One Fiennes Day

Add another Oscar-nominee notch to the belt of my celeb sightings and he is a Fiennes one - Ralph Fiennes, who we saw in a fantastic play, “God of Carnage,” by award-winning playwright Yasmina Reza (“Art”). A four-hander, the show also starred Oscar nominee Janet McTeer and RSC stalwarts Ken Stott and Tasmin Grieg. The story is of two couples in Paris who come together after their sons have been in a fight..and..well, let’s just say the meeting does not go well..lol. Sharp clever writing and perhaps the 4 best performances I’ve seen (aside from Spacey/Goldblum), this show definitely ranks as a favourite. However, I saw it more than a month ago, so my memory is a bit fuzzy. I’ll let the Guardian and Independent reviews tell you more. The reason I took so long to post about it was that when we saw it, Mr. Fiennes had a ‘previous engagement’ and did not do the ‘meet and greet’ at the stage door. Not to be deterred, my friend Lynne and I went back to the stage door before the show closed last week and were successful. Unfortunately “Mr. Fiennes” is tightly managed by theatre staff and he does not pose with people for photos. We could only take pics “of Mr. Fiennes.” More pics are online here. And Fiennes he is indeed in person, albeit much shorter! And also very, very shy! Not shy? The charming and funny (and taller than I) Janet McTeer who came right up to me first on the autograph queue: “Wow, how lovely! Another nice tall woman! There aren’t too many of us around, are there?”

Know what else is not around? “Gone with the Wind” the musical! It’s gone baby gone and OMG, I’m not surprised. You know that this is hands-down one of my favourite movies and I was not looking forward to seeing the musical, especially after it got eviscerated by the critics. However, when your good friend Sarah calls up and says she’s got FREE tickets to go see it, well then, as God as my witness, I’m a goin! Insert any and all manner of puns on ‘not giving a damn’ here..lol. The music was a mish-mash of styles and the acting, and more importantly, accents, were all over the map, not to mention horrible casting of Ashley (too old) and Melanie (too, um, plain and harpy, rather than meek and mild).

It started out strong with a spiritual song by the slaves and I thought if they’d maybe taken that perspective, it might have worked, but then it returned to the main characters who were given horrible lyrics such as this one from Gerald O’Hara: “From County Meath to Connemara, there is no land as fine as Tara.” Seriously! The writer (who is like a psychologist from California or something) sure don’t know nothin’ bout writin’ no showtunes! Bright spots were that the Rhett was terrific (good strong voice and looks, very charismatic), as was the nice white wine we had before show and at interval as well as Sarah and my similar sense of humour when it came to our take on the show, so we turned it into a ‘so bad it was actually entertaining’ evening!

West End Girls..And Boys

Live, from Leicester Square! It’s Saturday Morning! Last weekend brought “West End Live,” a FREE showcase of many musicals performing on the boards here in Theatreland. My friend Liz and I got down there early and grabbed a good spot to catch the cornucopia of offerings – which again ranged from the sublime to the ridiculous. Kicking things off in great style was “Jersey Boys.” Wow! Great style indeed! I have to admit that this Tony award winning Best Musical had not been high on my radar screen, but after watching this set, I am a believer. Fantastic singing, fun choreography and 4 fine looking me – what more does one want. Let’s hear it for the Boys! Really good showing!

The Boys were followed by “Into the Hoods” - aka one of Gretchen’s favourite Sondheim musicals meets hip-hop and rap. Ummm…yeah….They don’t use Steve’s songs at all, and the story is VERY loosely based on the show (Spinderalla is a DJ, etc). However the dancing and choreography are terrific and there are some fun numbers of 80s nostalgia that were entertaining (MC Hammer, Prince, Whitney, Chaka Khan, etc). Overall, I’m not racing out to see this, but would maybe go if it was half-price or free just to see how it all shakes out.

After the ‘Hoods came the trio of lame, lamer and lamest shows. “Wicked” was represented by just one song – duet between Elphaba and Fiero and the Elphaba could not find the right key to save her life. Painful to hear. Lamer – “Lord of the Rings.” Bilbo Baggins! How is this show still running?! Again, one lame duet and I don’t even know if they were singing in English or Elvish! Lamest? “Dirty Dancing!” Nobody puts Baby in a corner and Nobody should have put this classic film on the stage. Limp dancing and lead actors that were far too old, short, and frankly ‘un-fit’ for their roles. We did not have the time of our life.

That is until we had a great run of 5 and a half shows. “We Will Rock You” and “Never Forget” are based on the music of Queen and UK boy band Take That and both were high-energy, hot dancing and just a heck of a fun time with good music. Never Forget in particular, mainly for the Rupert Everett/Robbie Williams actor. Sigh..hot! “Grease” and “Chicago” followed and well, what can I say, they are favourites and I loved them both, particularly Chicago whose Velma was outstanding! All that jazz I might have to go see this show again!

And then…and then…the moment I was waiting all morning for – “Joseph/Technicolor Dreamcoat” with Lee Mead (winner of BBC casting show). Dreamcoat? More like Dreamboat! He is Gorgeous and has the best voice and is just about the most perfect casting ever!....sigh….He was accompanied by the Joseph Children’s Choir and they just about brought the house down. Our day wrapped up with “Mamma Mia!” Now you know I loves me some Abba and I love this musical, but not when it’s Lip Synched! At a show called West End LIVE! Benny and Bjorn what the hell were they thinking! It was soo obvious. Oh well, we still got down to Dancing Queen and then got down to lunch and sitting after standing 5 hours for free theatre! Well worth it though! More photos from the day are now online.

