9/29/12: Mary Poppins The Musical at the Hanover Theatre

We went to see Mary Poppins at the Hanover Theatre in Worcester, MA on Thursday night.  The show really was amazing and so well done.  The sets were impressive and the actors and actresses were excellent.  Of course being a Disney production we didn't expect anything less.   

One little detail that I love at the Hanover Theatre is that they really get in to the theme of the show.  When you were walking in to the theatre there were umbrellas outside as decorations.

You can see them here also in the fountain.  Also the ticket takers were dressed up as chimney sweepers.  It is so cute that they always do this.  When we went to Shrek the ticket takers were dressed up like Shrek.  It just makes the experience  little more special for children.

There were two children that were in the show that were really good.  I am always amazed at children that can sing and act so well.  I especially liked the tap number that was in the show.  Here is the link to the touring cast.

At one point Bert walked up along the wall and along the top of the stage.  That was extremely cool.  Everything was done so wonderfully and kept the kids engaged for the full show.  I really can't describe how breathtaking it was.  Especially when Mary Poppins took flight.

You can buy tickets here for 09/30 (1:00 pm, 6:30 pm)

More about the show:

MARY POPPINS is bringing its own brand of Broadway magic to theaters across the country, which has Variety raving, “This is the rare touring production that over-delivers on every level!!” This spectacular hit has astonished over seven million people worldwide with its pure Broadway magic. With four productions currently running on three continents, MARY POPPINS is one of the biggest stage musical successes in recent years to come out of London and New York.
The consummate Disney production features the irresistible story and unforgettable songs from one of the most popular Disney films of all time, plus brand-new breathtaking dance numbers and astonishing stage-craft to make it everything you could ever want in a hit Broadway show. So get swept up in the fun of this high-flying musical the New York Post gives 4 out of 4 stars and calls “a certifiable super hit!”

Disclosure: I received a family four pack of tickets for the show to promote it. All opinions are my own and no other compensation was received.

9/27/12: 9 to 5 The Musical at the North Shore Music Theatre

Picture this, locking your boss up and running the office the way you want to run it.  I bet many of us would love to do this, so watching the hilarity of 9 to 5 and seeing the girls do this was fantastic.  I was able to attend 9 to 5: The Musical at the North Shore Music Theatre.  This is one to get a group of girlfriends together, grab some cocktails and celebrate girl power!  I was lucky enough to take my Mom and have my own girl's night out.  I am still singing 9 to 5 today, what a catchy tune it is.

I saw the movie 9 to 5 when I was younger and loved Dolly Parton, Lily Tomlin and Jane Fonda in it.  The show was so much fun to watch and had me laughing out loud starting right at the beginning.  The three main girls in the Musical were wonderful so I will start with them. 
Dee Hoty played Violet, the experienced secretary that never gets promoted because she is a woman.  She stepped in when Lucie Arnaz who was originally playing the part was sidelined by a a severe back injury (annular tear of the L5 disc).  She was wonderful and had a great voice and commanded the stage.  I thought she was fantastic and did justice to Lily Tomlin's role.

I was quite impressed in how well Shayla Osborn did to mimic Dolly Parton.  Her speech, her mannerisms, and her walk were right on target.  She was cute as a button.

  Just as impressive was Holly Davis as Julie.  She had one solo with her ex-husband that had cheated on her where she was incredible.  Her voice was so powerful.  She did a wonderful job portraying the strength that she developed throughout the show to make it on her own.

Of course I would be remiss if I didn't point out the bad guy, Mr. Hart their boss.  George Dvorsky did an awesome job at this part.  You wanted to hate him but you also loved him because he was hilarious.

Ok, tell me this is not funny?  It takes some guts to wear short shorts and cowboy boots!

 One more lovable character that had me want to stand up and cheer was Roz who was played by Kathy St. George.  She is Mr. Hart's right hand woman and is the eyes and ears of the office for him.  She was absolutely hysterical showing her wanting for Mr. Hart in her number.

The North Shore Music Theatre is a beautiful venue.  It is a casual environment and I love that.  Plus the action is all around you as it is a Theatre in the round.   

