In Which The Nerdlings Visit Wolf Trap And Listen To Some Opera

They walked on, thinking of This and That, and by-and-by they came to an enchanted place on the very top of the Forest called Galleons Lap . . . Sitting there they could see the whole world spread out until it reached the sky, and whatever there was all the world over was with them in Galleons Lap. -A.A. Milne, The House At Pooh Corner




The nerdlings and I were given tickets to see an Instant Opera at the Theater in the Woods at Wolf Trap yesterday (thanks Ngoc!). It was a fantastic introduction to opera for the kids. I suppose the best way to describe it is opera mad-libs. The performers, a very talented group of young men and women, wrote down the children's suggestions for places, people, and Things To Do, and once they assigned roles, performed the mini opera with hilarious results. Our production: Monkey Vampire (Sad Ending Version). Synopsis: Once upon a time in Bikini Bottom, a fariy & a dog were playing Candyland. Along came a witch and Spongebob and they ate Krabby Patties. Fin. Also interspersed in the show were arias from each of the performers - the children had picked between two for each artist.

I'd recommend to anyone in the NoVa area to check it out. It's quite amusing. And of course, there are plenty of places to have a picnic after the show.

Reports on more Summer Adventures™ to come . . .

STC: The Dog In The Manger

I know it's been quite a while since I've blogged, especially about shows I've seen. I specifically regret not posting about the all male cast version of Romeo and Juliet, the superbly green* (in color, not talent) production of The Way of The World, and the highly entertaining delivery of Twelfth Night. Wow, I'm a slacker! But I digress.

Tuesday night, hubby and I saw The Dog In The Manger for the first time. We were completely unfamiliar with the play, but it was a fantastic production (I know. I say that about all the performances at STC. I swear, I'm not biased.). Normally I take a line from the show to use as a clever blog post headline, but the title of this play is quite clever on it's own.

According to Aesop's fable of the same name, a disrupted napping dog keeps the oxen away from their hay in the manger even though he has no intention of eating it himself. In the play, Diana is the dog and the hay is her secretary, Teodoro, who is in love with one of Diana's ladies-in-waiting (presumably the oxen). Well, that's the basic idea at least. It's a bit more complicated than that as the play involves many issues including aristocracy, honor, purity of heart, jealousy, revenge, . . . you know, the usual. Personally, my favorite form of theatrical entertainment is the coupling of "high tragedy with low comedy" and this certainly hit the spot. Essentially, Diana only wants Teodoro when he's pledged his love to Marcela. But because of her lofty social status and Honor, when he returns Diana's affections, she spurns him. In the end, with the help of hilarious plot devices including but not limited to Servants In Disguise and Shady Contractual Agreements, Diana and Teodoro end up together with an enormous subterfuge to uphold. Though the play is set in the Spanish Golden Age, director Jonathan Munby took full advantage of said "low comedy" throwing in modern colloquialisms and banter. Or perhaps it was the actors. Either way, it was brilliantly balanced and executed.

As always, the costumes and set were fabulous. All the ladies wore black hoop-skirt dresses that were not only fun to look at, but also provided a nice contrast to the bright, colorful attire worn by Diana's aristocratic suitors. The set was comprised of screen walls which offered the characters a means to eavesdrop auspiciously. Mwahahahaha. I love how clever the set designers are. They never cease to amaze me.

This show is only running for a few more weeks, so check it out while you can. It's not a well known play, but it's definitely worth seeing. Next on the list: Ion @ Sydney Harmon Hall.



*One very cool thing the Shakespeare Theatre Company does to recycle costumes is to have them re-sewn into handbags, purses, clutches, scarves, etc. by a very talented lady from Fusion Fashion Accessories. Tuesday night I added a nifty little coin/card pouch to my collection. It's made of one of the various green materials from The Way Of The World. Perfect for St. Patty's Day.

JoCo and Paul & Storm @ The Birchmere. Take Two.

