peter pan and the lions!

It's a good thing the SCAD play was a matinee, or I'd never have gotten that many lions wrestled to the ground!

This was another bday68 treat for me, of course!

I'd invited Kathy Mayin to this one and yesterday's musical, but she told me she would only be going to the one next weekend at Tybee.

I had hoped this one at the Lucas Theatre would be a musical, but no.

It was silliness piled on silliness, and the house was full!!!

Oh, have I not yet said its name?

Here it is: "Peter Pan Goes Wrong", composed by the same folks that penned the Christmas mashup two years ago. 

So how did this rendition work?

Well, the boy playing 'Michael' was supposedly a last-minute addition to the play - much like the girl in the last Hive musical - and had a voice in his ear instead of a script in his hands.

'Michael' was not nearly as adept as she had been, as he tended to repeat anything and everything that came through the headset.

Hilarity ensued, naturally!

There were lots of physical gags, too, with trick triple-tier bunk beds playing a role as well as fly-wires that had the actors upside-down most of the time when they weren't crashing into walls and such.

Plus, the stage crew had to keep coming on to fix things, most notably the doggie door when 'Nana' got stuck in it - that was funny!

The most impressive thing for me, though, was the set itself.

With at least three different views that rotated into place, they were works of art and must have been the most time-consuming part of this production.

The scene at the top was of the bedroom for the three children of the Darling family and had two doors, the double windows, the collapsing bunk bed, and other furniture.

The scene above was the opener of the second act and portrayed the Lost Boys' forest and it had collapsing bits, too!

Plus there was one stage that was the outside of the Darling's home, so we could see the children flying off with Peter Pan.

Then there was another stage for Captain Hook and his crew!

Like I said, those were quite impressive.

As for the actors themselves, the online program isn't much help.

It has the names of the characters they are playing, who in turn are playing 'Peter', 'Wendy', 'John', 'Michael', and company.

Still, it was enjoyable... and only $15 for seniors like me!

Oh, did I mention there were lions?

I did... but I never said they were in the play, did I?

That's because they were all part of my MGM+ Film Festival!

I didn't even know Comcast gave me that channel this week until Friday.

I started that day with "Overboard", the 1987 version with Goldie and Kurt - nice and light and perfect for breakfast!

I followed that with "Roofman", the Channing Tatum bit from last year, with him portraying the lovable bandit who lived in a Toys'R'Us store.

Upon my return home from the dinner with my brothers and others, I cued up "A Fish Called Wanda", as I love that 1985 romance!

Yesterday was pretty busy, so it wasn't until after nightfall that I could grab another from the premium channel.

"Novocaine" was the perfect romance-action flick to cap my day!

Today has been busy, too, but I came home from downtown wanting a musical... and there was "Hair", with its 1973 cast of hot actors.

I even managed to dance a little bit.

Then, before the clock ran out on this reward, I grabbed "To Live And Die In LA", just to watch William Petersen in those skintight jeans...

and Willem Dafoe artistically counterfeiting money...

and to listen to the Wang Chung soundtrack... 

yeah, that will do nicely! 

Sweet dreams for me! 

top-notch scifi for tina tuesday!

I even saw that science fiction film in the morning, wonder of wonders.

Plus, it was -not- at the AMC, but at NCG.

That means I paid for it.

Totally worth it!

The movie was "The Life Of Chuck", made last year but catching a lot of buzz on TV for the past week or so.

Fair warning: for those planning to see it, kindly don't read farther.

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Seriously!

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It wasn't until the second part that I caught on that this was scifi.

From the previews, it comes off as a romance - nope, not at all. 

The narrator spoke of the main character being at the point where he has nine months left to live due to the brain tumor that has begun giving him headaches.

Nine months.

That got my attention.

I had just watched as The Universe had begun its downward spiral toward oblivion, with the timeline being just over eight months before total annihilation. 

In the first part - titled Act 3 - the movie begins on an apocalyptic note, with a side of Walt Whitman, of all things.

It's an English literature class and a student is reciting the following line from his poem, "Song Of Myself".

"I am large, I contain multitudes." 

That line is from the penultimate section of the 52-part piece.

Did I say 52, like the number of weeks in a year?

I did.