The show is going on till October 7th so you can still buy tickets.  You can also play a game here and be entered to win a 9 to 5 VIP ticket Package including 4 tickets and dinner. 

More about the Show:

Broadway star Dee Hoty joined the cast of 9 TO 5: THE MUSICAL. Due to a severe back injury (annular tear of the L5 disc), the previously announced Lucie Arnaz will be unable to play the role of Violet.  This new outrageous musical comedy is based on the hit 1980 movie and features Dolly Parton's original hit title song along with her new Tony Award and Grammy-nominated score. 9 to 5: The Musical is a hilarious story of friendship and revenge in the Rolodex era. Featuring a book by Patricia Resnick (co-writer of the original screenplay), 9 to 5: The Musical tells the story of three unlikely friends who conspire to take control of their company and learn there's nothing they can't do - even in a man's world.

Dee Hoty will star as Violet Newstead, the role created by Lily Tomlin in the hit 1980 film. Dee has distinguished herself as one of Broadway's favorite leading ladies. She has earned Tony Award nominations for her starring roles in The Will Rogers Follies, The Best Little Whorehouse Goes Public and Footloose. She starred on Broadway and in eight major U.S. cities as Donna Sheridan in Mamma Mia! and most recently as Mrs. MacAfee in the revival of Bye Bye Birdie. Other Broadway shows include City of Angels (Outer Critics Circle Nomination), Me and My Girl, Big River, The Five O'Clock Girl, and Shakespeare's Cabaret.

Joining Dee Hoty in 9 TO 5: THE MUSICAL will be Holly Davis as Judy Bernley (the role created by Jane Fonda) and Shayla Osborn as Doralee Rhodes (the role created by Dolly Parton). NSMT audience favorite George Dvorsky will take a leave from this season's Off-Broadway smash hit Closer than Ever to play Franklin Hart, Jr., the boss you love to hate. Rounding out the featured cast will be popular Elliot Norton and IRNE Award winning actress, Kathy St. George playing Mr. Hart's "administrative eyes, ears, nose, and throat," Roz Keith.

The 2012 musical season continues with Guys and Dolls (October 30 - November 11), and concludes with the return of New England's brightest holiday tradition A Christmas Carol, December 7 -23, starring David Coffee as Ebenezer Scrooge.

 

So get home from your 9 to 5 job and go see this show.  You will love it!

You can also check out the North Shore Music Theatre:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NorthShoreMusicTheatre

Twitter: http://twitter.com/NSMusicTheatre

Disclosure:  I received 4 tickets to attend this performance of 9 to 5: The Musical.  No other compensation was received and all opinions are my own.

9/25/12: Roger Willaims Zoo Jack-O-Lantern Spectacular

School hast begun, fall has started and it is now the end of September and I am excited for Halloween.  Halloween is one of my favorite holidays.  Candy, costumes, trick or treating, creepy ghouls and so much fun!  I wanted to share with you a wonderful event we attended last year and plan to attend again this year, the Roger Williams Zoo Jack-O-Lantern Spectacular. My pictures don't do this event justice, but it will give you a feel for the intricate carving that is done on these pumpkins.  There are more than 5,00!  You can go here to see more pictures.

More specifics:
Event Dates:  Thursday, October 4 - Saturday, November 3
Event Hours:  6 – 11 pm, with the last admission at 10 pm.
NEW extended hours on Saturdays and Sunday, October 7:  6pm-midnight, last admission at 11 pm.
Event prices:  Monday -Thursday nights:   adults $12, seniors (62+) $10, children age 3-12 $9, under 3 free.
Friday through Sunday nights:   adults $15, seniors (62+) $13, children age 3-12 $12, under 3 free.
Special savings for RWP Zoo members 7 days a week:$2 off adult and $1 off senior and child tickets upon presentation of RWP Zoo membership card and a photo ID.  

