The Pearl Fishers

This was the opera where we decided if we would renew our subscription. I am pleased to report that YES! we will be renewing our tickets.

The Pearl Fishers was overwhelming- the staging, singing and music were just beautiful. They used some wire harnesses to have it appear that men were actually diving to the bottom of the ocean looking for pearls. At one point Ryan just closed his eyes and listed to the music. I gave up on the super titles and just absorbed what I was experiencing.

The Pearl Fishers tells the story of a love triangle, two best friends in love with the same girl. But to save their friendship they both forsake the girl and go their separate ways. Coincidentally the friends reunite on the same night that their lady love is brought to pray over the pearl harvest. Passions reignite between the friend that had gone off into the woods and the priestess and then things start to go badly.

At the end, the couple runs off and the remaining friend is left to be killed by the angry villagers.
Not the happiest of endings but incredibly powerful!

Sing-a-Long Sound of Music

The dear husband and I went to one of these on our honeymoon in Vancouver almost eight years ago. And we've been meaning to get tickets again over the years. But I finally got my act together and we went to the 5th Ave to bring in the New Year on January 3rd.

This is such a fun event, I highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys the movie. It starts with a costume contest and there are always so many great ideas. The top two was a large guy in a yellow jumpsuit with "Ray" on the front. He was a "ray of golden sun". The winners were these clever tweens who a plastic guitar - they were "tea with jammin' bread". This clever kid pulled off some rock star moves complete with air strumming and a slide on to the stage. Add in all the adorable children and it was loads of fun. We ran into one of the dear husbands co-workers whose family had dressed up as adelvise.

Now, this is a participatory event. The audience sings along with the movie, and a la Rocky Horror there are certain things to do. For instance, we need to call for Maria as we wait for the credits to finish and her to appear. When we sing Doe-a-Deer there are all motions for each note. Whenever the Baroness comes onscreen one must boo or hiss like a mad cat. And when that bad boy Raulf appears one must bark like a dog because that is what he is. We got poppers to pop when Maria and the Captain finally kiss (there was some pre-mature popping in the audience) and we had little pieces of fake adelvise to wave.

I hope the 5th Ave gets this every year because we are thinking this is the kind of event we'd like to make our New Years tradition.

You Can't Take it With You

Ironically, we were supposed to see this before all the weather hit. We got downtown and parked only to be turned away at the door (and you know how I hate paying for parking!). The leading lady was ill and the option was to see Boom (which we had already seen), so we just turned around and came home.

But on the30th we headed back to the Rep, and finally got to see this show. Now, going in we knew that Seven Brides had set the bar pretty high and that whatever we saw afterwards had a high chance of disappointing, and I have to report that our conclusion was meh. The sets were great and the acting was good, but the play itself wasn't enought to keep our minds from going a-wandering as the play progressed. I think part of the problem was that the segregation portion hadn't transfered well, and the over exageration while proably considered amusing at the time it was written felt jarring. But then of course, we're liberals who live in Seattle!

At this point we're three shows in (3 Musketeers, Boom, and You Can't Take it With You) but at this point we're not thinking that we'll be renewing this subscription.

Seven Brides for Seven Brothers

With all the crazy winter weather we had this December we ended up moving several of our shows around. But we finally managed to get downtown to the 5th Ave on the 27th.

This was one of those shows that we didn't know anything about or have any expectations. We were so pleasantly surprised! The dear husband has even included it in his list of top 5 musicals ever. The songs were great, the costumes and sets supurb and the dancing was quite literally amazing. At one point the women were being lifted over the mens' heads in waves. It was visually stunning.

The lead who played Adam has also sung the roles of Gaston and the Beast from Beauty and the Beast. Ryan and I both commented that he had the ability to bring some depth to Gaston's role that isn't always there. (Can you guess what is one of my favorite shows?)

We still need to pick up the DVD of the original movie, but songs like "We've Got to Make it Through the Winter" are still running through my head.

