a steady diet of faith & fancy with some mischief thrown in here and there

So we had picked up Groupon tickets for "Much Ado about Nothing" at the Sidney Harman Hall. Having not read or seen any other reviews of this particular production, we didn't know how it was going to be presented. Interestingly enough, they chose to set it in Cuba during the 1930's and one of their revolutions. Our seats were in the balcony, row BB which is the 2nd row back from the edge .... they were great seats! The seats are also wider and taller than the Kennedy Center which was a lovely surprise.

As we proceeded down the steep stairs, the stage was this stunning set of a hacienda, complete with a fountain in the middle. There were 3 different stairways, including a beautiful blue spiral staircase towards the front on stage left. The set was very multi-functional as demonstrated through the rest of the play, without being distracting or obvious when scenes changed.

The play seemed to get off to a slow start. The actors didn't quite have their energy in the right place for about the first 15 minutes, but after that .... things flowed rather smoothly. There were only 2 instances during the show where it was obvious that someone had missed their cue, but they recovered rather quickly. The costuming was stunning and completely appropriate for the period. They also adjusted some of the Bard's famous words to adjust to the setting of this particular production, which was clever. Amusingly enough though, they did not change the names of the towns .... and so when they would talk about "Messina" it bothered lapsedagnostic as being clearly out of place. It didn't really bother me. The actors seemed well suited to their roles. I only really had an issue with the actor who potrayed the Prince, Don Pedro. He didn't seem to articulate particularly well. I was lukewarm on Benedict and Beatrice at first, but warmed up to them quickly. They both had a good sense of comic timing, which is important during certain moments.

Also ... as a complete aside of the production .... pre-ordering a snack and drink for intermission is totally the way to go. We picked up our food and avoided the really long line that formed during the short intermission!

All of us really enjoyed it, including the kids. S (10) and M (11) had some issues with Elizabethan english, but were still able to follow the play and enjoy the story. T (14), princesswidgeon, lapsedagnostic and myself enjoyed it quite a bit. I would certainly give this a 2 thumbs up, and recommend it to our friends :) This is one of my favorites of Shakespeare's plays and I'm a huge fan of the Kenneth Branagh movie version. I'm really looking forward to Joss Whedon's upcoming version as well. Quasi and I also received a discount coupon for their upcoming production of "Two Gentleman of Verona" coming up in January. Anyone interested in making it group expedition?

Last night lapsedagnostic and I saw the musical "Wicked" at the Kennedy Center as our (late) 15th anniversary present. It was awesome! The stage had a beautiful map of OZ as the curtain and the biggest mechanical dragon above the stage I've seen. Both leads that played Elphaba and Glinda (the Guuuuuh is silent *lol*) were amazing. I don't know which performance this was for them, but it might as well of been their first. The energy and joy they put into their performance was transporting.... it made being in Oz a believable experience.

Other than the song "Defying Gravity" - this isn't the kind of musical where the music leaves you humming along after - but the songs are an integral part of the story and how it moves along. The characters were all strong as were the actors that played them.

Given the chance, I would see it again in a heartbeat :) If you can find the tickets and the time ... I highly recommend seeing it before it leaves the DC area.

What great thing would you attempt if you knew you could not fail? Robert H. Schuller

You see ... there was this thing on TV about 2 weeks ago, and I was transfixed. It was an indoor "sprint" triathlon and it and the participants were all women who were around my age and all women who have struggled with their weight. Funny enough, the thing that popped into my head was "I could do that". Trust me, that wasn't what I expected my brain to say out loud.

Since then the seed has been growing and growing and apparently it's taken root. I am going to do the Angels Race Sprint Triathlon in Lynchburg, VA on Sunday, April 25, 2010. I've signed up for the Facebook group and will be watching the website for registration. I am going to train for the next few months, through the winter because honestly, I want to avoid my usual (but mild case) of seasonal affective disorder and I also want to avoid the holiday temptations (too much). Plus, I need something to work toward, and this is something I believe is entirely possible for me.

The sprint triathlon consists of a 300 meter swim, 15.5 mile bike, and 3.1 run. I have a fitness center close by that has an indoor pool. I own a treadmill and a bike. I think I might need one of those bike things that take the wheel off the ground so I can still practice indoors when the weather is too awful. But hey, Christmas is coming right?!

So, there you go, I am stepping out of my comfort zone and stating my intent. I'll most likely create a filter for it. I would love support, so if this sounds interesting to you, feel free to say so in the comments.

Off to go do more research :)

Tonight! Wolf Trap! Yay!!!!!

**Edit - the extra ticket I have has been spoken for** But I would still love to see friends and family if you want to make it!!!

Great Big Sea & Carbon Leaf are playing at Wolf Trap next Friday, August 21st. I bought 8 tickets, 7 of which are spoken for. I have one lawn ticket left for $25. I would love for someone to grab it.

Belthazar, Widgeon, C, myself and the girls will all be claiming lawn seats *early* this year so we can see. We love fun company .....Anyone going to join us?

Life continues on apace here at Casa de make_you_move. The kids brought home pretty good report cards ... the last few weeks were filled with things like Spring Break and a trip to the Cherry Blossom Festival with Amy!



There was Easter ... which was lovely, sunny and beautiful. We were able to hide eggs outside for the first time in years. That was fun.

This last weekend was spent doing some needful things, like the deck and so forth, which I really enjoyed actually. The kids enjoyed helping out too, and we ended the day by cooking out on grill and eating outside. Mmmmmm, burgers on the grill.

Sunday was time spent with the clan cussata, lalartu, mellyflori, and morienmacbain and the small and beautiful TBD. We spent most of the day in the basement making beautiful silk banners to spiffy up our camp with ... I'd never done it before, so it was new and exciting to learn. I haven't yet worked on my super big banner (but it's stretched and in the frame). Instead I did a small practice banner and it turned out great! Look at what I did ~yay~!

Nothing like a good run/walk up and down the nearest nature trail to clear away internal ick. I disturbed a few robins who looked askance at my intrusion into their meadow, an occasional dog defending the borders of their back yard, and one or two squirrels who high tailed it out of my way. My soundtrack this morning? ... the staccato beat of a woodpecker trying to conquer an obstinate knot in a tree and the bubbling of running water and the sound of my very out of breath self. But it felt good.

It's not much, but it's something.

The Northern Virginia Bead Society is having their annual Bead Show/Bazaar this weekend in Vienna, VA. There's also a link for $1 off (it's $5 regular, $4 with the coupon).

I'm planning on going today ... probably before noon. Anyone interested?

Yesterday I walked off the side of a mountain :) Why is this significant? Because I really don't like heights.

Details and pictures forthcoming.

Last night B and I went to see the Lion King at the Kennedy Center ....

It was OMG awesome....

I can't wait to see it again next week with my hubby and kids!!!!!!!!!!!!!