Well, this is coming much later than expected, but once again, my life has been on the go.  At the moment, I'm sitting in Pruis' backstage area "working" a speech class.  I'm more than exhausted as I went to bed around 2am this morning after waking up at 4:30am yesterday to go just south of Chicago for a performance with University Singers, so I'm all ready for a nap!  Anyway, the University Singers performance with be on my next post as I still have many other things to discuss.  Just like I learned in my Communications 210 class (a.k.a. Speech), here's my preview statement; today I hope to share with you a few exciting things that have happened in my life here recently, including going to see a musical, seeing a few movies, and making a few purchases.  So sit back and buckle up because here we go!

 Bare: the musical.  Not a well known musical by any means, and that's a shame.  Just like Spring Awakening (the show I saw in New York...refer back to an earlier post), this musical is a pop opera.  I found this musical after seeing Spring Awakening because of the lead male role.  I thought I was seeing the original Jonathan Groff, but instead I saw this guy with whom I was unfamiliar, Matt Doyle.  So I did some research and found he had recently done the cast recording for Bare, so I checked it out because I loved his voice.  Well, I fell in love with the music, so I bought the soundtrack.  After finding out it was playing in Chicago, I booked a trip!  I went with a few friends, Adam and Matt (both of whom I've talked about before...Adam from marching band and Matt from Cardinal 5).  Adam lives about halfway between Muncie and Chicago, so we stayed at his house to save money on a hotel and food (thanks Mrs. Pearish!!).  The musical was at the Bailiwick Theatre, a small community-type theatre.  Honestly, walking in I was scared because it seemed rather dilapidated.  However, once they started singing, I lost all doubt.  The ensemble sound was one of the best I've heard.  No truly outstanding solo voice (though all parts were delivered very well), but it was definitely a great show and one I plan on seeing again when it comes to Indianapolis this summer.  I'm going to see Sweeney Todd in Cincinnati next weekend, so I'm really excited for that...expect a post on that one too!

Along with live theatre, I've visited the movie theatre a few times here recently to see Juno and The Bucket List.  Now, not being the kind of movie I usually watch, I had my reservations about the movie, but I couldn't be happier that I saw it (not to mention I got to see it for free!).  I just recently became a "5 Buck Club" member, so I got to use my card for the first time with Juno.  Well, after buying tickets for myself and my friend Mandy, we took our seats.  A few minutes later, the cashier finds us in the theatre and asks for the ticket stubs because my card didn't go through correctly, so they weren't charging me for the tickets!  Of course we gladly handed over our stubs and enjoyed a free movie on Kerasotes.  Overall, the movie was worthwhile.  The lead girl was brilliant, the story line well written, and comedy in all the right places.  Separated by just a few days, I also saw the Bucket List (this wasn't on the 5 Buck Club list, so I actually paid for this one).  I knew from the start that I would like this movie because Morgan Freeman is, hands down, the best actor of our time.  Never been a fan of Jack Nicholson, but his role was great.  Touching, funny, heart-breaking...so many emotions in this movie.  Mandy now wants to start a bucket list, but that just makes me feel like I plan on dying soon, so I'm holding off for now.  I'd definitely recommend this movie to anyone; definitely worth the viewing.

To close out this post, I'm going to talk about a few exciting purchases I've made here recently.  While I was staying at Adam's house during the Chicago trip, I found out he played cello for like a year.  Well, now it just sat there, so they jokingly asked if I wanted to buy it...and I was like, "uhhh...YEAH."  So, after a quick test play and an overview of the shape it was in, the exchange was made.  One of my goals in life is to own as many instruments as I could, and I can tell you now, I'm chugging right along on that.  I've never actually played the cello, but now that I have one, I might as well start learning!   Another purchase I made that weekend was the new Family Guy movie, Stars Wars: Blue Harvest.  I've always been a huge Family Guy fan, and this movie didn't disappoint.  It has the same random hilarity that you can expect from the show mixed right along with the Star Wars story.  Don't be too mad, but believe it or not, I've never seen the actual Star Wars movies.  Now, before you go off on a tangent and want to rip my head off, let me explain.  Being named Luke, what do you think I've heard my entire life??  That's right...*deep breath* *deep breath* "Luke, I am your father."  Because of this, I honestly think that I have been psychologically scarred, therefore forever inhibiting me to see those movies.  So there, a logical, believable reason...get over it.  

Anyway, that's what has been happening in my life.  Hopefully it won't take as long to get my next post up.  What to look forward to?  Some University Singers performances, a new choreographer, some field observing for one of my music education classes, and any other random thing that may pop up!  Until then, have a Happy Valentine's Day (or, for people like me, Happy Single's Awareness Day!), and see you next time!