Got home in time to say Stratford's version of GUYS AND DOLLS was amazing. What a great musical it is to-not a bad song in it. I saw the Nathan Lane version in the nineties on Broadway and since the staging has become more sophisticated in those years, this was even more thrilling. Such a huge cast.
We also saw THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST, which was about as good as that play can be. So many of the Stratford actors have been in plays for thirty or more years there so you watch them age from playing Juliet to the elderly women in EARNEST. Lots of good food too. So nice to spend time with Kevin especially. He has to decide on a major by December and still hasn't decided. Between plays we played a game called SPLENDOR which was really difficult to understand. Board games have gotten more difficult since even my kids' times.
Great weather on the whole. Reading a Japanese novel that takes place on a subway line. I haven't unpacked yet so I can't tell you the title. Perhaps Tracy knows. I am betting she recommended it.
What about you?
13 comments:
Glad you had a great time at Stratford. GUS AND DOLLS is such a fun play; I butchered a role in THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST when I was in high school.
Christina, Walt, and Jack spent three gorgeous days on Lake Pontchartrain this week as one of her birthday presents. they came back both relaxed and invigorated.
Walt does most of the cooking in the house; Christina will occasionally and I am a deft hand at microwaving SpaghettiOs and pouring a bowl of Rice Krispies. Walt has many exotic recipes and loves to use strange spices for complicated and surprisingly healthy meals. This week, for the first time, he decided to make tomato soup. The first batch went in the trash -- he used the canned tomato glop. Then he wised up and roasted fresh tomatoes and the other ingredients, adding some fresh basil on top to make one of the best tomato soups I have ever tasted. He insisted on having a grilled cheese sandwich with his soup, while I am in the tuna salad sandwich camp -- a throwback to my childhood; tuna salad was one of the few things my mother could not burn (nice lady, but her cooking had all the consistency of a hockey puck).
While the others were in Louisiana, I had animal duty. Sebastian, the Russian Tortoise, refused to come out of his shelter and would not touch the food I laid out for him and I was afraid I had lost one of the animals on my watch. But, no, he was just jerking my chain. Sebastian would occasionally go for days without moving or eating and this was just one of those times. I was relieved when I tickled his shell and he reacted and I let out a Victor Frankenstein cry of "He lives!"
Beyond all that, nothing happened this week, but I will gladly take boring. There was a shark attack just one beach down from the one we use but that was just because the swimmer was dumb.
Finished streaming Marvel's WONDER MAN and was again impressed by Ben Kingsley. Caught the latest episode of DEATH IN PARADISE and looking forward to the new season of BEYOND PARADISE which begins tomorrow.
Reading this week included COSMOS, a science fiction round-robin serial first published in 1933-34 and featuring 17 of the field's then-top writers (and my FFB). Over-the-top early SF chock-filled with sense of wonder and superscience; pure nostalgia from several decades before by time. Elle Cosimano's FINLAY DONOVAN CROSSES THE LINE is the latest in the popular mystery series. In this one, both the plot and the humor are strained; the series has been compared to Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series; as with Evanovich, a little goes a long way. Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child's RELIQUARY was the second in their Pendergast series and a direct sequel to the first, RELIC -- with an interesting, over the top premise. Joan Kahn's early suspense anthology THE EDGE OF THE CHAIR contained thirty-four pieces -- half fiction and half fact...an excellent selection of both. Finally I stumbled through one graphic novel, Jeff Lemire's JSA, VOL. 1: INFINITY, INC. VS. THE JUSTICE SOCIETY, a mish-mash of many DC Comic superheroes and villains, both old and new; hard to tell the players without a scorecard.
Hoping your scorecard for the coming week is all home runs, Patti. Stay safe.
Sounds like you had a great time. You saw two of our favorites, and GUYS AND DOLLS has often been cited by Jackie as her favorite musical. Besides the Nathan Lane version in 1993, with Peter Gallagher an excellent Sky Masterson, we've seen the all-black version on Broadway in 1976, with Robert Guillaume as Nathan Detroit and a pre-CATS Ken Page doing "Sit Down, You're Rockin' the Boat" as Nicely-Nicely Johnson; the 1985 London production, with Bob Hoskins (though we may have seen his replacement - don't remember after this time); the 1997 London revival, with Imelda Staunton brilliant as the best Miss Adelaide I've ever seen, and Clarke Peters as Sky; and, London again in 2005, with a surprising Douglas Hodge (who knew he could sing?) as Nathan and Ewan McGregor as Sky, plus Jane Krakowski as Adelaide.
