Catching Up

Well, it's 2 weeks into the new term and I'm already sick of being back in school. I'm ready for this term to be over and to have a few more weeks off. 8 more to go! Anyways, I know this is so late, but I've been busy once again, but I did go see Barbara Cook last Sunday at Ravinia and it was fabulous. Once again, there was no bus service from the remote lot which pissed me off and did not seem to make a few other people very happy. I am suprised though, how many people just sucked it up and parked in the main lot, but since the average age was about $85 and the average income probably $300,000 more than mine, they may not have cared, even though for me it's all about principle. Regardless, Barbara was fantastic. It was fairly short, only about 80 minutes, no intermission (shorter than the Gershwin queen's even), but packed wiht fabulousness. She did a lot of Richard Rodgers (partnered with both Hammerstein and Hart) and Sondheim, but did also did a lot of other great songs as well. She did not really do any of her standards though (there was no Goodnight My Somone, Till There Was You, or Ice Cream), but the program said this was her 3rd or 4th Ravinia appearance since 2001, so she may have figured the Ravinia audience had had enough of those and opted to give us something new. It was a really great night, and it's hard to believe that this summer's concerts are almost over. I've got the 5 Browns on August 13, and then I just bought my Carol Lawrence ticket today for September 4, and then that's it for the year. Already!!! I can't believe it. However, that disappointing realization was put to rest when I went looking online for some more magnets since I didn't get everything I wanted in New York. I did find a Gypsy magnet, but it sucks. It only has the Gypsy logo in spotlights on the pale blue background, there's no Patti or anything. Personally, I liked the Encores art design better, but there are only posters available now. There were no Xanadu magnets to be found, and all I could find of Cheyenne Jackson were some All Shook Up souveniers, which should be burned rather than sold. But, I did find an A Catered Affair magnet, and then found a nice stash of Glory Days merchandise at playbill.com's store (www.playbillstore.com). I ordered a magnet, an opening night Playbill, and a t-shirt. Actually, I got 2 T-Shirts, one to keep in pristine condition and one to wear (they were almost half off so it was a bargain, they're obviously priced to move). So, I got all the Glory Days stuff and the Catered Affair magnet at Playbill's store and then went to Broadway New York's store. They had a Barbara Streisand magnet that was a replica of a poster for her 1968 concert tour, so I got that, and then got two more of those cool ceramic tile magnets. One is similar to the Passion one I have, but is of the theatre Evita was at and shows the huge Evita logo on the marquis. I figured that's the closest to a Patti one I'll find. Then I got one that had the Ragtime logo since that is one of my all time favorite shows. That brings me up to 8 magnets which will seriously crowd the front of my little fridge, so I ended it there. It makes for a nice, eclectic collection that says just as much about me as it does the magnets themselves. So, that's about it for now. It's Mamma Mia all weekend this weekend!!!