Shakespeare Time!

I decided almost last minute to take a little trip to the Shakespearean Festival in Cedar City to see as many plays as I could! Three weeks ago, my cute mom and grandma were kind to accompany me. I learned that they don't much care for Shakespeare -- how can that be when I adore it so? -- but they and I loved the trip just the same!

We drove down on Thursday afternoon, and arrived in time for some dinner before the first play. We chose Chili's, which was the location for our most random and embarassing experience. Mom, Gram and I have birthdays fairly close together, so I thought it would be fun since we'd be in town for three nights to each claim one as our honorary birthday and have a free dessert. To be fair, my mom's birthday had been the week before, so at least that wouldn't have been a total lie. Well... we totally botched it at Chili's, because when the waitress asked whose birthday it was, I said Grandma's (because during my plan earlier I'd assigned her the first night) and Mom said it was hers. So, it was fairly obvious it was no one's actual birthday. The waitress had been super-nice before then, but treated us strangely after that. She did bring us some free cheesecake. We didn't expect the singing though! Gram about died when three employees came to sing, and Mom and I -- after our initial shock -- joined in. She was smiling and laughing, but she really wasn't happy. I felt badly about the whole thing. If I had remembered the singing I would have claimed the birthday as my own or kept my mouth shut!

Our first play was Much Ado About Nothing, and it was hilarious! I love this play anyway (as evidenced by the fact that I use one of the lines as my blog description). It is one of the best comedies ever and the slapstick and the take on characters was delightful. Plus, it's always fun to see the plays in the Adam's Theatre, which is patterned after Shakespeare's original Globe Theatre.

Friday morning we slept in, then found a pretty cool antique shop and poked around for a bit. For some reason, I was attracted to all of the tin-made objects. I kept coming back to tin posters and boxes and funny little characters. I bought a Saltines tin to store my crackers in, and a tin poster of the first Harry Potter movie. Perhaps not seemingly the most exciting of purchases, but I am quite excited about them!

That afternoon, we saw a new adaptation of Pride and Prejudice. This is another story that I already love and they didn't disappoint me too much! Mr. Darcy was completely darling, as was the dad, and I loved the sisters. I wished that Elizabeth had been more likeable, but I was still happy when *SPOILER ALERT!* they got together at the end.

That night, we saw Alfred Hitchcock's The 39 Steps and it was brilliant! The concept was to put the movie on stage, using only four actors to play all of the characters. It was madcap silliness at it's best! It was closing night and the actors were pulling out all the stops. The lead character -- played by acting genius Brian Vaughn, who I met the last time I saw the Festival -- even broke character at one point and started laughing. You could just tell they were having a marvelous time! In any other show the break in character would have been distracting and unfortunate, but it worked in this one! I love being present for moments like that! There is truly nothing like live theatre! Isn't it wonderful?


Saturday morning, we slept in again, and then spent some time at the indoor pool and hot tub in the motel :) It was the first time I've used my swimsuit since the cruise in January! I swam a bunch of laps and floated around a bit. I like being in the water. It's so peaceful. Well, I should specify that I like calm water. The ocean and I don't get along very well :P

We also checked out a little Arts Festival on the lawn of the Randall Theatre. It was kind of lame -- mostly jewelry -- but fun to see what people were doing. There were some rocking chairs I quite liked, but even though Mom reminded me my birthday was coming up, I declined. My home is already quite stuffed! It was nice to just walk around outside, though.

That afternoon, we saw Great Expectations the Musical, and we all agree it was our least favorite of the trip. There are some Dickens' stories that end somewhat happily, but this one ended ambiguously, and the lighting was dark and moody. Bleh. I wanted to like it, but it didn't work out. Ah, well. I always adore Emily Trask (she played Estella) and the man who played Pip had a marvelous voice! Not a waste of time by any means, it just wasn't my cup of tea, I guess.

I should mention here that I ran into TONS of people I knew during my three days there, and saw even more (Hi Jann! Hope you liked 39 Steps!). It was crazy! I couldn't cross the street without stopping to talk with a dear friend (Hi Karrie Ann!) It was kind of funny. My world can be a wonderfully small one sometimes. Either that, or we just all had the same good idea at the same time!

I took the above photo because I thought it funny that we all had black flats on! Different styles, of course, but it's kind of fun!

We had dinner that evening at Rusty's Steakhouse, which seems to be our custom. Yummm, barbeque! We did not claim it to be anyone's birthday. We'd learned our lessons. I'm pretty sure Mom and Gram's looks would have killed me if I suggested it again...bwahahahaha!

Hahahahahahahaha!

