New York, New York 2009 – Seven Days of Theatre, Food and Dance: PART II.
Tuesday September 8th
Back in Manhattan after an awesome dance-filled Labour Day Getaway Cruise, feeling great except for my tired feet. I am ready for another 5 days of dance, theatre and fine food. First thing on the agenda will be to pick up a pair of practice shoes for the next couple of lessons. Somehow on board ship my feet must have grown from a dainty size 4½ to something huge. By the end of the voyage I felt like one of Cinderella's sisters, trying to squeeze my foot into a shoe that was suddenly far too small. Oh well, no prince for me I guess.
I plan to spend the rest of the day catching up on writing, laundry and planning my feasts for mind and body for my remaining days in the city.
Wednesday, September 9th - No Gill, you're not in a Bruce Willis movie !
I guess it was bad karma for being amused at the lady in the elevator who was scared of heights but my day started out with a bang - literally. I have only two phobias - I shudder at fluttering things like butterflies and moths - and I have a mild degree of claustrophobia. While my ultimate claustrophobic nightmare would be to be in a submarine, being trapped in an elevator would come pretty close. And guess what happened.
With my day planned out to the minute - subway to Times Square, pick up theatre tickets, visit Worldtone dance shop, have lunch, go to dance lesson, have supper, see play - I was feeling quite the jaunty travel-writer as I waited for the elevator on the 11th floor of my building. After all I had sort of mastered the routes I needed on the New York subway, only turned in the wrong direction about 5 times, and was comfortable finding my way around the various areas of Manhattan where I needed to go. After all in theory with an intelligently numbered grid system even a directionally challenged person should hardly stray too far wrong. But back to the elevator.
So the elevator comes, I enter and press the button for the Lobby. Doors close, the elevators starts to move - and I hear a loud bang. The elevator drops precipitously and then stops. My stomach continues downward. Oh Oh. I look at the indicator - it still says 11 and it is not moving. I press the Door Open button - no response. Something was definitely wrong but an intrepid world traveller does not panic, even a claustrophobic world traveller.
New York, New York 2009 – Seven Days of Theatre, Food and Dance: PART I.
New York is one of my favorite cities – it has a unique buzz, an electric feel, that is unlike anywhere else I have visited. Each time I visit New York I feel like a humming bird, hovering just above the surface of culture and cuisine, dipping down for a taste, but never able to perch long enough to experience more than that brief and tantalizing taste.
So when the opportunity arose to combine a Ballroom Dancing Cruise with a trip to New York to visit my son, I did not think too long and hard before signing up. The dance part of the cruise was arranged by Wendy, of Dancers at Sea, the group with which I had recently done a seven night West Coast Dance Cruise from Los Angeles to Vancouver on the Sapphire Princess. I really enjoyed the dancing, and the fellow dancers I met from all over the US were delightful, so I figured that this four night East Coast cruise would be just as much fun. As well, this Labour Day Getaway dance cruise is on the Queen Mary 2, and I have always wanted to see what these elegant Cunard ocean liners are like.
Annie
Annie Book by Thomas Meehan
Music by Charles Strouse, Lyrics by Martin Charnin
Directed by Glynis Leyshon
Music Director Wendy Bross Stuart
Choreographer Jason Franco
Vancouver,BC: One would have to have a heart of steel, or maybe no heart at all, not to adore feisty little orphan Annie and her unshaken belief that her parents will return to take her away from Miss Hannigan and the orphanage. The story of Annie and Daddy Warbucks, however implausible (it was based on a comic strip after all) taps into the dream of any lonely, lost or abused child; namely that someone big and strong and loving will come to rescue them. And then as well as its optimism and emotional appeal, the musical is jam-packed with well known songs that stay in your head, long after the curtain falls. Annie is great family entertainment.
Theatre al fresco in Vancouver
Summer in Vancouver means lots of theatre out of doors. I have seen seven al fresco productions and all are currently still running for you to enjoy. Bard on the Beach has its four Shakespeare offerings under the tents in Vanier Park; a tragedy - Othello, a history play - Richard II, the first offering in Bard's Kings History Cycle; and two comedies, All's Well that Ends Well and The Comedy of Errors.
Up in Queen Elizabeth Park you can catch The Road to Canterbury, and in Stanley Park at the Malkin Bowl, Theatre Under the Stars is running Thoroughly Modern Millie and Annie on alternate nights.
Sunny weather is predicted for the next while so go and enjoy the shows.
Also opening this week at the Playwright's Theatre Centre is an original work by local actor/playwright Jenn Griffin, called Via Beatrice, that I saw last year as a Work in Progress and thoroughly enjoyed. I look forward to seeing the full production. Check it out too.
Coming soon at Review From The House
Over the last year we have been fine tuning ReviewFromTheHouse.com focusing on the three sections of Theatre, Food and Wine, and Travel. Over the next month or so we will be adding a fourth section on Dance as well as an interactive section called Your View. This last section will feature Your Comments, as well as provide a forum for your theatre reviews - Your Seat View - and for your restaurant experiences - Your Eat View.
In the mean time check out my upcoming Travelblogue called Dancing at Sea, chronicling my experiences on a coastal cruise from Los Angeles to Vancouver, featuring winery excursions and ballroom dancing.
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Review From The House: Toronto, Mississippi
Bill MacDonald and Meg Roe in Toronto, Mississippi Toronto, Mississippi by Joan MacLeod
Directed by Dean Paul Gibson
Vancouver Playhouse
Playhouse Theatre Company
Feb 28- Mar 21, 2009
Photo by David Cooper.
Vancouver, BC: I was really happy to be able to catch the closing night performance of Toronto Mississippi, the day after I returned after three weeks away from Vancouver. The play itself is one that I had often heard discussed but had never read nor seen performed and I expected that Dean Paul Gibson would draw strong performances from the cast of Colleen Wheeler (Maddie), Meg Roe (Jhana), Bill MacDonald (King) and Alessandro Juliani (Bill).
