Friday, February 23, 2007

The Play's the Thing

You remember that I live near Youngstown State University and that I was original and English major.
Last night, Karen and I went to "dinner and a show". For opening night of all the University theater productions, they have a buffet prior to the show at The Butler (something Youngstown has to be very proud of!). It's held in Winslow's Cafe (named after Winslow Homer) and the people who run it are the ones who will be catering the wedding. Then after the buffet, we walked across the street and saw the university theater's production of Hamlet.
What a wonderful evening. We sat with another couple we didn't know. They were so outgoing and fun. The lady is a teacher, so she and Karen chatted it up. And her husband and I talked about travel and pubs. (go figure! I attract another beer connoisseur!). And the production was excellent! it was done in "retro modern" dress rather than the typical Shakespearean. But the language was all Shakespeare. I always forget home many of the quotes we recognize in our modern day are form Hamlet.
I was truly amazed at the quality of the actors. I kept forgetting they're just kids! And I thought throughout how difficult it must be to memorize lines from Shakespeare and then interpret them into a credible character. These young people did an excellent job! They developed the characters, made them credible and understandable!
Karen commented that she needs to do more things like this because it really helps her stress level. So we may be leaving the men at home and doing more "culture"!
Good food and good entertainment with my favorite person! What could be better!

1 comment:

Keianna said...

I was an English major also, so I love plays and all things cultural and artistic. Luckily my hubby tolerates me :-)