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Sat, 14 Jun 2008

Theater Review: Aida
Kristy and I were given tickets to see "Aida" tonight at the Village Theater down in Issaquah (a local review of the production is available at Broadway2Seattle).

The musical is about a love triangle between a high-ranking Egyptian general (Radames), his betrothed (Amneris, the heir to the Egyptian crown), and a Nubian princess (Aida). Radames captures Aida while on a military campaign. Unaware of Aida's nobility, Radame gives her to his fiancée Amneris as a gift. Eventually, Radame and Aida fall in love. Meanwhile, Aida's father (the Nubian king) is captured in battle and sentenced for execution. With the help of Aida and Radame, the king escapes. Amneris discovers their affair and their treason; the wedding is canceled and Radame and Aida are sentenced to death.

I was very impressed with the professional value of the production. The voice talent and the stage direction was splendid... far superior than what I was expecting (this was my first time attending the Village Theater). The venue is also located conveniently to a restaurant (the name of which escapes me now). Before the show we ordered some dessert at the restaurant and it was available for us to eat during intermission. Nice option.

Despite the excellence of the venue and talent, I was not endeared to the musical itself and did not find it memorable. In fact I can't think of a single stanza from the musical now to hum or sing to myself. As a whole, the music was uneven and eclectic and seemed to mix gospel, R&B, and rock-n-roll in a haphazard way. The selections sung by Radame's father seemed especially out of place from the rest of the score. Now, I know my Dad reads my blog (my Dad is a big-time musical afficiando); I called him earlier today and asked him about the musical: "One of my favorites" ... "I've seen it 4 or 5 times."

Sorry Dad... I just didn't like it that much. Thumbs down.

:: Posted by rus on Sat, 14 Jun 2008 11:54 pm
:: Filed under /reviews/theater


Last T-Ball Game
Berkeley's last T-ball game was held today. For their final game, they were able to play on a "real" baseball field complete with a dugout (all the other T-ball games have been played in an open field at a nearby elementary school). They also lined up on the 3rd base line before the game while the national anthem played.

Enjoying the big ball field dugout. Lining up for the national anthem. Playing first base. Keeping his eye on the ball.

After the game the league presented each T-ball player with a good sportsmanship medal. He also received a participation trophy from the team. Berkeley was pretty happy to have both and wore his medal for the rest of the day. After the game there was a party for the team, but we were unable to stay since we had previous commitments (we had tickets to the kids symphony).

Berkeley's sportsmanship medal. Berkeley and Sam inspect their trophies. The post game Cubs picnic party.

I also snapped a few pictures of Berkeley's biggest fans:

Beautiful Eliana in her red sweater. Eating popcorn is so much fun! Livy and her bag of popcorn.

:: Posted by rus on Sat, 14 Jun 2008 11:41 pm
:: Filed under /daily_journal/2008



        

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