Try the World: France

So our Try the World France arrived.   We only yesterday finished the Holiday Box.   And I've only sampled the Greek box.   I'll need to start this one because it has perishables in it.

 I actually already bought a tube of this chestnut paste in the fridge.    I know it's good.   Great with dessert type things.

 Salt without iodine.   It'll be nice to add at the end of a meal.

Tomato spread.  I haven't really looked at the recipes much, but I can probably use it with a wrap or pasta.

 Mustard, also good for sandwiches and wraps.

 Fig jam for cookies or crepes.  

 Cheesy crackers!

 Butter cookies!

And finally crepes!   I only recently learned how to make these on my own.  It's not as hard as I thought it would be, but these look yummy.  I know what I'm having for breakfast.

Between Riverside and Crazy

This week, we went to Cleveland Play House to see Between Riverside and Crazy.   Wow, that was thought provoking.    CPH never fails to present fascinating material.

So Walter is an ex-cop living in a rent controlled palatial apartment in New York City.   He is recently widowed and his son is helping him around.  The NYPD wants him to take a settlement for his lawsuit 8 years ago.  He was off duty and shot by another cop, and race seems to have been a factor.   He has non-related family going in and out of his place and there have been complaints, and he is threated with eviction notices.

One thing not mentioned in the pre-show conversation are the lies each character tells.   When you see it, watch for the recurring theme.

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time

I loved the Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time from the first time I read the book in the early 2000's.   Now it's a play that won many Tony Awards!   But, I get ahead of myself.

The story is about Christopher, a young man in Swindon, UK who lives with his father.  He discovers his neighbor's dog dead, speared through with a gardening fork.   He decides to investigate the murder and finds out truths of his own life.  

What makes the story unique is that Christopher is not neurotypical.   He is brilliant and mathematically gifted, with an eye for detail.   The book described life from his point of view, and the play brings it to life further.   You get a real sense of his perceptions through the lights, sounds, and Greek chorus.  The black box encompassing the stage really lets you into our protagonist's head and experience sensory overload.

The post play even features the proof of the Pythagorean theorem which was in the book's appendix.  If the tour is coming to your city, definitely go watch it.  It's not a musical, but it is a very faithful translation of the book with some additional enhancements.

How I Learned to Drive

I saw How I Learned to Drive this week at the Cleveland Play House.  It's a Pulitzer winning play from 1998.  The protagonist, Little Bit, takes us on a non-sequential ride through her memories of how she was groomed for pedophilia by her Uncle Peck with touches of humor and a Greek chorus.  The 1960's driving video clips are used to indicate what direction in time the clips are occurring.

We always go to the pre-show talk.  Our seat neighbors did not, and I overheard them say, "I think I know exactly what this is about!"  I decided to enlighten them a little so the subject wouldn't be a complete shock if they were expecting a light romp about 1960's driving school.  I recommend listening to this interview about the show.  It offers some insight into the second lead.

It's been a year of very emotionally hard hitting theater for me.   A Great Wilderness, Wait Until Dark, Body Awareness, and Fun Home all have deeply intense subjects.   I find myself thinking back of the events of this play.  I wonder how anyone could do such a thing and perpetuate a cycle of abuse.

Wait Until Dark

Last night we saw Wait Until Dark at Great Lakes Theater.  That was thrilling!   Three con men try to pull a fast one on a blind woman.   They use the standard battery of tricks, which our protagonist, Susie, notices because of her acute hearing.   Extremely exciting play that keeps you on the edge of your seat.

A Great Wilderness

I saw A Great Wilderness at the Beck Center this past Sunday.   It's a good play, but not a happy one.   It's about gay conversation therapy camps.   I left feeling angry about the intolerance and lack of empathy in the world.  It's tough, but you should see it.   Good lessons to be learned.  In a way, it reminds me of Thais, in which two characters switch world views.

I feel the most terrible for the women in marriages with "cured" husbands who never loved them.

The King and I

I saw the King and I this past Sunday at Playhouse Square.   Gorgeous costumes and nice use of the set.  The cast was actually mostly Asians.   All excellent in execution.  I guess I'm just not a Rogers and Hammerstein fan.  I loved Cinderella because of the new book and modernity injected into it.  This was classic.   And I definitely prefer newer shows with more up tempo plots.   I didn't hate it.  It was just not my style.