Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner

We did Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner today at 1:30 pm. That's the name of the play we went to at The New Theater, not our eating schedule.

It's a story about an obese woman who gets so fat that she spends the entire second half of the play floating near the ceiling (I know, it didn't make sense to us either). Meanwhile her husband is Mr. Nice Guy, and her sister is a sexy babe sex addict who falls in love with a cop. My artistic suggestion would be less floating in mid-air by the blimped-out fat-suit woman, and more lingerie scenes with the sexy younger sister. Or, just let the younger sister float for a while.

There seemed to be a point being made, but I'm not sure what. The happy ending was in the form of the blimp-woman exploding in a poof of flower petals as her spirit happily floated off into the vast expanse of the universe.

Warning: do not attempt to watch this play and Coriolanus (or Othello) within the same 24 hour period. It's sure to have psychotic consequences. I personally ran to Lithia Park and started gulping the water from the river, hoping it really had Lithium in it.

OK, I'm being cruel. It wasn't that bad. The stage settings were great. The lighting was great. The acting was great. And it was amazing to realize that this was the same theater we'd been in the night before to watch Coriolanus. The space was so totally transformed that it was absolutely unrecognizable, including the audience seating area. Ah the magic of stage designers.

Tonight we plan to go to the downtown movie theater a couple of blocks away and see Mama Mia!

Tomorrow we find a ride to Medford and fly home.

Saturday morning stroll

After breakfast we strolled through Lithia Park, which runs along the river.


Robin tosses a couple of coins in a fountain.


A pond in Lithia Park.

Two more plays

Last night's performance of Coriolanus in the New Theater was intense and interesting. The costuming was modern-day soldiers and politicians. Coriolanus, a war hero, is banned from Rome, after defeating the enemy, because the Tribunes (who speak for the rioting merchants) fear his arrogance and think he'll become a tyrant. And they think he should lower the cost of grain for them. Coriolanus thinks they should shut their yaps be grateful that he saved their city. After being banned, Coriolanus joins forces with the recently defeated enemy (the Volcians) to extract revenge on Rome. He's such a great leader that the other Volcian leaders are jealous of his power. When Rome hears he's joined forces with the enemy and is seeking revenge, they're like, freakin' out. They send Coriolanus's mother, wife, and child to him to beg for mercy. It works. He makes peace with Rome. Then the Volcians kill him, Julius Ceasar style (knives and lots of blood). The End.

The stage decoration was sparse, but imaginative, with multiple trap doors in the floor providing entrances and exits, and used a props for foxholes during battles.

The theater itself is an amazing venue. It's a fairly small, round theater and our front row seats kept us within a few feet of the actors most of the time.


A Tribune in the Roman Senate questions war hero Coriolanus about his arrogant attitude towards the common people.

Yesterday afternoon's performance of The Clay Pot was visually stunning. But the classic East Indian drama was a little too boring for me. It's a story of a rich man who loses his fortune and most of his friends, then falls in love with a young courtesan. The brother-in-law of the king is also in love with the young woman and kills her (he thinks), then blames it on the poor man. Blah blah blah, then a happy ending for everyone. You know, the usual 1600 year old East Indian classic theater stuff.


The Clay Cart.


The young courtesan paints a portrait of her lover.