An adventure with Lou Diamond Philips :)
When I was a kid I had a few go-to movies. One of them was Dirty Dancing. The other? Was La Bamba. I think I watched that movie a million times growing up. I would walk around singing the Ritchie Valens song “Donna” all the time. I love, love LOVED it.
So when First Contact Conventions announced a few weeks ago that they had managed to secure a very last minute Sunday night convention with the one and only Lou Diamond Philips, I couldnt have been more excited.
Lou has been in so many movies, classics, TV shows ... he even starred in Stargate Universe and made me want to watch the abomination of one of my most loved TV shows ... just because he was in it. He pops up everywhere and he is one of those actors that when you do see him in a TV show you’re like “Oh hey, it’s Lou.” Or “Hey it’s that guy.” He’s always great at what he does and he is always enjoyable to watch.
I was due to be at a football game late that afternoon. My beloved Richmond Tigers Vs St Kilda Saints. I had promised a friend that I would go with her and I really wanted to go. Then Lou was announced for that same evening. I really wanted to do both so I told my friend Rhiannon that I would still go to the game but I would just have to leave early. That was an interesting endeavour. I obviously don’t take trams often enough in the city because I ended up power walking in the light rain all the way from the MCG (Footy stadium) to the event in the city. It’s not that far but when you realise you haven’t left yourself much time, it’s raining and you’re weighed down with a big footy jumper, scarf and bag ... needless to say when I got there I was red faced and needed to BREATHE. Thankfully my friends are all awesome and already had my ticket for me and minded my things while I went to refresh in the bathroom.
It was a small event, catered to no more than 100 people. We were in a small room in the Rydes Hotel in Melbourne. As the Con Organizers got everything ready for photo ops I sat with my friends and we blew up my inflatable guitars that I had brought with me to use in my shared photo op with my friend Lisa. It felt a bit strange sitting there blowing into a plastic guitar but no-one could ever say that any of us are even remotely normal.
When it came time for photo ops. Lisa was a row ahead of me so she got her solo photo with Lou first. By the time she was done with that I was waiting in line, holding my 3 inflatable guitars and grabbed her as she passed. As we walked up to Lou he looked at the guitars and said “Oh you came prepared with props.” I handed him the gold guitar and explained that both Lisa and I grew up with La Bamba. I have to say I am completely in love with our photo with the guitars. LOVE it!! It is exactly what I was hoping for.
Once that photo was done, I handed off my photos to Lisa and our friend Monique because I had to get my solo photo with Lou. I turned to tell him that as he was thanking us and I don’t know what happened but I ended up in a big hug from him. I don’t know what happened but I certainly wasn’t complaining. Once the hug ended I told him that I had another photo with him and then thanked him for giving us this chance to do this. I joined my many friends back in the event, very excited and still processing that I just met (and got a hug) from Lou Diamond Philips.
His Q&A was SO great. He was funny and very casual and full of long entertaining stories that sometimes even made fun of himself. He seemed so down to earth and easy going. I didn’t even care that he sat down the entire time and I couldn’t see a thing. I even asked a question (involving his time on the TV Show “Numb3rs”) and I never have the guts to ask questions at cons. I got a photo of Lou in La Bamba signed and again was so happy with how nice of a person he was. All that stress about getting from the football to the con and all that swept away as I walked away from this convention completely sated that one of my childhood favourites was even better than my wildest expectations.
My Lou experience didn’t stop that night, though.
Thanks to my very good friend Rhiannon, I ventured out into Musical Theatre Land last night to see “The King and I” at the Princess Theatre in Melbourne. I’m not really a theatre goer. It’s not because I don’t like it, I just never really think about it. I guess I am a little consumed with my TV Shows and Movies. The most I have ever seen (up until last night that is) was “Aladdin” while I was at Disneyland last year. I enjoyed that one so much that my travelling friend and I went back for the afternoon session on the same day. And aside from a very small, slightly comically spastic version of “Beauty and the Beast” at Sovereign Hill in country Victoria I have never been to a real stage production.
First off, I’d like to say that the Princess Theatre in Melbourne is beautiful. The architecture and detail was amazing and the building held an aura of history. It held an air of a more elegant time. Absolutely beautiful. I had heard that the seats are small and uncomfortable but I found them to be fine. We were seated on the top tier front row so we had a great view, the seats were comfortable enough. The only thing I could complain about was the fact that leg room was next to nothing and during the second half my legs felt so cramped. BUT, it’s an old beautiful and authentic building so if that was my only complaint, I wasn’t too worried.
