Fun Find: "This Is Me" Sung by Disney on Broadway

Hi friends!  Happy Friday!  Today, I'm back today with another quick fun find video from YouTube.  Earlier today, Disney released a video of some of the Disney on Broadway stars singing "This Is Me" from The Greatest Showman in honor of Pride Month.

I mentioned last month how much I loved The Greatest Showman when I shared a video of some of the Disney Broadway stars singing "A Million Dreams".  I love that this movie is technically part of Disney now that they own 21st Century Fox.  The movie already reminded me a lot of Walt Disney and I think this is the perfect match!

I think this is the perfect song with the perfect message to release during Pride!  I love how Disney is promoting everyone to be "authentically you" in it's message.

I have enjoyed this video so much!  I love how they used the Aladdin theater as the backdrop for the music video.  Eliot and I saw Aladdin on Broadway back in 2018 and it was so much fun!  The set is gorgeous and the theater is beautiful.  Plus, these Disney on Broadway stars completely nailed it!  They sound amazing.  I only wish the video had said which Disney musicals they were a part of!

Happy Pride!!!  Have a wonderful weekend!!!  °o°

2022 California Trip Bucket List

Today is going to be a treat.  Eliot and I originally thought that we'd be leaving for California today, but after escaping the winter storm that's hitting New England right now, we're already in San Jose and settled in at Eliot's parents' house!!!  I'm not sure what we're going to do today since we hadn't planned to be here, but I wanted to stop by for a few minutes to post one of my bucket lists!  It became apparent that my overall list was getting too big, so I separated my non-Disney list and my Disneyland list.  

I've dubbed the other part of my list my 2022 California Trip Bucket List.  Here I've got all of the other stuff that we're doing in California: concerts, musicals, San Jose Sharks games, Hollywood, a little bit of self-care and more!  Here's what I've got on it!

Melissa's 2022 California Trip Bucket List

1. See the Disney Princess Concert
2. See Hamilton
3. See Wicked
4. Look for San Jose Sharks Fabric at Joanns
5. Look for San Jose Sharks Gear (Target or Local Sports Store)
6. Go Shopping at the Shark Tank
7. Get a Mani/Pedi with Elissa
8. See the Sharks and Bruins Play at the Shark Tank
9. See the Seattle Kraken (The NHL’s newest team)
10. Visit the Funko Hollywood Store
11. Visit the Disney Studio Store
12. Get an Ice Cream at the Disney Studio Store
13. Check out S. Preston Art at the GardenWalk Anaheim

I'm obviously super excited about Disneyland, but I also can't wait for all of the events on this list.  I'm excited to see the Sharks vs the Bruins in a sea of teal jerseys for once.  (Eliot and I are usually the ones sticking out like a sore thumb in Boston.)  I'm also excited to go back to Hollywood.  I can't wait to see the Funko store!  And I'm really looking forward to getting my nails done for the first time in years!

It's certainly going to be a fun filled trip!  As always, I'll swing by sometime after we're home in Maine to let you all know how things worked out with my list!  °o°

Music To My Ears

Eliot's and my trip to California is creeping up on us and it will be here before we know it!  (Three weeks from today will be our first day in California!!!)  I'm still freaking out a little bit about how much stuff we have to get done between now and when we leave, but whenever I remember how much fun we're going to have, that calms me down.

Today, I thought that I'd tell you more about the final weekend of our California trip.  It's the final piece of the equation.  I've already shared that we're going to a few Sharks games, spending four days Disneyland, and going to the Disney Princess Concert.  But what I haven't told you are what else we're doing our last two days.

Ahh!!!  I can hardly contain my excitement... one month from today, Eliot and I will be going to see Hamilton in LA!!!  Then, the following day, we're going to see Wicked!  

