THEATRE MEMORIES
In a recent comment from popps, he asked, "what is my earliest memory of going to the theatre?"

What a great question - that got me thinking about what a great post it would make.


Empty Theatre (almost) by Jaako, on Flickr

It had to be in the very late 30's or early 40's when my girlfriend and I decided it was time to go to Boston to see a play. Neither of us ever had a reason to go to the big city so this was a very big deal. We had to take a bus and a train which took us right into the heart of the city.

The play was "Life With Father."

Seeing a play was so much better then watching a movie, it was a" LIVE Performance" and we were hooked!!

After that experience we went to as many plays that we could afford. For the longest time our seats were in the second balcony but we got there! How I hated climbing those stairs - even then!

In the 50's I got to see "The King and I" staring Yul Brynner and Gertrude Lawrence. By this time I could afford a better seat. Yay!



What I remember vividly is the scene where the King and the teacher do the number "Shall We Dance." The two swung all over the stage and at one point the teacher's gown went over the head of one of the musicians in the orchestra pit! What a show stopper that was. (I'm sure that happened at every performance.)

Another play that I saw in the early 50's was "Mexican Hayride."



It never made a hit on Broadway but I enjoyed it very much. The scene that stands out in my mind took place in a nightclub were the set was all in shades of brown and blue.

That spring I bought myself an outfit in those colors!

In the 60's my parents and I went to see "Fiddler on the Roof." Orchestra seats!!



I wish I had the playbill so I could tell you who we saw in it but I can say this, they were all wonderful.

To this day, I never tire of hearing the songs from "Fiddler."

In the 80's we treated my sister-in-law on the occasion of her birthday, "La Cage aux Folles" and orchestra seats!!



Wonderful songs and wonderful costumes. I remember reading an article about how heavy those costumes were - they weighed a ton but were gorgeous.

And that smash number, "The Best of Times."

What is your earliest memory of the theatre?

posted by millie garfield @ 1:48 PM | Permalink | I LOVE COMMENTS >> 22 comments

 
OH WHAT A WEEK
It all started last Sunday night when I went to see "Jersey Boys." I hadn't been to the theatre in a very long time so that was a treat in itself, not only that, this was an amazing production, talented cast, wonderful music and ingenious staging!

Just to give you an idea of how well received the play was - when the cast performed "My Eyes Adored You" - the audience not only applauded, they gave them a standing ovation! I've never seen this happen in the middle of a production.

On Tuesday (the day of my birthday) every time I checked the comments, the birthday greetings were coming in fast and furious!!

What an exciting day I had.

In the evening my friends took me out to dinner. (Oh, What a Night)

Saturday, Steve and Carol took me out for a wonderful lobster dinner!

The Lobster:


My Mom's Lobster: Can Millie Open it?


Carol and Millie:


Everything that happened during the week was very special to me but I must say that hearing from all my friends, whether they are bloggers, lurkers or twitterers, was very gratifying to me.

Thank you all for your thoughtfulness.

posted by millie garfield @ 2:53 PM | Permalink | I LOVE COMMENTS >> 16 comments

 
ANOTHER BIRTHDAY
It seems like just yesterday that I celebrated a birthday and here I am again. This one doesn't end in a 0 or a 5 but at this age, any birthday is special. On second thought, no matter what your age, it should be a time to celebrate.


When I was a child it was rare that anyone's birthday was celebrated. My parents were working hard just to make a living, putting food on the table, paying the rent and everyday expenses. There were no frills - with a few exceptions.

I do remember the Friday night dinners which welcomed the Sabbath and the families getting together for the Jewish High Holy Days. My mother made everything herself, and I do mean everything! She made the challah, gefilite fish, horseradish, noodles, chicken soup, chopped liver, roast chicken and a delicious strudel for dessert.

Many times I would ask her, "how do you make the dough for the strudel?" Her answer was, "put in just enough" Whatever she made, it was always "put just enough." - no recipe. That didn't work for me until I started reading cookbooks. As time went by I too learned to cook and "put in just enough!"

Now, getting back to the present time, my birthdays usually turns out to be like a "Greek Weding."

Tonight I'll be doing something that I have been looking forward to for a long time, I'm going to see "Jersey Boys". Ever since "Jersey Boys" opened in New York, that's the play I've wanted to see. Well, it's here in Boston and I'll be seeing it tonight!!!



