One of the mottoes I live my life by is, “Stop at every lemonade stand.”
Today, Hayden had his first lemonade stand for the Fourth of July parade that goes right past our house. He wrote his own sign, as every kid who wants to run a lemonade stand should.
We set up for the stand in drizzling rain, and chillier weather than we’ve had in the past, but we still figured it was worth a shot. Hayden was a bit nervous at first, and I had to help him with the first customer, but he took off after that for the next couple. A good selling point was that we had four colors of cups, and Hayden was able to learn to ask each customer what color cup they would like. Yea, customer service!
Enter parade, including a truck full of Lakota athletes. Bravo to a handful of those young men, jumping off the truck, handing over a couple of dollars, waiting for a cup, and then bolting back to their ride. It makes me proud to live in a community where the young adults will show that kind of support for a younger crowd, even if that float was closely followed by TARS, a young Republican group.
We went to see the Lion King at Schuster Center in Dayton, today.
Despite both boys saying at various times they were not interested going, including Gabe’s “Can’t you just call a sitter for me?” I think they enjoyed it.
The costumes, as everyone said, were amazing. The puppetry very well done. The sets were fantastic. The music was astounding. It was a perfect setting for us, Row B. Yes, Row B. And since we were stage left, there was no row directly in front of us. We were on the aisle, too, so when the elephants came down to get on stage, we got an excellent view.
We could watch one of the drummers’ facial expressions for the entire show, and I could see emotions in the eyes of the stage performers.
Young Nala was by far my favorite enthusiastic artist. She was full of energy and devotion to her character. Young Simba was talented, but his heart did not seem in this particular performance.
The first act was very similar to the animated cartoon. The second act strayed from the well known, but it was definitely something I was able to follow. I do wonder if there were pieces of the second act’s story that have been cut over the years, though. Scar’s desire to turn Nala into his offspring machine seemed less than fully formed after a passing mention, and I fully expected this to come up again, but never did.
All in all, it was an amazing day. And, I had fun during intermission when I was rudely told to turn off my phone. “No. I’m not taking pictures, I’m not recording. The sound is off. I am merely updating my friends. I am following all directions I have been given regarding the use of my personal device.” Again, I was told to turn my phone off. Again, I said no. Simply that. “No.” And I did not break eye contact.
So, we saw Company last night – a musical featuring Neil Patrick Harris, surrounded by other fabulous stars, such as Stephen Colbert. We didn’t see it in person. It only ran for something like four shows, and what with the names in it, I couldn’t have afforded the ticket prices… but for $18 we got to see a blueray disc, shown on a theater screen. Totally worth $18, in my opinion.
Given that these stars are familiar with cameras, it was a huge success. Facial features were not overblown, as I fear they would have been had it been a standard-fare theater cast.
The sound was fantastic and the energy palpable. Neil Patrick Harris did a fantastic job playing the role of Bobby, including the brilliant moment of his face when asked if he had ever had any homosexual experiences.
And Stephen Colbert totally has a voice perfect for musical theater. ‘/sondheim’ “Sorry-grateful” was touching.
And guess what, readers? I’m ahead of the curve. There are still more showings.
Yeah, you know how I rock at posting about events after they are all wrapped up? Heeellloooo, May Festival and Goodbye until next year.
So, I was lucky enough to get two sets of tickets to May Festival this year. (Friday and Saturday night of this week, for the final weekend.)
It is an annual celebration of Choral music, and for anyone who has any experience in chorus, or who likes professional singing with an orchestral backup, well, this is for you.
http://www.mayfestival.com/
I saw Haydn’s Heiligmesse, Mahler’s Das klagende Lied, and Mendlessohn’s Elijah between the two nights.
It was was all fantastic, but Mahler’s work was probably my favorite. Elijah was amazing, but I personally preferred the power of the soloists for Mahler than those who performed in Elijah. Totally a personal preference, as they were all highly trained, powerful, and emotionally transporting artists.
Thank you, Cincinnati, for being such a powerhouse in the musical arts. I can’t wait for the World Choir Games in 2012.
For fans of the fourth wall crashing down in front of you, The Drowsy Chaperone is a fun find.
If you’re a fan of musicals, it isn’t the best, but it is a lot of laughs.
If you’re a fan of both, well, it is one you cannot miss. Unfortunately, we saw it the night before it ends its run in Cincinnati, so um, hurry up and get your tickets for tonight’s show?
Van Ackerman, as Man in Chair, is spectacular. He engages the audience and the character’s love for the show is palpable.
My second favorite character, Aldolpho, was played by Wayne Wright, who took part to a very enjoyable, if somewhat stereotypical place (but don’t worry, that’s what he was meant to do with it).
But we’ve been enjoying life, despite all the rain and foul weather.
For example, we recently went to go see the Cincinnati Ballet team up with local roots band, Over the Rhine. I wish I would have gotten my act together to post about this event that night, so that all of the locals might have scrambled to get tickets, too.
Alas, my timing is poor and I didn’t get around to it… however, I loved the ballet in a way I never would have expected. I will be sharing, eventually, I hope.
As we explore more that Cincinnati has to offer, hopefully I will get my act together to share it with you in a more timely manner.
My brother passed away on 12/21/2010. He left behind his two boys, age 9 and 5. A lot of people have asked me if there’s anything they can do to help, so I setup this donation widget to contribute to the boys college savings. Anything you can give is appreciated.
If you’re uncomfortable with this and still want to do something, I’d recommend making a donation to your local library.
Yup, we neglect this site, with so many other avenues of social networking available to us these days.
I’ll be working on my Poetry Writing Month challenge this month. (Thirty-one poems in the month of October. I’m caught up right now.) I know I’ll be posting these poems on facebook.
Somewhere in the month of October, I also need to be sure to write my birthday letters to the boys. Those will certainly be posted here.
In November, I’ll be working on the National Novel Writing Month challenge again. I, gulp, have no idea what I’ll be writing about.
In December, I want to write at least one letter each day of the month. I won’t count email…. and I’ll only count our “year in review” letter once. I swear. Want to be included on my rotation of letters? Make sure I have your snail mail addy, and make sure you understand just how atrocious my handwriting is before you ask for the burden of deciphering my scratches.
I went to the Cincinnati Opera last night, and my first, most overwhelming, most lasting response: WOW!
I wasn’t sure I could handle 6 hours of opera, but the hours flew by, being exposed to the talents of the cast, the art of the sets, the energy of the audience. Having the tickets I had certainly helped, too. First balcony, first row, dead center. The acoustics and the view were spectacular. I loved being able to see into the pit, get to experience the musicians as artists and people rather than recordings.
The story was Shakespearean, filled with confusion, convoluted planning, star-crossed lovers. There was word play (I was able to catch some of the German, but the supertitle translations helped, too). There was cross-generational conflict. There was love of plot, characters and progression.
Given my background (my far, far away background, of say, high school), I love the performing arts. I miss being a part of a stage production, miss feeling the wave of music hit me as I take in a breath to push my voice into an audience. I miss that rush. But experiencing the wave of music, in terms of vocal and instrumental, on the other side of the stage was a welcome reminder of the energy that music, poetry, art can give.
The story behind the music, too, helped to inspire me to do everything I can to preserve a love of music and the arts in the next generation of my children.
So, my basic review: Never let a sub-textual title of “The Six Hour Opera” keep you from experiencing Die Meistersinger von Nurnberg.
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