I've never seen either show live on stage so both of these shows are going to be a real treat!  As you know, I've seen the Disney+ video of Hamilton a few times and I was completely floored.  I can't wait to experience the show live!  I'm so excited!  Plus, I've never actually seen Wicked even though I know some of the songs from it.  I'm excited to see this too and I've heard many wonderful things about it!

Eliot's Mom Nori told us about Wicked a few weeks ago and the plan was always to see that.  Then, when we were sitting down to finalize the details of our trip, Eliot happened to see that Hamilton was playing that weekend too.  I would prefer to see Hamilton, while Wicked is Eliot's favorite musical- so we compromised to do both.

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Our plans for Saturday are to go to Downtown Disney and the Anaheim GardenWalk on Saturday during the morning and early afternoon.  We're hoping to check out a few of our favorite Disney stores like WonderGround, the Dress Shop, and World of Disney. There are also a few places we want to check out at the GardenWalk since it's right near our hotel for this trip and the D23 Expo.

Later in the day, we'll drive up to LA and Hollywood Boulevard to the theater where Hamilton is playing.  Eliot and I are hoping to get these a little early so we have time to check out the Funko store which is right near there, as well as the Disney Studio Store right next to the El Capitan Theater!  Eliot and I went to the Disney Studio Store a few years ago to check it out and get some ice cream.  We'd both love to go back again!

On Sunday, we're going to be driving up to the theater where Wicked is playing from the San Diego area and Nori's condo.  We're seeing the matinee performance at 1 pm so Eliot and I will have time to ride with his family back down to catch our 11:30 pm red-eye flight from San Diego to Boston.

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I'm sure that it's going to be a whirlwind weekend, but I am so excited to be getting back to the theater.  Eliot and I both love going to see shows and we're definitely looking forward to seeing some of our favorite Broadway shows on this trip!  Plus, all of the venues that we're going to require proof of vaccination (as well as face masks I believe) so we feel pretty confident and safe that we're making educated decisions. 

So, there you have it.  During our California trip, Eliot and I will be going to two San Jose Sharks hockey games, the Disney Princess Concert, Disneyland, California Adventure, Downtown Disney, Hollywood Boulevard, Hamilton and Wicked.  

It's going to be tons of fun and crazy busy, but it's also music to my ears!!!  °o°

Fun Find: Hamilton- The Walt Disney Cover

As expected, I've had a busy week of cleaning and organizing the house.  My current "go-to" soundtrack when I have a lot of projects to work on is still Hamilton.  Ever since I first watched it almost a year ago, it's my favorite get stuff done soundtrack.  Not only is the music upbeat and catchy, but the Broadway musical is long enough to get about two and a half hours of cleaning done while listening to the 46 tracks.

Since I've been on a Hamilton kick, I thought I'd share a Fun Find Friday of another Disney Hamilton mash-up.  (You can watch more Disney Hamilton Crossovers here.)

Today's video is from impressionist, vocalist and YouTube sensation, Brian Hull.  (I shared a few of his other videos back in May of 2016, which you can see here.)  In this cover video, he's told the story of Walt Disney, but with Hamilton style.

I thought this video and mash-up was really creative and fun!  I love how the lyrics of the song tells Walt's story just like the first song of the musical introduces the viewer to Alexander Hamilton.  Plus, Brian even had the Walt Disney Family Museum fact check the lyrics to make sure that it was historically accurate!  How cool is that?  

I'm so glad that I unexpectedly stumbled across this a few weeks ago when I was on YouTube looking for something else.  I was really impressed with it so I immediately saved it to share!  I hope you enjoyed watching it as much as I did!  °o°

Hamilton and Disney Crossovers

It's been one month since Eliot and I first watched Hamilton to finish our at home 4th of July celebrations.  Since then, I've watched the movie again twice.  I've also listened to the entire soundtrack a bunch of times.  At this point, it's my go to music if I'm cleaning or organizing the house.  It's also perfect to crank up and lose myself while working on mouse ears.  I think it's safe to say that the musical is now a personal favorite of mine.

