sistermagpie | Shakespeare in the Park

Right under the wire, I got to the Park to see Much Ado About Nothing. Hurray!

It's sad how adorable I think Sam Waterston is. Really, the man is just cute as a button. Since when have I seen this play and thought it was about Don Leonato? Well, that was last night. He seemed to have bronchitis or something--sometimes his voice was squeakier than usual and when he did his angry shouting there was some painful wheezing going on. But oh well. His RL daughter, Elisabeth, played Hero and while she and Claudio remained the biggest idiots in Shakespeare (and that's saying something) she didn't annoy me too much. I kept looking for a family resemblance, which only came out when she smiled and had her father's rubbery grin. Naturally they found a way to stick in a bathing scene--I think it must be something in the contract at Central Park that every play must have a bath or shower scene. Hero was in a big tub of bubbles that were the most unnatural things I'd ever seen. Not only did they stay together in modest clumps but they had to be beaten off when she stepped out into a towel. The unique thing is we didn't see her naked--I wonder if her dad being in the play saved her from that.

Beatrice and Benedick were Kirsten Johnston and Jimmy Smits. KJ and I are practically buddies. At least I say we are, since I did stand next to her in that bar for a long time after Hobbit Charades and not that she is tall. See? Total intimates. Jimmy Smits was the person I was most nervous about just because...how was that going to work? But he turned out to be very funny and really well-suited to the character. He was a very foppish Benedick. I've seen three productions of this play from the park. One was the video of the Sam Waterston version where he was Benedick. That doesn't really count because I saw it on TV--it was from 1972. But I saw the Kevin Kline/Blythe Danner one in the 80s and loved that, so I was skeptical of seeing another one. The best compliment I can give this one is to say it was just as enjoyable. Though one criticism I did have was that B&B were pretty much all laughs, there was no hint of anything heavier underneath. There was that in the Kevin Kline/Blythe Danner version because they were older, so you really got the feeling if they blew this they might not get any more chances.

The good thing was the whole cast was strong--often there's at least one really obvious weak link. I even liked Don John a lot. And Sean Patrick Thomas was in it--he was the guy in Save the Last Dance. My cheesy-dance-movie loving heart had to love that (though I can barely watch Julia Stiles dance--ugh). Also I loved the set. It probably sounds stupid, but it did give you the feeling you were in Italy. Sometimes there was the added bonus of nice smells from the stage--either a strange incense from the hooka pipe scene (why not?) or the more familiar cathedral incense for the funeral.

Usually I avoid doing SitP on Saturday, but I went over at around 4 and stood in the stand-by line with

petitesouer. I got some water from the "Beer, water or frozen mojita from the battery-powered blender in my portable garbage can" guy, and when two guys behind me ordered some pizza they had extra and sold everybody slices. I got my ticket right before the show started, and sat next to a guy named Mark who was sure he knew me from sitting next to me at plays or at Lincoln Center. For a while I thought there was going to be no rain--and what's Shakespeare in the Park without rain, even if it's been sunny (and cold) all day? Luckily in the first act we did get some rain--it wasn't that annoying and stopped quickly, though.

After the show we were pretty chilly so went to French Roast. It turns out they make some of the best macaroni and cheese ever on their after midnight menu. Yum.

In other news, I watched FOTR today and here's my Great Thing I Noticed and Didn't Before Appreciate note: I love how when Gandalf and Frodo are talking about the ring at the table in Bag End, in the close-ups of the ring it's surrounded by--what else?--crumbs on the table. It's just so fabulous that it's sitting there on a hobbit's kitchen table and of course they thought to make the table not clean. Sanitary, yes, but with crumbs or sesame seeds from all the cooking and eating that gets done there. It just struck me as the best image: ring of power, sturdy wooden table, yummy breadcrumbs. The ring must have just been like, "The hell? How did I get HERE? I should have stayed with that frog man. At least he had respect enough to leave me on slimy rocks or stick me in dark, craggy holes. Jesus, is that a tea cozy? SAURON! COME AND GET ME NOW!!"