Christmas Carol

A Christmas Carol is another of my seasonal traditions. I have several movie version plus an audio reading of the book, which I need to enjoy each year. However, I also need to attend the Denver Center's presentation of the play.

The first time I saw this play, the company was the Bonfil's Company, and their theater was on Colfax. The company has become the Denver Center Theater Company, and moved into their current space many years ago. (The Tattered Cover Bookstore moved into their original space a couple of years ago after it was vacant for years.)

This is the second staging the play has had since I have been attending. The first staging was interesting as the set was slowly removed piece by piece as the play progressed; at the end only the scaffolding remained. Now there is a more traditional set with backdrops for the various settings, such as Scrooge's office, street scenes, etc.

The original staging was a lot darker too. Scrooge was unrepentant up until the cemetery scene with the Ghost of Christmas Future. Now Scrooge seems to moving to a life change even with the Ghost of Christmas Past; he does not need to be slapped around by the Ghost of the Christmas Future to become the good man.

Needless to say, this staging is not as dramatic. Scrooge seems to be moving to his changes, and his actions on Christmas morning are not a surprise. While it is still a nice presentation of a wonderful story, it is just nice.

Christmas Reading with Jamie Horton

Christmas is a season for traditions, and this is one of mine. Jamie Horton was an actor with the Denver Center Theater Company; he now teaches at Dartmouth. About thirteen years ago The Tattered Cover had another actor do a Christmas reading for them. It was a hit, but the actor could not do not the second year, so Jamie took up the challenge. I was not there for that event, but he read the complete Christmas Carol. It took over two hours, but was a hit again. The next year it was limited to an hour, which has been the format since then.

I discovered this happening eight years ago, and have tried to get to them each year. I think I have missed one, because the weather turned bad.

This years reading included Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas!, an excerpt from Dylan Thomas, another short story, and several poems, including one by Jamie. It was nice evening, and it was free.

The Egg and I

The Egg and I
560 S. Holly St.
Denver, CO
(303) 577-9050
http://www.theeggandirestaurants.com

This is another breakfast place. It is a little more original in some of the variations they have in some of their dishes. The Hiker's Benedict is good; it is Eggs Benedict with asparagus added.

They have all of the traditional eggs, meats, and potatoes. I am there frequently.

Hot Cakes Diner

Hot Cakes Diner
1400 E. 18th Ave.
Denver, CO
(303) 832-4351
http://www.hcdiner.com

I love to eat breakfast away from home. Many of the places I go are traditional. Big portions of traditional food with friendly service. Hot Cakes is in that mode. Their food is cheap and plentiful. The staff is fun and attentive.

Their hot cakes are good. (The single cake is a lot of food, The double stack is just too much. This is from someone who can put down a lot of food.) However, the Sweet Potato Waffle should be tried. The Breakfast Burrito is also good.

I have not tried any of the lunch selection, but they sound good.

Annie's Cafe

Annie's Cafe
3100 E. Colfax Ave.
Denver, CO
(303) 355-8197
http://annies-cafe.com

Annie's used to be my favorite local. However, a year and half ago the owner of their building decided that the neighborhood needed a hotel. He tore down the building;the economy tanked, and he changed his places to poorly landscaped mosquito pond. Annie's had to move out of the neighborhood and we had an eye sore.

Annie's was lucky. At the time another restraint, Good Friends, had to close, and their location was available. So they moved. They tried for a while to have a combination of the two places, but Annie's has gone back to what was their tradition: comfort food.

Annie's is known for their breakfasts, which are cheep, large and filling. They have the traditional eggs, potatoes and meats. Also the breakfast burrito is good.

For lunch they have some nice traditional salads. There are the usual hamburgers, and sandwiches. The sweet potato fried are a nice side to these.

They also have some dinner plates. The meatloaf is sweet and interesting. The fish and chips should be avoided.

The one thing from Good Friends that has remained is the bar. Now Annie's has always had an interesting of soft drinks like Lime Rickey, etc. With the bar they now have an interesting selection of adult beverages.

It is still my local, but the distance has made the visits fewer.

Pasquini's Highlands

Pasquini's Highland
2400 W. 32nd Ave.
Denver, CO
(303) 477-4900
http://pasquinis.com

I have a method I sometimes use when I am trying a new place to eat: I order one of the basic dishes offered by the place to see how they handle the basics. That is what I did here with Pasquini's. I ordered spaghetti and meat balls.; I wanted to taste their basic sauce, meatballs, and pasta. What I got was a well rounded dish of enjoyment. The sauce and meatballs were spiced nicely to be enjoyable, but not excessive. Also the pasta was well cooked to just the right texture., they know how to treat pasta.