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I, like many others who love Hamilton, also love Disney.  With the addition of Hamilton to the Disney+ family, many people have also made Hamilton and Disney mash ups.  A search of "Hamilton Disney" on Etsy will produce a bunch of shirts, stickers, mouse ears, and more with quotes from the musical and our favorite characters.  I'm definitely going to be getting a few of them to rock the next time I'm at Walt Disney World!

Of course, the music itself also presents another fun way to mash up Disney and Hamilton.  I've come across a few things that I couldn't help but share.  The most ambitious project I've seen thus far are these two videos of the entire first and second acts of the Hamilton musical- but performed by the Muppets.  On Youtube, voice impressionist Ricky Downs III has re-created the entire musical, complete with commentary by our favorite Muppet critics: Statler and Waldorf.

The cast includes Kermit as Alexander Hamilton, Miss Piggy as Eliza, Gonzo as Aaron Burr, Sam Eagle as George Washington, Fozzie Bear as "Marquis de LaFozette" and many more of our favorite Muppet friends.  Some of the characters even switch for the second act of the play, just like in the real version of Hamilton!  (You can read more about Act 1 here and Act 2 here.)  I haven't had a chance to listen to all of the videos yet, but it's definitely on my to do list!

My personal favorite crossover (so far) is this video parody brought to us by King George if he owned Disney.  It's the perfect Hamilton Disney crossover and I found myself laughing each time I've watched it.  Of course, we'll be back... even when you raise the ticket prices to remind us of your love.

If you love Disney, the Muppets, and Hamilton, you have to check these out.  I'm sure you'll get a big chuckle out of them- just like I did!  °o°

Hamilton Review

It's been 10 days since Eliot and I joined everyone in the phenomenon of the Hamilton musical.  Like many others, we flocked to Disney+ to experience the film version of the theatrical musical the weekend it was released.  Late in the evening on the 4th of July, we finally sat down to watch... and I was completely captivated for 2.5 hours.

Wow.  Brilliant.  Amazing.  Incredible.  Thought Provoking.  Ear-wormy.  Just... WOW.

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I can't believe that Eliot and I didn't see it sooner.  Now, I really wish that we'd seen it live on Broadway.  I know that someday we will be able to see it live... when the world is right side up again.  And I very much look forward to that day.

Going into watching Hamilton, I didn't know the music.  All I knew about the music was that it was a lot of rap and hip hop and that it might be hard to follow along and catch everything.  But everyone was obsessed with the soundtrack, so I knew it would be good.  I also knew the musical was about founding father Alexander Hamilton.  I knew everyone who had seen it live thought it was amazing... and that's all I had to go on.

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I specifically didn't listen to the soundtrack because I didn't want to ruin anything for myself.  I don't regret this decision.  While there were a few places that I didn't catch what was being said the first time, I quickly committed some of the more popular songs to memory after one viewing.  I listened to the soundtrack and watched the movie again on Monday the 6th while Eliot was at work.  The Hamilton soundtrack has been my go-to playlist since Eliot and I first watched it on July 4th.  Now, even more of the songs are stuck in my head on repeat.

I haven't watched it for a third time... yet.  Eliot's sister Elissa is here with us for the week, so if we have time, she and I might watch it one afternoon while he's at work.  If we don't watch it, I'll definitely be putting it on again next week after she leaves.

Ever since I watched Hamilton, I can't get enough of it.  At this point, Facebook knows about my obsession because it keeps suggesting articles and videos about the history, cast, and story behind the making of the hit musical.  Videos of the cast performing outside of their Broadway theater also keep popping up.  I'm not complaining.

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I knew when I settled into the couch and we first saw the stage that I was going to be hooked.  The seemingly simple stage design transported me back to revolutionary times.  They used simple, historically accurate props, keeping the viewers main focus on the cast, choreography and most importantly- the music.  The stage also had a rotating platform or turntable.  It was used to help move the story along and it brought so much life to the performance.  Finally, I was excited to see more staircases on wheels- much like I the ones in "Frozen Live at the Hyperion" at California Adventure.

