Beauty and the Beast at HCT

Last night I had the chance to see Hale Centre Theatre's magical production of the Disney musical Beauty and the Beast. I absolutely loved this show from start to finish! Karina Gillette, as Belle, and Austin John Smith, as the Beast, are very well suited to their roles and have very powerful voices which almost blow the roof off the theatre. I especially enjoyed Gillette's rendition of "Is This Home?" and Smith's rendition of "If I Can't Love Her" (which elicited quite the reaction from the crowd). Cogsworth (Zac Zumbrunnen), Lumiere (Addison Welch), and all of the other enchanted objects are lots of fun to watch and "Be Our Guest" is quite the production number. Quinn Dietlein is hilarious as Gaston and I laughed out loud just about every time he hit poor Lefou (Thomas Brandley). Cory Reed Stephens, who is new to HCT, does a brilliant job with some innovative choreography (in a small space!), especially in the "Mob Song" which incorporates mannequins. Once again, I was impressed with Kacey Udy's set design. The castle comes down from the ceiling and it is very dramatic and, of course, I loved the library. Finally, I thought the costumes were simply amazing! Jenn Taylor's creations feature yards and yards of the most sumptuous, bejeweled, and bedazzled fabric you can imagine. The sheer number of costumes, especially for the ensemble, is especially impressive!  I also really loved all of the puppets, created by Taylor, used in the show, particularly the horse! This is a really big show full of enchantment and I would definitely recommend it for children! All of the children in the audience last night were spellbound! Beauty and the Beast runs at HCT until Oct. 1 but many shows have already sold out.  Go here for tickets.

Note:  The last time I saw Beauty and the Beast at HCT was with a five-year-old Tashena who wore her Belle dress to the show.  When the rose was down to its last petal, she screamed out loud to warn the Beast!

Australia and New Zealand: The Adventure of a Lifetime

The iconic Sydney Opera House and Harbour Bridge

I just returned from an absolutely incredible adventure on the other side of the world!  I have always wanted to visit Australia and New Zealand but the long flight was so daunting to me.  I finally worked up the nerve to go (the fifteen hour flight actually wasn't as bad as I thought it would be) and I am so glad that I did!

Feeding Johanssen at the Kangaroo Sanctuary

Australia and New Zealand evoked so many images in my mind before my trip and actually seeing these places exceeded all of my expectations!

Sunrise Ballooning in the Outback 

I had some incredible, once-in-a-lifetime, experiences that I won't soon forget.  My tour guide was quite possibly the best one I've ever had and he arranged so many opportunities for me to check things off my bucket-list.

Uluru (Ayers Rock)

I traveled with the best group!  There were only fifteen of us and I feel like I got to know everyone and we bonded over our shared experiences.  There was a couple from Texas on their honeymoon who were adorable, there was a couple from North Dakota who made me laugh every single day, there was a group from Colorado who basically adopted me (Do you have a jacket? I think you need some water. Where are you going for dinner? Come sit with us.), and there was a family from Virginia who I absolutely fell in love with!  I usually prefer solitude but it was so much fun being with this group.

Koala in Kuranda State Park

I had so many opportunities to meet the people of Australia and New Zealand (including dinner in the home of a family in NZ).  I don't think I've ever met people who were more welcoming or friendly.

Bondi Beach

This trip was the most ambitious and longest one I've ever done and, even though we were always on the go (so many flights), I loved every minute of it!

Whale watching in Sydney Harbour

Since I am a teacher, I almost always travel during the summer.  It was a unique experience to be in the Southern Hemisphere where it is winter!  Most of the time I wore sweaters, hoodies, and jackets which was so odd (especially since it was so hot here at home).  It was also strange to see kids going to school!

Milford Sound

I am so glad that I took this trip!  I will be sharing more in the coming weeks about this amazing experience.

Hobbiton (Yes, I am a nerd)

Note:  If there is a place you've always dreamed of visiting, DO IT!  I highly recommend Go Ahead Tours.

