This and That – Page 61 – IAMNOTASTALKER

July 3, 2009April 20, 2010

Forest Lawn Memorial Park Hollywood Hills

I was all set to publish a blog post today about the Old School house, but a drive through Burbank yesterday evening caused that plan to go awry. At around 7 p.m. last night, after running a random errand in Hollywood, I drove home via Forest Lawn Drive in Burbank and practically had to stop my car right in its tracks due to a virtual circus that was taking place out in front of Forest Lawn Memorial Park. Over fifteen news vans were parked on the side of the road and countless media personnel were milling about on the sidewalk in front of the Burbank area cemetery. I had heard rumors that Michael Jackson’s funeral might take place at Forest Lawn early next week, but I didn’t believe reporters would be setting up already. So, of course, I just had to pull my car over to find out what was going on!

According to the reporters staked out at Forest Lawn, there are numerous unconfirmed reports that Michael Jackson’s family is planning to bury the King of Pop in a private ceremony at Forest Lawn Memorial Park on Tuesday morning at 10 a.m. I asked one of the reporters why so many media vans were there if the funeral reports were not yet confirmed and he informed me that the cemetery, which goes by the full name of Forest Lawn Memorial Park Hollywood Hills, is their “best guess as to Michael’s funeral location”. Apparently, the reporters are camping out in teams for the next FOUR days until the funeral takes place. It is absolutely incredible to me that they are willing to actually camp out for over NINETY-SIX hours on the side of the road on the off-chance that Michael’s funeral might take place nearby! Unreal! Only time will tell if the funeral actually will take place at Forest Lawn, but if the media is willing to camp out there for FOUR full days, I am guessing they must have a pretty solid tip to go on. And I can only imagine what the place is going to look like in the days to come!

It seemed yesterday that pretty much every single news outlet imaginable was already on duty in front of Forest Lawn. Even Telemundo was there!

Apparently, CNN thought they could simply tape off a piece of the road to reserve their spot, in lieu of having their reporters camp out on-site. LOL If I was reporter for a competing station I’d so stand there and be like, “Um, sorry! You snooze, you lose!” 🙂

Most of the news vans on-site already had GINORMOUS satellite equipment set up so that they could broadcast live. It was absolutely incredible to see!

And although I have yet to stalk the inside of Forest Lawn Memorial Park Hollywood Hills, I promise to do so in the near future so that I can write a more complete blog post about the cemetery. Forest Lawn has long been popular with the rich and famous and Michael Jackson is hardly the first celeb to be buried there. Forest Lawn is also the final resting place for Bette Davis, Lucille Ball, Ozzie Nelson, Freddie Prinze, Liberace, Telly Savalas, John Ritter, Sandra Dee, Steve Allen and the recently deceased David Carradine. Apparently, the Forest Lawn staff is remiss about divulging the location of star’s graves, but thankfully the Seeing-Stars website provides a plethora of information about the cemetery including a virtual map!

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: Forest Lawn Memorial Park Hollywood Hills is located at 6300 Forest Lawn Drive in Burbank. Do not confuse this Forest Lawn cemetery with their other location named Forest Lawn Glendale, which is located just a few miles away at 1712 S. Glendale Avenue in Glendale.

June 30, 2009June 16, 2011

Montrose Bowl

A few weeks ago, while out stalking the city of Montrose with Mike, from MovieShotsLA, the two of us happened to stumble upon a little bowling alley named Montrose Bowl, which has been featured in countless movie and television productions. Even though the bowling alley is currently closed to the public – it is only available as a venue for private parties – we just had to step inside for a little looksie. 🙂 The owner truly could NOT have been nicer to the two of us and gave us a complete run-down on the bowling alley’s filming history. He even let us poke around to snap a few pictures. 🙂

Montrose Bowl, which opened up back in 1936, has been a family owned and operated business for the past twenty-five years. The 1950’s style, eight lane bowling alley is one of the smallest alleys in all of Los Angeles. It is definitely a unique little place and it’s not hard to see why it has been featured in so many productions. Walking through the doors of Montrose Bowl is truly like stepping back in time.

The first production ever to film at the alley was the 1985 Michael J. Fox movie Teen Wolf. Montrose Bowl shows up twice in the movie as the basketball team’s post-game hang-out spot.

In 1991, Montrose Bowl stood in for the New York bowling alley where Michelle Pfeiffer and Al Pacino hung out in the romantic comedy Frankie and Johnny. One of Montrose Bowl’s bathrooms was also featured in a scene from the movie.