That number also ties in with the Carl Sagan's concept of the cosmic calendar, which portrays the life of The Universe in terms of a 52-week, 12-month calendar.

The literature teacher discusses that topic in some detail with his ex-wife in a phone conversation when she calls in distress about all the mayhem in the world.

He was trying to put into perspective the time that humans have existed. 

What mayhem would that be?

The total loss of the internet eight months earlier; the sliding of California in the Pacific Ocean while Florida is covered by the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico; the loss of TV service in the following months; the loss of cell phone service soon after; the loss of electricity as the world goes dark; then, in the last moments, the winking out of the stars and planets as Earth fails to exist.

That truly was stunning to watch.

 

Flash forward to the final part of the movie, titled "Act 1".

The title character's early life is detailed there.

He learns about the love of dancing, and of musicals, from his paternal grandmother. 

He learns about the cosmic calendar while watching Carl Sagan's "Cosmos" with his paternal grandfather, who also teaches him about the value of numbers and math, in both accounting and dancing.

(He lived with both of them after his father and pregnant mother died in a car wreck.) 

He learns about that Walt Whitman's long-winded poem, even having a discussion about "I contain multitudes" with his teacher.

That's when I truly identified with the theme of this story.

The teacher told him the phrase meant that everyone he ever knew, everyone in his periphery, everyone beyond their periphery, everyone everywhere beyond their degrees of separation from him, were all contained within the bounds of his mind.

Wow.

I've mused about that a time or two in the past.

Everyone lives in their own world anyway, right? 

What if... everything in the world is just part of my imagination?

What if... the world I live in is part of someone else's imagination?  

What if... my being a volunteer at the Lucas Theatre for the "Frost On Leaves Of Grass" concert was not for my benefit, but for that of the conductor?

What if... my being a volunteer at the Green Room for the Savannah Music Festival practice was not for my benefit, but for that of the pianist?

What if... all of that only existed in my mind???

Indeed.

 

Those two acts tied together nicely, but what was the middle one, as Otto would ask?

That was pure joy, driven by the absolute wonder of being alive on a blue sky day!

"Act 2" was stand-alone, but tied together the entire movie.

It was also the only part of the film that justified the "R" rating.

That's because variations of my favorite word were liberally strewn about.

What word is that? 

The F-bomb, f*ck, f&ck, f-ck... yeah, that one.

The word only was used there, but used repeatedly by the narrator.

Trust me, it was warranted to set the mood of the female dancer.

Yes, I said 'dancer', as that was her profession.

It was not his, though.

'Charles Krantz' was an accountant, in town just for a conference, and out for a stroll in the brilliant afternoon sunshine after a full morning of lectures inside a building.

Then he hears the drummer busking on the street, just outside the building he was approaching, and something bid him pause.

Had he recognized the face reflected in the glass as that of the vision he had seen when he was just 17, when he'd entered the room his grandpa had marked off limits?

Of course, I wouldn't have been privy to that vision until "Act 1" came later.

Was it, then, the combination of the promise of the spring day and the insistence of the beat that prompted him to drop his briefcase and move his body?

I know very well that feeling!

In fact, ask Tony Clark sometime about me dancing to his drumming at an Eat Mo' Music concert at Jazz'd Tapas over two decades ago, when his beats had inspired my dancing which had inspired his continued artistry with the drum kit as everyone else became spectators watching me and him until he finished the music - such a crystallized memory!!!

 

And so I rejoiced when the dancing accountant and the street performer had continued their musical conversation, changing up to new steps and a new beat that encouraged the half-moon of those gathered around to sway to the sound under the glowing sun!

And I rejoiced when the young woman having a bad day consented to join him as he danced, allowing her mood to brighten and all there to release their troubles and cares and simply live vicariously in the two dancers!

They only had the one dance, that brief sparkling moment in time, but it linked the trio - him, her, the drummer - after the crowd had dispersed back into their own lives.

And why had he chosen to dance that day?

We learn that in the final part of the movie.

"That is why God made the world."

Wow.

That ties in exactly with the message from another movie:

"We have to dance to let God know we are grateful to be alive."

 

Kudos to Tom Hiddleston as the dancer!

