe awards this movie 1 big toe and 1 second toe up with your very own 

Infinity Stones.

"Into The Woods" presented by The Stolen Shakespeare Guild

INTO THE WOODS
play program

The Travelling Toe and Dear Friend attended the Sunday matinee production of "Into The Woods" presented by the Stolen Shakespeare Guild.  We have seen several of their previous productions and have never been disappointed and this musical did not disappoint either.

The musical first opened on Broadway in 1987 and received several Tony nominations and won a few awards.  Disney decided to produce a film adaption of the musical, which was released in 2014.  It received three Academy Award nominations and three Gold Globe nominations as well.

Renowned composer Stephen Sondheim wrote the music and lyrics and the book was written by James Lapine.

The internet describes the plot as follows:

As the result of the curse of a once-beautiful witch, a baker and his wife are childless. Three days before the rise of a blue moon, they venture into the forest to find the ingredients that will reverse the spell and restore the witch's beauty: a milk-white cow, hair as yellow as corn, a blood-red cape, and a slipper of gold. During their journey, they meet Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, Rapunzel and Jack, each one on a quest to fulfill a wish.

SSG presentations have to utilize inventive stage settings as the stage area itself is rather small.

All the actors were excellent in their parts and the singing was wonderful as well. Wish I could have taken a picture of Milky White the cow...it was so cute!

Another enjoyable and entertaining production from SSG. We are already planning to attend the production of  "Music Man" in August.





Stolen Shakespeare Guild

Roadside America Museum Vehicles

ROADSIDE AMERICA MUSEUM
Hillsboro Texas

In the picture above Dear Readers, you can see what a beautiful Spring day we enjoyed on our trip to Hillsboro and the visit to the Roadside America Museum.  This post will be about the cars Mr. Estes had on display.

Here is the famous 1932 Goose Creek Penitentiary Bus. The outside looks a little rough but it still runs.  Mr. Estes has completely reworked the engine and now it runs so well he recently drove it to a car show in Austin.

Here is a classic 1953 Chevy Belair soft top. Love that aqua color.  The inside has also been restored. This is the Chevy brings back dreams of penny loafers, bobby socks, ponytails and sock hops in the gym....maybe even stopping for a Coke or Dr Pepper and onion rings at the Pig Stand!!

If you are a Texan most of us have a love of pickup trucks. This beauty is a 
1968 Chevy C10!

This piece of eye candy is a 1955 Pontiac Star Chief Wagon and the interior has been updated as well.

This is the beautiful white interior of the 1955 Star Chief Wagon.  Can you see the Pontiac Chief on the top of the seats in red?  Oh so beautiful! 

And a gorgeous 1966 Pontiac Bonneville...this picture does not do it justice...so beautiful! 

 On risers is a restored black 1929 Pontiac.

A beautifully restored 1935 Dodge truck with an added flatbed trailer.

Here is the oldest vehicle Mr. Estes has in his collection, a doctor's wagon.  Still has much of its original features and equipment.

What a fun time we had at the Roadside Attractions Museum in Hillsboro.  

After the tour, we were rather hungry and went to a local eatery just across across the street from the museum  called "A Tisket-A Tasket Cafe". 

We had a yummy lunch ordering the Blue Plate special. It had a large roasted chicken breast, homemade mashed potatoes, green beans and a hot roll.  We could not finish our entire lunch plate as we wanted to save room for dessert.  The cafe is known for their large variety of homemade ice cream.  The Travelling Toe must admit she ordered vanilla....oh so good!!  Dear Friend ordered a scoop of honey - lavender and one scoop of cream cheese.  What a satisfactory way to end a scrumptious lunch.

Well, after that we had to visit at least one antique mall. We shopped at The Hillsboro Antique Mall, which  it is just a block down from the cafe and easy to find. This place is packed full of treasures. The Travelling Toe did find a delicate cup and saucer with purple tulips as a souvenir of this fun and enjoyable trip. Plus it was 50% off!!  What a deal!!!!!

It was time to hit the road back home and head out as I-35 can sometimes be a pain to travel on during rush hour and we wanted to avoid it all if possible.  

Another fun adventure in a small Texas town!

Day Trip to Hillsboro to see Roadside America Musume

On a beautiful Spring day, The Travelling Toe and Dear Friend headed out on Highway 
I 35 South to visit the small Texas town of Hillsboro.  As we zoomed down the highway, the byways were covered in wildflowers including the wild pink primroses and beautiful bluebonnets, which are the state flower of Texas  

The reason for the trip was to visit the "Roadside America Museum".  It has been featured on several regional television shows such as Texas Country Reporter and The (Texas) Daytripper. The owner of the museum is Carroll Estes. He is well know in the antique car show circuit as he has restored numerous vintage vehicles and has won a number of trophies which he has on display. Mr. Estes renovated an empty Ford Dealership building to store his collection, some of his cars and trophies. 

As we entered the building one of the first display cabinets we saw, was make out of original Cadillac fins and houses vintage toy cars and other vehicles. Sorry the picture is a tad dark but the lighting was a bit dim.

If you are a Grapette fan, Carroll has one of the largest collections of Grapette memorabilia.
(these pictures feature just a few items)

Also on display is a huge "Big Boy" and Carroll said only 3 are known to exist and he has one of them. Along with the "Big Boy" is a Grapette figure and a large Hot Dog.

For those of you Dear Readers that from the Fort Worth-Dallas area, you might remember the famous Pig Stand drive-ins that were the place to go back n the day. The first one opened up in 1921 in Dallas. (in my memory banks they had the best onion rings!) The menu listes a jumbo hamburger for only 20 cents! YUM

The cute metal wagon sitting on top of the Grapette cooler was made in 1933 by Metal Craft.  It even had a place for batteries so the wagon could have headlights. The wagon is in great condition considering its age!  And yes that is an ESSO tiger in the back with Wylie Coyote on his back

Here's a Pepsi sign with great patina

And a sign for Orange Crush fans. 

And can't forget Nehi.

Here's Squirt!

Remember the Hamm's Beer commercials featuring the Hamm's Bear...well here he is!

And of course some Coke goodies as well!

This horse is named Sandy and she is a bit ragged but still works...and no we decided not to damage her more with a short ride!

A bumper car from past times.

We don't see these machines out everywhere any longer!

These are also long gone...love the saddle shoes!!

But here is one of the most astounding things he has in his collection that is on display. It is an original poster!!  And if you are a certain age you will know the significance of it.

The Day The Music Died

This is only a glance of all the interesting and fun items Carroll has on display.  A separate post will highlight a few of his vintage vehicles.

To end this post, here is a funny sign that cracked us both up!!

what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas!!
(even in Hillsboro, Texas!!)