Montrose Bowl’s interior was changed significantly for the filming of the movie Pleasantville, where it portrayed the bowling alley frequented by William H. Macy and J.T. Walsh. Much of the decor from the filming of Pleasantville has been left up, so the alley currently looks very similar to how it appeared onscreen in the 1998 comedy about a 1950s television family.

The exterior of the Pleasantville bowling alley was built on a studio backlot, but as you can see in the above screen captures and photograph, quite closely resembles the real life exterior of Montrose Bowl.

Montrose Bowl has also been the site of countless celebrity parties. Back in his heyday, Phil Spector hosted an annual party at the bowling alley, with guests like Stevie Nicks, Van Halen, Gene Simmons and KISS in attendance. Bruce Willis, Dustin Hoffman, and the L.A. Kings hockey team have also hosted parties there. Once I heard that Montrose Bowl was somewhat of a celebrity hotspot, I just had to ask if my girl Jen Aniston had ever bowled there – and I was absolutely FLOORED to find out that indeed she had! 🙂 Apparently Ms. Aniston was a guest at a birthday party that Vince Vaughn threw for his sister at the alley a few years back. 🙂 Love it!

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Montrose Bowl is a VERY cool place and I highly recommend stalking it if you get the chance. It also seems like a GREAT place to throw a party!!!!

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: Montrose Bowl is located at 2334 Honolulu Avenue in Montrose. You can visit their website here. The bowling alley is currently closed to the public and only open for private events. But if you’re lucky, you may be able to stick your head in the door for a quick peek. 🙂

June 27, 2009April 20, 2010

Michael Jackson’s Walk of Fame Star

Still saddened by the sudden death of Michael Jackson, early yesterday afternoon I decided to pay my respects to the legendary pop star by visiting his Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. I thought I would post the pictures I took while there for those of you who do not live in the L.A. area and cannot visit the star yourselves.

I honestly don’t think Los Angeles has ever seen the likes of anything comparable to this in its entire history. I had absolutely no idea what I was in store for when I set out for Hollywood yesterday. Hundreds upon hundreds of fans showed up to visit the pop legend’s star and to drop off flowers and personal mementos. When I arrived at around 12:30 p.m., Michael’s star had already been cordoned off by the many policemen on duty and there were about two hundred people waiting in line to see it. Pictured above is the haphazard line that the crowd had formed in order to view Michael’s star. I don’t think the police had expected such a large turnout because they all seemed to be milling around trying to maintain crowd control, but largely unsure of what to do. Trying to cordon off hundreds of people into some sort of functioning line in the middle of Hollywoods’ busiest sidewalk cannot have been an easy task and due to that fact the whole thing was slightly chaotic. Thankfully, all of the fans were very respectful and I didn’t witness any sort of problems while I was there.

A huge crowd was even forming across the street from where Michael’s star is located.

And news vans were lined up along Hollywood Boulevard as far as the eye could see. It was absolutely incredible! There were far more people and news reporters on Hollywood Boulevard yesterday than at all the premieres I have been to in the past year combined!

The Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, which is located directly across the street from Michael’s star, even had a tribute posted on their famous Cinegrill billboard.

I only had to wait in line for about thirty minutes to see Michael’s star, but by the time I left it seemed there were more than double the amount of people in line as when I had first arrived. And I anticipate that even more people will be coming to view the star as the days progress. One gentleman I was in line with told me that his friends who live in England are flying out to Los Angeles tomorrow morning just to see the star! I couldn’t believe it. It is definitely true what they say about Michael Jackson transcending all races, ages, and cultures. People of all ages from all over the world were there yesterday to pay their respects to the pop star.

The policemen at the head of the line were letting ten people onto the sidewalk at a time to view the star. You can see above the way Michael’s star was cordoned off by the police in an effort to control the flow of the people who were there to visit it. News media crews were lined up on the other side of the partition, filming the hundreds of fans who walked past the star.

The area surrounding Michael’s star was completely covered in flowers, letters, and mementos. We were only given about ten seconds in front of the star, just barely enough time to snap a few photographs and say a quiet prayer. And although brief, it was still a comforting experience to be there. It was nice to share stories with the people in line who, like me, had grown up listening to Michael’s music and who were now all feeling the same sadness I was. It was nice to have some sort of place to go to pay my respects. It was nice to be able to say good-bye. If you were at all a fan of the pop star and live in the area, I definitely recommend going.

UPDATE:

Fellow stalker April visited Michael’s Star Saturday night and sent in the above photographs. As you can see, his star is almost completely covered over with flowers now.

