Yes/No Detroit

I almost didn't write this post because I stayed up till 3am watching TV last night (#ThanksgivingVacation) and I completely forgot it's Friday today. Oops. This week was a short work week, which is nice, and I'm staying with my parents for a few days, which is always like a mini vacation. Kura Sushi, in Troy - such a neat concept! What I've been up to this week: Eating out . Last Friday I met a friend at Green Lantern Berkley, and I hadn't been to that location before—it's super nice. We got their candied bacon and also a small round deep-dish pizza (yes, you read that right; ask for their ROUND deep-dish, which I'm convinced is actually two round crusts stacked on top of each other), which ended up being huge. On Sunday, I met someone at Pumachug for brunch, in Clawson, which was very good, and on Sunday night I met someone at Imperial for dinner. Imperial is always good too, and I was able to stop by the Rust Belt Market across the street for a minute, to

*Disclosure: I have an ongoing media relationship with Broadway in Detroit. The opinions expressed here, however, are my own.  Summer: The Donna Summer Musical  will be playing at the Fisher Theatre in Detroit this March, and I'm curious to see it, as her music is great. About the show: The North American Tour of SUMMER: The Donna Summer Musical will make its Detroit premiere at the Fisher Theatre, March 8–20, 2022. Tickets start at $39 and will go on sale on Friday, November 26, 2021 online at Ticketmaster.com and in person at the Fisher Theatre Box Office. SUMMER features a book by Tony Award® nominee Colman Domingo, Robert Cary and Tony Award® winner Des McAnuff, with songs by Donna Summer, Giorgio Moroder, Paul Jabara and others. This new touring production is directed by Lauren L. Sobon and choreographed by Natalie Caruncho, based on the original direction by Tony Award® winner Des McAnuff and original choreography by Tony Award® winner Sergio Trujillo. Associate choreographer

*Disclosure: I have an ongoing media relationship with 313 Presents. The opinions expressed here, however, are my own.  Oklahoma  will be coming to the Fox Theatre, Detroit, from Tuesday, February 22 through Sunday, February 27, and one of my lucky winners will win four tickets  to the Feb. 22 show! About the show: Stripped down to reveal the darker psychological truths at its core, Daniel Fish’s OKLAHOMA! tells a story of a community circling its wagons against an outsider, and the frontier life that shaped America. Upending the sunny romance of a farmer and a cowpoke, this OKLAHOMA! allows the classic musical – and our country – to be seen in a whole new light at the Fox Theatre on Tuesday, February 22 through Sunday, February 27; part of the 2021-22 Fox Theatre Series presented by Comerica Bank. “How is it that the coolest new show on Broadway is a 1943 musical?” says The New York Times. This is OKLAHOMA! as you’ve never seen or heard it before—reimagined for the 21st century, and n

*Disclosure: I have an ongoing media relationship with Broadway in Detroit. The opinions expressed here, however, are my own. I have seen the movie Hairspray  but never the musical, so I'm excited that it's coming to the Fisher Theater in Detroit this January.  About the show: Broadway In Detroit announces the return of HAIRSPRAY, Broadway’s Tony Award®-winning musical comedy phenomenon, to the Fisher Theatre, January 18-30, 2022.  Tickets start at $39 and will go on sale on Friday, November 19, 2021 online at Ticketmaster.com and in person at the Fisher Theatre Box Office. The cast features Andrew Levitt aka Nina West (from “RuPaul’s Drag Race”) as Edna Turnblad, Niki Metcalf as Tracy Turnblad and Toneisha Harris (from NBC’s “The Voice”) as Motormouth Maybelle will be Billy Dawson as Corny Collins, Will Savarese as Link Larkin, Emery Henderson as Penny Pingleton, Brandon G. Stalling as Seaweed J. Stubbs, Kaelee Albritton as Amber Von Tussle and Addison Garner as Velma Von Tuss

