today, i went to a play!

"Good for you! That's the first one this month, isn't it?"

Of course it is. That hernia surgery really put a crimp in my style, or else I'd be going to several plays this weekend. The Savannah Stage Company has "Blackbird" at the Sentient Bean, but all performances are after 7 PM, so those are out. Savannah Arts Academy has "Six Degrees Of Separation" at the Tybee Post Theatre, but two of the three performances are at night. Not that it would matter, as it's still too far to drive for me at this time. However, there's this matinee today, by the Garrison Arts Academy, and it was at Yamacraw Performing Arts Center and that was just perfect!!! "Myth-Understood" was exactly the comedy needed to bring smiles to my face and laughter to my heart!

"Most excellent!!! Was it Roman or Greek mythology?"

It was Greek! I don't recall being into those works in the 5th and 6th grade, but these kids sure were. The two-act play was done completely by those students! I sat near a mom who had seen it last night and was back with her son's siblings so they could enjoy it, too. A family day with live theater!

"Good for her! So, tell me which stories were spoofed!"

That's just it, these were supposedly the real stories, from the very lips of the gods themselves to the two teens writing a report for their class. Hermes had fetched the girls to Mount Olympus so Zeus and Hera could bring forth the others to clarify the myths. For instance, Prometheus had been punished for stealing fire from Zeus, right? Well, what actually happened was this: Prometheus claimed to have invented fire. He was punished for lying about that.

"Oh, really?" (one eyebrow arched)

For sure, as the two girls found out. He took their phone, then claimed to have invented the phone! Later, he would claim to have invented the internet, youTube, and door-dash! Such a rampant liar! LOL! Then the girls heard the true story of how Persephones ended up with Hades in the underworld. Persephone wanted to go to hell so she could dress dark and be in a band, so she followed Hades. He didn't even know she was behind him! Then, when she got there, she found two others and they became rockers known as Queens of the Underworld! Her mom didn't like it, but Persephone did agree to come back above ground once a year to bring spring.

"Queens of the Underworld? Really?"

Yes, yes, and that's not all. When Eurydice died and went to the underworld, she became friends with them.

"Say what?"

Yeah, it turned out Orpheus was a bit of a stalker, so she deliberately stepped on a snake so she would die and get away from him. Then, you know what happened, right? He followed her down there, too! He even asked Hades to let him have her back. So Hades cut him the deal that they could be reunited if Orpheus didn't look back to make sure she was following. Ah, but Eurydice tricked him by saying, "Hey, there's Mick Jagger!" Hahahaha!

"Oh, that's funny!!! Such a nice coincidence! His name came up yesterday!"

I know! Right place, right time!

"Pretty amazing how often that bit of mythology gets plucked for retelling. I bet that tale has been told at least four times in the last decade."

Yep, that would be my count! Now, who else got to tell their side of things? Well, there was Pandora, cursed by Zeus to be overly curious, then given a jar - not a box - and told not to look inside. She got her husband to open it, so he's the one that should be blamed for all the ills of the world. LOL! Then there's the story of Medusa, who just wanted a hairdo that would stand out at school. Athena knew she was a herpetology fan, so that's why she gave Medusa a head full of snakes. Just helping a girl out, you know?

"Hahahaha! 'Be careful what you wish for!' LOL!"

The thing is, Medusa really liked the new 'do, just not all the teasing from the other kids. Then what was there? Oh, yes, a dating game spoof called "Apple of His Eye", in which Paris has to pick which goddess he favors. That's them in the seats out front: Athena, Aphrodite, and Hera. Of course, he chooses Aphrodite, who promises to make Helen of Troy fall in love with him. We all know how badly that went!

"Yep another case of someone getting what they wanted and having the world collapse all around them. So, how did the teacher like the girls' report?"

She gave them an "F"!!! She said they didn't even try to research, just "made it all up" instead. Everyone on Mount Olympus was shocked! They had listened in and thought the report was fabulous, as the girls told their truths, but I guess the world just wasn't prepared to hear that from two 11-year-olds. At least the teacher gave them a chance to make up the bad grade by trying again.