We saw an energetic Celtic-themed Greenshow, and then settled down for The Merchant of Venice. The last was the best, or at least it was my favorite! Just so, so good. I studied it a lot in high school and college, but had never seen it performed. The acting was masterful -- it was a lot funnier than I remember, and more tragic. Tony Amendola of The Mask of Zorro fame was heartbreaking as Shylock. Even when the wind in that outdoor theatre rendered the hearing of the actual words impossible, I could feel the emotion oozing from him (it's cool they don't use microphones, but they might have helped, especially for the female actors). I would like to have seen it a second time to catch everything going on. It made me wish I had also seen Macbeth, but that was the one I missed.

It also made me want desperately to do a Shakespeare play! The irony is that auditions for the only one I know of for the near future took place while I was gone. Ay me! I'll be keeping an eye out! Someone do a Shakespeare comedy so I may be in it! Pretty please?

I know I say it after every visit to the festival, but next time I really am going to see all six plays! We drove home Sunday morning and just like that the vacation was over. It was a good one, though! It went by way too fast!

A weekend with Shakespeare and friends

My mother, grandmother and I spent last weekend in Cedar City, seeing plays at the Utah Shakespearean Festival and hanging out by the pool. A girl could get used to that!

We drove down early Friday morning. The drive took much less time than we'd anticipated, so we enjoyed a leisurely lunch (none of us had any idea the shakes at Ice Berg were quite as big as they were!) and some shopping at a nifty antique boutique before our first play, The Taming of the Shrew. It was hilarious! The actors were more than up to the challenge of conveying the physical comedy implicit in the brilliant script. We knew exactly what was going on, even if we didn't understand all of the dialogue. The director and design team set the story in post-World War II Italy, and it was fun to see Lucentio's father's character play an homage to Marlon Brando's godfather. I think the production also made the play more accessible to folks who think Shakespeare is above their heads. Afterwards, Gram turned to me and said "I hope we didn't see the best one first!" We loved it!

As the lights came up, Mom turned to me, pointed to some people in the row in front of us and said "Is that the Kittels?" It was! I was so excited to see them! Mr. and Mrs. Kittel played my parents when I played Isabelle (my first lead) in Scrooge at the Dickens' Festival 14 years ago, and their daughter Kristen and I have called each other "sister" ever since! She was with them and it was fun to catch up a bit. Golly I love her! She went to high school with Dave, so I saw her a bit back then, but its been a few years. Now I have her email address and phone number, so hopefully we can keep in better touch. Later that night they and our high school drama teacher, Tuckness, and his wife all saw Cyrano... and we discovered we were all on the same row! Craziness!!

me with my cute Kristen


After Shrew, Mom, Gram and I checked into our hotel and took a brief but much-needed nap. We then proceed to the Sizzler for dinner. Before we knew it, it was time for play number two, Cyrano de Bergerac. We were excited to see it in the Adams Theatre, which was modeled after the theatres from the 1500s-1600s style. Cyrano is not one of Shakespeare's plays, but it was gorgeous! Set in France during the time of The Three Musketeers, Cyrano is a brilliant poet and soldier who has low self-esteem because of an unusually large nose. He is in love with his best friend, Roxanne, but when he learns she is in love with handsome but not-terribly-bright Christian, Cyrano helps Christian woo Roxanne, because he thinks it will make her happy. The show was marvelous. I don't generally like poetry, and I'll admit that much of the dialogue went over my head, but I think I'm going to need to buy a copy of the play so I can read through it. Even I thought it was swoon-worthy! It didn't hurt that Cyrano was played by the inestimable Brian Vaughn, who I have seen previously in plays at the Festival and have a moderately huge actor-crush on. There were so many moments his emotions were completely raw -- it was beautiful. His real-life wife played Roxanne which made for some great chemistry. There was definetely a reason the performance was sold out that night!

Cyrano on stage (well, at the left under the balcony)


Saturday was my mom's birthday, and Gram and I were happy to let her set most of the day's agenda. In the morning, after a simple Continental breakfast at the hotel (bagels, cereal, English muffins, fruit, donuts, and such) we decided to sit by the pool and read, or in my case write in my journal. We didn't actually get in the pool, so we wore our street clothes. We sat in the shade and just relaxed. I think we all appreciated not having any demands put on us for a little while.

We went to Quiznos for lunch, and then Mom spotted a cute, cute sewing store called "Sew Swanky" so we went in to see what was all about. We found some great ideas for her sewing circle, and a fun pattern for some pillows for my apartment. I love seeing my mom get excited about projects! Her face just lights up as she thinks of the possibilities and making them her own and what she would do with them. Everyone needs something that makes them happy like that!