Stalk It: Those wishing to pay their respects to Michael Jackson by visiting his Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame can find it directly in front of Grauman’s Chinese Theatre, which is located at 6925 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood. The line to view the star starts at the East side of Grauman’s, near the Kodak Theatre’s Hollywood Boulevard entrance. You can see where the line is formed in the above photograph. If you are planning to visit the star in the near future, I would be prepared to wait in line for at least an hour.

June 26, 2009April 20, 2010

Rest in Peace, Michael

I was absolutely devastated to learn yesterday of the passing of music legend Michael Jackson. I had no idea his death would affect me in the way that it did, but I simply could not stop crying. Due to the sad news of his death, I didn’t feel it would be appropriate to post a regular blog entry today.

And while I do realize that Michael Jackson was hated just as much as he was loved, because I grew up long before any of the problems in his personal life had occurred, my memories of the pop star are all good ones. Simply put, Michael Jackson was a part of my childhood. Some of my fondest memories in life are of sitting in front of the television set watching and re-watching The Making of Thriller with my dad, learning the steps to the Thriller dance with my adolescent friends, and, of course, stalking the many locations from Michael’s iconic music videos. As John Mayer said after the news was announced “I think we’ll mourn his loss as well as the loss of ourselves as children listening to Thriller on the record player.” Whatever Michael Jackson did or did not do in his personal life, no one can argue that the man was a musical genius, an icon, and a legend who absolutely revolutionized the music industry. I find it only fitting that Michael’s “retirement” concert tour that was scheduled to begin on July 13th will never see fruition, as his is a legend which can never be retired.

Michael, you will be missed.

For some happier reading, you can re-read my post on the recent Michael Jackson exhibit in Beverly Hills here.

June 18, 2009June 16, 2011

Il Cielo

Looking at wedding venues is so darn fun that, I swear, I think I would be happy just remaining engaged forever. It could be my full time job. What do you do? Oh, I’m engaged – full time! 🙂 LOL On Tuesday, my wedding venue expedition led my mom and me to a little restaurant in Beverly Hills named Il Cielo. And I have to say that the place was downright amazing!!! So much so that it’s at the very top of my very narrowed down list of possible locations. Because I am such a picky eater, for years I’ve been steadfast about serving a buffet at my wedding, as opposed to a set menu. Il Cielo doesn’t offer a buffet – they only do sit-down dinners – yet they are STILL at the top of my list! Now, that’s saying a lot! 🙂

Il Cielo, which means “the sky” in Italian, was opened up in 1986 inside of a tiny Beverly Hills bungalow by a man named Pasquale Vericella. In the 70s, that bungalow was the home to another Italian restaurant named En Brochette. A frequent visitor to En Brochette, Pasquale adored the intimate, homey feel of the restaurant and decided it was just the type of place he himself wanted to own someday. He was so adamant about opening his restaurant in that exact spot, in fact, that for years he begged En Brochette’s owners to sell the restaurant and the bungalow to him. They finally relented in 1986, and Pasquale opened up his own Tuscan-style restaurant, featuring his mother and grandmother’s traditional family recipes. I had the pleasure of meeting Pasquale yesterday and of course asked him all sorts of questions about which celebrities had dined at Il Cielo. He quickly brushed off my queries and said “When you get married here, the only celebrity we are concerned with is YOU!” 🙂 So cute!!!!

Il Cielo has been voted “the most romantic restaurant in Los Angeles” numerous times by numerous publications. It has also been named “one of the top five places to get married in the country” – yes, the COUNTRY – by The New York Times. Those are some pretty amazing accolades! The restaurant has hosted over 1,500 weddings in its 23 year history. According to the restaurants’ events manager, Fabio, Il Cielo’s philosophy is service first, food second, and ambiance third. And from what I witnessed yesterday, all three of those seem to be top notch, especially the service. When I asked where the bar gets placed during a wedding reception, Fabio looked at me with confusion on his face. Then, realization dawning, he explained, “Oh no, we do not do waiting in line here. Our servers walk around taking drink orders, so that your guests never have to get out of their chair!” OMG LOVE IT! Even better than that, after the reception ends, guests are served lattes, cappuccinos, and biscotti out on the sidewalk while waiting for the valet to retrieve their cars. SO LOVE THAT! I mean, this place is downright A-MA-ZING.

And, of course, there’s also the celeb factor! Google the words “Il Cielo” and “celebrities” and a list of a hundred well-known names will pop up, including Christian Bale, Nancy Reagan, my girl Jennifer Aniston, Ellen DeGeneres, Portia De Rossi, Robert Redford, Rod Stewart, Colin Farrell, Claudia Shiffer, Ali Larter, Brandon Routh, Michael Douglas, Catherine Zeta-Jones, and Nikki and Cathy Hilton. Lesley Ann Warren was married at Il Cielo and (that little homewrecker) Brad Pitt took Gwyneth Paltrow there on their first date.

