So last night mom and I saw Mamma Mia at the Fox Theater. It was pretty good, a lot funnier than I was expecting. I knew the plot and music in advance as I had bought the original London cast CD for mom for Christmas. But as I listened to it, I couldn't really imagine how the songs actually tied into the story. To be honest, there were a few songs during the play that didn't seem to fit. It felt like the writers were really stretching the plot to fit with the song lyrics, which to me is fairly backwards. And the plot and character development felt rushed, and unfortunately I felt the character of Donna was a little irritating. She starts off as an upbeat and independent woman, but she spent most of the time yelling at everyone because she doesn't feel like dealing with her problems. Which wouldn't be so bad except that it makes the scenes with her a little redundant.

I liked that Sophie's actress wasn't as high-pitched as the CD, because she's a little annoying with that voice. A little annoying. I can't really complain too much, I listen to loads of Asian music... Anyway, the dancing in the play was just fantastic! The best dancing scene had to be Lay All Your Love on Me, which involved good-looking guys in scuba gear, dancing in flippers xD My favorite scene was probably Dancing Queen for the humor, but the best part of the whole night was the encore. All the actors come out, bow, and then do a few more songs. The play turned into a concert, with people dancing in their seats and aisles. Overall it was great!

Whew! I did lots of cleaning today. Vacuumed and mopped all upstairs, cleaned two bathrooms, did dishes twice, did laundry, made fancy cupcakes (took forever), rearranged the furniture, wiped the cupboards, etc. I still need to empty the trash cans, put away the dishes & laundry, and have a shower. Tomorrow I need to put things away so my family doesn't look quite so sloppy, and close to the party time, I need to start making the curry and rice. Despite all the work, I like doing it, since it makes me feel accomplished, like "Hey, today I got off my bum and did something!" And then I get to reward myself with the massage mat and an episode or two of Saiunkoku Monogatari <3>