I wanted a souvenir of the Festival, so we drove over to the SUU bookstore to look around. I was looking at childrens' books when I heard a familiar voice. All of a sudden I froze and my heart started beating really fast. When I was able, I turned around and THERE IN THE BOOKSTORE WAS BRIAN VAUGHN!! I was so excited I couldn't even think of his name! I raced as casually as possible to my mom and said, "Mom! That's the guy who played Cyrano last night!!" She turned to see him and then whispered, "That guy? He bought a sandwich in Quiznos while we were sitting there!" I nearly died!! Where the heck was I?!! That would have been a much cooler story than seeing him at the bookstore, but whatever. I had the program in my purse, so I looked up his name again, and then I'm ashamed to admit I eavesdropped a bit on his conversation. But it was only to wait for an opportunity to talk with him! I walked over and said, "Excuse me, are you Brian Vaughn?" He said yes, and I told him I was a huge fan and asked for a photo. He was really genuine and nice, and taller than I thought he would be. I still feel elated whenever I think about it too much: I met Brian Vaughn and actually had the courage to talk with him! I didn't let the opportunity go by! I overcame my awkward shyness and ended up getting what I wanted! I am so proud of me. As Director Steph would say, "I'm growing as a person!"

with Brian Vaughn


We headed over to the Randall Theatre where I looked at some more souvenirs before Fiddler on the Roof started. I haven't seen this play in a good 12 years, and I forgot how good it is. Very relevant to our society, and the music is wonderful. I enjoyed the performance very much, and so did Mom and Gram. After the show I bought a pink long-sleeved t-shirt, and a childrens' book adaptation of my favorite Shakespeare comedy, Twelfth Night.

During the afternoon break, Gram and I took Mom to Rusty's Ranch House for some BBQ ribs and mud pie. We wondered if we could get a free dessert for Mom's birthday, however, she is more shy than I about bringing ourselves to strangers' attention, so we agreed I'd say it was my birthday and see what happened. I started feeling guilty because I felt my mom should get the celebration she deserved, so after the waitress told us they wouldn't sing if I didn't want them to, I snuck away from the table and privately told the waitress that it was actually my mom's birthday. She was only too happy to put a candle in the mud pie Mom had just ordered, and I sang the Beatles' Happy Birthday song to Mom quietly at our table when the dessert arrived. It was fun and the food was really good! I even got a picture my mom approved of... though for her sake I won't post it.

Our last play of the trip was Othello and although we agreed it was excellently done, it was not the favorite for any of us. I had forgotten about all the sexual references and we were all too tired to try to wrestle understanding from the wonderfully convoluted dialogue. The actor playing Iago was terrifically evil, and we were glad to see the character get what he deserved in the end. It was a great play and the story isn't too difficult to follow. Just a long way to go to get to the tragic ending...

Sunday, we didn't feel in too big a hurry to run home. So, we spent the morning reading (or writing) next to the pool again. About 11:00am we checked out of the hotel and started driving home. We stopped at Cove Fort since none of us had been there. It was really neat! An elderly Elder missionary showed us around and we watched a video about the origins of the Fort and the Hinckleys, the family that lived there. When we actually got inside the Fort, I was surprised at how large all the rooms were, and how small the Fort itself was. I guess I had expected something grander outside and more modest in. I almost started laughing when one lady commented on the rooms being small, and I thought, "That woman has not had to look for a condo recently." I can see how the Hinckleys would have been comfortable living there, and able to accommodate visitors. I'd like to live there! I'm glad we stopped.

Cove Fort


Gram opted not to stay for the family birthday party since she'd been to the one on Mom's actual birthday, so we dropped her off at her place, and arrived at home at about 5:30. Lindsey had set the table and brought a cake and ice cream, and we were greeted by her, Gunner and Adam, and also by Dad, Peter, and Dave who had all been in Alaska for the last 10 days! It really was a party, with everyone trying to fill everybody else in on what happened during all the vacations and stay-cations and such. Gunner helped Mom open gifts and we just enjoyed being together. It was a lovely ending to a lovely trip.

And now having viewed some of the plays at the Shakespearean Festival I am mad to do Shakespeare again! It's been years and I really miss it. Plus, where else can one wear nifty costumes like the one on the left of this paragraph? Hmm... I'm going to have to prepare a piece while I keep an eye out. It's been so long since I've auditioned for a straight play I'm not even sure I know how anymore, but I am totally willing to give it a shot!

Although, if a good musical comes along in the meantime I'm not going to let that opportunity pass me by.

Quotable

A few quotes that struck me as I watched the plays at the Utah Shakespearean Festival in Cedar City this weekend.

(Forgive me if they are not entirely accurate. I couldn't really see my journal while writing in the dark...)

"Even a poor tailor is entitled to some happiness!" - Fiddler on the Roof

"If you fight with windmills, the spars will throw you down to the mud or up to the stars." - Don Quixote (in Cyrano de Bergerac)

"Since your words fall, they fight with gravity while mine have to rise to find it."
- Cyrano de Bergerac

"Tis the mind makes the body rich." - The Taming of the Shrew