I don't recall seeing him dance in "Midnight In Paris", but I knew his face was familiar. 

That movie from 2011 had revolved around Owen Wilson's character and the many people from the literary past that he met.

Very enjoyable, both that one and this one.

What a lovely way to start my Tina Tuesday!

i thank You, God!

smf36: back to the lucas for the taj

That rather begs the question, doesn't it?

Does anyone address the octogenarian bluesman by just the first half of his stage name?

I have to doubt it.

Surely he is addressed in full, like the famous mausoleum in India.

Such a love story exists with that white marble building, akin to that of the temple of Faustina and Antoninus Pius...

and such a love story between music and dancing and Taj Mahal, whose birthday will be two weeks before mine in May. 

Here's a quote on that love, from the Savannah Music Festival program.

"Music is like theater to a lot of people - they're watching it. You can watch it, but you're supposed to participate. The audience is as much a part of the music as the musicians are. I do like it when they dance."

I love that last line!!!

That was one of the reasons I volunteered for this show - the promise of dance music!

I remember the first indoor concert I went to in California in the early 1980's.

Everyone had a ticketed seat, and everyone stayed in their seat.

That shocked me!

I was accustomed to the practice of having a ticketed seat, but most everyone I knew headed down to the bare floor in front of the stage to dance!!!

Tonight, I wasn't able to make it in front of the stage, but I tried to make sure the dim lighting in the back hallway shone on me as I danced, hoping he could see me.

After all, he likes it "when they dance" and I surely wanted him to be happy!

(smile!)

Tonight, I was one of three Greeters at the front doors, helping to guide the 1200+ patrons to the right entrance for their seats.

Yes, it was a full house at the Lucas Theatre tonight!!!

And guess who was there to greet me?

Tony Clarke!!!

That's him, standing and facing the stage with his grey head of hair and spiffy black suit, before heading toward me.

Lainie was holding our volunteer session in the seats, but that didn't faze him one bit.

He strode directly to me, took my outreached hand, then leaned in and said, "Hello, beautiful", before kissing me on the cheek!

Then he continued up to the sound booth to chat with them.

No one there knew that his greeting was his usual for me, on those occasions when a full-on hug was not possible.

Yes, he and I have had a special bond ever since I danced nonstop to his drumming, one night long ago, when he and Eat Mo' Music were playing at Jazz'd Tapas.

Good memories!

(smile!)

Right after that, I got Greeter Wench added to my list of volunteer duties!

I also caught the attention of a new fellow, Joe, who kept finding a reason to come and talk with me (where is this? where is that?) and catch my door from his post scanning tickets at the entrance.

Very nice!

He even followed me back into the concert area when I went back into dance, after asking me if I could show him a good place to watch the show.

 

That's about the time that Taj Mahal changed up from playing the bevy of guitars around his chair to standing and playing the keyboards.

That may have been for "Queen Bee", but it may have been "Giant Step (Outside Your Mind)", or possibly even "Lovin' In My Baby's Eyes".

I do know for sure that he was playing "Going Up To The Country, Paint My Mailbox Blue" when I was able to go in at 7:28 PM.

He'd been playing about 30 minutes by then.

I had stayed through "Ain't That A Lot Of Love", dancing and loving the blues! 

The last one I heard was "She Caught The Katy And Left Me A Mule To Ride" - another blues number, on yet another guitar, with a bit of comedy to it.

I had to keep popping out, to check on the lobby, so I can't say which other favorites from his 60-year discography made the air dance, but he did manage to get folks on their feet by the end of his 90-minute run of continuous music!

Mighty impressive for a man of my parents' generation!

smf36: pop-up dance, part 2

"Hey, hey, dearie! Back already?"

Actually, I've been home for about 30 minutes. What a mesmerizing show! I'm so glad I was able to luck into "BalletCollective: Translation" at the Lucas!!!

"Most excellent! They were supposed to be here in 2020, until the pandemic caused that to be postponed. I know you had so wanted that, back in February when the volunteer shifts opened up, but it was all full. Good thing you kept checking!"

Most def! One of my favorite venues, too! Lainie was the house manager, but Therra was there, too. Also, I was with several volunteers I knew: chatty Lucy, Julie G, Annie, Carolyn that I just met! I even ended up as a mentor for Amy of Georgetown, a brand-new volunteer, to help settle her in.