"LOL! Yes, who's gonna believe two 6th-graders? The gods must have been crazy to think that would work."

That's my guess. Now, I need to finish up here as I have places to be! Such a nice afternoon this has been!

fruitcake musical!!!

"What's that, dearie?"

It was an original play at the Hive Repertory Theatre! Lisa Wood wrote it. It's called "A Very Fruitcakes Christmas Musical Revue" and I was fortunate enough to stumble across the ether and right into it! Actually, I knew they were having a 7 PM showing, but not the 3 PM matinee. That daylight one was absolutely perfect for me!

"Oh, that's wonderful! I thought you were going to try for the one at Starcastle again..."

I was, but it was sold out. However, the Universe had this one up its sleeve and that made my afternoon! I laughed so much! The only downside was the lack of a printed program. What's up with that??? I made sure to tell them about the site that the SavChTh used.

"I do hope not printing a program isn't going to become a regular thing. If Garrison Arts Academy can print one, and it's a public school, then these private organizations certainly can. I'm not talking about a multi-page booklet. A single page with the names of the characters and the actors would suffice."

Hey, you're preaching to the choir! Anyway, as this musical was kinda sorta a result of a kids session, I let it slide. That's not to say it was all children! No, there were quite a few adults, just like in the SavChTh Christmas musical! Here's one of my favorite scenes, where the woman has come to purchase a tree, but not a real one. She insists on an artificial tree!!!

"Hey, I recognize that young woman! She's been in a lot of their plays these past two years! What's her name again?"

Beats me... no program! Hahahaha! No, that's Cadence Wood. I still have the program with her as 'Dorothy' from an earlier play. I don't know who was playing 'Mack', the tree seller, nor the three cavorting kids in that scene. Speaking of kids cavorting, these were encouraging all to "Think Snow", so school would be called off! They had suggested they could claim to have chicken pox, but snow in Georgia seemed an easier thing to happen.

"Hahaha! Yeah, we don't want that again, do we? Did they get their wish?"

They did, amazingly! Little snowflakes flurried down from the ceiling tiles during a scene change, making magic on the stage! This is near the end of the musical, with all wishing "Happy Holidays" to everyone. Very nice! Santa even made an appearance, with a photo op for children in the audience to come on up!

"That sounds very nice!"

It was. Here's a scene from earlier that was an absolute hoot and a half! The cop was trying to locate "Buster The Christmas Hog" and asking for help from the folks hanging out near the tree lot. What a riot!

And here's one that was super nice. The lights blew out because the town tried to put too many bulbs on the town's Christmas display. That meant no fruitcakes could be baked - oh, no! So everyone gathered to "Light A Candle" to bring some brightness to their world. Wasn't that great?

"I liked that very much. It was all so well choreographed, too, as each would lean in to light their neighbor's candle with their own. That reminds me of what we do near the end of the Christmas Eve service at Asbury."

You're right! I'm glad the weather is going to be so nice this year. I'm looking forward to going to that sans jacket! Okay, gotta go and watch a few more Up Faith & Family flicks while they're available!

what if the internet was down for a week?!

That's the premise of "The Day The Internet Died", the latest offering from the middle school thespians at Garrison Arts Academy.

I made sure the cold and rainy day didn't stop me from bopping out to Yamacraw Center For the Performing Arts to partake of this play!

Only $10, too - so, Merry Christmas to me!

And what a fabulous, bright, program, printed on card stock, for my middle blessings wall!

In the program was each scene in the two acts, with each titled and listing the actors.

That's how I found out a Meece and a Padgett were up on the stage!

In fact, that's Maryn Meece, sitting in the chair with the side profile, as one of "The Unusual Suspects".

As a person obsessed with getting friends to 'like' her photos, she was being questioned by the sheriff (Bailey Flowers).

The kid in the paper bag (Lott Byrd) is an internet troll and the other person (James Deacon) is a punk prankster.

All three are fairly crazy since they lost their 'ether' security blanket! 

They all had their own scenes in the first Act. 

Emma Padgett shows up in the second Act, playing an IRL customer service rep for the internet company.