And, of course, Il Cielo is also a filming location. At the beginning of Legally Blonde, it’s the restaurant where Elle Woods’ boyfriend, Warner, does not propose. When Warner first announces he is taking Elle to Il Cielo, she says “Oooh, I love that restaurant. I heard Madonna went into labor there.” LOL LOL LOL

Il Cielo’s patio area stood in for the patio of Adam Sandler’s restaurant in the 2004 movie Spanglish. The exterior of Adam’s restaurant (pictured above) is actually the exterior of the Hal Valentine Hair Salon, which is located directly next door to Il Cielo.

On the Season Three episode of Entourage entitled “Strange Days”, Ari Gold re-proposes to his wife after 15 years of marriage with a ginormous diamond ring on Il Cielo’s back patio. The restaurant has actually popped up in Entourage no less than three times!

In the Season 3 episode of The Hills entitled “A Date With The Past”, former flame Ste-phen Colletti takes Lauren Conrad out for a “strictly platonic” dinner at Il Cielo. Smart move, Ste-phen, bringing a girl you just want to be friends with to the most romantic restaurant in all of L.A.! LOL Il Cielo was also featured in the Season Five opener of The Simple Life entitled “Welcome to Camp Shawnee” as the location where Paris Hilton and Nicole Ritchie finally bury the hatchet and become friends again over an Italian lunch.

I honestly can’t recommend stalking Il Cielo enough – either as a wedding venue or for a romantic dinner!!!! This place is truly one of a kind!

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: Il Cielo is located at 9018 Burton Way in Beverly Hills. You can visit their website here. Il Cielo is closed on Sundays.

June 16, 2009December 6, 2013

Miceli’s Restaurant

After watching Kyra Sedgwick’s Star Ceremony last week, my friend Blaze and I headed over to Hollywood’s oldest pizzeria, better known as Miceli’s Restaurant, to grab a bite to eat. Miceli’s – pronounced Micheli’s – opened its doors way back in 1949 and has the distinction of being known as Hollywood’s first pizza house. The restaurant was started by an Italian couple named Carmen and Sylvia Miceli, along with four of their siblings, who brought their family recipes all the way from Sicily to Los Angeles. The restaurant is still owned and operated by the Miceli family and apparently, most nights, Carmen, himself, is on hand to great his guests! Because of the restaurants’ storied Hollywood history, I just HAD to stalk the place. 🙂

And I wasn’t disappointed!! The second you walk through Miceli’s front doors you are immediately transported back in time! With its dimly lit interior, red leather booths, and black and white photographs of celebrities of yesteryear lining the entryway, the restaurant definitely gives off an Old Hollywood vibe. It is such a cool place!!!! My favorite part of Miceli’s had to be the intricately carved wood and red leather booths. I’ve never seen booths like that in my entire life! Ironically, the booths originally belonged to the old Pig N’ Whistle restaurant, which I blogged about yesterday. When the Pig N’ Whistle closed its doors in 1949, its gorgeous wooden booths were sold to Miceli’s, where they remain to this day.

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I was also pretty obsessed with the ceilings at Miceli’s. 🙂 I don’t know what it is with me and ceilings lately, but every time I walk into a historic building my eyes always go directly up to the roof. Nine times out of ten, the ceilings of old buildings are like works of art. And Miceli’s ceiling certainly did not disappoint. Intricate wrought iron chandeliers hang from gorgeous carved wooden beams throughout the restaurant. Unfortunately, because Miceli’s is so dimly lit, my photographs of the interior did not come out very well. 🙁

Not surprisingly, Miceli’s Restaurant has always been popular with celebrities. During Hollywood’s Golden Era, stars like Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, my girl Marilyn Monroe, and Presidents Nixon and JFK all dined at Miceli’s. In more recent years, Jim Carrey, Adam Sandler, The Beatles, and Julia Roberts have all been spotted at the eatery.

And, yes, Miceli’s is also a filming location! In 2007’s Knocked Up, Seth Rogan takes his baby momma, Katherine Heigl, to the historic restaurant on a date.