"Very cool! Nice to be trusted with such a task!"

It was, really. I was on duty with Lucy as "Right House, Usher" when the new woman came in quite late. I do hope to see her at other venues. At least this was a slow gig, as there were less than 500 in the audience.

"Folks just don't get the ballet, do they? I'm so glad the Savannah Music Festival persists with inclusion of these shows, though. This was all new music, specifically commissioned for this dance troupe, so it definitely belonged in SMF36. What's with the photo?"

That's right after the first piece, "The World We Left Behind", written and performed by Phong Tran, seen on the bottom left. It was a futuristic piece, with a grid marked out on the stage and all the dancers clad in sparkly, silvery-glitter, costumes. Near the end, there was a definite 'ocean life' feel to the piece, with the troupe moving as jellyfish and other sea life! But that wasn't my favorite part, surprisingly.

"But that sounds right up your alley, directly in your wheelhouse..."

True, but my favorite bit was near the middle of the work. The artists were moving on the grid, each one staying directly on the taped lines on the floor. Then, a lone dancer entered and began moving diagonally, arms waving in the air as they went!!! Then came another, moving against the tide of dancers persisting in staying on the grid. I thought of it as "Dancing Outside The Lines" and loved every moment of it!!!

"I love that perspective!!! So, what's up with this second set of dancers? No sparkly, sequined suits for them!"

No, that's for sure. "Orange", composed by Caleb Burhans and performed live by the Manhattan Chamber Players, was more of a power struggle ballad. The highlight, for me, was the woman third from the right, with her legs hanging out. Gabrielle Lamb is a Savannah native and she choreographed the piece.

"So, you didn't care much for that one. It was too violent for you?"

It was. So, I'm glad it wasn't the last one. (smile!) That honor went to what I thought of as "Dancing Within The Matrix"! Actually titled "Translation", the piece composed by Julianna Barwick and performed by Eliza Bagg (bottom right of photo), this definitely had a science fiction vibe to it that was straight out of Neo's movie! Instead of green computer light, though, this was full of white-light scattered on the scrims as dots and dashes, with the dancers clad in black suits that made them almost blend into the background.

"Oh, I get it! Like the swimmers in the new PULSE exhibit!"

Exactly!!! Absolutely mesmerizing to watch! I found myself on the edge of my seat during the entire performance. I wish my camera had been able to capture the light display during the dance, but it was not. Still, it's in my mind's eye and my memory, so that's good!

"I'm so happy you were able to get this dance show... and the afternoon ballet, too! What an excellent combination those two shifts have turned out to be!"

Most def! i thank You, God!

smf36: pop-up dance, part 1

"Does that mean that you began dancing apropos of nothing, as you are wont to do?"

Hahahaha! Nope, not yet! I speak of my first volunteer shift at SMF36, plus my unexpected dinner entertainment. You know how I like to take at least one gig that doesn't directly gift me with a concert? Well, I signed up for the 3-6 PM shift at the Savannah Music Festival Pop-Up Shop. That's located on Broughton Street, where I watched "Empanada Loca" one dark and stormy night. Remember that crazy show?

"Lol! I see what you did there, snuck in that pun! Yeah, the previous home of SavRepTh."

Well, the building has been sold and is slated to be torn down. However, the new owner agreed to let SMF use it for these three weeks. It's the place for folks to buy posters, t-shirts, and other festival souvenirs.

"And you signed up for that on purpose?"

Well, you got me. I did have an ulterior motive. I have a second shift this evening at the Lucas Theatre, one that I had really wanted. Knowing how parking gets, I thought this was a way to make sure my car could be at Columbia Square. And it is!

"Good for you! That'll make it easier for your blonde roots to find it."

Hahahaha! Blonde roots! I was talking about that with Noelle (the young woman who runs the shop) and Carolyn (a volunteer like me, who will also be at the Lucas with me). I was trying to determine which year of the festival this was. When I saw this poster for the "25th Anniversary" in 2014, my totally blonde self thought, "Oh, that must have been SMF39 in 2014." 

"You're kidding, right?"

