dr_phil_physics: (hope-logo)
Different Company, Same Dinner

Last night did Pereddies once again in Holland with Momcat and Joe -- and I had my usual lasagna with meatballs. And I had the lovely key lime pie. Because we had a play, we had an early 5:30 reservation which was just lovely. Before we left the house, the weather map showed that Chicago was about to get clobbered by heavy storms -- I guess Lolapalooza down in Grant Park was suspended for a time as they had to evacuate -- and by the time we were done the thunder was rumbling on the way over to Hope College. But we didn't get wet.

The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee
Hope College, DeWitt Theatre, 8:00pm

This is actually our second Hope Summer Repertory Theatre show for 2012. And such a fine show. The kids who make it to Washington DC for real seem very nice on TV, but this is a comedic musical, so everyone is major geeky. Best character was actually Mitch, a black man in dreadlocks and jeans riding low, who was serving as The Comfort Councillor to the losers as part of his community service on parole. He did much more than hand out hugs and juice boxes. Longtime HSRT Equity actor Chip Duford was perfect as the assistant principal running the event.

Going back to the play's roots in improv, they had some ringers from the audience. One guy turned out afterward to be the dad of one of the cast members, and when he got the word he was scheduled to go out on, he was immediately called back to spell some impossible Welsh town name. (wicked g-r-i-n)

The show seemed to have a lot of heart when we saw bits on the Tony awards a few years ago, and I haven't laughed out loud so much in years.

Good show!

S-A-M-A-R-I-T-A-N

Funny how things work out. When we got to the parking lot there was a distraught older woman who'd left the lights of her minivan on and her cellphone at home where her husband has Alzheimer's and now she needed a jump... The good well-scrubbed family values Hollanders were more interested in jockeying to get out of the lot faster, than to either help this woman or even be prepared and have jumper cables. Thankfully the storm had hit while we were all at the play.

Guess who stayed behind to help.

I'd run into this trick before -- after the battery is low the car alarm goes off and you can't start the vehicle until the battery is charged enough above dead to allow the alarm to shut off. Added only time and to the level of distraughtness on the part of the woman. But, we got it done and I think she was able to get home okay. The battery seemed to work adequately once we got it started again.

Oh, and 18-foot jumper cables are so much better than the 6-footers I had years ago. (third-rail-grin)

Dr. Phil
dr_phil_physics: (ophelia-mirror)
The Second Play Of The Season -- And An Opening Night!

And an awesome dinner at Pereddies in Washington Square in Holland MI. If this is Friday this must be my third completely different recipe for calamari for the week. Oh, yum. And lasagna with meatballs, which I think I've had the last several times I've been there, and (sigh) key lime pie for dessert. The sacrifices that we have to make in order to go to the local theatre and let you know about it here on LJ. (grin)

By ourselves we've managed to go to a lot of closing nights of shows. Both of us have had some involvement with student theatre and it's important to give them support all the way through a run. But with the in-laws in town, we managed to do two plays in three days, so we've an Opening Night to attend...

The Cmplt Wrks of Wm Shkspr Abrdgd
DeWitt Theatre, Hope College, Holland MI, 8pm

"All 37 plays in 97 minutes" -- That's quite a boast, but with sufficient mad genius and some creative license, it can be done. We've been coming to HSRT for long enough now that we are beginning to see plays that they did many seasons ago. We saw The Cmplt Wrks of Wm Shkspr Abrdgd in the Snow Theatre studio theatre eleven summers ago. Three brilliant actors, James Saba, Dana Snyder (known today as the voice of Master Shake in Aqua Teen Hunger Force) and I think Chip DuFord.

Dana Snyder (L) and Chip DuFord? in 1998

That was then. This is now. And this production of The Cmplt Wrks of Wm Shkspr Abrdgd is wonderful, marvelous and absolutely full of energy. Even knowing some of the schtick, there was never an actual false step and they never dropped the ball -- except when they were supposed to. The brilliant performers turned out to be three-fourths of last year's Forever Plaid. Putting it in the main DeWitt Theatre allowed them to mount a big production with so little (grin), including the backdrop to another show this season, Room Service, which they promptly backed a truck through and knocked over. Oh the mayhem which ensues!