My 30th Birthday

The husband and two friends did a quick Disneyland run to celebrate my 30th. I had pageant sashes made that said "30th Birthday Princess" on the front and "Princess Angela" on the back. The dear husband was a sport and wore one that said "It's My Wife's Birthday" on the front and "Prince Ryan" on the back. To finish off my ensemble, I also got a new tiara.

Highlights of the trip include being upgraded to first class on the way down (we got fed breakfast!), the Princess Dinner where I got my picture taken with Belle, Arial, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty and Snow White. And I even got seated at the first table they visited. All the other little girls had to wait! Belle let me ask her a question, and I asked her what her favorite book is. She gave the best answer! Ever since the Beast gave her that giant library she's had so many books to read that she couldn't pick just one. But her favorites are romances and adventures. I was soooo satisfied with this answer!

We rode the recently reopened Submarines (now themed to Finding Nemo) and it was even better than I remembered.

I got wished happy birthday by hundreds of people, it was loads of fun. And one of the main street conductors announced my birthday to the passerbys.

But the best part was being told I didn't look close to 30 at all by most of them! I had one lady recommend that now I should change my haircut and start wearing more makeup. The dear husband told me to ignore that advice :)

We had lots of fun and I would highly reccommend Disneyland for anyone's birthday.

Remembering Eartha Kitt

Entertainment Weekly has a well written article on the passing of the one and only Eartha Kitt. We saw the same cabaret tour here in Seattle and it was amazing. Even though we didn't know a single song she sang we enjoyed every one. How many performers can you say that about! EW links to some great YouTube videos so enjoy!

Boom!

On Tuesday, we journeyed across the water and into the rain, fighting the urge to snuggle up under a warm blankie and stay home. Ahh...winter in Seattle. Dark, cold and wet.

Part of the reason we picked up season tickets to the Rep is that I love the play Waiting for Godot. Imagine my annoyance when that shows ends up being canceled (apparently the backer, well backed out) and the substitute show was nothing we were even remotely interested in. But we had wanted to see Boom which was on the seven show subscription pack and we had only bought the five show season.

A nerdy marine biologist calculates that the end of the world is near and posts an online personals ad, hoping to romance the girl that will help him ensure the survival of the species. But when push comes to shove, saving life on earth on the first date proves to be a bit of a challenge. Exciting new playwright Nachtrieb brings us this funny, slightly warped and ultimately hopeful look at the apocalypse.

Thankfully, the Rep was willing to swap our tickets from the uninteresting replacement show for the very interesting "not in our package" show. So even though we were tempted to stay at home and drink cocoa, we climbed in the car and braced our suburban selves to park in Seattle. I hate paying for parking!

After a brisk walk to the theater (hey- we only pain $5 to park) we settled in our seats and waited for the show to begin. Boom has a surprisingly small cast, only three actors and one of them is more of a narrator than a participant. We were pleased to see Nick Garrison again as the male lead Jules. We last saw him as the MC in Cabaret, (remember- he's the one who called me a whore). It was great fun to see him on a small stage and with such a small cast. He did a fantastic job and I hope we see him again soon.

At first I was put off by the role of Barbara, brilliantly acted - dear God I hope she was acting - by Gretchen Krich. But about a third of the way through I was riveted. She has this amazing monologue about her conception that is worth attending the show just for those few minutes!

I will caution that expletives are used frequently throughout the show. The two favorites being "fu*k" and "mother fu*ker". For the rest of this blog post I'll substitution "bunny" and "fluffy bunny". Yes. Fluffy Bunny. I want you to work that in to every day conversation. I think the proper tone will properly convey your meaning. Plus you can say it in front of small children.

The character of Jo (female) was probably my least favorite of the three. She had some good moments, and some not so good one. She is best characterized by her turret's like use of bunny and fluffy bunny in every other sentance. Barbara also likes to say fluffy bunny, but I liked it better when she said it.

If you have a chance, Boom was a fluffy bunny-ing good night out, well worth the trek out of the suburbs. Fluffy Bunny.