Yesterday and Today

Yesterday was tremendous, but today is not starting off well. Fiorella discovered she had somehow destroyed a long, thoughtful essay on spanking and slapping children, then started feeling sicky when she sat by Husband's side as he awaited his turn at knee-replacemnt surgery. There was something in the air, maybe some kind of hospital sanitizer that was getting to her. And it didn't help that she'd been up almost all night because Sonia Dog did not appreciate being locked out of Husband's bedroom, where she usually sleeps. Fio tried to explain to doggie that the hospital had instructed him to sleep on clean, dogless, sheets, but Sonia did not understand. Just like Fiorella does not understand why she got struck with a multiple-paned migraine aura in Husband's waiting room, why she became so weak that she could hardly tow Husband's tote and her own tote to the car, why she felt like she was going to throw up all the way home, why she's been sitting on the couch like a wilting flower for the past three hours.

She's beginning to feel better now, though. This too shall pass.

Tirade

And again Fio's going to cut loose on the Duggars and other TV actors who pretend to be Christians. The hypocritical women who talk about modesty, then wear maternity tops so tight that their belly buttons show, who talk about not "defruading" men by looking sexy, then glamorize themselves with seductive hairstyles and come-hither smiles, who see no other role for themselves and their daughters than adoring their husbands, no matter what rats they are, and being available sexually. The males who talk Jesus, but do not love His flock, who do not provide their children with good educations, who do not feed the poor or aid the stranger. Who are intolerant of others and have rewritten the Bible in their own images.

Self-delusion, deliberate deception, or the devil's work?

Review of DAMN YANKEES at Georgetown Palace Theater

Fio was excited about seeing Damn Yankees.This would be her first time, and, with images of Gwen Verdon dancing in her brain, she was looking forward to it.

The overture was full of energy, which boded well for the play.  But maybe it was a little bit too long, which Fio should have realized did not bode well.  First off, as usual, most of the actors were projecting stage voices despite the fact that they were wearing face mics, which meant Fiorella was applying fingers to her ears far too often. Second, Fio would have liked to have heard a balance between the band and the singers rather than a competition.  Third, the sets seemed uninspired, but that might have been because the sets in the last couple of shows Fio reviewed were spot-on.  

  

Then there were the awkward moments, like when "fans" in the background were continually and unsuccessfully trying to put up a sign, like the awkward scene change behind Mr. Applegate when he was singing "The Good Old Days."  And what the heck was that flash of blinding blue light that hit the audience in the tender "We've got Each Other" scene?

This is a man's show, and stand-outs were Robert Josef Cross as Mr. Applegate, Michael Rafferty as Joe Boyd, and Justin Dam as Joe Hardy--and when both Joes sang together, Fio's eyes misted over. Samantha Watson, always one of Fio's favorites, was great as Joe's wife, but Dara Hasenkampf, who played Lola, seemed uncomfortable in her role as a seductress.  And her costumes didn't help--that Amish outfit in red and black didn't look at all sexy, and her wigs were atrocities.

All in all, the show seemed uneven, the audience was remarkably unresponsive, and Fio was . . . disappointed.