Years ago when Boston was a try out city and the price of tickets was reasonable I got to see many productions and even got to see some of the actors backstage. It was an exciting time.

Well, I'm going to have some of that excitement tonight!

posted by millie garfield @ 12:48 PM | Permalink | I LOVE COMMENTS >> 83 comments

 
A SATISFYING DISH
My friends and I have been hungry for a good movie and one finally came to town.

"Julie & Julia" is a movie about two women who are looking for something to do that they feel passionate about. Merle Streep is Julia Child in Paris in 1949. Her loving husband Paul is played by Stanley Tucci. He asks her, "what do you like to do?" Her answer is, "I like to eat!" That's it, she enrolls in Le Cordon Bleu culinary school.



Half the movie is spent 50 years later with Amy Adams as Julie Powell. She's an admirer of Julia Child and makes a commitment to herself to blog for 365 days, exploring "Mastering the Art of French Cooking." Her husband Eric (Chris Messina) encourages her in this project, enjoys many a good meal and takes lots of Tums!

It was fun for me seeing "Julie" posting to her blog. At one point she had an argument with her husband, posted about it, got it off her chest and then pressed the delete key. There are other scenes that, as bloggers, we can relate to.



There are so many wonderful moments in this movie, I'll just relate one. When Julia first attends the cooking class she has a difficult time slicing an onion. She was determined to show the men in the class she could do it better than they could.

There she was in her kitchen, chopping away, looked like she had chopped millions of onions. When her husband Paul entered the kitchen , he had to turn back, the odor was so strong! That was the one opportunity for Tucci to be funny, and it worked!



When she went to class, she beat all the men. Practice made perfect!

I've always enjoyed whatever Nora Ephron has done but this time she really cooked on all burners. The story was great, the cast was outstanding, the food looked wonderful ( I especially enjoyed the scene when the waiter was deboning a trout) That's exactly what the waiter did for me when I was in Paris.

Everyone in the cast did a fine job but I must say Meryl Streep made the movie. She was Julia in every way - her voice, her appearance and her expressions . An award coming up?

Once the movie was over (guess what) we went out to eat!!



posted by millie garfield @ 4:58 PM | Permalink | I LOVE COMMENTS >> 17 comments

 
A DAY IN PARIS
Saul Friedman who writes a biweekly Reflection column for Ronni Bennett's Time Goes By, recently wrote about a family African Safari to Botswana. What an adventure they had! That got me thinking, what trip could I write about - nothing could come close to the sights and sounds that he and his family experienced.

The trips my husband and I took were pretty tame but there was one day in Paris that comes to mind. It was the last day of our stay and there was so much more we wanted to do.


Among the roofs and chimneys by claudesf on flickr. (c) All rights reserved

First, we had lunch at a neighborhood restaurant that was a "do not miss" recommendation. Ordinarily I don't drink at lunch but this was Paris and it just felt right to have a glass of wine. The service and lunch was as good as what we had expected.

We had a lot more on our adgenda so before leaving the restaurant I thought it would be wise to use the ladies room - aha -I had to communicate my wishes with the hostess who did not speak english, evenually she got the message.

She directed me downstairs where I saw a door but there was no light-switch. I cautiously opened the door and felt around for a light-switch - ok, I found it and what I saw was a HOLE in the ground!!! To this day I remember my reaction - I'll say no more about that!!

After lunch we had scheduled an english speaking tour of the Louvre Museum. It was our last day in Paris and how do you not take that in.

As we were walking to the Metro I started to feel very tired and couldn't hold my head up. I just couldn't see myself touring the museum in my condition. All I wanted to do was go back to the hotel and lay down. Forget the museum.

Instead of taking the metro to the museum, we were going to take it back to the hotel. Fortunately we passed a gift shop on the way to the metro. How can you pass up a shop like that, especially your last day in Paris?

I did a little shopping and started to feel better.


On the way to the Louvre pyramid by claudesf on flickr. (c) All rights reserved

We were able to keep the appointment for our English speaking tour of the Louvre!

No more wine for me at noontime!!

posted by millie garfield @ 4:19 PM | Permalink | I LOVE COMMENTS >> 13 comments