My friend Peter and I enjoyed a very Irish night out in Hollywood last night, and it was, in a word, epic.

The night started out at Dillon's Irish Pub, with an exorbitantly expensive Patron on the rocks for me and a super cheap pint of Guinness (or two) for Peter.  We had both eaten dinner beforehand, so we just stuck to drinks, but I took a peek at the menu.  Not much in the way of vegetarian fare, but for your average Joe, who presumably would be going to Dillon's to watch a soccer or basketball (RIP NBA) game with the dudes, there were a ton of delicious looking options.  Plus, they had a page of specials with lots of Irish dishes.  The little specials menu on the table had a page of desserts, many of which featured a whiskey caramel sauce, namely the Irish bread pudding: bread pudding, topped with vanilla bean ice cream and drizzled in whiskey caramel sauce.  Oh my God I almost had to get it, but I resisted.  Maybe next time...when I'm not saving up all my cheat days for Thanksgiving!

After we finished our drinks we walked literally two doors east to grab our tickets at the Pantages box office.  This is the second time I've been to Dillon's before going to a show at the Pantages, and both times it has been a GREAT decision.  You don't have to worry about parking all over again and, even when it is crowded (like it was the first time), Dillon's is a fun place to hang out for an hour or so.

So, what were we seeing at the Pantages that night, you ask?  RIVERDANCE.  It's back for this weekend only, on the Los Angeles leg of their farewell tour!  Fifteen years ago to the day was their opening night at the Pantages, and they're back to say goodbye to Los Angeles for good-or at least for awhile.

When I think of Riverdance one of the first things that pops into my head is a scene from arguably the best episode of Friends ever:

His legs flail about as if independent from his body!  This is a true statement.  Although the Lord of the Dance has long since retired, the new Riverdance lead, Craig Ashurst, is still incredibly impressive-not only with his footwork, but also in his ability to really work a crowd.

Peter and I both studied in the Department of World Arts and Cultures at UCLA-a department that is divided into Cultural Studies and Dance Studies.  We were both on the Cultural Studies side of the department.  Strangely enough, though, Peter is an amazing professional swing dancer.  He teaches at schools and clubs all over the city, and is seriously talented.  But neither of us had ever been to or thought about going to Riverdance before, so we sort of knew what to expect, but nothing could prepare us for the epicness of the show.

Everyone involved in Riverdance is insanely talented, but the best part of the show was how passionate and super into it they were throughout the entire performance.  Keep in mind, too, that there aren't just dancers in Riverdance; singers and a live band make up the rest of the cast.  A lone drummer (Mark Alfred) kept the beat the entire show, dancing along with the other performers between two combined drum kits.  He never missed a beat.  On the opposite side of the stage were three other musicians: a fiddler (Pat Mangan) with the fastest hands I have ever seen, a saxophonist (Dave McGauran) who had a sweet number with just him and the drummer toward the end of the show, and Matt Bashford who played the uilleann pipes and low whistles.  I know nothing about traditional Irish instruments (I have no idea how a bagpipe works), but I'm pretty sure the uilleann pipes was the instrument he played that sort of sounded like bagpipes but it was a string instrument that was controlled with something that looked like a weird, giant version of a whammy bar.  He had a solo at the very beginning of the show that was really amazing.

The musicians and dancers, including Ashurst and the female lead Caterina Coyne, really know how to keep an audience riveted.  They made eye contact with people in the audience (probably including Cloris Leachman-she was sitting in the row in front of us!!), clapped to make everyone clap along (not that the audience needed help with this), shouted, and generally looked like they were having a great time.  Not one step was missed, and they made it look like fun-rather than the intense work it surely is.  Coyne glides and bounces between the other dancers like a fawn-quickly, gracefully, and smoothly.

 

Between the intense performers, the grand music, and the broad historical range of the production, Riverdance is epic in every sense of the word.  They begin at what looks like some sort of a paganistic Stonehenge-esque location and end up in approximately 1930s Harlem.  Epic and a really fun show!  It kept everyone in the audience bouncing and clapping in their seats.  My only complaint was a strange scene that involved 5 extremely impressive dancers, but left me feeling very confused.

After intermission the audience is transported to the white-sailed ships of the 19^th century and is serenaded with a beautiful song that touches on themes of inequality.  Immediately after this song the Irish folk apparently disembark the boat and find themselves in 1840s tenement New York.  For some reason, though, Ashurst and his gang run into some African American tap dancers who, it would seem, are supposed to be from 1930s Harlem.  And they proceed to have a dance off.  The dancing is more than impressive-it's nearly inhuman!  Everyone's lightning-quick footwork and humor was definitely the audience's favorite part of the show.  But it sort of changed the number into a scene from Newsies.  On the surface it added some lightheartedness to the show, but in reality it touched on heavy racial and economic class themes that, had they been more fully fleshed out, could have been fascinating (barring the lack of historical continuity).  Unfortunately, the show just doesn't have enough time to address those very important and interesting issues.

Nevertheless, Dillon's and Riverdance were both really fun.  Peter and I are both ecstatic that we were able to go!  If you haven't seen the show yet, or honestly even if you have, you're in for a treat!

Dillon's Irish Pub is located at 6263 Hollywood Blvd. in the heart of Hollywood.

The Pantages Theatre is located at 6233 Hollywood Blvd., also in the heart of Hollywood.

Riverdance runs from November 15^th to November 20^th.  Remaining shows include: Friday at 8pm, Saturday at 2pm and 8pm, and Sunday at 1pm and 6:30pm.