ZOMG! We totally got Rick Roll'd by JoCo. ROFLMAO.

Also, zendrums are teh awesome.



Video courtesy of ginamai.

Best. Decade. EVAH!

This last Friday was my 10th wedding anniversary. I was 20 years old when I married the love of my life, and I honestly had no idea he was truly my soul mate at the time. It was a hunch, and I'm very glad I followed it.

We met on a Sunday evening in late November. I had spent all day thumbing through Fathers and Sons and I took a break at the Beans & Brews in downtown Salt Lake City. He was there with his roommate, and all of us were bored. I believe our first conversation involved a discussion of our common frustration with our living arrangements — specifically residing in Utah — and a promise from the dear fellow that if I were to go out with him, he'd guarantee a short-term commitment due to his addiction to Lucky Strikes, 2-packs-a-day. I agreed to the proposal, as I was still quite young, and off we went to his place to make out and watch bad stoner movies. Four weeks later, I took a pregnancy test that revealed the bluest blue line in the history of HPTs, and two weeks after that we were married at a small chapel in the presence of friends, family, and a Justice of the Peace.




Ten years from that day, my wonderful partner whisked me away to a hotel in Reston, VA with dinner reservations ("reservations" as in we-waited-at-the-crowded-bar-for-a-table) to McKormick and Schmick's Seafood Restaurant where we dined on succulent surf and turf as we got properly snockered on Châteauneuf du Pape. We plan to celebrate this milestone further with a trip to Ireland in the late spring. We're a long way from the Meth Lab Capital of America where we had our first apartment, and I've truly enjoyed every minute of the journey. Here's to another decade of bliss!

The View from the Top

That last post was quite long for a blogkin. I assure you they won't be that long in the future.

Anyway, this is the view I get when I come over the hill on my way home:


Looking back:


Not bad, eh? The pictures don't do it justice, though.

My Main Street Is Better Than Your Main Street

After the economic fallout (aka the Not-So-Great Depression) and before the election, I had a mind to write a very poignant and eloquent blog about Main Street and the economy in my town. With all the talk of Real America™ and specifically Real Virginia™, I thought it might be interesting to see the real issues from a small town perspective. In this tourist town, economic hardships are not rare, and staying afloat means changing with the times, or moving on. Since I never got around to it I won't write the whole piece. Instead, I'm posting links to my current favorite spots in town and pictures that demonstrate the diversity that small towns in Real America™ have in this day and age. Enjoy!

The Town Clock
Toward one of the many antiques stores
The Catholic Bookstore
The Warren County Democratic Headquarters
Soul Mountain (restaurant)
The town gazebo. What? Your town doesn't have one?
Stokes General Store (Red Wings sold here!)
Closer to the antiques store

The Wine and Duck
Vino E Formaggio
Lucky Star Lounge
D&B's Chocolates and Confections
County Seat Pub

Discover Front Royal dot com

You Know You Spend Too Much Time . . .

. . . on the internet when you see a sign at Curves for a holiday promotion, and you want to click on the highlighted words as if they were links. Coincidentally, today was the day the owner finally destroyed the back-up floppy discs which stored all the member information. The times, they are a changin'.

Back at the Birchmere

Gawd I love the Birchmere so much. The venue is fantastic, and the acts are so diverse, you could never not find SOMETHING you'd love to see. Or whatever.

Anyway, on 9 Sep, we went to see Mike Doughty, former frontman of Soul Coughing. He is brilliant as always. I'd never seen him live, so this was a treat for me, a birthday aperitif, if you will. I was surprised by the number of Soul Coughing songs he sang. Surprised, but very very pleased. Oh, and he did this really cool thing where he had a bowl and papers on the stage before the show on which fans wrote questions that he answered throughout the set. Fantastic. I didn't ask any, but I thought it was pretty nifty. He's such a clever fellow. And very kind, he signed my CD with birthday wishes after the show. I hope he returns again soon. It was pretty fantastic.