I would recommend getting there early if you go on a Friday or Saturday night or better yet go to the Harvest Buffet at 5 pm and get VIP entry to the Spectacular.  You can find more information here on the Harvest Buffet which includes a delicious dinner before the Spectacular scenery! Tickets can be purchased during regular Zoo hours (9 am – 3:30 pm, for use that same evening), or between 5 and 7 p.m. at Zoo admissions.
Prices:
Monday - Thursday: $35.95 adults; $34.95 seniors (62+); $21.95 children ages 3 - 12
Friday – Sunday:  $39.95adults; $37.95seniors (62+); $24.95 children ages 3 - 12
Children under 3 are admitted free.

The gates open at 6 to buy tickets and then you go in to the Zoo and follow ropes to where the display is (across from the Giraffes).  They say lines can get up to 2 hours at 6 pm and a lady in line told us the line was out to the street when she went before.  Here are some of our favorites.  Or course Lauren loved Tinker Bell.

  Frankenstein was wicked cool.

Cool display. 

 Evan's favorite of course was Lightening McQueen from Cars!

 Amazing!

 Asia

 I loved this one, Chevy Chase from European Vacation.

 There was even snow coming down in the North Pole Area complete with Christmas trees and a Pumpkin carved like Santa!  The kids loved this area.

 You can watch this video to learn more about the carving of the pumpkins from GoProvidence.com

Here is The Tree.  It is truly amazing to look at.  Those are all carved pumpkins going up.

 Check them out on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Pumpkin-Show/143830685658132
http://www.facebook.com/RWPZoo

 What an amazing display.  I can't wait to go this year.

Disclosure: I was provided tickets to the Harvest Buffet for my family and I in exchange for promotional review.  No other compensation was received and all opinions are my own.

9/24/12: Applegate Natural Products Giveaway

CONTEST CLOSED:  CONGRATULATIONS SONIA FOR WINNING!

Over the weekend we went to the grocery store to do some shopping and the line for the deli was crazy long.  They were calling number 12 and we pulled number 49!  So we decided to try some pre-packaged deli meats.  This is very out of the ordinary for us as we don't generally buy pre-packaged deli meats but we decided to try some Applegate products.

First off was the Genoa Salami.  Keep in mind that my husband is Italian and grew up eating salami and cheese and loves it.  I am happy to say that he thought it was really good.  This says a lot.  I also had a sandwich with it and thought it tasted great and would have never guessed it wasn't cut fresh at the deli.  It had great flavor.

My best friend is a label reader.  Recently I was giving out some coupons I had to friends and she said no to most of them but when I got to Applegate products, she was happy to take coupons as she says she buys there products all the time.  Again this speaks volumes for the quality of these products. 

We also tried the Turkey Breast and again was pleasantly surprised at how good it was.

Here is some more information about Applegate:

For more than 25 years, Applegate has been producing high quality hot dogs, bacon, and deli meats with only natural ingredients. “Natural” can mean many things, but when you see it on the label of Applegate deli meats, you know the meat inside is guaranteed to be the real deal. Applegate deli meats are free of antibiotics and hormones; free of artificial ingredients or preservatives; and made from animals fed a vegetarian diet and treated humanely.

We also tried out the hot dogs which were really good too with no Nitrites.  The kids loved them and my son can be hard to please with hot dogs.

I was able to sample these products through Moms Meet

Find Applegate online at:  www.applegate.com 

http://ask.applegate.com/applegate

Facebook: www.facebook.com/applegatefarms

YouTube: www.youtube.com/ApplegateFarms

Twitter: @Applegate

Here is how to enter to Win Vouchers for 3 Applegate Products

1 entry for each item:

Mandatory Entry:

- Tell me what your kids like best for lunch and if you have any tips on creative lunches.  (comment section at the bottom). Note if you are logging in anonymously please include your email so I can contact you.  Make sure you see comment posted.

Additional Entries Optional:

- Like Evan and Lauren's Cool Blog on Facebook and then comment here that you did.

- Subscribe to Evan and Lauren's Cool Blog (and verify the subscription to be valid) and leave a separate comment that you did.

- Already a subscriber (thank you) then leave a comment stating you are. - Share this link on your Facebook page and leave a comment here stating you did.