I HIGHLY recommend stalking Miceli’s! The place is worth a trip just for the ambiance alone! But besides the decor, the food at Miceli’s is also EXCELLENT and the portions are ginormous! I just about died over the restaurant’s garlic toast!! Sadly, though, since we ate at Miceli’s during lunchtime, we missed the “singing waiters” which the Italian restaurant is famous for. 🙁 Every night, the Miceli servers step up to the piano to serenade diners with authentic Italian arias, show tunes, and the standards. Sometimes patrons are even invited to get up and sing a note or two themselves. Since karaoke is one of my very favorite past times, I am definitely planning on dragging my fiance there for a nighttime visit! 🙂

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: Miceli’s Restaurant is located at 1646 North Las Palmas in Hollywood.

June 15, 2009June 14, 2009

Pig N’ Whistle Restaurant

Last week, before seeing the Dirty Dancing stage show, my fiance and I grabbed a bite to eat at the historic Hollywood restaurant named the Pig N’ Whistle. I had wanted to visit the celebrated Hollywood eatery ever since it appeared on a Fourth Season episode of The Bachelor back in 2003. 🙂 And, let me tell you, it was well worth the wait. 🙂

The Pig N’ Whistle first opened it doors on Hollywood Boulevard on July 22, 1927. The restaurant was part of a small chain of twelve cafes that dotted the West Coast from Los Angeles to Seattle. The Hollywood location was designed by renowned architectural firm Morgan, Walls & Clements, who were also responsible for building the El Capitan, Wiltern, and Old Globe Theatres. The restaurant was built in an elegant Gothic style, featuring hand-painted tiles, carved wooden ceilings, and stained glass windows. The Pig N’ Whistle was so beautiful that it was even featured in a 1928 issue of Architectural Digest. The restaurant, which was built before the days of movie theatre concession stands, was located directly next door to the famed Egyptian Theatre. It became popular with theatregoers who wanted to grab a pre- or post-show ice cream or drink at the restaurant’s soda fountain or some candy at it’s candy counter.

During its heyday, which ran from 1927 to 1949, the Pig N’ Whistle was extremely popular with the Hollywood set. Stars like Shirley Temple, Clark Gable, Judy Garland, Barbara Stanwyck, Spencer Tracy, Howard Hughes, Loretta Young, Jane Wyman, and even Elizabeth Short, aka The Black Dhalia, were spotted dining there.

But that all changed when the restaurant closed its doors in 1949. The former Pig N’ Whistle space went through a succession of different owners, including a Numero Uno pizzeria and a clothing store, and a succession of remodels until two restaurateurs decided to rescue it and restore it to its former grandeur. In 1999, Chris Breed and Alan Hajjar (the team who was also behind the wildly popular Sunset Room restaurant and bar) masterminded a two year, $1.5 million restoration of the former restaurant. The duo unearthed the building’s original hand-carved ceilings, stained glass windows, and molded sconces. The new Pig N’ Whistle opened its doors once again in March of 2001. And it is an absolutely beautiful place!!!!!

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The restaurant is also no stranger to the silver screen. 🙂 On the Fourth Season of The Bachelor, the Pig N’ Whistle hosted a group date for Bachelor Bob Guiney and five female contestants. The group partied in the restaurant’s back room and even competed in a small karaoke contest. 🙂 According to our waitress, the Hollywood restaurant is featured constantly in productions, but, unfortunately, she could not remember which ones. Isn’t that always the case?? What is wrong with these people? LOL

The Pig N’ Whistle is a FABULOUS restaurant and I HIGHLY recommend stalking it. Besides the beautiful Old Hollywood ambiance, the restaurant serves up some GREAT food in HUGE portions. The French Fries and Cobb Salad were to die for!! I absolutely cannot wait to eat there again!!!! 🙂

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: The Pig N’ Whistle is located at 6714 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood. A DJ is on hand every Thursday through Saturday night from 9 p.m. onward, so if you were hoping for a quiet meal, make sure you arrive before that time. 🙂 You can visit the Pig N’ Whistle website here.

June 8, 2009June 24, 2009

Dirty Dancing – The Classic Story On Stage!

Don’t miss your chance to catch Dirty Dancing – The Classic Story on Stage live! Dirty Dancing Pantages Theater Tickets are available at Barry’s Tickets now!