Last Friday, 19 Sep, we saw Yard Dogs Road Show featuring Rachel Brice and The Indigo Belly Dance. If you think the title of the show is a mouthful, you should've seen the sword swallower. Buh duh bum ching. This was a spectacular show, entertaining through it's entirety! I suggest very very strongly that you see these self-proclaimed "hobohemians" if you ever have the opportunity. Fo rillz. I can't gush enough about the musical, dance-ical, and comedic talent that abounds in this beautiful burlesque troupe. Boffo. More than boffo. Words cannot describe . . . it's like going to the Circus McGurkus for adults. There. That works. Absolutely brilliant.

Anyway, that's all for now. My lovely husband is taking me to see Kathy Griffin on Friday for an extended birthday extravaganza. It should be good good times.

Quitting Smoking Updates

I'm not going to blog the ups and downs here, but I need all the support I can get. Here's a link to my blog on BecomeanEX.org. This is all very personal stuff so please be gentle. There are some of my posts that can only be viewed by my "friends", so if you'd like to see them all, feel free to sign up. Everyone in our community could use extra encouragement.

Thank you, friends.

-M

(here's the feed)

Here's To My Health... er something

It's 2:00 am on a Saturday night/Sunday morning . . . this is the first day of our non-smoking lives. By us. . . er, our . . . I mean hubby and me . . . er, I . . . er, his and mine. Anyway . . .

This will be interesting. Of course, I've quit before, during both my pregnancies, but I somehow managed to start up again . . . and again.

I realize this is a short blog, but it IS 2am, and I feel I should preempt any saucy or snarky or even rude remarks I might make in future blogs by this disclaimer . . .

Catch you on the flipside.

Et Voilà: Molière's Last Play

Last week I had the opportunity to see Imaginary Invalid for the second time. It was not disappointing. In fact, it was just as hysterical as it had been the first time.

Originally, I'd seen it with hubby as part of our Shakespeare Theater Season Pass Ritual. I love going to the theater with hubby. It's always nice to enjoy kid-free time with some cultural exposure. :D I invited a NY friend the second time, André, whom I'd had met back in April—he was in Deb's production of the Elephant Man. He is also a big René Auberjonios fan. Of course, who isn't? The man is a genius character actor.

There were several things about this production that made it spectacular, not the least of which was René's stellar performance. He was so animated in his portrayal of Argan, it was like watching a living cartoon. Of course, as usual, the main characters are nothing without the supporting cast, which in this case was equally vivacious. The costumes and set were fantastic as well.

After seeing the play twice, I decided to do more research since this is only the second Molière play I've seen (Don Juan being the first). I came across many reviews and articles that mentioned many differences between American versions of this play and others. The main distinction is the absence of the interludes containing singing and dancing, which in the beginning and end are tributes to King Louis XIV. I couldn't figure out why these would be deleted specifically in American translations, but what do I know. I guess we just get bored easily or something. Anyhoo...

Another fact I discovered is that this particular Molière play is not generally well received by US audiences. Perhaps it's because there's not enough singing and dancing. ;) Or, perhaps it's because many theater goers are doctors, and this play most decidedly does not contain a pro-doctor message. In fact, all the doctors in the play are Quacks™ who continue to relieve Argan of his finances while offering him a few dozen enemas. Typical. And not at all surprising that our country, in it's current state of Health Care Fuckery, would be a little displeased watching a poor old hypochondriac getting screwed like the rest of us schmucks. Still, we should stop being so sensitive and learn to enjoy teh funnies.

I hope this production makes its way to NY. If it does, I encourage all New Yorkers to see it. And love it. That would be splendid.

Turkish Delight In A New York Minute

Have I mentioned how much I LOVE NYC?! Well, lots and lots, that's how.

Hubby and I were lucky enough to be able to visit NY this past weekend. We had hoped to visit in June to see Deb's production of Love! That 4-Letter Word, but alas, we couldn't make it. Hopefully the show will manifest itself with more funding in the near future. Yeah, that'd be boffo!