Sadly not. It wasn't until Noelle was telling us that the music festival actually began in 1990, but was called Savannah OnStage that year. The very next year, the event became the Savannah Music Festival. I had just said to them that this must be SMF49 since 2014 had been the 39th year, so this should have been the 50th anniversary, except the pandemic had lost them a year.

"Hahahaha!! G'friend, you are a hoot and a half!"

Yeah, it was a very funny moment!

"And what do we have here?"

Garrison Arts Academy was performing in front of the Lucas! Carolyn and I had walked over to there, in preparation for our next shift, and been sweetly surprised by the concert! She went in search of food and I bounced over to the park. I'd brought half a buffalo chicken calzone and an Ensure as dinner. My plan all along had been to sit in the park and chill out with nature, but I loved the children's band!

"Oh, my! Is that a dancer in a blue tutu??"

It is!!! And you'll never guess what she was dancing to!!!

"Was it "The Dance Of The Sugar Plum Fairy," perchance?"

She was!!! I sat and watched every movement, too! What a gift that was! Then, as I finished my meal, I spotted the little brown birds all over the ground in front of me! Those are Savannah sparrows, officially, but all I could think of was the quote from the physicist. Of course, that meant the bfe got sent this photo! I wonder if he saw the birds?

"What quote are you talking about? Something he referenced or something he said?"

Oh, it was something he said. I was talking about the shore birds lecture, then drifted over to our local birds. That's when he said: "Little brown birds permeate all of space and time! They are like the Higgs field." Isn't that a cool line that should have been used on "The Big Bang Theory"?

"Agreed! I can just picture Sheldon uttering that as a delightful piece of lunch trivia at the university cafeteria.  Now, you need to get going for your shift!"

song 44 in the gloaming

What a time of the day the gloaming is... no longer day, but not yet night, it tends to foster a poetic turn in those inclined toward such things.
Song 44 speaks instead to a time deep in the night, a time when a dream girl visits a dreamer and shatters his peace. Repeatedly. And the dreamer can do naught about it.
Such a powerful, and melancholy, tune - and so mesmerizing!
I only wish I spoke Erse.
Still, it was easy enough to access the tale through the melody.
The same can be said for "The Pilgrim's Song" and "Allistrum's March".
All were heard at the Lucas Theatre this very evening.
Was I working as an usher for the concert?
Yes, I was, though not for the Lucas itself. The Savannah Music Festival opened today and I'm volunteering with them again. How very fortunate for me!
I had not been able to sign up for this particular evening's show, but I had called the festival organizer and told her I was interested in the one volunteer opening. Apparently, there was a wait-list for that slot.
Then, on Tuesday, Halle called me! Was I still interested?
Yes! Yes, I was!
I kept my dinner date with the bfe, though, forgoing the movie for some future evening.
This dusk, I belonged to The Gloaming.
I wouldn't have had it any other way.
(smile)
Even though their songs, blending poetry, jigs, and reels of the past, brought to mind my stepdad and my mother and my grandmama and my loss of their physical company.
I know they were there tapping their feet along with mine.
(smile)
A dime - otherwise known as ten dully glowing pieces of copper - assured me I was not alone.
Right place, right time...

keb mo knows the blues!

Here I am, post-concert, hanging out, albeit briefly, with Keb' Mo'.
I had the great good fortune to usher this show at the Lucas. (Thanks, Shea!) What that truly means, of course, is I had the great good fortune to dance to all of his music.
So very fine a time!
The man has an enormous volume of music which he has crafted and he presented much of it tonight. My favorite was "She Just Wants To Dance". I told him tonight that I felt he had written that song for me. His response was beautiful and sincere: "I did."
I felt I could have swooned!
The other songs he sang tonight?
Well, there were "More Than One Way Home" and "Dirty Lowdown and Bad".
Then you have "Shave Yo' Legs" and "Am I Wrong" and "Life Is Beautiful".
And let's not forget "Kind Hearted Woman" and "Tell Everybody I know".
That last one is quite good - you might want to hear it twice!
But for just plain fun, "Government Cheese" is hard to beat!
(smile!)

toothless, my dear!

