Inspired by a friend's blog
, I have made a "bucket list" of sorts, containing 99 goals that I must reach in the course of 999 days. That's a short time - full of possibility! At the end of my 999 days I will donate $1 to the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital for every goal I haven't reached. This way, I can make and keep my goals knowing that, either way, I can help children do the same. Make your own!
#9: View a big theatrical production - A Christmas Carol
Okay, so I just added this one because I didn't like the one I put before it. It's my list, I do what I want!! This one is much more fun anyways: View a big theatrical production.
Tommy and me at the theatre!
So in Houston over Thanksgiving, Tommy's mom and sister Katherine took us to see a production of my homeboy Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol - A Ghost Story of Christmas at the Alley Theatre, directed by James Black. And I'm not just saying this because I love Dickens and I love love love this story, but this was genuinely one of the best - if not the best - play or anything like it I've seen to date. This was better than most movies! Especially the special effects.
Anyone in the Houston area, or the Texas area, or the United States that has access to an airplane and Texas, needs to go see it before it ends. It was phenomenal. The actor who played Scrooge, Jeffrey Bean, gave him a heart - buried real deep down - and a sense of humor and spirit that a lot of adaptations exclude. Scrooge was mean and grinchy, but would entertain the audience with puns and engagement as he interacted with the apparitions he saw...especially the Christmas Present scene when he joins in on the parlor games his nephew plays with his dinner party where he finds out what he's missing out on by being resentful and cold. I loved his character...that's why I love going to plays - the characters are much more accessible and lively than in movies, and you can actually interact with them.
Tim Burton meets Charles Dickens
Another thing that was awesome - THE GHOSTS!! I had forgotten how much of a ghost story A Christmas Carol really is. This production of it opened with 6 really scary, "Haunted Mansion" ghosts in really thick fog and day-glo that follow Scrooge like the sound of Marley's chains throughout the play. It was really, really fantastic. The three ghosts and Marley were fantastic, and each of those four actors played other characters that Scrooge dealt with daily - Marley was his chambermaid, in Victorian drag, and it was hilarious. Makes me really appreciate Dickens' craft and knack for entertainment while telling people how to be kind to each other.
I wish there was Youtube feed so that you could see it. Anyways, it was fantastic, and I wish I could see it over again. You can find out more about the play here.
Anyone in the Houston area, or the Texas area, or the United States that has access to an airplane and Texas, needs to go see it before it ends. It was phenomenal. The actor who played Scrooge, Jeffrey Bean, gave him a heart - buried real deep down - and a sense of humor and spirit that a lot of adaptations exclude. Scrooge was mean and grinchy, but would entertain the audience with puns and engagement as he interacted with the apparitions he saw...especially the Christmas Present scene when he joins in on the parlor games his nephew plays with his dinner party where he finds out what he's missing out on by being resentful and cold. I loved his character...that's why I love going to plays - the characters are much more accessible and lively than in movies, and you can actually interact with them.
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