As I have mentioned several times before, Dirty Dancing is one of my absolute favorite movies of all time. The coming of age flick had such a profound effect on me, in fact, that I can still remember exactly where I was when I saw it for the first time. That was the summer of 1988 :), I was eleven years old and was on a plane by myself flying to visit some family friends. Dirty Dancing had been released in movie theatres the previous summer and, to my chagrin, my mom had banned me from seeing it, saying I was far too young. So, imagine my excitement, when I got on the airplane and opened up my in-flight magazine to see that the movie being shown was none other than Dirty Dancing! Ha, ha, my mother had been outsmarted yet again!!! 🙂 I can still remember sitting there on that airplane, over 21 years ago, being absolutely mesmerized by the movie and the dancing. Since that time, I’ve probably watched Dirty Dancing over one hundred times. I’m pretty sure I could easily recite the entire movie, word for word, from start to finish, from memory. So, a few weeks ago, when I saw a flyer on a bulletin board at my acting school advertising the new Dirty Dancing stage show, I just about had a heart attack! HOW HAD I NOT KNOWN ABOUT THIS???? LOL I immediately drove home and purchased tickets to the show for the night of June 2nd, which honestly could not have come soon enough! Finally, last Tuesday night, my fiance and I got to see Dirty Dancing – The Classic Story On Stage! And let me tell you, I could not have been more excited!!!

The show was being held at the Pantages Theatre in Hollywood, an absolutely beautiful Art Deco venue and oft-used filming location which I will have to devote an entire blog post to in the near future. 🙂 When we arrived at the Pantages, you could literally feel the excitement in the air! In the lobby girls were singing “Hungry Eyes”, fans waiting in line for the bathroom were comparing their favorite scenes from the movie, and everywhere I turned I kept hearing people say “I am SO excited to see this show!” I can’t tell you how much fun it was to be in a theatre full of people who loved the movie as much as I did and who had so much excitement to see a live performance of it over twenty-two years after its original release! It was incredible!!

Before seeing the show, I honestly had no idea what to expect. I was actually a little worried that some aspects of the movie might be changed or modernized for the stage production, but I really needn’t have fretted. Dirty Dancing – The Classic Story On Stage is exactly what its title professes it to be – a real life stage show of the movie. It is pretty much an EXACT, word for word, replication of the movie performed on-stage right before your very eyes! Every single aspect of the movie was re-created for the stage show – right down to Baby’s many costumes!!!! It made me want to run right out and buy some white Keds and denim cut-off shorts! 🙂

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Quite possibly, the most incredible part of the production – besides the dancing, of course! – was the use of the stage. I was absolutely AMAZED that they were able to re-create the scenery from the movie in the way that they did for a live stage production. In the show, scenes take place in Kellerman’s Lodge, outside during the big rain storm, driving in Johnny’s Chevrolet, and on the fallen log in the forest where Baby and Johnny dance. Even the “practicing the lift in the water” scene was included in the show!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I don’t want to give too much away here, but to see Johnny and Baby onstage in the water practicing the lift was incredible!!!!! Through the unique set design – which includes hydraulic lifting panels and a huge LCD projection screen – it was as if the movie came to life right before my very eyes. The Dirty Dancing set is actually so big that – for the first time in history – the Pantages had to remove the first three rows of seats in the audience to accommodate it AND the orchestra had to be moved from the pitt area to a room underneath the stage!!!! It truly is incredible to see!!!!! I was on a huge high throughout the entire performance and once again became that eleven year old girl on the airplane. The show is A-MA-ZING andI can’t recommend going to watch it enough! If you were AT ALL a fan of the movie, you will LOVE this show!!! You can watch a preview of Dirty Dancing by clicking in the box above.

And, just when I thought my night couldn’t possibly get any better, I also go to go BACKSTAGE! Yes, you read that right! I GOT TO GO BACKSTAGE at Dirty Dancing – The Classic Story On Stage !!! In a very lucky twist of fate, while planning my surprise engagement party, my mom just happened to meet the mother of one of Dirty Dancing’s ensemble cast members, Jamie Bayard. So, I just had to ask to be put in contact with him in the hopes that he could possibly take me on a backstage tour after the show. And, sure enough, he did!!! Besides starring as a dancer in Dirty Dancing, Jamie is a United States and World West Coast Swing Champion, a Latin/Ballroom Champion, a Salsa and Musical Theatre professor at Loyola Marymount University, and he was a top twenty finalist on Season 4 of So You Think You Can Dance. 🙂 You can visit his website here. Jamie honestly could NOT have been nicer and spent a good twenty minutes talking with us about the show and showing us around backstage.

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On our tour, we got to see Jamie’s dressing room;

the outdoor “green room” complete with plasma TV where the actors hang out while not onstage;

the costumes;

Johnny’s car;

and the Dirty Dancing stage!!!!!!!!!!!! I was absolutely freaking out over the fact that I was STANDING ON THE DIRTY DANCING STAGE! I mean, who the heck am I to be standing on the DIRTY DANCING STAGE???? LOL

Of course, I just HAD to have my fiance take a picture of me standing on the stage, but for some incredibly odd reason, beknownst only to him, he decided to zoom in for a close up while taking the photograph! So, basically, since no part of the Dirty Dancing stage is visible in the above photograph, I have what amounts to what might as well be a picture of me standing in my own living room! LOL Men, I swear!!!!

