Thanksgiving Weekend
Nov. 27th, 2018 04:45 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
fauxkloreI had a fairly busy holiday weekend. Thanksgiving itself was low-key, though I did go out to the supermarket in the morning, mostly out of a need to restock my tea supply.
Friday afternoon, I went to see Signature Theatre’s production of Billy Elliot. As expected, they did a good job with it. I particularly liked Catherine Flue’s performance as Grandma. And I thought the staging of the conflict between the striking miners and the police was quite good. I should also note the audience demographics. Namely, I don’t think I have ever seen quite so many young boys at a musical before.
Saturday night was the last Better Said Than Done storytelling show of the year. I was the last performer of the night and told "A Memorial For My Father," which went well. The audience was nicely responsive – especially after having been well-primed by the other storytellers. Overall, it was an excellent evening. Video to follow in the next several weeks.
To keep up the pace, I went to the opera on Sunday. This was the Washington National Opera production of Silent Night, with music by Kevin Puts and libretto by Mark Campbell. The story involves three groups of soldiers (German, French, and Scottish) who declare a Christmas eve cease fire, extending it the next day so they can bury their dead. There is an emphasis on an individual story in each of the three groups. The German soldiers include an opera singer who has been conscripted and pines for the female singer he is in love with. The French lieutenant is waiting for his wife to give birth. And a young Scotsman was dragged off to the war by his brother (who gets killed).
There was an interesting mix of music, but I found the staging somewhat dull. And I thought the libretto was a bit preachy, but that is more or less a consequence of anything about World War I, which really started out for a lot of the participants as a great adventure before turning so completely to horror. It was worth seeing on the grounds that this did after all win a Pulitzer, but I didn’t completely love it.
I also did a bunch of housework, but am nowhere near achieving condo nirvana. At least I don’t have anything in particular to do this week – well, aside from work.
Friday afternoon, I went to see Signature Theatre’s production of Billy Elliot. As expected, they did a good job with it. I particularly liked Catherine Flue’s performance as Grandma. And I thought the staging of the conflict between the striking miners and the police was quite good. I should also note the audience demographics. Namely, I don’t think I have ever seen quite so many young boys at a musical before.
Saturday night was the last Better Said Than Done storytelling show of the year. I was the last performer of the night and told "A Memorial For My Father," which went well. The audience was nicely responsive – especially after having been well-primed by the other storytellers. Overall, it was an excellent evening. Video to follow in the next several weeks.
To keep up the pace, I went to the opera on Sunday. This was the Washington National Opera production of Silent Night, with music by Kevin Puts and libretto by Mark Campbell. The story involves three groups of soldiers (German, French, and Scottish) who declare a Christmas eve cease fire, extending it the next day so they can bury their dead. There is an emphasis on an individual story in each of the three groups. The German soldiers include an opera singer who has been conscripted and pines for the female singer he is in love with. The French lieutenant is waiting for his wife to give birth. And a young Scotsman was dragged off to the war by his brother (who gets killed).
There was an interesting mix of music, but I found the staging somewhat dull. And I thought the libretto was a bit preachy, but that is more or less a consequence of anything about World War I, which really started out for a lot of the participants as a great adventure before turning so completely to horror. It was worth seeing on the grounds that this did after all win a Pulitzer, but I didn’t completely love it.
I also did a bunch of housework, but am nowhere near achieving condo nirvana. At least I don’t have anything in particular to do this week – well, aside from work.
