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!

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! 

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!)

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!)