The Business Trip...
Through my ‘connections’ I was able to secure two very coveted tickets to the Antique Road Show that came to town this weekend. Within three hours of reserving two tickets my Mother had a plane ticket from the windy city out west – a business trip. This business trip so happened to allow time together for shopping, eating out and movie watching, among other things.
The first twenty four hours she was her I think all we did was laugh. We laughed as we cooked Indian food together in my kitchen the first night she was here. We laughed as we drove from antique store to antique store looking to discover an oil painting undervalued that would be a masterpiece to bring to Antique Road Show. We laughed over a late lunch at a local favorite Mexican restaurant of mine as we sipped very strong margaritas. We laughed as way lay in bed watching Its Complicated. We laughed over dinner at a local Moroccan restaurant and we laughed as we walked around the neighborhood farmer’s market.
We also managed to squeeze a play into the weekend, King Lear. I like Shakespeare. I love his comedies. I can recite lines from Much Ado About Nothing and Mid Summer Nights Dream. I do not care for his tragedies but can appreciate them. This rendition of King Lear, however, I can’t say was totally appreciated. There were several distracting things that took place. First of all, we saw it in an open air theatre. It was freezing out that night. Also, Im still not entire convinced we didn’t also sit through a small earthquake at the beginning of Act I. The proximity to the zoo also added a unique soundtrack to the play. The last two issues are of particular concern.
Imagine sitting outside, somewhat close to the stage, second row to be exact and it is dark outside with a spot light on the actors. It was like watching a sprinkler only it wasn’t water. I have never seen so many people spit as they talk and in such quantities and with such frequency. Spit was flying everywhere.
The biggest distraction by far was the costume choices. Act I the men and women were wearing costumes appropriate for 1700’s. By the second half of the play there was some contamination of vintage style leather jackets and a few modern day rain coats. By the last Act the women were in trench coats and riding pants and the men in army boots, linen pants and Asian style long sleeve tops. What at the start of the play were knights of the king by the end of the play were acting as soldiers. It was all very bizarre and extremely distracting. My mother and I spent a great deal of time discuss and pondering over the transformation. There was no note explaining the interpretation the director had taken or the reason behind the evolution of the costumes. Also I have never seen a flask used with such frequency as a ridicules prop by a Shakespearean character (woman) before that night.
Despite all that we did enjoy ourselves. After all how often does one get to see Shakespeare in the park?
Antique Road Show was quite the experience. We waited in line for a few hours to have our turn with the appraisers. We did not hear the words prayed for, ‘You have a lovely trinket that is worth thousands’. But we did have lots of people watching fun. I look forward to searching for our backsides when the episode airs in January of next year. We’ll be the blond and redhead standing behind the woman sitting next to a painting valued at $300,000. No joke.
Through my ‘connections’ I was able to secure two very coveted tickets to the Antique Road Show that came to town this weekend. Within three hours of reserving two tickets my Mother had a plane ticket from the windy city out west – a business trip. This business trip so happened to allow time together for shopping, eating out and movie watching, among other things.
The first twenty four hours she was her I think all we did was laugh. We laughed as we cooked Indian food together in my kitchen the first night she was here. We laughed as we drove from antique store to antique store looking to discover an oil painting undervalued that would be a masterpiece to bring to Antique Road Show. We laughed over a late lunch at a local favorite Mexican restaurant of mine as we sipped very strong margaritas. We laughed as way lay in bed watching Its Complicated. We laughed over dinner at a local Moroccan restaurant and we laughed as we walked around the neighborhood farmer’s market.
We also managed to squeeze a play into the weekend, King Lear. I like Shakespeare. I love his comedies. I can recite lines from Much Ado About Nothing and Mid Summer Nights Dream. I do not care for his tragedies but can appreciate them. This rendition of King Lear, however, I can’t say was totally appreciated. There were several distracting things that took place. First of all, we saw it in an open air theatre. It was freezing out that night. Also, Im still not entire convinced we didn’t also sit through a small earthquake at the beginning of Act I. The proximity to the zoo also added a unique soundtrack to the play. The last two issues are of particular concern.
Imagine sitting outside, somewhat close to the stage, second row to be exact and it is dark outside with a spot light on the actors. It was like watching a sprinkler only it wasn’t water. I have never seen so many people spit as they talk and in such quantities and with such frequency. Spit was flying everywhere.
The biggest distraction by far was the costume choices. Act I the men and women were wearing costumes appropriate for 1700’s. By the second half of the play there was some contamination of vintage style leather jackets and a few modern day rain coats. By the last Act the women were in trench coats and riding pants and the men in army boots, linen pants and Asian style long sleeve tops. What at the start of the play were knights of the king by the end of the play were acting as soldiers. It was all very bizarre and extremely distracting. My mother and I spent a great deal of time discuss and pondering over the transformation. There was no note explaining the interpretation the director had taken or the reason behind the evolution of the costumes. Also I have never seen a flask used with such frequency as a ridicules prop by a Shakespearean character (woman) before that night.
Despite all that we did enjoy ourselves. After all how often does one get to see Shakespeare in the park?
Antique Road Show was quite the experience. We waited in line for a few hours to have our turn with the appraisers. We did not hear the words prayed for, ‘You have a lovely trinket that is worth thousands’. But we did have lots of people watching fun. I look forward to searching for our backsides when the episode airs in January of next year. We’ll be the blond and redhead standing behind the woman sitting next to a painting valued at $300,000. No joke.
posted by Starrchild at 7:52 PM
1 comments