L to R: Teddy Yudain, Jonathan Spivey, Michael Hanson

Sitting in any of the front row seats on three sides of the theatre meant you had a chance of being dragged into the play. Hell, it didn't even have to be front row seats. Mrs. Dr. Phil (Orchestra Left AA-3) was "selected" to be sat on at one point, which was funny. Finding Mrs. Dr. Phil's purse on stage with the actor -- now that's comedy. Actually, at one point everyone participates, which we'd forgotten about from 1998, so everybody has a great time.

And yet it is clear that the Bard of Avon can survive even such appalling trimming as The Cmplt Wrks of Wm Shkspr Abrdgd visits upon his oeuvre, such is the strength of Shakespeare. Of all the plays (plus the sonnets), Romeo and Juliet in the first act and Hamlet in the second act, get the most play, so to speak. But I'm not quibbling. This is a brilliant play by a genius cast and if you are in West Michigan, please try to come to Hope College and see The Cmplt Wrks of Wm Shkspr Abrdgd before it is too late. Because the run is, of course, short.

Highly Recommended

Dr. Phil
dr_phil_physics: (Default)
Hope Summer Repertory Theatre

We've been going to HSRT shows at least since 1997's Return to the Forbidden Planet. And we've been getting season tickets for about ten years. So hitting the end of June/beginning of July and starting on our annual run of HSRT plays is always a real joy. This time we had the in-laws here and a lovely dinner at Butch's. We'd hoped to have the Wednesday Diner menu, but they weren't doing one this week. Afterwards, it's just a block over to the theatre!

Suds: The Rocking 60s Soap Opera Musical
Knickerbocker Theatre, 8th Street, Holland MI. 8pm

Apparently HSRT did Suds "ten years ago", but I know we didn't see it. Perhaps they did it as part of their cabaret series, which we didn't go to in the beginning. Last year HSRT also did a rollicking musical show at the restored Knickerbocker Theatre, Forever Plaid, but I have to say that we liked Suds more, not just for the choices of musics but because there was an actual plot.


L to R: Annie Sheehan, Kelly Sina, Gail Rastorfer
So Cindy (left) gets dumped by her sort-of-boyfriend and decides to end it all. But her demise is interrupted by not one but two... er, three?... guardian angels -- Dee Dee (middle) and Marge (right). It's all very complicated and charming. The three ladies all manage perfect characters and all were capable of belting out lyrics solo -- and provide enchanting harmony together. The Man, who plays multiple roles, is no weak sister to this trio and can he dance! Every single one of these songs was played on the radio all the time while Mrs. Dr. Phil and I were growing up. Obviously these "kids" aren't really old enough to truly understand. (grin)

Playlists after the cut... )
It's tough to talk about favorite numbers because they were all good, which is especially hard considering the talents who made the songs famous that they were competing against. I mean, when you can hold your own against Aretha and Nancy Sinatra... you're doing it right! Still, I have to say that "Locomotion", done in the middle of a suicide attempt was choreographed beyond belief and "Secret Agent Man", where we get the big reveal on the Man, were definitely top numbers -- but there was no let up in the quality throughout the show. Amazing.

Aside: I will never be able to listen to "You Can't Hurry Love" without thinking of the pilot for China Beach -- "Hey, isn't that McMurphy up there?!" (big grin) And "I Say A Little Prayer For You" reminded me of how much I loved that song on the radio -- or in big production numbers on the last of the TV variety shows. I better stop mentioning favorite songs because I won't be able to stop. Just see the above cut list. (sly grin) Did I mention that the orchestra hidden behind the set did a phenomenal job?

Highly Recommended

If this is just the start of our tour of the HSRT season, we're going to have a great summer here in West Michigan.

Dr. Phil

Profile

dr_phil_physics: (Default)
dr_phil_physics

April 2016

S M T W T F S
     1 2
3 4567 89
10111213141516
17181920212223
24252627282930

Links

Email: drphil at

dr-phil-physics.com

Syndicate

RSS Atom

Most Popular Tags

Style Credit

Expand Cut Tags

No cut tags
Page generated Monday, 28 July 2025 07:50
Powered by Dreamwidth Studios