Friday, January 02, 2009

O Little Theaters of Washington......

Hi there. Before I forget again, I need to hold forth on our theater events here in D.C. Maybe it won't interest you, but in some cases I just have to say .... err things.
First before Christmas we (grandma, grandad, and I) took little one to see A Christmas Carol. It was put on by the Ford's Theatre company at the Shakespeare Theater -- Ford's is still under renovation. It was a wonderful perforamance. Absolutely wonderful! I should put a caveat on that that I am addicted to A Christmas Carol, and I tend to be prissy about it. This was a great production. Little one had never seen a play before and never seen anything but the Muppets Christmas Carol. He was thoroughly entranced, so much so that when we returned him to his parents he said he wanted to have a "Christmas Carol birthday"! Now that's a fan!!!! Mommy explained that it would be kinda hard to take his friends to a Christmas play in March, but maybe they could find another play.
On the 30th we went to see the new production of West Side Story at the National Theater. Ok, I'll admit right up front that I never saw the original, adn I don't speak Spanish. The dancing was wonderful as were the lighting and the set. The sound left soemthing to be desired. You know how theaters always seems a bit too loud when you first start a performance and then you get used to them? Well here it was always a bit too soft. I found myself almost always straining to hear what was being said. Add to that the fact that the new revision of this is now in Spanish. And add to that the fact that the National Theater is terribly uncomfortable (look people, I am not the only 6-foot-tall person in the world and I have to sit sideways in my seat because my knees do not fit between my seat and the seat in front of me). Ultimately I enjoyed the evening and I'm more than happy I went. It was, however, an experience I don't need to repeat. Oh, and pet peeves of the evening -- 1) who thought it was a good idea to hang the giant speaker system (which apparently doesn't work) directly over the beautiful original federal stye eagle over the stage? Moron. 2) There's a guy called out in the program as the official National Theater logo designer. Dude, the logo is a stylized version of the eagle over the stage that some moron put the speaker over. Oh, and by the by, that logo of your's is close enough to the NRA blue eagle that you really needn't have bothered.
Finally for New Year's Eve we went to see the Songs of Andrew Lloyd Webber at the Kennedy Center. If you are here and are musically inclined, I'd suggest an evening at the Kennedy Center. It is a marvelous structure and, as should be the case, the acoustics are divine. The Webber show was very, very good. My BIL couldn't help humming in the first half and my sister could help but sing along with the second half.

My heavens I've yammered on a lot about all that. Let's have some pics, shall we?

On and off here it's been cold ---
Here's the "outdoor freezer" in use (as a Californian this is totally foreign to me)
12_24_2008 008
This is the pond directly behind my sister's house:
12_24_2008 009
And here's ice in the yard of Montpellier (Madison's house):
12_24_2008 039

Despite the cold on the day we went to Montpellier, it was a nice trip. If you're out here and have a day and a car and are inclided to historic homes, I'd recommend the trip out to Orange, VA to see where James Madison lived. It's diferent than most historic homes since they are not seeking to bring it back to looking like the Madisons just left for the day, but rather they have restored it to sort of bare bones construction so you can see what went into the building of a house of the era.
12_24_2008 028
Seriously, how would you like that view from your front porch?
And this view from fromyour side yard:
12_24_2008 062

Some random DC pics:
12_24_2008 076
new to the "yard" of the Smithsonian American Art Museum is Roy Lichtenstein's "Modern Head" which used to be in Battery Park NYC until just after 9-11

The exterior of the Newseum which I hope to get to .... maybe (they are hosting two cool exhibits right now, "G-Men and Journalists" and "Presidential Pets")
12_24_2008 083

A new light sculpture installation in the understreet walkway between the East and West buildings of the National Art Gallery
12_24_2008 085
12_24_2008 088
Ok, I'm part magpie-- I can't help but stare at the sparkles....
12_24_2008 095
For an article about the installation called Multiverse by Leo Villareal