The costumes were also historically appropriate.  At first glance, they didn't seem very important but you could easily tell the main cast members apart because of their costumes.  The simple costumes the ensemble members wore made it easy for them to change into different characters- like Revolutionary or British soldiers... depending on where you were in the story.  You could also see how Hamilton grew in importance (and presumably also in wealth) based on his clothing.  It seems so simple, and yet, the clothing choices were also subtly helping to move the story along.

Another aspect that I was impressed with was the choreography.  I had no idea what to expect but it blew me away.  I loved the way it brought the story to life.  The ensemble's dancing was flawless.  The dance style was mostly dictated by the music... and the two were seamless.  The stage turntable and choreography worked together harmoniously as well.  I was so impressed by how well it all came together visually.

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Which brings me to the cast of Hamilton... the original Broadway cast of Hamilton was perfection.  Each of the cast members were perfect for their role.  I completely believed each of them was the character they were portraying and that I had magically gone back in time to witness the founding of our country firsthand.  The casts' voices, acting, dancing... everything just blew me away.  I was also impressed to see such a diverse cast.  I didn't know that Hamilton was known for how it cast African-Americans, Latinos and Asians in the roles of the white Founding Fathers and their female counterparts.  I thought this was brilliant, and it seemed especially relevant that Hamilton was released on Disney+ right now with everything happening in our country.

The story and writing was what impressed me most.  I've since read that it took 5 years for Lin-Manuel Miranda to write all of Hamilton.  It doesn't surprise me.  It was amazing and I'm sure it took a lot of time to get it perfect.  The storyline was pretty historically factual, with a few things added to help with the storyline, and a few things taken out because you can't fit everything from history into a 2.5 hour musical.  The craziest part of all of this is that almost the entire 2.5 hour musical is music.

The entire show is told through the music.  If you listen to the soundtrack, it's 2 hours and 23 minutes long- that's most of the show.  One song flows seamlessly into the next.  The music styles might be different, but they all fit together perfectly.  Some of the songs at the end echo parts of previous songs.  In the end, the entire soundtrack of 46 songs fits together in a gift wrapped box of perfection.

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Lin-Manuel Miranda is brilliant   I've always admired his work, but now I can fully attest to his absolute brilliance.  I should have known that he'd completely blow me away.  I was very impressed with the Moana soundtrack.  I can't wait to see what he does for the live action The Little Mermaid music.  (I hope he continues working with Disney!)

The Hamilton movie has found a perfect home on Disney+.  Disney and Pixar are known for their incredible storytelling- and this fits that model.  The amount of details that make the Hamilton story come alive make me feel like it's a live action Disney movie.  You can feel the love, time and care that was put into creating it.  Disney and Pixar are also known for hiding Easter eggs in their movies, and Hamilton has many little things to look for when you watch it over and over.  (I'm going to have to look into these each time I watch the movie to see if I can spot them!)

Long story short, Hamilton was incredible.  The easiest way to explain it is that, "it's the story of America then, told by America now," as stated by Thomas Kail, the director of Hamilton.  If you like American history, musical theater, amazing costuming, dynamic choreography and marvelous performers- you have to see it.  Even if you aren't sure if you'll like it, it's worth taking 2.5 hours of your life to watch it and find out.

If you haven't seen Hamilton yet, do yourself a favor and watch it.  If you don't have Disney+, go get the free trial.  You need to be in the room where it happened.  °o°

Fun Find: Aladdin- A Musical Spectacular

As you know from last week's Fun Find Friday, Aladdin: A Musical Spectacular took the stage one final time this past Sunday.  The show was a personal favorite of mine, and I'm sad to see it leave California Adventure.