Pomp and Circumstance

I finished my thesis last September, got my final results in December, but it wasn’t until about 3 weeks ago that it all became official. City University (finally!) held its graduation ceremony on May 21 at Southwark Cathedral, along the South Bank (right down from Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre!). Speaking of Shakespeare, my department awarded an honorary doctorate of arts to Shakespearean actor Simon Russell Beale, who gave a great speech. It also felt very Harry Potter-like as we marched up the cathedral in our gowns and hoods. From Harry Potter to "Hail to the Redskins," I was tempted to burst into song as our hoods were in burgundy and gold!

Mom, Kait and our family friend Deb came over to help me celebrate and we had a wonderful time in London. Of course with this family, you know there must be theatre and indeed we took in two good, wildly different shows. The first was the Dylan Thomas piece “Under Milkwood” at my old employer the Tricycle Theatre. A sweet story of a small town in Wales, it had beautiful writing and wonderful performances. The second show also had a Tricycle connection – “The 39 Steps,” which started at Trike and moved to the West End, and then Broadway (where it’s up for some Tony Awards tonight!) A hilarious slapstick spoof of the early Hitchcock film, it was one of the most creative shows I’ve seen! A boat trip to Greenwich was also on the menu, as was a fun post-graduation dinner with my flatmate and his family at a great Dim Sum restaurant in the shadow of Tower Bridge. We topped off the night by watching a very exciting Champions League Football Final in which Manchester United squeaked by Chelsea! Hurray! (Well, I don't love Man U, I'm an Arsenal girl, so as such, I hate Chelsea!)

It was then off to the Emerald Isle, which began with a quick trip to Dublin where we stayed in the fabulous Shelbourne Hotel on St. Stephen's Green. While Kait and Deb partook of the festivities of Temple Bar, Mom and I headed to the Abbey Theatre to see "The Seafarer." Three words "A-ma-zing!" It too is now in NYC and up for some Tonys and I hope it wins them all. Beautiful writing, moving story and incredible performances - it was even more affecting to see its premiere in its hometown/country.

Speaking of the country - we then headed out to County Kilkenny, staying in the most beautiful B&B - Ballyogan House. Nestled along the Barrow river, in the foothills of the Wicklow mountains, I can't recommend this place highly enough. The owners, Fran and Robert Durie, could not be more friendly and helpful and the breakfasts were beyond delicious. As there's a quasi-working farm out back, our eggs were especially fresh! Pics of graduation and Ballyogan are online. More stories and pics of the trip are in the two posts below...

Ain't No Mountain High Enough

...to keep us from getting to Johnnie Fox's pub - the highest pub in Ireland! We were women on a mission as we navigated our way around the Dublin mountains to find our way there. Thank god we splurged on our car rental and were comfortably seated in a nice big Santa Fe (which yours truly drove the whole trip without any incident, pheww!).

We were already on a high that day after exploring the GORGEOUS, BEAUTIFUL Powerscourt Gardens and Waterfall. OMG, some of the most amazing scenery ever! While you can't hike all the way up the Waterfall (Ireland's highest too!), you can climb all over the playground equipment at the bottom! Much fun was had by all! We'd worked up an appetite and after a trek that included a few false starts and a few cows in the road, we finally found Mr. Fox's and had a delicious late lunch.

From there we went down the east coastal route and stopped along the beach to take in the Irish Sea. From mountains to oceans to the Barrow River, we landed in Graiguenamanah in County Kilkenny, home to aforementioned Ballyogan House, the Duiske Abbey, and to my mother's family! Mom has an original piece of paper from the late 1800s confirming the christening of her grandmother at the Graigue Church, which, after some Nancy Drewin' at the town's library, we found is now the Abbey! The librarians, as well as everyone else we met in town, truly defined Irish hospitality and friendliness! Needless to say we'll be heading back at some point to track down more information and relations! Pics of all the above are now online.

Glendalough, Glen Wow!

Perhaps the most beautiful spot we visited was Glendalough. As they say that a picture is worth a thousand words, I’ll just let these photos do the talking..lol. It’s a definite must-see if you’re in the Dublin area!

Other trip highlights included visiting Kilkenny’s Castle and Design Centre, the cute town of Inistioge, where “Circle of Friends” was filmed, and Avoca, where “Ballykissangel” was filmed, and which is also home to some great craft shops and outlets, as well as one of the weirdest websites I’ve ever seen!

Speaking of sights, we also managed to find the top one that mom and Deb were hoping to see – Sheep crossing! We’d seen LOTS of them along the fields and valleys along the road, but then, one morning coming out of Inistioge we saw them IN the road. They were guided by a tall, cute shepherd leading the way. Walking in the other lane of the road, he gave me the arm signal to slow down. I thought he was either a very conscientious citizen (or maybe he wanted my number!), but noo, he was just giving me the heads-up to something akin the running of the bulls at Pamplona! Who knew sheep could run so fast?!

We really did have the Luck o' the Irish the whole trip! Picture-perfect weather, warm hospitality, wonderful company and wow!-inducing scenery. We then made our own mad dash back to Dublin and back to the reality of the US and UK – sigh.