Anyway, we finally made it up just in time for Tripod's one night stand. These fellows are absolutely hilarious! Google that shit and watch their YouTube clips. You won't be disappointed. Their chemistry is brilliant, and despite the jet lag, their timing was perfect. I especially enjoyed when Scod gazed lovingly into my eyes, and then hubby's. ;) The set was entirely too short, only 45 minutes. This was because of the venue, which runs shows back to back. We didn't get a chance to chat with them afterward either, as they were hustled out of the building posthaste and we were expressly forbidden to linger on the sidewalk. Le sigh. Oh well. They assured us they'd like to return, "legally", to do a full length show. Brill!

We (me, hubby, Deb, and John) had met up with another Umbie forumite, Gayle, and her lovely family. I'd met Gayle in spring 2007 when we saw the Umbies in Hampton, VA. Also joining our group was CAT, a friend of Deb's I'd met in November. So the eight of us traversed the streets (specifically, along 8th Ave near 26th), and found a lovely Irish pub/restaurant, The Molly Wee. The food was delicious, and the atmosphere was very nice. We spent a few hours there just chatting and having fun. It was Good Times.

The next day, hubby and I traveled to The City to visit museums. Now, if you don't know me well, you don't know what a museum whore I am. I could spend days, literally, DAYS in a museum. I love them! We knew of a Superheros exhibit at The Met, and though the exhibit itself wasn't as impressive as we'd hoped, the Met is spectacular. Hubby and I both kept getting distracted by all the Really Cool Stuff we saw there. (Seriously, DAYS!) I'll have to put a lot of time aside to hang out there when my lovely Rainy comes to visit from Spain. She'll dig it. We'd also learned of a Dalí: Painting and Film exhibit at the Museum of Modern Art. I'm very sad that the exhibit won't be there when Rainy comes, because It. Was. Brilliant. And she LOVES Dalí. Oh well, she'll still have fun, and I'm very glad we got to see it.

We also visited the Museum of Sex. It's pretty much what you'd expect, and if you "enjoy" porn and have a good idea of the "goings on" in alternative sexual vice, you'll probably be a bit nonplussed. Not worth the $14.50 admission. Too bad hubby left the $3 off coupons on his desk. At least we can say, "Been there, done that". Having said that, though, the Sex in Film exhibit aka Censorship was pretty cool. The set up was nice, and it was actually (gasp!) educational. Plus, any time Cary Grant is involved in anything sexual, it gets my panties in a whirl. ;) (That was the Overtly Subliminal section of the exhibit, or something along those lines, I don't remember the actual name.)

By then, our feet were in a seriously hurty way, so we took the train back to Terrytown. We met up with Deb and John. Tagging along, to our great pleasure, were Kim and Tom™. They are a fantastic couple. Deb had met Kim through the theater, and Tom is (OMG!) a tech geek just like hubby and John. It couldn't have been a more perfect sextuple. Hubby found a Turkish restaurant, Turkois Grille, via google maps located deep in the heart of an Hasidic community. Weird, right? Perhaps they had just found zen. ;) Anyway, hubby chose this restaurant based on the fact they have live belly dancing on Saturday nights. Dinner and a show! She (we never got her name) was very good. She'd performed a basic dance in the beginning, and then a basic taxim sword dance. Then, she danced through the crowd pulling diners out of their chairs to join her. It was so much fun. At our table, she chose hubby first, then Kim, then me. Kim's been watching belly dancing instructional videos, so she wasn't half bad (plus, she probably just has "the moves"). I think the dancer was somewhat surprised by how I kept up with her moves, even though she was clearly more graceful. I'm still a novice, after all. Although, I will be reporting this to my belly dancing instructor. She'll be proud of my public appearance, and I'm quite proud of myself since I haven't danced publicly in a good 15 years.

