A Proud Wife, Part II

Last night I finally had the pleasure of seeing Mr. Mingle act in his first performance of The Full Monty, and I can honestly say it was a treat! Their opening night is tonight, but unfortunately for me it coincides with the closing weekend of a show (a little known musical called West Side Story) for which I’m playing the trumpet in the pit. So, I attended the Sneak Preview last night, since I just couldn’t wait any longer to get my first glimpse of The Full Monty! (Of course, it’s so sad that due to both of our busy schedules in recent weeks, I have to travel to Half Moon Bay to see my own husband naked on stage instead of my own home, but I digress….)

Back to last night… I knew what to expect throughout the entire show because Mr. Mingle has been telling me all about the actors, lines, songs, dances… etc… however to see it come together before my eyes was a lot of fun. Unfortunately I missed the first couple of numbers, but saw the rest of the show and laughed throughout. They did a really good job of casting regular guys for the role – no offense Honey – but these are not men with a lot of dance experience, and that’s what makes their casting perfect. It’s totally believable that they are a bunch of down-on-their-luck fellas that are trying to do something totally new to them to make some money, and in the process, do something they can be proud of.

I always get a little emotional when Mr. Mingle is on stage in a big scene because it makes me so proud, so I wasn’t sure how I would react last night. I thought for sure I would cry when he sings a heartfelt song to his son, but I held it together then. It wasn’t until the very last scene – the ultimate strip tease – when all of a sudden the emotions poured in. When Mr. Mingle joined the stage, I started to tear up unexpectedly, because I thought…”OMG…they are actually going through with this….” and I was utterly amazed at the “cajones” that all six men had to perform this role. Yet, at the same time I could not stop shaking from laughter with the thought of, “my mother and aunt are coming to see this …”

I look forward to seeing it again and again, because I know that each time it will get better, and I’ll find new and different things to laugh at and enjoy. In the meantime, I can think back to my two favorite numbers and just smile today…. One of which, in my opinion, is an Ode to Napoleon Dynamite – one of the guys does this dance number that so resembles Napoleon at the end of the movie I couldn’t help but giggle, and the other number was one of my favorite songs going into the theater, but it wasn’t until seeing the play that I realized Mr. Mingle and his cast mates do the entire number dressed only in their underwear. I’m telling you… not just anyone could do that!!

Privileged

I’ll admit it; I have officially become hooked on Gossip Girl. Thanks to nothing else being on TV this summer, and me having too much time on my hands, I have fallen in to the latest CW trap.

It was while I was watching the latest episode tonight when I heard my first intro to a new show coming this fall to CW called Privileged. My ears perked up when I heard the announcer say, “Meghan Smith didn’t know what she was getting into..”

Meghan Smith is the lead character?? No way!! I was certain I had misheard, so I went online to read a synopsis of the new show. And sure enough – I had heard right! OK, so the name isn’t spelled the same, and the story isn't exactly my life, but it is still pretty cool to see my maiden name used for a main character. And if I imagine hard enough – I can make the synopsis below work for me at 23 too…

"Twenty-three-year-old Megan (Meghan) Smith has a Yale (Davis) education, a relentlessly positive attitude and a plan to conquer the world of journalism (business), despite the fact that she is currently slaving away at a tabloid rag (boring financial job). Meg(h)an’s plan is thrown off course when, in one whirlwind day (summer), she gets fired (decides to look for a new job), meets cosmetics mogul Laurel Limoges (finds out about NOVA) and becomes the live-in tutor for Laurel’s twin teen granddaughters in the heady Palm Beach world of wealth and power (goes to Osaka to teach English). The girls (students), Rose and Sage (Saichi, Fukimi, Yuki, to name a few), are beautiful (short), rebellious (shy) and less-than-thrilled with their new tutor (because she is not a Western male), but Meg(h)an is determined to win them over as she enjoys the perks of her new job – breathtaking private suite (sleeping on the floor), gorgeous convertible (bike with squeaky breaks) and live-in chef Marco (English roommate Maja)…."

I can’t wait for this new show to start, but in the meantime I need to go watch some more trash because CSI Miami is on now....