Lion King Surprise!

2016 was our Broadway year and in 2017 we cut back. One, because our preferred method of acquiring tickets is best suited for warmer weather. And two, austerity saving. We saw The Great Comet with Dan's parents a few weeks ago (here) but that's it. Oddly, we were not fans of that show but apparently it's been nominated for 12 Tony awards this year and we are baffled. WHY?

Anyways, we've been wanting to see Lion King for a long time. It's one of the more expensive shows (cheapest tickets are around $100). So we had been regularly entering the daily lottery for several months now but never, ever won. Evidently, Dan and I just aren't lucky. We never win anything. I even convinced myself that there weren't actually lottery tickets available they just said there were so people would feel like that had a chance to see the show. We basically gave up on the lottery and decided we would purchase tickets full-price this summer as a last hurrah before baby.

But then...

Dan's cousin Kaleigh and her fiance Mikey caught the Broadway bug and have been seeing shows, it seems like, weekly for months now because they basically enter a bunch of lotteries every day. They have won so many tickets!

Yesterday morning we got a text from Kaleigh that she had been entering the Lion King lottery to see if she could win tickets for us AND SHE DID. AND SHE OFFERED THEM TO US!!!!!!!! You guys, I'll just admit it now. If I won a lottery I would not be giving away my tickets. But Kaleigh was insistent that she was entering for us so we could have them if we were available. Stroke of good luck we just so happened to be free last night and we scurried over to Times Square immediately after work to meet her and grab the tickets.

The show was amazing! Exactly the kind of Broadway show that I love. Familiar music, great staging, epic costumes, and an overall astounding performance. Our seats were in the back row but the theater was so big that we could see everything and bonus, we were directly in front of the aisle stairs so I had ample leg room. Also, the bathrooms were not crowded and immaculate. Trust me, theater bathrooms generally leave a lot to be desired.

I loved that the show had all the classic songs from the movie but different ones too and the African-style dancing was amazing. The animals were portrayed by human-sized puppets or costumes and they were all outstanding. I teared-up a little when the baby elephant (played by the child actress who also played Nala was darling) came traipsing up the aisle. SO CUTE.

After the show we walked around to see some of the costumes on display and then headed home. Since it was an early showtime (7 pm - considered family friendly) we got home by 10:30 which was great since we had to be up early the next day for my OB glucose test.

Great night made all the more special by the surprise treat from a generous cousin. And now I can check that show off of my must-see list!!