I still haven't been sleeping well lately, although it's been slowly improving, so this week has felt long ... I'm glad it's the weekend. Next week will be a short week for me too, as I'm only working Monday through Wednesday due to the holiday.  Nonla Burger - the best! Similar to In-N-Out. What I've been up to this week: Trip to Portage.  One of my friends from college lives on the west side of the state, so I went to visit her and her husband. It was my first time making the drive by myself, but 2.5 hours each way isn't that bad; there are also rest stops available about halfway there each way, so I was able to stop for a minute. We mostly just play board/card games and eat, LOL; the Kalamazoo area has Nonla Burger, which is my favorite, as it's VERY similar to In-N-Out, and we also had a pie from Crane's, which a mutual friend had gifted her, and Crane's is my favorite Fennville pie place. Plus I got to try Nonla Vietnamese, although sadly it

*Disclosure: I have an ongoing media relationship with Broadway in Detroit. The opinions expressed here, however, are my own. An Officer and a Gentleman  will be coming to Detroit's Fisher Theater from February 1-13, 2022, and I'm excited to see it! I only recently watched the movie version (with Richard Gere) for the first time, so I'm curious to see how it will be adapted into a musical.  About the show: AN OFFICER AND A GENTLEMAN, a new musical, will be playing at the Fisher Theatre in Detroit from February 1-13, 2022. Tickets start at $39 and will go on sale on Friday, November 19, 2021 online at Ticketmaster.com and in person at the Fisher Theatre Box Office. “A great movie can imbed itself into the cultural memory of a generation. Our goal was to build on that memory, finding new ways into the story through the lens of musical theater,” says producer Stephen Gabriel of Work Light Productions. “Like all good stories, AN OFFICER AND A GENTLEMAN is set in a specific worl

I am a big fan of the Ghostbusters  franchise—yes, even the women-led one from 2016—and Ghostbusters: Afterlife  was no exception.  This time around, the setting is 2021, aka modern day, and Trevor (Finn Wolfhard, Stranger Things ) and Phoebe (Mckenna Grace, Young Sheldon ) move with their mom Callie (Carrie Coon) to a random town in the middle of nowhere. The reason: they're broke, and she's just inherited her father's creaky old house, even though he left her family when she was a kid. Her father was known as the crazy person in town, but Trevor and Phoebe soon find that things aren't always what they seem.  As a Ghostbusters  fan, I loved this movie—and as a fan of movies in general, this one was a LOT of fun. I attended a critics' screening which was held in the EMAX theater at Emagine Royal Oak, and it was definitely a treat—there are a lot of action scenes in this film, and to see it on a screen that big was fantastic. Ghostbusters  fans who did not like the 2

This week has seemed long, especially with the time change, but I'm headed to Portage today to see some friends! As a precaution, I did an at-home COVID test yesterday, since I am staying with them, and thankfully tested negative.  Large pickle pizza from J's Penalty Box, Ferndale What I've been up to this week: Eating out, probably a bit too much ...  Last Friday, a friend and I went to Buddy's Pizza Troy —I have done takeout there a few times but I think this was the first time I actually dined in there, which was nice. On Saturday, I met someone at Brown Iron Brewhouse, in Royal Oak, which I had always wanted to try but hadn't yet, and it was very good. On Sunday, I went out to El Guanaco in Troy, which is a hole-in-the wall but the pupusas and tacos are always excellent. On Monday, my parents and I went to Maggiano's to celebrate their anniversary; on Tuesday, I met a friend at Kung Fu Tea; on Wednesday, I had dinner at Main Street Kitchen, which was my firs

