On Thursday, my friends at work and I had lunch with a co-worker who had retired several years ago. It's always nice to see Al. He was my first trainer at my job, and he has always been kind to me, with a wonderfully patient and pleasant attitude. We tried out a new place across the street from our office, Kinnara. The atmosphere is nice, with a friendly and helpful staff. The food was beautifully presented as well. Here is my friend's lunch plate of Orange Chicken Kabobs with Brown Rice & Salad. Danny's giving his plate a thumbs up. :)
Our food was delicious. I had my standard Hot Chile and Basil with chicken, and they put just enough spice in it when I asked for medium heat. Their menu is reasonably priced. I look forward to going back a LOT. They do not have a website yet, but there are reviews on Yelp.
That same night, I went to the Ahmanson Theater to see Spamalot. I had ordered the tickets justs two days earlier, at half price, thanks to Goldstar. I bought the CD on sale and had been listening to it this week, hilariously laughing at many of the lyrics, and said to myself, "I need to see this show if I can." Then, voila! They were available on Goldstar. YAY!
I arrived early, so I picked up my tickets at the box office, and decided to have dinner at Pinot Grill. Since this is in the Patina Restaurant Group, I knew that I would enjoy the quality of their food, especially the Manchego Salad. I was hungry, though, so I ordered the Salmon and a glass of Rancho Zabaco "Dancing Bull" Sauvignon Blanc. My dinner was delicious, and the wine was very nice, too. I refrained from telling the people next to me at the bar that "the guy that had the duel with Aaron Burr" was Alexander Hamilton. They weren't dwelling on it that long, and they never acknowledged my presence, so I didn't feel the need to help them out. I'm shy that way, I guess.
When I went to my seat inside the Ahmanson, I saw that I was seated right next to a woman who was also there by herself, and we were the only ones in our row. She told me about Goldstar. That's where I got my tickets, too! She said that she had seen the show last week and really wanted to go again, with better seats, so there she was. Eventually, other people did sit in our row, but there were some tall people in front of me, so I moved to the row behind me at intermission, because there wasn't anyone sitting there.
Spamalot was hilarious. Even if you don't know the humor of Monty Python, I think you'd find it funny. The gal that I talked to before the show wasn't familiar with any of it, but after the show, she started seeking out as much media as possible about the Monty Python group. I happen to enjoy Monty Python, although I haven't seen all of the episodes. I've seen both The Holy Grail and Life of Brian, and love both movies. I loved seeing the different elements included in the show. The audience was quite responsive, and clapped along with the beginning of "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life," my favorite part of "Life of Brian". John O'Hurley played a great King Arthur, he that cannot count correctly. I really liked Merle Dandridge, who played The Lady of the Lake, as well as James Beaman as Sir Robin. My favorite part of the show was Sir Robin's song, "You Won't Succeed on Broadway." The song itself is hilarious, and as a production number, I completely loved it. It probably had something to do with the fact that they did the Bottle Dance from "Fiddler on the Roof," but with Grails on their heads. That is my favorite part of Fiddler, and probably the reason I love Santa Clara Vanguard so much, too. :) I actually loved all of the digs they took at musical theater. They abound in this show. Even the program spoofs the Finnish musical that is referred to in the first part of the play. It's pure wackiness.
If you have the chance to see Spamalot, GO! It's hysterical.
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