We last saw EARNEST in 2011, with Brian Bedford as Lady Bracknell. Cross-dressing is definitely a British thing. In 1999, we saw it in London with "that Bucket woman" Patricia Routledge in the role.
More after breakfast.
Tomato soup and grilled cheese is a marriage. My kids would eat that everyday.
Nathan Lane was a perfect Nathan Detroit. This actor was good too but the actor playing Sky was too old for Sarah.
And speaking of theater, we saw David Lindsay-Abaire's THE BALUSTERS. (He is best known for writing KIMBERLY AKIMBO.) Anika Noni Rose plays a woman who joins a local neighborhood association of almost comical diversity (of the nine members, two are gay, one is "non-binary," two are black, one is Asian...etc.), run by the seemingly kind but kind of tyrannical real estate agent played by Richard Thomas. Other talented actors include Margaret Colin (in kind of the snarky Elaine Stritch role) and Carl Clemons-Hopkins (from HACKS), as well as Tony-nominated Marylouise Burke, who, sadly, we didn't see. She must have been as good as the critics said, as with her replacement, the role was nothing special at all. And Jackie gave the stage manager her sad story about her knee, so she gave us aisle seats in Row K on the side of the orchestra, so we didn't have to climb to the mezzanine.
Speaking of the Tonys, I recorded them so we could finish two shows we'd been watching (TEHRAN, series two and THE GONE series two). We watched a couple of hours and will finish the rest today. It confirmed what a poor year it was for new musicals. No Sondheim here, I'm afraid, when SCHMIGADOON! is the best they have. We quit the TV series after two episodes, but that was as much about Keegan-Michael Key's off-putting performance as anything else.
TEHRAN (Apple) is about a Mossad agent inside Iran. Glenn Close guest starred in series two, and Hugh Laurie is in series three, which we'll watch next. THE GONE (Acorn) has an Irish cop and journalist in New Zealand, after a current - and a historical - killer in Maori country. Richard Flood stars.
We finished the fifth (last to date) series of SLOW HORSES, and will watch Mick Herron's DOWN CEMETERY ROAD next (both Apple). Finished series two of FOR ALL MANKIND (Apple),. On series 24 (of 29) of SILENT WITNESS (Britbox?). We finished the French THE BUREAU. Still watching a number of other European shows, mostly French at the moment. We usually watch one or two foreign language episodes a day. Also watching THE GREAT BRITISH BAKING SHOW and repeats of NEW TRICKS and ONE FOOT IN THE GRAVE on Saturdays.
Diane and I watched the Tonys last night. Between Patrick and Katie, I think they've see all the winning plays and musicals!
Speaking of plays and musicals, we love GUYS AND DOLLS and THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST as much as you do! We saw performances of both last year. Great!
We are headed for 90 degrees tomorrow and will remain hot all week long. Summer is hitting Western NY hard! We have a busy week with Diane test driving compact SUVs. She's having problems getting in and out of her Nissan Altima sedan so an easy access compact SUV looks attractive. Stay safe!
Jackie wants to know why Diane didn't go for another Rogue. Also, we were both surprised the Rogue was the top seller this year, over the CRV or RAV-4. Of course, I'd recommend the Forester.
Jackie, although we love our Nissan Rogue--it's the best vehicle I've ever owned!--Diane thinks the Rogue is "too big." She prefers a more compact SUV like the Subaru CrossTrek, the Toyota Corolla Cross, or the Nissan Kicks. After the test drives this week, Diane will make her decision. All three vehicles run about $30,000. We plan to gift Diane's Nissan Altima to Katie. Although the Altima is 10 years old, it only has 28,000 miles and is in perfect condition. Diane only drives it to church and the grocery store!
Makes sense. Now for us, those would be too small. I drove the Crosstrek in Florida for a week when my car was getting the air conditioning serviced, and it just felt too small after the Forester. For Diane, I bet it's perfect. Good luck.
I saw Guys and Dolls in London in 2006 with Patrick Swayze playing Nathan Detroit.
Probably good at the dancing and singing. Boy, he's been gone a long time.
Welcome home, slightly belatedly...which Japanese novel is it?
THE PASSENGERS ON THE HANKYU LINE, Arikawa Hiro
Interesting, thanks!
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