I know how!!! To train a dragon, that is. You just have be gentle, to move slowly, and to scratch softly under its chin, along the jawbone. They'll curl up at your feet with a grin! Well, that's the way it works on a Night Fury, and possibly a few other breeds of the flying beasts.
Toothless certainly enjoys that move!
Tonight has been fabulous!

but they marry brunettes

The Lucas is celebrating a blonde's birthday this weekend! Not, not mine! Silly! The film for tonight was "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes", released in the early 1950's. Although it was featuring Marilyn Monroe, her side-kick, Jane Russell, acted and sang circles around her. Understandable, I would guess, as it was made during the early years of Marilyn's career, where mostly all she had to do was model tight clothing and pout a bit.
Apparently, though, men don't mind, as long as the "dumb blonde" golddigger is on their arm and not someone else's. Really? Perhaps, especially if the odds are stacked in her favor.
Earlier today, I cleaned out my office. I had been asked to return the key, as I was no longer full-time, and had responded that I was on holiday and would not return until Monday. They said that would be fine, but they did have a new hire that needed that space.
Today, I took my time and packed out. I had the forethought to bring five of those large, cloth, grocery bags to hold all of my files of student papers and papers that had not yet been filed and desk contents.
That was not nearly enough.
Fortunately, I had a couple of boxes there for my books. I also had a few plastic bags and some smaller cloth bags from school events.
That just barely took care of all of it.
I spent almost four hours packing up all of my work materials. Emptying the filing cabinet, emptying the cupboards. Removing my pictures and periodic tables and photographs of lecture notes written on whiteboards. Taking down all of the wonderful, supportive messages from my students of these past three years.
Cleaning the disk drive of all the files I had created.
ALL of them.
My trunk was packed to the top. The back seat was full, on the seat itself as well as on the floorboard. The passenger seat had one of the boxes of books.
Amazing.
All of it is now on my living room floor, waiting to be sorted.
That I can do at my leisure.
On Monday, I'll make one last visit to my office, to throw out what couldn't be recycled, to take "Light The Night" fundraising materials to the dean's office. Then I'll turn in my keys to that door and the lockable cupboard and the filing cabinet.
This evening, though, was mine to enjoy. It had begun at a place that serves candied bacon to its drinking patrons. That's right, dearies, I said CANDIED BACON. Long, crispy, sugary, strips of pork yumminess. Yes, indeed, the NK! group convened at Andaz for "school's out!" social hour. Although we only had a small group on this outing, we were in high spirits and chatty! Such a lovely way to transition from my afternoon's activities to an evening with Marilyn!

flashback from fb

One of the things I do on facebook these days is delete the "memories" that pop up.

This time, though, I found the three, separate, "memories" of posts from this day in 2013 painted too good a picture of my life then for me to simply delete them.

Instead, I have come back in time to post them here.

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Black Maria Film festival last Friday - thanks SCAD! Thanks to Jim Reed for encouraging me to go!

Yesterday, Brunch for Sarah Morgan's baby shower for family down at Tybee (Thanks Nancy! So good to see Jean Marie, Susan, and Jean there, too!), then "Hands of the Spirit" at Muse Arts Warehouse - both very uplifting!  Lunch at Kayak Kafe, featuring their $2 brownie and an Arnold Palmer drink (lemonade and iced tea) - and it was my first time there, so that counts toward my New Year's Resolution.  Sah-weet!  Afterward, I was "Singing In The Rain" at the Lucas - and the poster is MINE!  Woohoo!  Nice to see JinHi and Mark Rand there, too!  Then down to Tybee for a look at the beach in the half-moon light - ahhhh!

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So, whatever happened to that poster I won at "Singing In The Rain"?

I gave it to Joe Buttner, for his apartment's bare walls.

In trade, he gave me a memorable adventure!

(smile!)

treasure savannah, 7

This is one of my favorite venues downtown. Dance, theatre, music, film - it's all BETTER here in the Lucas Theatre. Timeless beauty combined with modern functionality equals enhanced visions of artistic endeavors. I took this tonight while there for the Savannah Music Festival. Junior Brown was fabulous and performed two hits from the past, including everything on his 2005 "Live at the Continental Club" album... and gave me a new song to enjoy, "The Ghost of the Opry"! Now, I just need to find a link for that song!