It was so fun. And I haven't even mentioned the food yet! Divine, is the only word I can think of. Granted I haven't had much experience with Turkish cuisine, but I know what I like, and THAT was it! The meat was so tender, the rice cooked perfectly, and don't get me started on the dessert plate and Turkish coffee. Perfecto!

I love visiting NY, and I'm looking forward to next time, whenever that may be. For now, NY, I say adieu, and save some ornery for me!

Happy Birthday, America!

Yay for the 4th of July being on a Friday! This means all Americans have a three day weekend, including yours truly. Fab! We went to hubby's high school friend's birthday party on Friday — her 30th, I can feel it looming! It was good times, burgers, hot dogs, all the fixin's. The kids had a blast and made some new friends. Boffo.

After that we headed to the folks' house and had some Dirty John's Style™ hot dogs and homemade raspberry ice cream. Then we ditched the kids there. Mwahahahaha.

I really like hanging out with my husband. I know it sounds cliché , but he's my best friend. Any time we get to spend alone is Time Well Spent. We imbibed (Cuba Libre is his current favorite cocktail) and fell asleep watching Blazing Saddles. I will neither confirm nor deny the presence of Gary as the reason for our movie choice.

On Saturday, we slept in. I tend to snore in the morning, so I slept later than hubby. We had coffee on the back porch and watched the Yankees/Red Sox game. Then we headed to a fancy bistro in town, Element (Thanks Helen!), which is an annex of Apartment 2G. Great food, great service and a fantastic atmosphere. It's sort of an oddity in this town, but I like odd. ;) Then it was home again for drinking and Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. I love that movie and I hadn't watched it since I'd gotten it two Xmas' ago. Great stuff.

So today, we're chillin' on the porch listening to some Fresh Tunes, awaiting the return of the children. It was good to have a break, but somehow I always (eventually) miss the noise. It's weird, right? :)

I Love Dick!

Richard Cheese, that is.

We were graced with this genius' presence/presents in DC on Wednesday night at the 9:30 Club. It's part of his United We Lounge tour and It. Was. Glorious! When I say "we" I mean Me, My Beau, My Jennie, and her fabulous brother Jared, who has now been thoroughly Corrupted™. We started the evening at the local Tapas Bar, Jaleo. If you ever get a chance to visit DC, you absolutely MUST eat there. ¡MUY DELICIOSO!

For those of you not familiar with Richard Cheese, what the fuck is wrong with you?! You MUST buy his CDs and go to his shows. Shower him with your money and boobies! His shows are incredible, complete with Saucy Digs, Wild Tuxedo Changes, Lesbians, and Singing Amongst the Audience. Oh, and then there were the Bubble Bottles he threw into the crowd to complete the ambiance during his rendition of the Spongebob Squarepants Theme Song. The show was, in a word, BOFFO!

Great Caesar's Ghost!: The Roman Repertory

We have been in and out of DC quite frequently in the past few weeks. The Shakespeare Theater Company has been running a "Roman Repertory", and we've had the opportunity to see two outstanding plays over as many weeks: Antony and Cleopatra and Julius Caesar.

As always, I was quite impressed with the set they used for both plays. With just a few tweaks here and there, they were able to take the audience from Egypt to Rome and back again during the performance of A&C. The actors were brilliant! Kurt Rhoads (Antony, understudy) and Suzanne Burtish (Cleopatra) had a magnificent chemistry on stage, which is the ONLY way, in my opinion, to make this utterly dysfunctional couple likable. Indeed, they were LOVEable. I hadn't realized until the performance of JC that Mr. Rhoads had been the understudy for the part. I hoped he was going to play the role in JC as well, which he did, much to my delight.

Julius Caesar was just as bloody and spectacular as I had anticipated, this being the first time I'd seen the play live. There were more elaborate set changes for this production (ie, the staircase collapsed to form a wall, and the "podium" became elongated for Antony's infamous speech to the "friends, Romans, countrymen"). Dan Kremer portrayed an almost sage and likable Julius Caesar, albeit (albehe?), decadent. Tom Hammond played Brutus as a deliciously level-headed hero for the people. Spot on! All in all, a very visually stunning interpretation of Classic Shakespeare™.

