Macbeth: Tardiness, Tapas, and a fantastic play.

[skreidle]

Left in what should've been enough time to get to the theatre (to meet Christine and Erika) by 1630ish, but between a very slow Red line, and the only directions in my head being memory of the map from the theatre website, it took a station map, an outside map, and two calls to Christine to get me from Gallery Place/Chinatown to the Shakespeare Theatre, where an irate Christine awaited (at almost 1700.) She only got more irate when I tried to explain, because she says she told me how to get there, and I can't guarantee that she didn't. Anyhow, I gained some sense and shut up, and then we waited a bit more for Erika, who was even later. After that, the evening went much more smoothly and pleasantly.

Since we couldn't pick up our tickets until 1830, we headed to Jaleo, a tapas restaurant on the corner next to the theatre. What an excellent choice! Neither Erika nor I had been to a tapas restaurant before, and their food is excellent. Between the lot of us we got fried shark, raisin/pine nut/foie gras-stuffed quail, spicy tomato potatoes, salmon on eggplant puree, rockfish on tomato, and pork loin with a sweet brown sauce, all shared around, in addition to plenty of fresh bread, olives/onions/gherkins, and some delightful sangria. (Also, due to our location by the doors and Christine's former employment at the Theatre--which is, through a current employee/friend, how we got comp tickets--she was greeted by several friends as they came in. :)

Around 1830 we got our tickets; curtain was around 1900. Not that there was a curtain, mind you--just an elegant, simple set. The floor was angular, sloped both down and stage right, in a grid of lightable white tiles. Center stage was a cubic frame of steel tubing; in the frame was a set of tree-decorated panels, plus a bit of actual tree.

The concealed parts of the set were no less elegant: The tree panels could be hoisted out of sight individually; a bed could be shuttled out from upstage; stairs could emerge from the back wall; a table could arise from the floor--in fact, part of the floor. The lighting was no less elegant, making fantastic use of shadow behind screens, on all parts of the stage.

The costuming was awesome, the acting top-notch, the music moving, the fight scenes exciting.. I highly recommend you see it, if you'll be in the DC area before it closes in late October.

---

Via skinglist, some explanation and statistics regarding the challenging and banning of books.

Via visgoth: CA aims legislation to allow all hybrid vehicles to use their HOV lanes; Ford and the UAW reply with "No fair! We can't compete with the Japanese on the hybrid market!" Tough shit, Ford and UAW--get competitive!

Comments

[absolutliz.livejournal.com]

I am currently trying to round up a few folks to go see Macbeth.

[skreidle.livejournal.com]

Good plan! :D

[skinglist.livejournal.com]

Tapas are wonderful, and addicting.
Reminds me, I need to check out the menu at the new tapas place by me

[skreidle.livejournal.com]

For some reason, I got the impression that tapas were food wrapped in little tortillas or grape leaves, rather than a style of preparation/serving. Kind of like dim sum, I suppose--it's all in how you order the food and how it's served. :)

[skinglist.livejournal.com]

yeah, depends on the restaurant as well
We had our usual tapas bar near the flat in Spain that served the m one way whereas other two I went to served them differently.

I hate you

[liandriel.livejournal.com]

... for going to see Macbeth without me. :p

Re: I hate you

[skreidle.livejournal.com]

Weeeell, if you'd like to pay for me to see it again, I'm totally up for that. ;D

(Actually, this was an invite-only dress rehearsal sort of thing, I think--employees got a lot of comp tickets, anyhow, and Christine got her set through a current employee.)