I have never seen the full movie of the King and I but I have seen big parts of it so I know the characters, I know how it was portrayed and I know the story. And the Stage show was just as awesome. All the actors were amazing, from the main actors to the tiny little kids that played the King’s children.
I grew up watching Lisa McCune on Aussie Police Drama “Blue Heelers” and I had no idea she had such a beautiful voice. She was amazing, funny and moving and her voice was simply outstanding. Her on stage charisma with her leading man Lou Diamond Philips was obvious.
Lou ... I love this man. Lou Diamond Philips was MY main attraction to the show and his performance reminded me why I love this actor so much. He was SO good ... like really good. When I first saw him on stage I thought “Oh cool, there’s Lou.” And then he transformed into the King of Siam and it was almost like I forgot it was Lou Diamond Philips and I got caught up in the show.
What really impressed me was most of the show he was making me laugh with his interactions with Anna (Lisa McCune) He was funny, obnoxious and adorable. And then something happened and he got dark and scary for a moment as he dealt with the choice of punishing his “gift” from Burma for falling in love and attempting to run away. Suddenly he wasn’t the cheeky, funny, stubborn king. The mood shifted with Lou’s amazing performance and the theatre was quiet as he raged and ultimately let his princess go un-punished and stormed off stage. It was brilliant. Absolutely brilliant.
I have to give kudos to the rest of the cast, because they really were all fantastic.
Lou continued to delight as all the actors bowed to the audience and the curtains were being drawn, Lou dropped one shoulder of his jacket showing bare skin, grinning cheekily to the crowd as he then took Lisa in his arms just as they disappeared out of sight.
I was accompanied that night by my Grandmother, my friend Rhiannon and her partner Mark. Mark was kind enough to stick around so Rhiannon could see if we could catch Lou as he exited the building. I had met him only the Sunday before at a very last minute convention so I was really hoping Rhiannon would get her chance after the play. But as Mark put it “We’re idiots” and were waiting in the wrong area. After asking the security guard we had missed him by five minutes when we finally realised where we were supposed to be LOL In fact, I believe he probably walked past us on his way home LOL
In conclusion, The King and I, especially Lou Diamond Philips gets a big thumbs up from me. Thanks, Lou for giving me a great couple of weeks.
So when First Contact Conventions announced a few weeks ago that they had managed to secure a very last minute Sunday night convention with the one and only Lou Diamond Philips, I couldnt have been more excited.
Lou has been in so many movies, classics, TV shows ... he even starred in Stargate Universe and made me want to watch the abomination of one of my most loved TV shows ... just because he was in it. He pops up everywhere and he is one of those actors that when you do see him in a TV show you’re like “Oh hey, it’s Lou.” Or “Hey it’s that guy.” He’s always great at what he does and he is always enjoyable to watch.
I was due to be at a football game late that afternoon. My beloved Richmond Tigers Vs St Kilda Saints. I had promised a friend that I would go with her and I really wanted to go. Then Lou was announced for that same evening. I really wanted to do both so I told my friend Rhiannon that I would still go to the game but I would just have to leave early. That was an interesting endeavour. I obviously don’t take trams often enough in the city because I ended up power walking in the light rain all the way from the MCG (Footy stadium) to the event in the city. It’s not that far but when you realise you haven’t left yourself much time, it’s raining and you’re weighed down with a big footy jumper, scarf and bag ... needless to say when I got there I was red faced and needed to BREATHE. Thankfully my friends are all awesome and already had my ticket for me and minded my things while I went to refresh in the bathroom.
It was a small event, catered to no more than 100 people. We were in a small room in the Rydes Hotel in Melbourne. As the Con Organizers got everything ready for photo ops I sat with my friends and we blew up my inflatable guitars that I had brought with me to use in my shared photo op with my friend Lisa. It felt a bit strange sitting there blowing into a plastic guitar but no-one could ever say that any of us are even remotely normal.
When it came time for photo ops. Lisa was a row ahead of me so she got her solo photo with Lou first. By the time she was done with that I was waiting in line, holding my 3 inflatable guitars and grabbed her as she passed. As we walked up to Lou he looked at the guitars and said “Oh you came prepared with props.” I handed him the gold guitar and explained that both Lisa and I grew up with La Bamba. I have to say I am completely in love with our photo with the guitars. LOVE it!! It is exactly what I was hoping for.