She's so shocked when a customer (Christian Henriquez) actually tracks down the physical office that she has it burnt down!

That lands her in the second trio that gets grilled by the sheriff. 

That includes a Tweeter (Bella Davis) so desperate to get her messages out that she takes over a newspaper stand, as well as the Boss of an IRL meeting (Asa Boothe) who seems to think they're all in a Zoom session.

By the end of the week, some of the townspeople have adapted well to the IRL, all the time, way of life.

Others are having withdrawals from the lack of social media and email so much that they try to use the Post Office for passing their messages!

On the last day of the outage, the mayor (Hayden Epperson), a man obsessed with his image and his hair, announces that he was behind the lack of internet!

Along with the rich guy (Ethan Brandon), they were running an experiment on the town to see how people would react.

Ah ha!!! 

The sheriff had suspected the mayor was involved, but had no proof.

Suddenly, the room was in an uproar of recriminations!!!

Then, a familiar sound interrupts the mayhem... the internet was back!

And the room went quiet as all checked in to the ether they had missed. 

Wow...

beautifully done!!!

Thanks for this wonderful gift! 

fall choral concert at 7 on the 7th!

I do so love this event every year!!!

It's just a perk that it's also free - very budget-friendly for a retired person like myself...

and like Sherry Moore, too!

I had noticed on fb that she was 'interested' in going... maybe she would like to go with me in tow?

After all, she'd been the one to answer my call for a ride years ago.

So I sent her a message... and she called me right back!

She'd love to go, especially as it was free, especially with company!

But, of course!

Most folks don't like going somewhere alone; most times, I'd much rather go alone than stay home alone.

And this concert promised we would be going, going, going!!!

 

Its subtitle was "Vocal Music From Around The Globe!" and it delivered, no passport required!

Three vocal groups were there at Savannah Arts Academy tonight.

Those empty seats on the right were vacated when the Garrison Voices rose to join the Pulaski Chorus and the Savannah Arts Academy Chorus.

Altogether, there were 189 young singers regaling us there at the end!!!

That was for a South African greeting song called "Hlohonolofatsa", which basically meant "Bless everything in the Name of the Father" - hallelujah!

 

My favorite, as always, was the sea chantey from the all-male contingent of the high school, all swinging their arms in time - I so love that!!!

This year's offering was a whaling song from New Zealand called "Wellerman", which they followed up with "Viva Tutti", an 18th Century Glee.

Sing on, my boys!!!

The girls joined them for "Good Night, Dear Heart", based on the Robert Richardson poem that I knew from the episode of "Quantum Leap" in which a young German woman is killed.

How touching that this poem is also on the tombstone of Samuel Clemens' daughter - I've always loved Mark Twain's works.

Then the boys left the stage for the girls to grant me "Skylark" - yes!!!

So, what other countries were in the mix?

We had "Arirang" from Korea, "Sisi Ni Moja" in Swahili from the East African coast, "Lake Isle of Innisfree" from Ireland, "Dies Irae" in Latin from 13th Century Italy, "Ad Astra" from a modern composer in Kansas, "Crowded Table" by a US group of women, and Durme, Durme from the Sephardic Jews of Spain and Portugal.

Some were done by the Garrison Voices alone, some by only the Pulaski Chorus, both middle schools with 6-8-grade singers.

They'll be coming to this high school when they move on to higher grades.

That means I'll get to enjoy their voices for years to come!

 

Sherry thanked me for inviting her to this feast of song!

She told me she felt that she was "failing retirement" because she hadn't gotten out much these four years so far.

I assured her that everyone approaches that freedom differently, but now that I knew that she truly wanted to go out and about more, I'd help motivate her.

I know well how hard it can be to "throw yourself out of your house", but that's a choice worth making.

Life is outside... be part of it!

In fact, she and I already have plans for Thursday!

Good!!!

And I had thought being without my car this week was going to leave me stranded.

Actually, it has motivated me to reach out to others...

and find helping hands, right there.

i thank You, God! 

seagulls and opera?

 

Cenerentola has returned to the stage she left exactly four years ago.

