March 21, 2014. Auckland, New Zealand. Mama Mia.

It was a Kiwi production and it was great. Gill spotted it and she and I bought tickets yesterday for tonight's show. Ken and I have not seen it before, although we know all the songs. The dancing was excellent, clever and energetic. The Civic Theater is beautiful, built in 1920 so has all the bells and whistles and sits about 800 people. The production has been running for four weeks but will close after Sunday's performance. For a country of 4.4 Million, that seems like a long run. The musical was fun and we enjoyed it. The attendees tonight was a very different group that I have seen at other performances. About half the folks were under 20 with very few gray headed people. And the dress was all the way from shorts and jeans to cocktail dresses. You are allowed to take a drink to your seat in the theater and at the intermission, people sold candy and ice cream to those still sitting in their seats. It was all very civilized. Ken is now using a cane for balance, so tonight, a gentleman usher took us up a back elevator and up a ramp to avoid the long flights of stairs. From our hotel, we walked through an underground tunnel, right to the Civic Theater. It was all very easily accomplished, all because Ken was carrying a cane!!