Growing up, Aladdin was my favorite Disney movie.  Jeremy and I loved it and would watch it, and the television series, all the time.  He loved the Genie.  I wanted to be princess Jasmine for the longest time.  In fact, when our elementary school did a Disney themed spring concert, Nana made me a purple Jasmine dress to wear!

I remember getting together with my cousins on my Mom's side and we would do skits and plays for our family.  Aladdin was favorite and I remember three different times we "performed" it for them.  I was always Jasmine.  Jeremy was always Genie.  Come to think of it, Aladdin is probably the reason tigers were my favorite animal growing up.

I think it's safe to say that Aladdin had a big impact on my childhood.  Maybe that's why I'm having a hard time saying goodbye to the musical theater show.  I've only seen it live three times, but I really enjoyed it.  The costumes, set design and music was all amazing, but it was the cast that made it memorable.  Genie's jokes, their passion.  It made the show what it was.  It was special.  If you were not able to see it in person, here's the final performance as today's Fun Find Friday.

I'm very sad that it's over, but I'm thankful I was able to see the last half of the second to last performance via Periscope on Sunday.  Since then, Eliot found this video of the final performance and he sent it to me.  Those of you who haven't seen it wouldn't know, but they changed a few of the lines.  One that really stuck out to me was Genie on the stairway yelling "one last time!"  (He usually throws out a joke at that point.)

However, it's the ending that really got me.  Genie changed his lines a little to say, "I'm free!  Thank you Al.  Thank you everybody.  Come on Carpet, let's go home."

Thank you to the entire cast and crew of Disney's Aladdin: A Musical Spectacular for making it a magical experience.  I'm so thankful I was able to see the show a few times in person.  It was truly memorable.  I hope that Frozen can live up to the hype.  Queen Elsa certainly has some big shoes to fill!  In the meantime, I guess this gives Eliot and I an excuse to go to New York City to see Aladdin on Broadway!  °o°

Fun Find: Genie's Jokes from Aladdin

As many of you probably know, Disney's Aladdin- A Musical Spectacular is taking it's final bow this weekend at California Adventure theme park.  The 45 minute musical production has been around for about 13 years.  It premiered at the Hyperion Theater on January 16, 2003.  It's filled the 2,000 seat theater many times over the years.  It's final production is this Sunday the 10th, before it permanently closes on January 11th.

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I loved the Aladdin musical from the second I saw it.  In fact, it's one of the things I remembered most vividly from my first trip to Disneyland in 2009.  Ironically, we were actually at Disneyland this past September when it was officially announced that the show would be closing to make room for a Frozen musical.  Elissa was so upset that she watched the show three times in a row the following day.

One of the best parts of the show were the Genie's jokes.  Not only were they hilarious, but they were witty and up to date with current events from our news and culture.  I recently discovered the Theme Park Extravaganza channel on Youtube.  They took videos of the live Aladdin show and edited Genie's jokes from the past few months so I wanted to share them with you for today's fun find.

Note: Please use caution when/if showing your children these videos.  Some of these jokes are more for adults than kids. They'll probably be over their heads.  Don't fret, there are always plenty of children in the audience; I just want to give you a heads up!

These were some of the jokes we heard while we were at Disneyland in September.

Genie is always so over the top.  It's hilarious!  "Superstar!"

Of course, there's a few Kardasian jokes.  And you can't forget the hashtags.

And Eliot's family enjoyed the ones poking fun of my beloved New England Patriots.

No selfie sticks!!!  Don't forget the dress- black and blue or white and gold.

There were One Direction, Abercrombie and Fitch, Justin Beiber, Twitter, and Facebook jokes.  I'd have to say that the Disney themed ones were my favorite though!

This was definitely a wonderful show.  I'm glad someone took video of all the jokes from Genie so they'll always live on.  Thank you Aladdin-A Musical Spectacular for all of the memories over the past 13 years!  You'll always be a prince to me!  °o°