Seeing the show and going backstage was an absolutely incredible experience for me. A big THANK YOU to Jamie for affording us the opportunity!!! 🙂 And, as I said before, if you are in the area, Dirty Dancing – The Classic Story On Stage is a MUST-see!!!!

UPDATE:

Sadly, Dirty Dancing – The Classic Story On Stage will be ending its Los Angeles run this upcoming Sunday, June 28th. So, you know what that means! There are only five days left to catch this phenomenal stage show before it leaves Southern California for good. In other news, just last week, on June 17th to be exact, Dirty Dancing welcomed its 5 MILLIONTH audience member worldwide. The award winning show first premiered in Sydney, Australia in 2004 and has since opened in thirteen different cities across the world including Hamburg, Berlin, London, Toronto, Boston, and Los Angeles. Don’t miss your opportunity to see what all the fans are raving about. Visit Barry’sTickets.com today to book your tickets before it’s too late!

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: Dirty Dancing – The Classic Story On Stage is playing now through June 28th at the Pantages Theatre, which is located at 6233 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood. You can visit the official Dirty Dancing website here. Tickets are available at Barry’sTickets.com.

June 3, 2009June 3, 2009

Watermark On Main

This past weekend, while in Ventura, my parents, my fiance, and I ate dinner at a newly opened restaurant named Watermark On Main. And, even though my eyes are ALWAYS peeled, I wasn’t exactly expecting to see a celeb during our meal. But, sure enough, we did! As it turns out, Watermark is something of a celeb hot spot. 🙂 So, I just had to blog about it.

Watermark On Main, which just recently opened last August, is located inside of the Theodore Groene/Brahn Jewelry Store Building, which is a City of Ventura Cultural Landmark. The Spanish Revival style building was originally built in 1928 and was designed by architects Frederick M. Ashley and John C. Austin, who also designed L.A.’s Griffith Park Observatory. The structure, which was marked by tiled curtained walls, hand-painted murals, and ornately decorated ceilings, was built to house the Ventura Guarantee Building and Loan Company, who had a large safe installed on the premises. In 1938, the building was sold to Theodore Groene, who subsequently covered up and painted over much of the structure’s ornate decoration and detail. The building had several different occupants following that sale, including the Brahn Jewelry Company, until March 16, 2004 when it was purchased by the Hartley Family. From March of 2004 to August of 2008, the Hartleys began the huge task of renovating the historic building. What they uncovered was a structure that can best be described as a work of art!

Working with artist Michael Kelly, the Hartleys painstakingly brought their historic building back to life. And it truly is remarkable to see! A few of the restaurant’s unique details include travertine floors, an onyx gold wraparound bar, ceiling murals, which were originally hand-painted by artist Norman Kennedy in 1928 (pictured above);

handpainted plaster ceilings;

and African mahogany woodwork throughout.

The Hartleys also added a third floor to the building, which required a 61,000 pound steel support structure to be built on top of the existing roof. The third floor now houses the restaurant’s rooftop lounge, named W2O.

I honestly can’t recommend stalking Watermark On Main enough!! The restaurant is beautiful, the service was superb, and the food! Oh, the food! It was simply A-MA-ZING. It was so good, in fact, that I scarfed down about three pounds of appetizers, bread, and salad making it virtually impossible for me to eat any of the actual meal that I ordered! I’m not kidding – I think I ate two bites of it! LOL Oh, well, that’s what to-go boxes are for. 🙂

And, oh, yes, the celebs! : ) The night we were there, actor/singer Kris Kristofferson was hosting a benefit concert for farm workers at the Majestic Ventura Theatre (pictured above), which just so happens to be located directly across the street from Watermark On Main. The concert pre-party was being held at Watermark’s lounge, W2O. And while I didn’t expect to see any celebs, before we knew it several familiar faces walked by. Unfortunately, though, I couldn’t place exactly who they were and my fiance, who is usually great at remembering names, wasn’t paying any attention whatsoever. UGH – I think I need to give the ring back. 🙂 LOL The one face he did recognize, though, was that of Stephen Root, aka the Stapler Man from fave movie Office Space. Love it! 🙂 Other celebs who have dined at Watermark include Kevin Costner (who held the premiere of his movie Swing Vote at the Majestic Ventura Theatre), Leann Rimes, Kenny Loggins, and singer Michael McDonald. Mark Hartley, the owner of Watermark, is also a big time country music manager who represents such stars as Brad Paisley, Leann Rimes, Colbie Caillat, and Vince Gill. Apparently, his famous clients stop into Watermark on a regular basis. Love it!