Finally, the portion was nice. I was satisfied without worrying that I had taken food away from a couple of children in some third world location.

I am looking forward to the prospect of going back to Pasquini's for some of their other fare. The ravioli looks inviting. They are a chain and there is a location close to home. They also deliver and I might try that service.

Well

Well is a play about healing. Lisa Kron, the author and main character, looks at the illness and cures in her life. Her mother has a life long chronic illness, which never gets better. When Lisa was young, her mother was an activist in the neighborhood. She was able to help the neighborhood deal with its mixed ethnic status.

Lisa also had her own health problem. She had some sever food allergies. She was able to identify the risks with a hospital stay,and is now well.

Lisa's problem with her mother is that her mother is not able to cure herself. Lisa was able to cure her allergies and her mother was able to cure the neighborhood, but she was not able to make any progress on her own problem.

The style of the play was unusual. The characters where able to step out of character, and respond to the situations in the play.

Kate Levy as Lisa and Kathleen Brady as her mother were both very good in the parts. There was an ensemble of four actors, who also were very good in their parts.

Cheeky Monk

Cheeky Monk
534 E Colfax Ave.
Denver, CO
(303) 861-0347
http://thecheekymonk.com

A cheeky monk likes the Cheeky Monk. The big draw for me is the variety of very good beers they have on tap. Today I tried two and one was a hit and the other was not so good. The dark was very malty with good tooth, while the lighter ail was very flowery and just not that pleasant to me.

The Monk also has a very good weekend lunch. For less that $6 I had a nice bowl of penne with asparagus and bacon in a Gorgonzola sauce.

I will be there more often sampling the beers.

Absurd Person Singular

Absurd Person Singular is a play by Alan Ayckbourn. Acybourn has been compared to America's Neil Simon. The big difference between the two playwrights is that Ayckbourn writes about the dark side of life. His characters are unknowingly cruel to each other. However, his plays are easily as funny as Simon's.

Absurd Person Singular features three couples: the Hopcrofts, the Brewster-Wrights, and the Jacksons. Each of the three acts of the play is a Christmas Eve gathering at one of the couple's home over three years.

Act 1 is in the Hopcroft home. He is an up and coming tradesmen and she is a compulsive home cleaner. He trying so hard to impress the other people that he does not notice what his wife is going through to keep him happy including going out in a heavy rain storm to get tonic water for their guests.

Act 2 is in the Jacksons' home. He is an architect. but is a philanderer. He is about to leave his wife for another woman---maybe. He wants to move in with the other woman, but still be able to have times with his wife. She is in a sever depression. Her house is in a mess and she is planning to commit suicide. The action revolves around the other couples trying to help fix up the Jacksons' home and stop her from suicide.

Act 3 is in the Brewster-Wrights' home. His is a banker and she is a snob. She is also a boozer. The Jackson's are there: she has recovered some and he is now in trouble, because one of his buildings has collapsed. The Hopcrofts are doing very well. While the others try to avoid them, in the end they are the life of the party.

The play was very funny experience. All the actors were able to hold their parts well

Lola

Lola
1575 Boulder St.
Denver, CO
(720) 570-8686
http://www.loladenver.com

Lola serves Mexican seafood. The food is not particularly spicy.

The sangria was good. Much of the sangria that I have drunk was a good dry red wine with a little citrus, but it was not particularly refreshing. However, the sangria here had a lot of citrus and was quit refreshing after a warm day.

Also my sister who was with me though the seafood was very fresh. She has lived near the ocean in several locations and she was impressed that a restaurant in Denver could have this good of seafood. (My idea of seafood is that it must have had ice in it for 95% of its dead life for it to be safe to eat.)

I had the scallops and collard greens. I must say that each part was very delicious. The scallops were blackened. They were very tender and moist with a little bit of spice. The greens were braised with garlic, beans and spices. I do not like cooked greens, but these were excellent. The only problem I have is with the combination of greens and scallops. The collards have such dominate flavors, they overpower the scallops. However, I would love a plate of these green all by themselves.

My sister had the seafood hash. It contained shrimp, oyster, chorizo, and sweet potatoes. There was also an egg on top. She loved the combination of flavors. (She loves anything with sweet potatoes.)