On Christmas day we went over to the FDR memorial -- it was a darn cold but beautiful day --
12_25_2008 008
And it's a nice monument -- sure Franklin would hate the sculpture of him in a wheel chair, but the rest of it is nice.
12_25_2008 013
(that paque is 18-20 inches tall -- pretty cool, eh?)
Official FDR Memorial Squirrel:
12_25_2008 016
12_25_2008 018
Note to National Theater-- please note the eagle is older than your bloomin' logo.
12_25_2008 022
12_25_2008 027
12_25_2008 039
12_25_2008 046
12_25_2008 047
12_25_2008 048
12_25_2008 058
12_25_2008 127
12_25_2008 069
12_25_2008 086
12_25_2008 082
12_25_2008 105
12_25_2008 110
12_25_2008 114
12_25_2008 133
Sister and BIL
12_25_2008 136
Me and The Sister

For the record, I'll have more stitching updates soon. I have been doing things, honest. Today I even hauled out my sister's Christmas stockings and began working on my BIL's. Maybe tomorrow after we fill little one up with sugar and send him home to his parents (heee heeee) I'll get a chance to download some updates for you.




Happy stitching to all and to all a good night!

14 comments:

Sandy said...

Great photos.

Maggi said...

Hi! We were in DC for the Andrew Lloyd Webber show too on New Year's Eve. I agree with your assessment. We went because I do a fansite for Eric Kunze, one of the performers: www.erickunze.com
But I think every one of them were perfect! What a night!

Maggi said...

PS: nice pictures

Stitchy Mc Floss said...

Seems like you are having a blast in DC! Love the pictures and the stories about all the places you go. Can't wait to see the stitching.

Happy New Year to you! :)

Cyn said...

Hi Ruth,

I'm so glad that you went down to Montpelier!

We visited two summers ago when they had just torn down the Dupont section of the house. The original house was all torn apart as they were still investigating what should go where. Lot's of fun to walk through among the workmen. Remember the one room which they didn't finish so you could see the structure of the house? Well, that's what the whole house looked like then. We were able to take lot's of pictures of the inside as they were stlll in the construction phase.

We went back again this past summer (two years later) and what a difference. The new visitor center was open, most of the house was finished, and now you can't take pictures inside.

They've done a wonderful job! Glad you were able to travel there.

Loved the other pictures and sounds like you have been very busy!

Cynthia
Windy Meadow

Dani - tkdchick said...

Ruth you've taken some fantastic pictures on your trip to DC!

Sharon said...

Hi Ruth, Happy New Year! You have some amazing photo's here.

Kate said...

Happy New Year! Fantastic photos of DC. Very civic, it reminds me a bit of Canberra (except Canberra has about half a dozen more spires and obelisks - it has to be the most phallic city in the world).

The art gallery looks brilliant, especially all the little sparkly lights. :)

Margaret said...

I love the tour through DC - probably the closest I will ever actually get but your photos are great and I've enjoyed the travelogue.

Unknown said...

Happy New Year, Ruth!!! I have really enjoyed hearing your discourse on D.C., and I love your pictures.

Back in the Dark Ages, when DH and I first married, we lived there (actually Hyattsville,MD) for the first 9 months of our marriage. We loved it!! I didn't even know my oven didn't work for the first six months - LOL!!

Beth

Vonna Pfeiffer said...

Oh Ruth, I have so enjoyed reading over your trip and holiday pictures and stories :) One day, I hope to go to Washington DC, I really want to go and experience it all....For right now I'm living viacariously through your posting and photos :)

Jeanne said...

Thanks for posting all the lovely photos. I do love visiting D.C. but it has been many years for me. I need to get DH to go as he has never been there. I'm wondering what is your favorite film version of A Christmas Carol? I like the one with George C. Scott myself. He makes a good Scrooge. :)

Lennu said...

Ruth, Happy New Year!! Thank you for sharing these wonderful photos! Your photos are beautiful and I enjoyed reading about your trip and seeing the photos. Internet and blogs are so wonderful, I can travel from one side of the world to another in just couple of minutes :)

Carol R said...

Wonderful photos Ruth - thanks for sharing! Now if I could just get a few lesson from you!