Opera and Osso Buco

On Sunday after church, I caravaned down to Indy with my pals Bob and Deni Yaggi. We headed to Clowes Hall to see the Indianapolis Opera Company perform Pirates of Penzance. This is one of my favorite shows of all time, having watched the Kevin Kline-Linda Rondstat-Angela Lansbury movie version of it often during my youth. The performance was excellent, and I was reminded again just how hysterical it is!

Three of the performers had done a light opera performance at the Honeywell Center that I attended a month or so ago and Deni and I ended up sitting with the director of the opera company, John Pickett. He told us about the upcoming production of Pirates, and we made plans to attend right then! So glad we did!


It was also nice to see this performed by an honest-to-goodness opera company with classically trained voices. Also nice that they had the words on the little subtitle screen. Even though this operetta is in English, it's such a fast show that it's very easy to miss words. At intermission, at the invitation of a well-connected acquaintance, we went out on the patio for wine and desserts in the "benefactor's suite" or something similar. The weather was PERFECT! I even had to break out the shades.

After the show, we had a leisurely dinner at Woodstock Club in Indy. I thoroughly enjoyed my Osso Buco with a nice Zinfandel. All my appetite could handle for dessert was The World's Smallest Sundae. It was a terrific Sunday afternoon, and also a great excuse to test out my new Bonneville on the highway!

Good times.

God Bless Us, Everyone!

Just finished A Christmas Carol today. It was a bit of a frantic run, but enjoyable. I'm quite exhausted. I didn't have much of a part, but I DID have 6 costume changes and 4 make-up changes. Ugh. Enjoy some of the many faces of Emily:

I Wish to Go to the Festival (56)!

I took a three day vacation this week. Some theatre friends of mine asked me months ago about going to a theatre festival in Illinois. I thought it sounded like a good idea at the time. Turns out I was right. Festival 56 is a wonderful event that takes place in Princeton, IL which is about 100 miles west (and slightly south) of Chicago. The website tells me that it is "Illinois' Largest Summer Theatre Festival". We saw the three shows featured above, although Jesus Christ Superstar, Vanities, I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change, and A Doll's House were all part of the festival, as well. We saw truly talented actors perform, some of them in all 3 shows. The Odd Couple was phenomenal, but I particularly enjoyed Hamlet, which was performed in the park. I truly enjoy seeing Shakespeare done well, and the Hamlet of this performance was quite good. City of Angels, which I was unfamiliar with, was quite entertaining. It's a "film noir" type of show and also a musical, which makes it interesting. I knew some of the songs without knowing what they were from. Jason Simon, who played in all three shows (most notably as Oscar in The Odd Couple) played Bialystock in The Producers when I saw it at the Honeywell Center*. I didn't put two and two together until I got home, although I had multiple opportunities to speak with him. We could've discussed how awkward it is to sit between your mother and your grandmother during the "Hold Me-Touch Me" scene. Ah, well. Side bar: John Cormier, who played Felix and Laertes, was an exceptionally talented man, and I enjoyed visiting with him after the show, as well.
The girls and I had a fantastic time. In addition to the shows, we spent some time bonding over Project Runway, antiquing, and enjoying some good eats. I found some marvelous pieces of jewelry (as seen to the right), and a juicer for my brother.
I would highly recommend Festival 56 as a destination for theatre-lovers. If you go, be sure to visit the 28 East Tea Room, which serves a full tea service by reservation. Otherwise, you have a choice from 4 entrees from an ever changing menu. I had the Hummus Platter and the White Chocolate Lime Cheesecake with a pot of peppermint tea. Yum! Have some complimentary sherry in the lobby while you wait.

*Update, March 2009: As it turns out, I didn't put two and two together because it actually WASN'T Jason Simon I saw, although it was the same company he had been in. Saw J.S. in the Wizard of Oz and met with him after the show, which is where I learned all this info.

Another Closing, Another Show

Last Saturday was our fourth and final performance of Night and Day: A Soapy Cole. Legendary lyricist Cole Porter was born in Peru, a small town located west of my home. For the last 4 years, they have done a revue featuring his music, and I've been involved for the last 3 of those 4 shows. Each year has a theme. Year one: A Cole (wedding) Reception. Year two: A Cup o' Cole (a morning show). This year was a soap opera theme. In the first picture, I'm with my on-stage fiance (first act) and husband (second act) in the show, Dr. Jim Stone (aka Jeff Carnagua). In the second, I'm with Australian P.I. Krikey Dingo. I played Flora Gardener. Yep. It was that kind of show. Loads of fun, though. And it had 34 Cole Porter songs in it, not including the lyrics thrown into the dialogue.

I actually was supposed to be drugged/drunk the entire first act, so that was a big stretch. Tee hee. I did some research on the weekends leading up to the show. I'm totally method. My favorite song this year was called The Tale of the Oyster, which I had never heard before. I sang this song in the second act, so my character was sober. I think it'd make more sense if you were drunk, though.