Monday Moments - Hadestown

If you've followed this blog, my friends, you know I love the theater and Bass Hall in Fort Worth, TX.  We are very fortunate to get excellent Broadway touring  companies. Hadestown was no exception. I treated myself to a ticket for a Sunday matinee and was transported to the underworld. It was worth the trip. 

I did my homework ahead of time and reviewed some Greek mythology. This is the story of Hades - God of the dead and ruler  of the underworld. His wife Persephone is the goddess of the seasons. She spends half of the year with him causing fall and winter. The other half is spring and summer above. 

Hermes is the fleet footed guide and messenger of the gods. He transports the souls. 

Orpheus is a beautiful man - son of the muse of epic poetry, lyrical singing, and  plays the lyre. 

He falls for Eurydice - a tree nymph who's bitten by a snake and descends to the underworld where Hades falls  for her.   Orpheus manages to sneak into the underworld to rescue her.  A battle for souls ensues. 

The Fates - three goddesses determine the destinies of mortals.  The Chorus sing, speak, and dance in unison - representing the voice of the citizens. 

All in all  - this musical just hits the soul. The voices are tremendous, the acting superb, the production is tight.  There are a lot of underlying  themes going  on too - there's a lot to think about after it's over. But when it starts with "The road  to hell" and ends with "  Doubt comes in" - oh, you are in for quite a ride. 

Amen and Hallelujah!

 

Local Theater - Lone Star Love Potion

Support your local theater.  I enjoyed a cheap Saturday night ($22) at Onstage Bedford. The group did Lone Star Love Potion - an adult farce.  It was corny, slapsticky farce and yet had enough twists and turns to keep me interested.  The actors worked hard and gave it their all. The small theater was sold out and I was five minutes from home.  What's not to like?

Who was scheming over whom?  Who was jumping into bed with whom? Property, a potion, a will...oh, there's trouble over land, and you can bet that multiple parties are involved.  The heiress, the butler, the neighbor, and the lawyer....all might have a hand in the game.

This was silly,  amusing fun. And I was out past 10 pm on a Saturday night......big time!!!

Wednesday With a Song

I treated myself a few Sundays ago to a symphony ticket. How glorious. As part of the Pops series, the Fort Worth Symphony presented Rodgers & Hammerstein show tunes accompanied by film clips. Basically, the symphony played and the singers on screen burst into song.

I knew them all thanks to my folks. My mother and father loved theater and show tunes and I grew up knowing Oklahoma , The King and  I, Carousel, Sound of Music, and South Pacific.  Wow - so many great songs.

If I Loved You, June is Bustin' Out All Over, There is Nothing Like a Dame, Some Enchanted Evening, Getting to Know You, Shall We Dance, Oh What A Beautiful Morning, and more....

I had a great seat in the orchestra section. The symphony did a grand job, and the clips brought back such awesome memories.  I was fortunate to actually see Yul Brynner many years ago in a touring production of the King and I  - holy cow - he commanded the stage.

Anyway, support your local musicians and go see some and hear some great tunes. I'll be going back, that's for sure.

Motown The Musical - a toe tapping Sunday

Get Ready, Get Ready........to tap your toe.......reach out and touch somebody.....ain't no mountain high enough.......ABC, Easy as 1,2,3......it's a Ball of Confusion........but not if you're with My Guy or My Girl

Hitsville USA - the roots of Motown and Berry Gordy. Quite the story and the epitome of the American Dream

Motown the Musical tells the story of Berry Gordy's dream and the soul/pop/R&B glory of so many artists - - Diana Ross and The Supremes, the Temptations, Smokey Robinson, Marvin Gaye, Jackson 5, Martha & the Vandellas, Stevie Wonder, Gladys Knight and the Pips, the Commodores......  The list is endless and the songs are etched in the songbook of my life.

I wanted to be Diana Ross when I saw her on Ed Sullivan. She was exotic and talented and sexy and beautiful.

And Michael Jackson..........oh my goodness - he was an old soul in a young body - so talented with that sweet voice and those dance moves.

I treated myself on Sunday to a ticket in the mezzanine at Bass Hall.  The lights went down, the show went on, and I was tapping my toe.  Bliss, absolute bliss - the voices were extraordinary and the dancing was like air.

I highly recommend Motown The Musical if the show rolls through your town.

Local Theater

I've said before that it's often good to poke around your backyard.

For me, that's Fort Worth, Texas - an easy twenty minute drive to a variety of culture. Saturday, August 15, I saw a local production of Dirty Rotten Scoundrels presented by the Stolen Shakespeare Guild (www.stolenshakespeare.org) at the Ft.Worth Community Arts Center.

The musical follows the plot of the original movie (starring Michael Caine and Steve Martin), and is silly fun. The two lead men (Ben Phillips and Trey West) had very good voices. The crew and cast, the dance ensemble, etc. obviously put a lot of work into their production.

Lots of talented folks out there, eager to entertain. Support your local theater. You'll be surprised.

Theater Musical - Once

 I took myself to Bass Hall in Fort Worth on Saturday, and treated myself to an orchestra seat to enjoy the musical "Once".  It was originally a movie created by Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova. A boy and a girl meet - he's Irish, she's Czech and they bond over music for a brief period of time. But once is the spark that changes their lives. It's a nice little love story about chance, dreams, and two cultures.

 Excellent cast and voices. These photos are courtesy of an email from Bass Hall. No photography during the performance!

The musicians were superb and the song "Falling Slowly" is sublime. It won an Academy Award, and it's haunting. If a touring production of "Once" arrives in your town, treat yourself to a ticket and two hours of magic.

The Book Club Play

I usually see musicals when I go to the theater. However, The Book Club Play, caught my eye and had great local reviews. Thus, last Sunday a friend I ventured for lunch and some culture - a live theater experience.

The Dallas Theater Center offers a variety of worthy productions, and this was no exception. Written by Karen Zacarias and directed by Meredith McDonough, The Book Club Play brings us into the living room of Ana (Christie Vela) and Rob (Jeffrey Schmidt) who host the book club. Joining them are Will (Steven Michael Walters), Jen (Sarah Rutan), and newcomer Lily (Tiana Kay Johnson). Their love of books brings them together and now they are part of a documentary study about book clubs. The pervasive camera causes concern, and of course some things spoken or done (a cheating kiss) cannot be undone.

Not only is the camera intrusive, but the newcomer Lily is young and has them read Twilight. To go from classics to current throws a shockwave. And, to make matters worse, Alex (Brandon Potter) shows up randomly at the invitation of Jen. But this is unheard of. Book Club requires proper vetting according to Ana. There are rules. (Gasp!)

This play was well acted and had a lot of great lines. Anyone who loves to read, belongs to a book club, writes, or has anything to do with the written word will get a kick out of the references, jokes, and obvious love of literature and culture. The Book Club Play was a tight production, and we left smiling and vowing to perhaps once again attack Moby Dick.

 (and Rob - you should read the book, not just watch the movie)