The Broadway in Chicago concert has been on my calendar for nearly the entire summer. My sister and I immediately clicked "Interested" once we found the Facebook event for it and decided we would go as long as work wouldn't stand in our way. Luckily for us, we ended up having no plans or things that had to be taken care of that day, so we planned to spend the day in the city.
First we headed downtown around lunchtime to grab a bite to eat. We had never been downtown by ourselves before, so we struggled to choose somewhere to eat. We wanted to eat somewhere we hadn't been before and probably wouldn't go to if we were with our mom (with whom we normally went downtown) but also wasn't very expensive. Student loans are our most costly expense at the moment, so we wanted to maximize the money our dad gave us for the day.
We decided on some pizza at the foodlife in the Water Tower Place mezzanine. It was a big slice that would be filling enough for a while and wasn't too expensive. Next, we stopped by one of my new favorite stores, Riley Rose. It's like the beauty and gifts section of Forever 21, times 20! It's so cute and fun (AND PINK!) inside, so I love it. Plus, it's the only one in the Chicagoland area right now, so I want to go to it whenever I can. The store has an adorable photo wall that changes seasonally, so of course I had to take a photo in front of it!
After some window shopping and digesting our lunch, we knew we were in the mood for some dessert, specifically the frozen kind. It was a hot, humid Chicago day, and we needed to cool down. My sister Ashley had mentioned a gelato place she went to in New York last summer and said there was one in downtown Chicago. So we went to find the gelato!
If you watch a lot of Facebook videos about food, you may have seen one about gelato in the shape of a flower. That's what we were getting at Amorino. Gelato is naturally more expensive than ice cream, but we were willing to splurge for this. I got chocolate and stracciatella gelato with a chocolate macaron on top, and it was delicious. The gelato was nice and creamy, and the macaron was the perfect combination of crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside.
By the time we'd finished out gelato, it was almost 3:00 p.m., which meant it was time to head to Millennium Park for the concert. Although the event didn't start until 6:00 p.m., seating in the pavilion and on the lawn was first come, first serve. And with the lawn opening at 3:00 p.m., the line for pavilion seating also began to form. So we headed towards the park and got some food on the way to eat after.
We arrived at the park not long after 3:00 p.m., and there were already about 100 people in line for pavilion seating as well many gathering on the lawn for a good spot. So we took our spot in line, wanting the best seat we could get for our first Broadway in Chicago concert. The seating didn't open until around 5:15 p.m., so we had to be patient and wait in line for about two hours.
Luckily, the 120 minutes didn't seem to go by slowly, and our spot in line was in the shade. Plus, they handed out fun Broadway in Chicago fans, and we got to hear some of the sound checks while waiting. They let us in a bit early, so we were all excited once the line started moving. Before we knew it, we found a great seat and had to wait just 45 more minutes for the show to begin.
Now on to the best part: the show! The Broadway in Chicago staff got the audience hyped up with a montage of shows that have been in Chicago before. Then came the music! I honestly hadn't heard many of these musicals' cast recordings before but was excited to hear a taste of other musicals I hadn't seen or listened to before.
My fellow Filipina Emily Bautista killing it as Kim during the @broadwaychicago concert! Can't wait for the @MissSaigonUS tour! #BICconcert #MissSaigon pic.twitter.com/lkn1Fby8aY— Amanda Wijangco (@amanda_carmela) August 14, 2018
I was most excited for Miss Saigon and Dear Evan Hansen. Hearing my fellow Filipina Emily Bautista sing "I'd Give My Life for You" from Miss Saigon and Ben Levi Ross sing "Waving Through a Window" from Dear Evan Hansen was amazing.
An amazing grand finale from @DearEvanHansen’s @benleviross and the nominees from #BICIHSMTA #BroadwayinChicago #BICconcert pic.twitter.com/5koTgVC8sx— Broadway In Chicago (@broadwaychicago) August 14, 2018
But my favorite performance of the night had to be the final song when Ben Levi Ross sang "You Will Be Found" with a big group of Illinois High School Musical Theatre Award nominees. It was so moving and inspiring to see these kids sing with such a beautiful and meaningful song with Ben Levi Ross, someone they likely all aspire to be like and admire.
Once the concert was over, it was bittersweet. We loved hearing a bit of the shows that would be coming to Chicago this season but were sad it was over. We were also getting hungry because we didn't eat our dinner yet even though we could have eaten it in the park during the concert. But we didn't want to eat during the performances, while standing in line, or while sitting in packed seats before the show started. So we decided to hang out in the park a bit longer and enjoy our sandwiches and snacks on the grass. It was the perfect opportunity to use my doughnut towel that I got last Christmas!
After nearly 10 hours in the city, it was time to head home. I'm really glad I took advantage of the free time I still have and decided to go to the BIC concert. It's a fun event to go to and is an easy way to dip your toes into musical theatre and Broadway shows. I don't know if I'll have the availability to go to next year's, but I'll never forget this one, humming and singing along (in my head) with Miss Saigon and Dear Evan Hansen, laughing at Book of Mormon.
If you have the chance to go to a BIC concert, I'd recommend going at least once. It's not every day there's a free Broadway show performance in Chicago!
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