The odd twist to all of this is that unlike the Greek Repertory (Tambourlaine, and Argonotica) earlier in the season, these plays were running simultaneously. But as with the Greek Repertory, there were different directors for each play, (the incomparable) Michael Kahn for A&C, and David Muse for JC. However, using the same set, and actors for both plays really helped tie the two together nicely. Also, I can't gush enough about the supporting cast. They. Were. Brilliant! And as my husband would point out, many of the Egyptian ladies-in-waiting had excellent racks. That may not be politically correct when writing a review of a Classic Shakespearean Play™, but it doesn't hurt the visual. ;)

Next up at the Lansburgh Theater: The Imaginary Invalid, which I have neither seen nor read. I'm positive I won't be disappointed.

Overwhelmed

Lately we've been dealing with health related issues involving Newcastle, our beloved dog. About two weeks ago, he had a couple of lumps removed that turned out to be cancerous. The next day, he managed to pull out some sutures in the wound on his shoulder, so we headed to the doggie ER. Not a fun bill to pay, but it needed to be fixed. So far, he's been doing fine with the exception of pulling out the other sutures yesterday. Luckily, he's healed enough that it was a superficial thing.

Unfortunately however, last night I found another lump on his rib cage. The vet had explained the biopsy to me thusly: the rate of growth (mitosis) of the lumps they removed could potentially give him about 4-5 years if left untreated. He's 7 now, so 4-5 years added to that is a sufficient life span for a dog his size. However, I've seen the way cancer effects people and animals alike, and I wonder what kind of quality of life he might have living with cancer. Dealing with the thought of losing him so soon is heart wrenching. Some difficult decisions are in our near future.

Also yesterday, my POS car decided it was going to start overheating. I was concerned that it would explode or something catastrophic when I was on my way home from picking up the girl from school. It's in the shop right now, and we're waiting to hear back from them. Consequently, I had to walk to the bus stop to pick up the boy and a friend of his. We're only a half mile from the bus stop, but it's a very hilly half mile. And it's far more difficult walking back up the hill. At least I got a fairly decent workout, though I think I pulled a calf muscle. We'll see how that plays out tonight at my belly dancing class.

In addition to those current events, my house is a disaster area. The clutter is almost too much to deal with. I'd like Jennie to come over and help me work on it, but I think for today, I'll just work on the kitchen. Baby steps. Hopefully that will give me a sense of accomplishment and maybe the rest of the fam can help me out. We'll see.

Anyway, it could be worse, and I know that. Right now though, I feel like I'm slipping and that's not good. *breathe* This too shall pass...


*photo: Empty Space by JR Blackwell

Holy Crap! I'm a Geek!

I have officially crossed the line... I AM A GEEK. Not an ubergeek, but a geek nonetheless. I am a participant in an online RPG. For those non-geeks out there, RPG = Role Playing Game...

The scary thing is, I really really like it. I had attempted this level of geekery before. After all, I'm married to a geek, so it's par for the course. I could never wrap my head around the actual role playing aspect. But this time, perhaps because of the group involved, I'm really getting into it. So far, however, we've been gaming online, so this Saturday I'll find out if I have it in me to stick to my character in person. ;)

I'm very excited about the idea of this particular campaign. It's a dungeon crawl, which means we're all stuck in a dungeon (of course), and we go from room to room fighting enemies, making friends, and of late, getting our asses kicked. When our characters finally emerge (which could literally take years), they will be at level 20. That's a lot, y'all. Boffo.

I'm still trying to get a handle on the details like when to roll, what to roll, how to keep track of inventory and hit points, etc. Luckily, we have a seasoned and wise Dungeon Master™, so Jennie and I (aka, the noobs) are in good hands.