Did I happen t say that it's been exactly four years, to the day?

Well, it has been, and she's a bit taller now, but still radiant!!!

The "she" this time is Carlyle Quinn, the mezzo-soprano whose voice I had been so  taken by in the first SVF13 show.

The swashbuckling prince in her wake as their stroll catches the Maestro's gaze is Stephen Steffens - and, yes, that's his real name.

I don't know why they were on their way to the stage, as showtime was well over an hour hence.

What a handsome pair they are! 

Then, another bewitching hour has lapsed and their tale - "Cinderella's Royal Feast" - has run its course and the seagulls have stolen the show!

That's them, roosting at the highest point on stage, over on the right.

Voiced by Henry Drangel and William Velasco, they truly had the best lines and even told us some jokes!

One bird to the other: "Why is it so easy to steal food from humans?"

The other to the first: "Because they're so gull-ible."

Hahahaha!  Hahaha!!

One bird to the other: "Why do seagulls like to tell jokes?"

The other to the first: Because they're caw-caw-comedians!"

Hahahaha! Hahaha!! 

Sure the jokes are pure corn, but they're from a couple of birdbrains!

Hahahaha! Hahaha!! 

That last one was pure me, y'all - couldn't you tell?

(smile!)

John Tisbert - yes! The 'Tiz!! - played the evil stepdad, Don Magnifico (not to be confused with Mr. Fantastic or Mister Terrific), and he has some choice words, too.

Those are tongue twisters!!!

"She sells seashells by the seashore" was one of those!

What great fun!

And get this: Theo even played a role on stage!!!

The Milnes-Zouves' son was the Fox!

I cannot recall a single time in the past when he has been part of the cast.

Behind the scenes, yes, plenty.

But actually on stage???

With lines???

Wow.

Yes, I said he was the Fox, and yes, there were seagulls, and there were also rabbits, three mice (not blind, just more like a Greek chorus), a cat, two snakes, and even two chimney spiders. 

Remember them?

They're the ones who bit Cenerentola as she cleaned said house chimney, thereby granting her the power to understand all creatures.

That's at least as good as what Spider-Man got from his arachnid bite!

All of that about the animals was straight out of the initial World Premiere of "A Royal Feast" on August 14, 2021. 

I'm sure "Cinderella's Royal Feast" must have some notable differences, as this, too, was deemed a World Premiere performance.

I'll have to ask Michael Ching about that the next time I see him.

Both have certainly been a lot of fun!

And, having it at Yamacraw Center over at Garrison Arts Academy certainly allowed a lot more children easy access to some opera in their life!

I'm so glad this season has been looking to involve more youngsters!

(smile!)

balthasar:: a tale of serendipity

Had I not seen these two particular plays so closely together, I would not have caught it.

Both feature a character named 'Balthasar'.

Might that character have been the same person?

When I queried the world wide web, I received an unsatisfying reply.

Apparently, no graduate student has pursued that as a thesis.

I wish that Dr. Joseph Killorin were still alive.

He had such an expansive knowledge of the Bard's plays and I know we could have had quite a discussion about such a thing.

So, what say I approach it on my own?

I say William Shakespeare placed the character in both plays deliberately, perhaps as an inside joke for himself, curious as to whether anyone would catch on.

'Balthasar' was not only Romeo's manservant, but a dear friend as well.

That was evident in "Romeo & Juliet", the play seen tonight, performed by the 7th and 8th grade students at Garrison Arts Academy.

How very age-appropriate for those tragic lovers, non è vero?

That's why I wanted so much to see this version.

I'm so glad to have caught this closing night performance!

I'll be looking forward to future works with Noah Jasso and Adoration Boothe, two of the 14-year-olds advancing to high school, who were absolutely perfect as the teenagers in love, staying in character even at the play's end. 

Kudos to Jaclyn Jackson as the slain 'Tybalt', who stayed in position on the stage from the end of Act I, through intermission, and into Act II, when the body was carried off.

Kudos also to Ke'Aisha Powell, actor for 'Balthasar'.

The absolute dismay shown for having let down 'Romeo', leading to his death, urged me to delve into that character.

