Last weekend, I went to Cedar City to the Fall Season of the Utah Shakespearean Festival. I took half a day off from work and drove my aunts Kaye and JoAnne down on Friday. Margel couldn't get off work so she came later. Kaye, JoAnne and I saw Tuesdays with Morrie on Friday night. I was based on the book by the same name.
Mitch Albom is a newspaper sports reporter and husband whose busy life is filled with work and travel. He has become so absorbed in his work that it consumes his life.
Morrie Schwartz was Mitch’s favorite college professor at Brandeis University. Although sixteen years have passed since that time, he still remembers his graduation day: he says goodbye to Morrie and notices that he is crying as they hug. Mitch promises to stay in touch with Morrie but fails to do so after college.
Morrie has since been diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), or Lou Gherig’s disease. Sensing that death is near, Morrie begins jotting down his ideas and thoughts onto scraps of paper. He also writes his philosophies on life and death. One of Morrie’s friends becomes fascinated with his writings and sends them to a Boston Globe reporter who writes a feature story about Morrie. The story gets the attention of one of the producers of the show Nightline who then does a feature story about Morrie. Mitch happens to see the Nightline show and recognizes his old professor. He calls him to arrange a visit.
During their discussions (every Tuesday for the next few months) they cover many topics, including learning to accept death, loving others and being a better human being. Mitch is so intrigued by Morrie’s philosophies that he starts taking notes and even brings a tape recorder to the second visit. He takes time out of his schedule and faithfully visits Morrie every week. The conversations are powerful and very emotional.
With each meeting, Mitch is learning valuable life lessons but sees Morrie becoming increasingly sick. How long can these conversations continue? What lessons will Mitch take away from his Tuesdays with Morrie?
On Saturday we saw The Complete Works of William Shakespeare Abridged as the matinee. It was very funny. All 37 plays of Shakespearean were represented in one form or another.
Can three guys really cover thirty-seven Shakespeare plays in less than two hours? This fast-firing comedy does just that as it parodies all of the Shakespeare plays (plus the sonnets!) with only three performers in two acts. This play is full of energy as the characters run across the stage and keep you guessing how they will pull off the next play. Clever use of some interesting costumes also adds to the fun.
The play starts with an eccentric version of Romeo and Juliet, followed by a parody of Titus Andronicus (which is portrayed as a cooking show). Next is Othello, which is done as a rap song (the infamous “Othello Rap”). The members of the trio compete in a hilarious football game which summarizes the histories (King John, Richard II, Richard III, Henry IV etc), complete with commentary and details of each character's rise and fall from power.
As the characters are about to come to the end of the first act, they realize they forgot to perform Hamlet. One of the actors becomes nervous and runs out of the theatre with another actor chasing him. The final actor is left to entertain the audience by himself, which he does by telling jokes and calling for the intermission.
After the intermission, the missing two actors return and save their companion from reciting all of the sonnets. All three actors then perform their very abbreviated version of Hamlet (with a little help from the audience), thus “completing” the canon in only an hour and a half!
On Saturday night, we saw The Women in Black. It was a spooky play but very well done. I think it was my favorite one this time.
Arthur Kipps, an attorney, has hired the Actor to help him tell the story about an experience from his youth. It is Kipps’s hope that the telling of this story will somehow “exorcise” the experience from his mind, and give him peace, and rid him of his persistent nightmares. The Actor rehearses Kipps in an old Victorian theatre, convincing Kipps to make an effort to make the story more vivid for his audience. Soon, the two become immersed in the strange tale of Mrs. Drablow and her Eel Marsh House.
The storytelling begins as Kipps is sent to handle the estate of the deceased Mrs. Drablow. He makes the trip to her funeral in a bleak and lonely part of England, the small village of Crythin Gifford where all of his enquiries into the details of the Drablow estate and the family are met with silence.
At the funeral, Kipps alone observes a strange young, ghastly-looking woman dressed in black. Mr. Jerome, the colleague accompanying Kipps to the funeral, did not see the woman in black and reacts powerfully when Kipps mentions her.
The next morning, Mr. Keckwick takes Kipps to Mrs. Drablow’s eerie Eel Marsh house. The house is reached by way of a narrow causeway that is passable only during low tide. As Kipps investigates the house and the surrounding property, he again sees the woman in black, but is unable to follow her. His apprehension and fear grow.
As he cautiously explores the inside of the house, he uncovers a large number of documents and information he must sift through in order to settle Mrs. Drablow’s affairs. His efforts reveal secrets and unexplainable events. Who is this woman in black? Why are the townspeople so hesitant to answer his questions? What happens to haunt Kipps years later? As Kipps and the Actor struggle to tell the story and exorcise both their demons, we learn the chilling answer to these questions.
I had a great time watching the plays and am excited to go again next year.
On the ride home from Cedar City, we decided to go over Boulder Mountain. We were hoping to see the beautiful leaves but they had mostly faded so we were a bit disappointed. The landscape was breathtaking though. It was extremely windy so our stops to take pictures were very brief as it was cold as well.