Once that photo was done, I handed off my photos to Lisa and our friend Monique because I had to get my solo photo with Lou. I turned to tell him that as he was thanking us and I don’t know what happened but I ended up in a big hug from him. I don’t know what happened but I certainly wasn’t complaining. Once the hug ended I told him that I had another photo with him and then thanked him for giving us this chance to do this. I joined my many friends back in the event, very excited and still processing that I just met (and got a hug) from Lou Diamond Philips.
His Q&A was SO great. He was funny and very casual and full of long entertaining stories that sometimes even made fun of himself. He seemed so down to earth and easy going. I didn’t even care that he sat down the entire time and I couldn’t see a thing. I even asked a question (involving his time on the TV Show “Numb3rs”) and I never have the guts to ask questions at cons. I got a photo of Lou in La Bamba signed and again was so happy with how nice of a person he was. All that stress about getting from the football to the con and all that swept away as I walked away from this convention completely sated that one of my childhood favourites was even better than my wildest expectations.
My Lou experience didn’t stop that night, though.
Thanks to my very good friend Rhiannon, I ventured out into Musical Theatre Land last night to see “The King and I” at the Princess Theatre in Melbourne. I’m not really a theatre goer. It’s not because I don’t like it, I just never really think about it. I guess I am a little consumed with my TV Shows and Movies. The most I have ever seen (up until last night that is) was “Aladdin” while I was at Disneyland last year. I enjoyed that one so much that my travelling friend and I went back for the afternoon session on the same day. And aside from a very small, slightly comically spastic version of “Beauty and the Beast” at Sovereign Hill in country Victoria I have never been to a real stage production.
First off, I’d like to say that the Princess Theatre in Melbourne is beautiful. The architecture and detail was amazing and the building held an aura of history. It held an air of a more elegant time. Absolutely beautiful. I had heard that the seats are small and uncomfortable but I found them to be fine. We were seated on the top tier front row so we had a great view, the seats were comfortable enough. The only thing I could complain about was the fact that leg room was next to nothing and during the second half my legs felt so cramped. BUT, it’s an old beautiful and authentic building so if that was my only complaint, I wasn’t too worried.
I have never seen the full movie of the King and I but I have seen big parts of it so I know the characters, I know how it was portrayed and I know the story. And the Stage show was just as awesome. All the actors were amazing, from the main actors to the tiny little kids that played the King’s children.
I grew up watching Lisa McCune on Aussie Police Drama “Blue Heelers” and I had no idea she had such a beautiful voice. She was amazing, funny and moving and her voice was simply outstanding. Her on stage charisma with her leading man Lou Diamond Philips was obvious.
Lou ... I love this man. Lou Diamond Philips was MY main attraction to the show and his performance reminded me why I love this actor so much. He was SO good ... like really good. When I first saw him on stage I thought “Oh cool, there’s Lou.” And then he transformed into the King of Siam and it was almost like I forgot it was Lou Diamond Philips and I got caught up in the show.
What really impressed me was most of the show he was making me laugh with his interactions with Anna (Lisa McCune) He was funny, obnoxious and adorable. And then something happened and he got dark and scary for a moment as he dealt with the choice of punishing his “gift” from Burma for falling in love and attempting to run away. Suddenly he wasn’t the cheeky, funny, stubborn king. The mood shifted with Lou’s amazing performance and the theatre was quiet as he raged and ultimately let his princess go un-punished and stormed off stage. It was brilliant. Absolutely brilliant.
I have to give kudos to the rest of the cast, because they really were all fantastic.
Lou continued to delight as all the actors bowed to the audience and the curtains were being drawn, Lou dropped one shoulder of his jacket showing bare skin, grinning cheekily to the crowd as he then took Lisa in his arms just as they disappeared out of sight.
I was accompanied that night by my Grandmother, my friend Rhiannon and her partner Mark. Mark was kind enough to stick around so Rhiannon could see if we could catch Lou as he exited the building. I had met him only the Sunday before at a very last minute convention so I was really hoping Rhiannon would get her chance after the play. But as Mark put it “We’re idiots” and were waiting in the wrong area. After asking the security guard we had missed him by five minutes when we finally realised where we were supposed to be LOL In fact, I believe he probably walked past us on his way home LOL
In conclusion, The King and I, especially Lou Diamond Philips gets a big thumbs up from me. Thanks, Lou for giving me a great couple of weeks.