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keladry_lupinSo we went to see Hanna Friday night. I liked it, though Phil was iffy. I like sheroes and female warriors, so this was right up my alley. (Eric Bana was some mighty nice eye candy, too.)
Phil worked Saturday night, so I went to see Much Ado about Nothing at a little theater in Santa Ana. It was brilliant! Set in 1940 just after the Battle of Britain when Duke (instead of Don) Pedro and his pilots have a month of leave. They go to the Lady Leonata's estate for some well-deserved rest and relaxation. (They changed a few male characters to women, including Don John and a few minor supporting characters.) Hero was demure and adorable, and Beatrice dressed like Katharine Hepburn ... all the costumes were lovely, actually.
The set was helped along by a huge plasma or HD television set high on the back wall of the stage to show videos of fighter planes landing and a newsreel, as well as still photos of the estate, church, or the gardens. The masquerade to celebrate the arrival of Duke Pedro was like a party scene from Rowan and Martin's Laugh In where the revelers would dance (in this case, the swing), and then the music and dancing would stop long enough for two characters to have their conversation (Margaret and Barachio, Ursula and the old man, Beatrice and Benedick), and then the music and dancing would resume, bringing another couple to the forefront so they could talk. Later, when Benedick's and Beatrice's friends staged conversations for them to overhear, Benedick and Beatrice hid and crawled around the audience, going up one aisle, making their way across, and then down the other aisle. Benedick went all the way behind the last row when he crossed to the other side, but Beatrice did one better, crawling on her hands and knees while bumping into the feet of all the people in row D while listening to Hero and Ursula talk about Benedick. It was a riot! The Dogberry scenes had me in stitches, too.
Everyone was good, but Benedick was a standout. He overacted, but not too much. He has one of those open faces that can express loads with bulging eyes or a dropped jaw.
And then we went to see Revenge: a Love Story this afternoon with Rose and Bill. (We'd seen Rose as Eleanor in The Lion in Winter twice, and Bill -- our Marley in Scrooge and Marley -- was her Henry in one of those TLiW productions.) Dang, they were good! The plot of the play was nothing to write home about, but it's a play within a play, so neither the play nor the play-within-a-play had time to really develop anything sophisticated. Five cast members played three actors, the director/playwright, and the assistant director. Bill was Rose's ex-husband, and one of her fellow actors was her boyfriend, so the triangle was a bit tense. After the lights went out to start the play, I heard someone settle in the seat to my right, but as soon as the lights were up, I was focused on the stage, so I forgot about the latecomer to my right until Bill (he played the director of the play-within-a-play) said his first line. I almost got whiplash when I recognized his voice, and I'd been sitting next to him for five minutes! DUH. Mature language and subject matter abounded, but I've read worse in PG13 rated fanfics. We hung out with Bill and Rose for a few minutes after the play, found out what they have planned after this closes (nothing, which is unusual), and made tentative plans to see something together. Phil and I squeed about that on the way home; cool people like Bill and Rose want to hang out with us! (We're such dorks.)
Off to the courthouse for jury duty tomorrow. If you would be so kind, please keep your fingers crossed for me to stay out of courtrooms all day.
Phil worked Saturday night, so I went to see Much Ado about Nothing at a little theater in Santa Ana. It was brilliant! Set in 1940 just after the Battle of Britain when Duke (instead of Don) Pedro and his pilots have a month of leave. They go to the Lady Leonata's estate for some well-deserved rest and relaxation. (They changed a few male characters to women, including Don John and a few minor supporting characters.) Hero was demure and adorable, and Beatrice dressed like Katharine Hepburn ... all the costumes were lovely, actually.
The set was helped along by a huge plasma or HD television set high on the back wall of the stage to show videos of fighter planes landing and a newsreel, as well as still photos of the estate, church, or the gardens. The masquerade to celebrate the arrival of Duke Pedro was like a party scene from Rowan and Martin's Laugh In where the revelers would dance (in this case, the swing), and then the music and dancing would stop long enough for two characters to have their conversation (Margaret and Barachio, Ursula and the old man, Beatrice and Benedick), and then the music and dancing would resume, bringing another couple to the forefront so they could talk. Later, when Benedick's and Beatrice's friends staged conversations for them to overhear, Benedick and Beatrice hid and crawled around the audience, going up one aisle, making their way across, and then down the other aisle. Benedick went all the way behind the last row when he crossed to the other side, but Beatrice did one better, crawling on her hands and knees while bumping into the feet of all the people in row D while listening to Hero and Ursula talk about Benedick. It was a riot! The Dogberry scenes had me in stitches, too.
Everyone was good, but Benedick was a standout. He overacted, but not too much. He has one of those open faces that can express loads with bulging eyes or a dropped jaw.
And then we went to see Revenge: a Love Story this afternoon with Rose and Bill. (We'd seen Rose as Eleanor in The Lion in Winter twice, and Bill -- our Marley in Scrooge and Marley -- was her Henry in one of those TLiW productions.) Dang, they were good! The plot of the play was nothing to write home about, but it's a play within a play, so neither the play nor the play-within-a-play had time to really develop anything sophisticated. Five cast members played three actors, the director/playwright, and the assistant director. Bill was Rose's ex-husband, and one of her fellow actors was her boyfriend, so the triangle was a bit tense. After the lights went out to start the play, I heard someone settle in the seat to my right, but as soon as the lights were up, I was focused on the stage, so I forgot about the latecomer to my right until Bill (he played the director of the play-within-a-play) said his first line. I almost got whiplash when I recognized his voice, and I'd been sitting next to him for five minutes! DUH. Mature language and subject matter abounded, but I've read worse in PG13 rated fanfics. We hung out with Bill and Rose for a few minutes after the play, found out what they have planned after this closes (nothing, which is unusual), and made tentative plans to see something together. Phil and I squeed about that on the way home; cool people like Bill and Rose want to hang out with us! (We're such dorks.)
Off to the courthouse for jury duty tomorrow. If you would be so kind, please keep your fingers crossed for me to stay out of courtrooms all day.
