West Side Story

The touring company of West Side Story is performing at Chicago's Cadillac Theatre. We saw the evening performance Saturday, July 23. Live musical theater is special and Saturday was not an exception. The Palace is a superb venue. Leonard Bernstein's music is an American classic. The touring company has been on the road through Texas, Florida, and various states in the Northeast. (The next stop is Schenectady, NY, so the Chicago performances are hardly exclusives.) Unfortunately, some of the performers, particularly when dancing, looked as though they were simply going through the motions. Others performers were superb. I thought Michelle Aravena as Anita gave the best overall performance, in song, dance, and acting. All in all, the production was good, not great, but well worth both the time and money.

Dinner with a starlet

I had dinner Thursday evening with a Hollywood starlet. I hope Lois, the starlet on her way to be a star and my daughter's best friend, is not saying she had dinner with a lecherous old man! I think the picture shows I need not be too worried about Lois' boyfriend putting a contract out on my life. My smile though, seems genuine. I was a little nervous about meeting with Lois as my daughter had always been with us whenever we had met before. Odd as it may sound, it somehow seemed as though Chelsea was with us Thursday as the conversation always seemed to involve her at some point.


I am proud of Lois' persistence and how she is maturing. She has been studying and working in the Los Angeles area since graduating from high school. Fame did not come immediately, but through Lois' hard work Fame is now willing to be courted. Lois has saved up her money from working multiple odd jobs and is now concentrating on auditions. She stars opposite Guillermo Díaz in the soon to be released short She Who Laughs Last. Last month she performed in Haywire at the Write Act Repertory Theatre in Hollywood. Each of the reviews have been complementary (see http://www.examiner.com/entertainment-industry-in-los-angeles/hollywood-goes-haywire-review for the first of three). My expectation is the next time we have dinner we will not have to use my cell phone to take a picture; instead we will get a shot from the paparazzi.

Check out Lois' growing résumé at http://www.imdb.com/name/nm3295243/