I'll update more as the map unfolds. *giggle-snort* Did I seriously just say that? *facepalm*

New York, New York!

I wanted to summarize our trip to the Big Apple, but I'll link to my husband's blog instead. He's compiled all of our Tweets into a nice post. Also, his flickr feed has pictures, which we all know are worth 1,000 words each. (Conversely, Twitter only allows 140 characters per post) ;)

Take Me Out To The Ball Game!!

Sunday was arguably the patriotic high of my life. A Yankees game AT YANKEE STADIUM! Not only is it cool because it's the Yankees, but this is the last season of the stadium itself. Also, I got to go with my favorite fella, a hardcore baseball fan.

We took the train to Harlem from Tarrytown, and the subway into The Bronx. As soon as we stepped out of the station, the excitement rushed over the game-going crowd. We entered the park just like you'd enter any stadium, but knowing it was The House That Ruth Built™ made it magical. I remember wondering about all the people who'd been there in those halls and seats, to see a baseball game on a Sunday afternoon just like that one. I thought of the fathers and sons who'd been going to games for generations. It pained me to see one father/son duo in the section next to us whose former half kept leaving the boy to buy souvenirs. I could tell the kid just wanted to spend time with his dad at a game. On the one hand, I was sad. On the other, I felt so lucky to be married to man who I knew would recognize that excitement in his children. He was in fact, at that moment, enjoying this simple game as if it were his first.

We ate hot dogs, peanuts, and yes even Cracker Jacks™. It was a bona fide baseball going experience. After the game, we headed down the street to grab a genuine slice of New York style pizza. Boffo!

It wasn't an historical game. Aside from the two run homer Hideki Matsui hit in the 4th inning, and the brilliant double play by Derek Jeter later on, it was fairly run-of-the-mill. However, we'll remember it for the rest of our lives.

He Does It With Just One Hand...

On Friday night, we had the tremendous privilege of attending Elephant Man, directed by Deb Failla. That's right, MY Deb! And she is a true artist!

I'd never seen a live production of EM before, but I'm glad my first was Deb's show. Of course, all the rest will pale by comparison, but what the hell? It was brilliant! I could go into a synopsis of the play, but I'd rather share the experience. The Elmwood Playhouse is small (it seats 99), and instead of theater-in-the-round, it's got an ally way of sorts. The seating ascends on either side of a big, open gap in the middle of the room. A creative director, like Deb, knows exactly how to use this to her advantage. I'm not sure how to describe the magic, but every emotion was mirrored across the theater, either by the characters or the audience members on the opposite side.

Additionally, the actors were spectacular. And a really nice group of people to boot! When Rick Apicella, who played the lead, "transformed" into John Merrick, the entire audience was transfixed. It was so brilliant, if Deb had gone the make-up route (which she wouldn't have because she's too clever), the entire scene, and consequently the rest of the play, would've lost its marvel. Rick was utterly and brilliantly convincing as Merrick. The rest of the cast was equally talented. In the scene when Mrs. Kendal sees John for the first time, Tiffany M. Card stood perfectly still, EXCEPT for the vibrating feather in her hair. I couldn't see her face, but I knew her expression. Absolutely phenomenal!!!

So many other details added up to a truly unequaled experience in community theater. I wonder why this show isn't Off-Broadway™. :S However, having said that, perhaps it IS comparable to my first theater experiences at Hale Center Theater in, of all places, Orem, Utah. I remember being so astounded by the brilliance of the plays I saw, I was baffled by their presence in my tiny community. They should have been on Broadway, I thought. That was the place for such talent.

And it still should be. However, big names have taken the place of good talent. And while I enjoyed Legally Blond the movie, I sure as hell don't want to see a musical about it. Clay Aiken in Spamelot? No thanks.

I encourage all of you who appreciate the theater to check out a local venue. You never know what magnificent talent you'll find there. Unfortunately, you only get Deb's unique touch in New York. ;)