Well…

Yes, we all love movies, but we almost never agree on which one to watch. One daughter loves rom-com, another daughter likes sci-fi, hubby likes action, and for me, if it wasn’t made in the 80s then I’ll pass. So you would think it would take some sort of romantic, butt-kicking space pirate in a Duran Duran muscle shirt to unite this movie-loving family.

As it turned out we just needed an astrophysicist.

I was so excited to see Neil deGrasse Tyson at the Tilles Center for the Performing Arts at LIU Post because my hubby and I are HUGE fans. We read his books, watch his documentaries and listen to his podcast so I knew we had to see his show in person. What I didn’t expect was how much my two teenage daughters were going to love it. I had a feeling my sci-fi-loving daughter would like him but wasn’t too sure about the rom-com kid. Luckily his show was an entertaining, fun breakdown of how our favorite movies got the science right and how some got it wrong. The Wizard of Oz, Game of Thrones, Harry Potter, The Lion King, and even Love Story (yup rom-coms have science in them) was explained. We watched clips, learned a little science and math and he even chatted up the audience with some fun back and forth.

The show was great but what was even better was seeing it at the Tilles Center for the Performing Arts at LIU Post. We usually have to trek into Manhattan for an experience like this but being only a short car ride away with plenty of parking made for a fun movie-lover night without the movie (or the traffic). The stadium seating held about 2,000 and guaranteed that there wasn’t a bad seat in the house. The show was interactive, thought-provoking, and really quite funny.

We went a bit early, grabbed a drink at the bar, and listened to a live local band playing before the show. I even got to dance a bit and totally embarrass my kids. Don’t worry if movies or science aren’t your thing, the Tilles Center really does have something for everyone. So if you’re looking for a fun date night or family bonding time (like we did) make sure to check out their awesome upcoming schedule.

Future Events:

• January 7: Space Oddity – The David Bowie Experience
• January 10: Dancing with the Stars
• January 27: America
• January 28: The Tortoise and the Hare
• January 29: Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company
• February 18: Lviv National Philharmonic
• March 7: A Conversation with Trevor Noah
• March 17: Wings Dublin Irish Dance
• March 18: The Sicilian Tenors
• March 19: Patti LuPone – Don’t Monkey with Broadway

About the Tilles Center for the Performing Arts at LIU Post:

Tilles Center for the Performing Arts at LIU Post in Brookville, is Long Island’s premier concert hall. For almost 40 years, Tilles Center has been host to more than 70 performances each season by world-renowned artists in music, theater and dance. Tilles Center was the first to bring the New York Philharmonic to Long Island and Bruce Springsteen’s legendary “Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town” was recorded onsite.

Tilles Center is located at LIU Post, 720 Northern Blvd in Brookville, NY. For more information on how to purchase tickets, call 516-299-3100.

Tilles Center provided my family with complimentary tickets for the purpose of this review. We absolutely loved going and all opinions expressed are my own.  

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Hi, my name is Emma and I’m a 14-year-old 8th grader at Oceanside Middle School. My mom loves to tell the story that while she was pregnant with me she saw Wicked on Broadway with her parents and my dad. Legend has it that this was the moment when my love of all things Broadway began.

On what started as a completely normal school day, a friend of mine walked up to me and started telling me about a show called Hadestown. I was intrigued and after doing some background research, I knew this was a show I wanted to see. I asked my mom about getting tickets and a few short weeks later I was on my way (with my dad) to see the marvel that was Hadestown. The musical was fantastic and I highly recommend it for any Broadway fan.

The songs were well written, but what made them spectacular was the actors singing them for all the audience to hear. They were all so talented and there wasn’t a single song I didn’t enjoy. The choreography mixed with the music so well and gave life to each number. If I had to pick a favorite character that I connected to it was Our Lady of the Underground, Persephone.

Persephone was an interesting and charming addition to the cast and wowed the crowd with her humor and love for humanity. As the goddess of Spring, I thought she would be sweet and innocent, but her time with Hades made Persephone into a wonderful woman full of fire and contradiction. Her character was brought to life by Amber Gray, who did a wonderful job of approaching the character with the mindset of someone who is beautiful and kind, but with a bit of a dark side. I loved her interactions with the other characters. I won’t spoil anything for you but her scenes with Hades (played by the wonderful Patrick Page) and her scenes with Orpheus and Eurydice’s situation (played by Reeve Carney and Eva Noblezada respectively) show such an incredible range.

She is an absolute wonder and I left the theatre singing her songs excited to tell my friends what an amazing experience I had at Hadestown. But NOW you don’t have to take just MY word that this is an amazing show. Hadestown received 14 Tony Award nominations which made it the most nominated show of 2019 including Best Musical.

To purchase tickets click HERE.

Hadestown provided my family with two complimentary tickets for the purpose of this review. My daughter LOVED this show and said, “This is my favorite show of ALL time.” This is saying A LOT and all opinions expressed in this review are her own. Hubby had a great time and loved the daddy-daughter bonding experience. 

The post Hadestown…A Hell of a Good Time appeared first on Living Clean and Dirty.

For me, that’s WICKED.

Years ago, when I was seven months pregnant with Emma, my dad surprised my hubby and me with tickets to see it on Broadway. It wasn’t my first trip to Oz. I’d been obsessed with The Wizard of Oz since I was a little girl. My fifth birthday was Wizard of Oz themed, complete with my prized collection of dolls. So when the lights dimmed at the Gershwin Theatre that night, I felt like I was coming home.

I fell in love with the show.

Years later, when it was time to introduce my daughters to Broadway, there really wasn’t much debate. Their first Broadway show had to be WICKED.

Part of me wanted them to experience the music and the spectacle.

But an even bigger part wanted to share something that had become special to me because of my dad.

As we sat in the audience, I couldn’t help but think about that first performance years earlier. It felt like he was sitting right beside us again.

If you’ve somehow managed to avoid spoilers all these years, WICKED tells the story of Oz long before Dorothy arrives. Instead of following the famous yellow brick road, it asks what really happened between Glinda and Elphaba before one became “Good” and the other became “Wicked.”

The music is phenomenal. “Popular,” “Defying Gravity” and “For Good” are the kinds of songs that stay with you long after you’ve left the theater.

Apparently they stay with husbands too.

Mine spent the train ride home singing “Popular.”

I consider that one of the show’s greatest achievements.

This summer I had the chance to return for a third visit, this time as part of a group of mommy bloggers. Before the show we were invited to lunch where we met the actresses playing Elphaba and Glinda and learned about WICKED‘s partnership with BullyBust, an organization working to prevent bullying in schools.

The highlight of the day, though, belonged to Emma.

She finally got to meet Elphaba, her favorite character.

When I asked her why she loved Elphaba so much, she didn’t talk about the songs or the green makeup.

She said she admired that Elphaba stood up for what she believed in, even when it wasn’t easy.

I don’t know if there’s a better lesson for a kid to take away from a Broadway show than that.

The older I get, the more I realize experiences become family traditions before you even know they’re happening. One surprise from my dad eventually became my daughters’ first Broadway show, and now every time I hear the opening notes of “Defying Gravity,” I think of all three generations sitting together in that theater.

That’s a little bit of Broadway magic you can’t buy with a ticket.

My dad treated me to my first performance of WICKED. More than a decade later, WICKED provided my family with complimentary tickets for the purpose of this review after I reached out because I genuinely wanted to share the experience with my daughters. As always, all opinions are my own.

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