Summer Reading: White Teeth

White Teeth by Zadie Smith was the one book on my summer reading list that I was the least interested in reading (hence the reason I saved it for last).  I really wanted to like this book because it has been lauded by so many critics but I just didn't find it to be very appealing. I get that it is a treatise about the immigrant experience and generational conflict but I thought it was very boring at times and I kept waiting for some sort of climax that would tie all of the disparate narratives together but I was left feeling more confused than ever at the end of the novel. It focuses on the lives of World War II buddies, Samad Iqbal and Archie Jones, and their wives and children in post-colonial Britain.  Iqbal and his wife are originally from Bangladesh and are afraid that their twin sons are straying from their traditional values. They decide to send one of the sons to live with family in Bangladesh (they can only afford to send one). The son in Bangladesh becomes an Anglophile while the one in Britain becomes involved with a terrorist organization. Jones marries an immigrant from Jamaica (after deciding that meeting her is a sign not to kill himself) and their daughter is incredibly smart but lacks self-esteem because of her looks and, like the twins, she struggles with her identity. There are lots of tangential family members, such as a niece who has shamed the family and a grandmother who is a devout Jehovah's Witness, for comic relief. To be sure, all of the characters are quirky and their dialogue is, at times, quite hilarious, but I didn't find them to be sympathetic. I did laugh at many things in this novel but it wasn't funny enough to keep my attention. Also, the leitmotif of teeth as a symbol of success seems really forced to me, almost as if those passages were added to the novel after it was finished so Smith could use it as a title. There is something to be said when a person who usually devours books in one or two days takes about three weeks to plow through it.  This novel just wasn't for me.

Summer Reading: In a Dark, Dark Wood

In a Dark, Dark Wood by Ruth Ware is a psychological thriller that will keep you up late into the night trying to figure out what happened!  Nora hasn't talked to her former best friend Clare for over ten years so she is surprised when she is invited to Clare's hen-do (bachelorette party) over a long weekend at a remote cabin in the woods. She is initially wary about accepting the invitation but, ultimately, her curiosity overtakes her good judgment and she accepts.  She begins to feel uneasy almost immediately upon arrival (no cell service, an atmospheric location, and party guests who are not what they seem) and there is definitely an undercurrent of unfinished business between Nora and Clare. The narrative alternates between the events at the cabin and Nora waking up in the hospital after a terrible accident which she cannot remember (amnesia is such a tiresome plot device but it works here). The suspense builds and builds (I was holding my breath for the last few pages) to a dramatic conclusion back in the woods. I definitely wasn't expecting the outcome (in fact, many of the twists and turns in the novel caught me off guard) which is high praise for a thriller. I could really relate to the characters of Clare, the golden child who seems perfect, and Nora, who was always in Clare's shadow. Trying to figure out what caused the bad blood between them was very compelling and it was interesting to see how easily they fell back into earlier patterns of behavior. The narrative is fast-paced and kept my attention throughout so I highly recommend it.

Note:  I hear there is a movie in the works and I can't wait to see what the glass house in the middle of the woods looks like!

Summer Reading: The Paying Guests

World War I is a particular interest of mine so I was very eager to read The Paying Guests by Sarah Waters which is set just after that tumultuous period in history. The war is over and many in England are trying to adjust to a much different life than before the war. Husbands and sons are dead and servants have found work elsewhere. The aristocratic Mrs. Wray and her spinster daughter Frances are finding it difficult to keep up their rambling mansion and their finances are in disarray because of some bad business decisions made by her husband before his death (from apoplexy when the details of his mismanagement became known). They are obliged to take in lodgers to make ends meet. Lilian and Leonard Barber are less genteel than the Wrays and belong to the rising middle class.  This makes for some awkward encounters between them until Lilian and Frances begin an affair which leads to terrible consequences for both families. This novel is beautifully written and the atmospheric prose perfectly captures that era. However, I didn't entirely like it. The build-up to the affair between Frances and Lilian seems to take forever (a full two-thirds of the novel) with the accretion of tiny detail after tiny detail. I had predicted this relationship early on so I just kept waiting (and waiting) for it to happen and I became increasingly impatient. Then a plot twist happens which disrupts the fragile relationship between them and they both become so overwrought that they cannot come to a decision over what should be done. Frances contrives to visit Lilian, they have an emotional discussion about their situation, and then resolve to wait and see. Repeat, repeat, and repeat again. I feel like the characters had the exact same conversation at least five times! By the time the situation is resolved (which was rather abrupt considering the build-up) I almost didn't care any more. At least 200 pages could have easily been omitted without changing the outcome. Even though I usually love psychological dramas set during interesting historical periods, I was quite disappointed with this novel which had so much potential. I can't really recommend such a boring book.