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: Watermark On Main is located at 598 East Main Street in Ventura. You can visit their website here. Reservations are recommended. You can make reservations here or by calling (805)643-6800. Watermark also has a dress code – no shorts or flip flops are allowed and, for men, collared shirts are preferred.

May 26, 2009July 13, 2009

It’s A Wrap!

Got an email the other day from fellow stalker Heather who told me about a store in Burbank named It’s A Wrap that sells clothing, props, and memorabilia from recently wrapped movies and television shows! Being that the store sounded right up my alley, I immediately ran out to stalk it!! 🙂 It’s A Wrap has been in business selling Hollywood costumes and movie merchandise since 1981. Owner and founder Janet Dion purchases clothes and props directly from the many movie studios in the area and sells them to the public out of two retail stores – one in Burbank and one in Beverly Hills. It’s A Wrap has sold clothing from hundreds upon hundreds of productions over the last twenty-eight years, including The Flinstones, Beverly Hills, 90210!!!!, Seventh Heaven, Charmed, Drillbit Taylor, Twilight, Lipstick Jungle, Spanglish, Seven, Guiding Light, Varsity Blues, Seinfeld, Baywatch, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, and Las Vegas. Love it!!

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Not only does It’s A Wrap provide the general public access to movie items we might otherwise never have the ability to purchase, but the store also has INCREDIBLE deals!!!! I’m talking INCREDIBLE!!!! Designer dresses are usually marked down well over 50% below retail value. Yesterday, while I was stalking the place, I spotted a few super cute BCBG dresses with the original price tags still attached. The dresses, which were originally priced $298, were selling for $98!!! But, of course, not a one of them was in my size!!! Ugh! Such a bummer!

Because It’s A Wrap receives new merchandise from the local studios on a daily basis, you simply never know what treasures you are going to discover there. While I was stalking the place last week, I found clothing from Kath & Kim, Ugly Betty, General Hospital, Hancock, According to Jim, and CSI: Miami – just to name a few. But the cutest clothes, by far, had to be from the newly-released Wayans Brothers’ movie Dance Flick. I pretty much loved every single piece from that collection, which included a large assortment of tees by fave designer Michael Stars. 🙂 It’s A Wrap was also selling a HUGE array of evening gowns and cocktail dresses from the soap opera General Hospital. If I was still in high school, this would DEFINITELY be the place I’d shop for my prom dress. 🙂

The store even had a dress from Disney Studios that looked strikingly similar to Silver’s prom dress from last week’s episode of 90210. Oh, if only I had a prom to go to! 🙂

I honestly can’t recommend stalking It’s A Wrap enough. But be sure to keep in mind that even though the shop sells movie costumes, it is still a used clothing store. Don’t go in there expecting it to look like a Beverly Hills boutique. It’s A Wrap is a thrift shop, and if you don’t like that sort of thing, you won’t like this place. 🙂 Also don’t go in there expecting to find a specific costume from a specific movie or television show. While all of the clothing for sale at It’s A Wrap bears tags marking what production or what studio it came from, no reference is made to what actor or actress actually wore the item. In fact, many of the clothes for sale were most likely not worn by a lead actor, but by secondary and background actors. And some of the costumes may never even have been worn at all. At the same time, though, you simply never know what you are going to find at It’s A Wrap. A few years back, one lucky customer walked away with Brad Pitt’s shoes from the movie Seven. 🙂 Any visiting tourist who wants to take a piece of Hollywood home with them should definitely stalk It’s A Wrap! Oh, and the best part about the store? Showcased on the walls are countless costumes worn in famous movies and television shows, including items worn by Shannen Doherty, Shirley MacLaine, Sean Penn, and Demi Moore. If you do happen to stalk It’s A Wrap, be sure to keep your eyes peeled for celebs, because, amazingly enough, quite a few of them are fans of the store. Famous customers include Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen, Mario Lopez, Jennifer Love Hewitt, David Arquette, Brittany Murphy, Nicole Eggert, Drew Barrymore, Geena Davis, Sir Anthony Hopkins, and my fave Shannen Doherty. 🙂

Big THANK YOU to Amanda for telling me about It’s A Wrap! 🙂

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: It’s A Wrap has two Los Angeles area locations. The first is located at 3315 West Magnolia Boulevard in Burbank. The other can be found at 1164 South Robertson Boulevard in Beverly Hills. You can visit the It’s A Wrap website here. Another great place to purchase movie and celebrity memorabilia is the website www.starwares.com.