opening night

absolutely riveting.  the original dreams were there (sheryl lee ralph, jennifer holliday, loretta devine), as well as other big-wigs like raven symone and nia long.  mmm, nia long.  we delivered a very strong show, feeding off the electric vibe of the house.  even better opening night party - at j lounge on 11th and olive.  awesome bar, tasty hors d'oeuvres (man, that lobster was killer), and delectable drinks.  there were three specialty drinks named after effie, deena and lorrell.  after seeing a lorrell made, which ended with a splash of chambord, i was sold.  desserts, open air space upstairs - truly a great spot.  but the best part of the night was getting to spend it with lindsey gary.  i hadn't seen her since graduation, and we both cringed at the fact that our 5-year isn't that far away.  she came to the show and loved it.  i showed her around backstage and naturally, she took a picture of my wig and posted it on facebook.  catching up with her at the party was awesome, and there are definitely plans in the making for us to hang out soon.

quick aside - the party ended at 2, and a lot of the cast went to mel's diner on hollywood and highland.  i decided to call it a night but kinda wish i didn't.  hindsight is always 20/20, ain't it?  apparently, those who went met the most decorated winter olympian in united states history.  yep, apolo anton ohno.  chowing down on french toast at 4am.  oh well, i can live vicariously, can't i?

ok, back to lindsey.  she gave me some great tips on places i can go around LA sans car.  well, i took advantage of that yesterday.  took the red line out to hollywood and highland - not to go to mel's, but to check out the walk of fame.  now granted it was thursday, but the block on hollywood blvd from highland to orange was already blocked off for the oscars.  took a few pics of the kodak theatre, the bleachers in the street, a handful of the stars.  my mom is in love with denzel washington, so i made sure to find his prints and signature and take a couple of pictures for her.  then i walked down hollywood to vine, where i had lunch at dillon's.  great...uh...female scenery in form of the waitresses, cheap beer (a 22-oz hoegaarden for 5 bucks!) and arguably, the best burger i've ever had.  their famous mac 'n cheese burger.  it was topped with so much macaroni and was so large in its own right that the plate was accompanied by a steak knife.  i literally never picked up the burger but had to eat my sandwich with fork and knife.  throw in an appetizer of avocado fries, which were delish as well - and that was 30 bucks well spent.  took it easy today, but we've got our traditional 5-show weekend on the horizon, so it's back to the grind soon.

how's that for a concise, yet informative update?  more to come next week!