 

Could this be the same one who sang "Hey Nonny" on Thursday eve?

That's when I watched the opening night performance of "Much Ado About Nothing" by the 11th and 12th graders at Savannah Country Day.

I speak not of the same actor, of course, as 'Balthasar' was played by Tanner Kaminsky for this high school production.

I speak of the character himself.

This time, as well as being a singer, 'Balthasar' was the manservant for 'Don Pedro', the Prince from Spain, visiting his brother there in Messina.

So, both like-named characters are manservants?

Might it be that both are actually one and the same???

I hold that to be true.

Kindly, hear me out.

"Romeo and Juliet" was penned by Shakespeare between 1591 and 1595 and is set in the city of Verona, in northern Italy.

Picture a younger, more naive, 'Balthasar', perhaps on his first job as a manservant, and naturally forming a close relationship with the 'Montague' teen he serves.

Now, imagine the grief and distress of that young man when he finds the message he gave his charge was incorrect and led not only to his death, but to that of 'Juliet'.

How very heartbroken 'Balthasar' must have been!

Fast forward to 1598-1599, the time when Shakespeare penned "Much Ado About Nothing".

This time he sets the play in Messina, way down in southern Italy.

Perhaps the short elapsed time between these two plays, as well as the physical distance between the two cities of Verona and Messina, led his mind to thoughts of what the young, emotionally-distressed 'Balthasar' might have done in those few years.

Perhaps he left Verona and all its sadness, seeking a new life...

perhaps he moved to Messina and sought work there as a more experienced, less naive, manservant to the wealthy, bringing his singing ability along as an asset...

perhaps.

And so it was written, and so it was done.

Had it not been for these two schools having chosen these two plays for their graduating thespians to perform as their last hurrahs, I would not have had this perspective into a side character.

Right place, right time.

Now, I share that inside joke of the Bard's.

(smile!) 

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!"

why this 2nd weekend is better in reboot 2025

By this time in the original start of this year, I'd only seen one musical.

True, that was on the 11th day of 2025, and this day is also the 11th day of reboot 2025.

However, "Sister Act" was performed by high school students.

Neither of the musicals today had high

schoolers, but one did have teens.

That one was "Into The Woods", by the Garrison Art Academy, at their Yamacraw Performing Arts Center, for the sum of only $17.

For a musical!!!

Yes, I am so glad that I have discovered that this school has public performances, too.

I'm doubly glad to have known of this specific show!

"Into The Woods" is one of my favorites, as it compiles several fairy tales into one story, via a childless baker and his wife. That couple serve to link four into a cohesive delight.

The baker has a family curse, brought on by his father stealing greens and beans from a witch's garden for his wife when she was pregnant with their second child, a daughter the witch took.

To remove the hex, the baker must procure a cow as white as milk, a cape as red as blood, hair as yellow as corn, and a shoe made of gold.

That makes for much laughter along the way for us!

The first photo is of the baker and his wife, followed by the one with Jack, his cow, and his mom.

Then there's Little Red Riding Hood, in constant motion trying to elude the rascally wolf!

And, in that final photo, there are the two princes singing of "Agony!" because they cannot find their two true loves!

The one on the ground seeks Rapunzel, the baker's sister, locked in a high tower she cannot escape because there is no door.

The one standing seeks Cinderella, who stole his heart at the ball and then ran, leaving only a shoe behind.

Neither prince can understand why a woman would elude them!

Very funny song!!!

And that was all before the second act!

Such a lovely way to pass a Saturday afternoon!

(smile!)

Then, I got a second musical for Saturday night!!!

That one was performed at Hive Repertory 

Theatre's site in Rincon.

"You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown" was a typical "children's" musical with a definite twist: all the performers were adult and all were women!!!

I wish I knew their names, but there were no programs for this performance.

This one-act show was compiled of sketches, making it very much in keeping with the movie about him that I saw around Thanksgiving.

Come to think of it, that makes this the perfect bookend for the earlier compilation of stories!

How about that...

I wasn't even trying for a theme with this double header and I got one.

Right place, right time.

(smile!)