This week has seemed even longer than last week, and I'm looking forward to sleeping in a bit on Saturday and Sunday.  Coffee buns from PappaRoti, Rochester Hills What I've been up to this week: Influencer event at PappaRoti, Rochester Hills . As you can see above, on Saturday I was able to sample a wide variety at PappaRoti, which is actually an international chain—its first U.S. store was in Farmington. I had never been to PappaRoti before but always wanted to try it, as it's in the same plaza as Crumbl in Rochester Hills (and of course I stopped at Crumbl after for one cookie to-go, also, haha ...). Everything was pretty delicious. You can check out my Instagram reel on it here . Wizard-themed murder mystery party . My friends actually used to do a lot of murder-mystery parties in the past, but with the pandemic I haven't gone to one in probably 2-3 years. A friend had a very small one on Saturday night (about 11 people, and you had to be vaccinated to attend) and it

It's been a long week, but we've finally made it to Friday! I'm finally getting pickle pizza later with a friend—we tried to go last Monday but the restaurant ended up being closed on Mondays. Margherita pizza from Bar Verona, Commerce Twp. What I've been up to this week: Watching movies. Last Friday my neighbor and I went to go see Dune  in the theater. I'd give it 3.5/5 overall—the cinematography was incredible but the movie actually was technically titled Dune Part 1 , and just when the movie started to get interesting, it ended. Because of that I still want to watch the original, which is also on HBO Max, at some point. I accidentally took a little snoozle for the first 20 minutes or so of this version, but this one is streaming on HBO Max right now too so I was able to catch up when I got home. On Sunday, I took myself out to see Ron's Gone Wrong , which was pretty good; 4/5 from me. And on Tuesday, I saw The Addams Family 2 , which was about what I expecte

What The Constitution Means to Me   will be playing at the Fisher Theatre, Detroit from December 14, 2021 through January 2, 2022. One of my lucky blog readers will win four tickets  for opening night! Tickets start at only $25 and can be purchased here . About the show: Playwright Heidi Schreck’s boundary-breaking play breathes new life into our Constitution and imagines how it will affect the next generation of Americans. Fifteen-year-old Heidi earned her college tuition by winning Constitutional debate competitions across the United States. In this hilarious, hopeful, and achingly human new play, she resurrects her teenage self in order to trace the profound relationship between four generations of women and the founding document that shaped their lives. Schreck’s timely and galvanizing play, directed by Oliver Butler, became a sensation on Broadway where it received two Tony Award® nominations among countless other accolades. See the play The New York Times hailed as "not just

Hadestown  will be at the Fisher Theatre from November 23 through December 5, and I have four tickets  for one of my lucky blog readers to attend opening night!  Tickets start at $59.00, and can be purchased here . Find out more info about the show here at my previous blog post. About the show: Following two intertwining love stories—that of young dreamers Orpheus and Eurydice, and that of King Hades and his wife Persephone—Hadestown invites audiences on a hell-raising journey to the underworld and back. Beguiling melodies and poetic imagination pit industry against nature, doubt against faith, and fear against love. Performed by a vibrant ensemble of actors, dancers, and singers, Hadestown delivers a deeply resonant and defiantly hopeful theatrical experience.  Hadestown is the winner of 8 Tony Awards, including Best Musical. GIVEAWAY: Enter to win via the widget below. Giveaway will end on Wednesday, November 4th, at 11:59pm EST , and winner will be notified the next day via email,

photo by: Joan Marcus *Disclosure: I have an ongoing media relationship with Broadway in Detroit. The opinions expressed here, however, are my own. What the Constitution Means to Me  will be playing at the Fisher Theatre in Detroit, from December 14, 2021 through January 2, 2022, and I'm excited to see it—I haven't seen this one before, and it's a play, not a musical. Tickets will be on sale this Friday, October 29th, on Ticketmaster at the Fisher Theatre box office. About the show: Broadway in Detroit is pleased to announce that tickets for Heidi Schreck’s Tony Award nominated play and Pulitzer Prize finalist What the Constitution Means to Me will go on sale Friday, October 29, 2021. What the Constitution Means to Me will play Detroit’s Fisher Theatre for a limited three-week engagement December 14, 2021, through January 2, 2022. Tickets start at $25 and are available for purchase online at Ticketmaster.com , by phone at 800-982-2787, and in person at the Fisher Theatre b