Review of JOSEPH AND THE TECHNICOLOR DREAMCOAT

Fioella had thoroughly enjoyed the Georgetown Palace's production of Joseph and his colorful attire a couple of years ago and looked forward to a second viewing in the company of nephew Barrett and his wife, and she was not disappointed. In fact, Fio thought the musical was better this time around than its predecessor, at least the first act of it. The opening was much better staged, with Sabrina Mari Uriegas totally owning the role of the Narrator, and after the Sunday school kids cleared off the stage, the show was non-stop action--one fast-moving musical number after another. Fiorella, who's trod the musical boards herself, was totally in awe of all of them, and by "them," she means a company of forty.

Steve Williams as Joseph was top-notch. The minute he started singing, Fio got the shivers, the thrilling kind.

The show was well put-together. The two-person camel worked, the costumes worked, the simple stage setting worked, and the the band was right on, although, as usual, the acoustics were too loud, and Fio had to stick a finger in her more sensitive ear.

Fiorella's only disappointment was that the brothers' "regret scene" in the second act was not played in a noir setting complete with red berets and striped shirts like it was in the first show.  Minor suggestions would be to lave the lily-white chests of the male actors with a darker body make-up and to cut the length of the final reprise.

ANYTHING GOES Is a Winner!

It's so embarrassing when you invite someone to join you for an afternoon at the theater and the production is less than stellar.  Thus it was with a certain degree of anxiety that Husband and Fio trekked into Georgetown to meet with Nephew Barrett and his wife, Rachel, for a Sunday afternoon performance of Anything Goes, the 1934 Cole Porter musical.

Fiorella started getting nervous when the overture blared forth, over-loud as usual, but her fingers in her ears saved her,  Then she noticed what looked like bad champagne-blonde wigs on a some of the cast.  Then she met Reno Sweeny and the show went uphill from there.

Except for the black outfit the ingenue was cursed with, the costumes were great--Fio loved those slinky 1930s slip-like dresses,  And the choreography was great too--so many people dancing at once and so well coordinated. And the scenery was really good--Fio kept staring at the brig scene, trying to figure out if the background was real or trompe d'oiel.

And the songs.  Fiorella never realized the songs that came from this show: "I Get a Kick Out of You;" "Easy to Love;" "It's De-Lovely"; "Blow, Gabriel; and, of course, "Anything Goes."

Anything Goes is a silly story requiring the audience's total suspension of disbelief, and the Georgetown Palace pulled it off. All in all, the show was worthy of its standing ovation, and more besides.

Break-down

Fiorella had a break-down yesterday.  She's usually a very busy person, with a to-do list a mile long, but yesterday that list ganged up on her. She couldn't edit the last three pages of the second chapter of Moira's story because the printer wouldn't work.  She couldn't find Nephew Barrett's new address to send him a BD present.  She couldn't find the two paperbacks she wanted to use as examples of POW writing in her romance writing class.  She suddenly realized she may have offended her sister-in-law. One of the little gold hoops she always wears in her ears turned up missing.   And, to top it off, when she tried to drive to Fed-Ex and the post office, her beloved baby car made such strange noises that she turned around before she reached the highway, came home, called Husband, and cried.  He told her to have Mazda pick up the car.

Strangely, just when Fio thought all was lost, she found Nephew's new address on an old email and spotted the two paperbacks on a bookshelf, tucked away under some papers.  Then, when he came home, Husband fixed the printer.  And early this morning, he spotted her missing earring on the floor in the hall. Fio will have to arrange for a rental car to keep her appointments in Austin today, but there is light at the end of the tunnel.

Chocodiction

Fiorella just couldn't get going last Friday morning.  Instead of starting in on her never-ending list, she whined to herself about her lack of energy.  The light bulb appeared above her head--get yourself some chocolate, girl!  Half a bag of candy kisses later, she was whizzing around the house cleaning up the kitchen, practicing piano, taking care of the laundry room, and doing some work on the taxes.  She ended the evening by going out at dusk and lopping off some of the cedar limbs that had prohibited the propane people from coming down the drive the previous week.

The chocolate glow lasted through Saturday, when Fio and Husband took Sonia off for a mastiff meet-up in a nearby town, Fio attended the funeral of the husband of a friend of hers, and Nephew Barrett and his lovely wife stopped by for a visit. Since then, her energy level has been going down, down, down.

Time for another infusion of instant energy, donchya think?

RE: UNDER ATTACK

Nephew Barrett has his on viewpoint of a media room. In fact, he said . . . .

Don't forget a Blu-ray player (PS3?) and a home theater computer! I find it funny to read Fio's horror at the cathedral-esque setup of a home theater room while it just makes my mouth water to think of it.

The experience of watching Master and Commander in 1080p with 7.1 surround sound in a dimly lit room will transport you to that world. I can only imagine that it would be a truly immersive experience.

My wife says it must be a man thing.