- Follow me on Twitter @galiberti If you already follow me, just leave a comment here that you are a Follower.
- Follow @Applegate on Twitter.  Then leave a comment here that you followed them.

- Tweet this Giveaway (you can do this daily): #Win delicious @Applegate Products from @galiberti http://bit.ly/SrdXFc #Giveaway 

- Subscribe via Google Friend Connect to Evan and Lauren's Cool Blog (on the Right hand side) and leave a comment that you did. Contest closes Thursday, October 4th, 2012.  US residents only.
Winner will be chosen by Random.org.

Disclaimer: I received this product for free from the sponsor of the Moms MeetSM program, May Media Group LLC, who received it directly from the manufacturer. As a Moms MeetSM blogger, I agreed to use this product and post my opinion on my blog. My opinions do not necessarily reflect the opinions of May Media Group LLC or the manufacturer of the product.

9/23/12: Apple Picking at Parlee Farms

Today we went apple picking at Parlee Farms in Tyngsboro.  Usually I plan a huge outing with 20-30 friends but this year I kept it more low key and just went as a family.

 It was crazy busy there!  So busy that they closed the farm down to new people entering at 1:45.  They were only picking Cortlands, Honey Crisp and Golden Delicious.  That was fine with us as we use Cortlands for our pies and Evan loves Golden Delicious.

 I like going there as one bag gets entry for the family to the field.  Then there are animals to feed, a hay maze, tractor ride, and hayride.  Plus they have a farm store with yummy donuts and ice cream.

Evan picking apples.

 Lauren picking some.

 Evan showing me his picked apples.  It was very humorous watching him try to eat an apple with two missing top teeth and one wiggly one.

 We decided to compare this one to the size of Lauren's head as it was so big.

 YUM!  Nothing is better than a nice crisp apple just picked from the tree.

 Enjoying the hayride.

 We went in the pumpkin patch.

 Lauren giving me a pose.

 So adorable.  I liked the different colored pumpkins.

 Evan riding the tractor.

 Lauren riding.

 Feeding the animals.

 Evan loves to feed the babies.

 So cute.

 What a great day and beautiful weather!

9/22/12: Life is Good Festival

We were lucky enough to go to the Life is Good Festival in Canton, MA.  Thanks to my friend Mommy Niri's blog we won tickets to attend.

 More about the event:

The Life is good Festival is a one-of-a-kind fundraiser held at Prowse Farm in Canton, MA.  This two-day celebration of music and optimism, features three stages of nationally known musical talent, hands-on games, interactive arts activities, and the "Good Kids" zone — home to the top acts in kids entertainment.  100% of the funds you raise and profits from the event will go towards the Life is good Playmakers, helping kids overcome poverty, violence and illness.

First off we got to check out the kids from Kidz Bop.  My kids love Kidz Bop so this was pretty cool to see.

 Then we hung out to watch Dane Zanes on the Kids Stage.  He put on a good show and everyone was up and dancing.  It was a really comfortable area to be with your family.  There was a tent with comfy pillows and bouncy balls for kids along with beach balls for the kids to play with.

 Lauren was dancing all around and having a great time.  They were also giving out Pirate's Booty and she loved it.

 Dan Zanes and friends.

 The highlight of my day was getting to meet the mascots from the Patriots, Red Sox and Bruins.  Isn't this cool.  They superimpose the background in.  Love it!

Lauren had fun trying out some instruments.

 We spent quite a while in this area playing different instruments.

 Then she had her face painted.  She got the little doggy from all the Life is Good stuff.

 Here is the Good Move area.  It was cute because it had a sign that adults weren't allowed to go in unless accompanied by a child.

 Lauren had fun with the parachute and coloring Shrinky Dinks.

 Here is one of the other stages.

 This is super cool.  It is made of panels that kids painted throughout the day.  We saw it earlier in the day when it had barely any tiles, and then at the end when it was completed.

 Lauren posing.

 Lauren in the Stonyfield display.  There were lots of free products being given away that were all natural or organic. 

What a great time and for a great cause!

Check them out on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/Lifeisgood

and follow them on 

Twitter: http://twitter.com/Lifeisgood #LIGFest