We also shared a desert. It had a combinations of hot apple compote, hot bead pudding, and ice cream. It was a good combination.

This is a wonderful restaurant. Its only draw back was that it was very noisy for two old people.

Snooze

Snooze
700 N. Colorado Blvd.
Denver, CO
(303) 736-6200
http://www.snoozeeatery.com

A new restaurant open in my neighborhood this summer. Since Annie's was forced to move this spring (the owner of the building Annie's was located wanted to build a mosquito pond), there was a need for a good breakfast place. When Boston Market closed their store on the corner of 7th Ave. and Colorado Blvd., there was a good location available. On July 31st, Snooze open their second location there.

Snooze has an interesting menu. If you love pancakes, it will make you very happy. The summer peach pancake was very good. The winter apple/pear pancake is also very good. They also have several other pancakes including boring old buttermilk. There is also a daily special pancake, but this can be a little weird at times.

They also have a very good breakfast burrito, not to mention corn beef hash and chicken fried steak.

The only thing that is missing is that they are not open in the evening. Annie's was a good place to stop on the way home after work to have a little supper.

Finally, the Colorado Blvd. has the Sprite. He is server, who is a very cute young man. He has made himself the mascot for the location. He is as good as the pancakes.

A Raisin in the Sun

The Setting of A Raisin in the Sun is 1950's Chicago. The patriarch of the Younger family has recently died, and the family is about to receive a check from the insurance company for $10,000. Each member of the family starts to make plans for the money. Ruth, the matriarch, wants a house for the family so her grandson can have a room of his own and maybe have a little dirt to grow something. Her daughter would like to use the money to attend medical school, and her son would like to use the money to buy a liquor store with his friends.

When the money arrives, Ruth decides the money needs to be divided with about a third going to each use. She puts the down payment on a house in one of the suburbs, and gives the rest of the money to her son to manage.

The first problem that develops is that the house proves to be in an all white suburb, and Karl Lindner arrives at the family apartment to buy them out of their home purchase. He clearly indicates that they are not welcome in their neighborhood, but the residences would like to buy their home a profit.

The second problem is the son gives all the money that was entrusted to him to his friends to facilitate their store, but the friend with the money disappears, and the money is gone with him. There is nothing for the store or his sister's education.

The family continues with its move to the new home.

In its day this play was a statement of the black situation. Now it is picture of the way things were in the 1950's. While some things have improved, the past must be remembered.

Only two of the actors were regulars with the Denver Center Theater Company. All the actors were very good in their parts, and it was a wonderful evening.

The Voysey Inheritance

Pyramid schemes have been around for a long time. Harley Grainville-Barker wrote The Voysey Inheritance in 1905, which involved a Pyramid scheme.

Mr. Voysey was the solicitor, who was the head of a trust and estate law firm. He was bring his son, Edward, into the firm. The young man was surprised by the state of the firm. A lot of the money that had been been invested into the firm was not where it should be. Mr. Voysey explained that he was moving the money around from account to account so no one was loosing any money. He was also taking money from the accounts for the family. He assures Edward that everything was fine.

However, Mr Voysey suddenly died. Edward was then the head of the firm and family. He wanted to come clean about the state of the firm. The family was split about the proper course: one group of the family were breaking away from the family and were not concerned about the money, while the other part was afraid that they loose their lifestyle. Edward decided that he has to try to fix matter. There were too many small accounts that would be hurt, if he does not try.

As time goes along, Edward was able to fund the smaller accounts. At this time, though, George Booth, the firms largest investor, discovers the state of the firm, and the reason for it. He will not take matters to the authorities, if Edward gives him his money immediately. This would mean that Edward would have to take the money from the other smaller accounts to accomplish. How is Edward going to save the firm or more importantly the money of the other accounts in the firm?

It is interesting that this play sounds so current. The costumes are Edwardian, but the situations and attitudes are modern. Somethings are timeless.

Sam Gregory was able to carry the play as Edward. John Hutton as Edward's brother, Major Booth Voysey, was not blustery enough for a retired British major. the rest of the cast carried their parts well. The performance was an enjoyable evening.

Judy Shepard's Book Signing

Judy Shepard, the mother of Matthew Shepard, had a book signing for her book The Meaning of Matthew: My son's Murder in Laramie and a World Transformed. While this was a book signing, Judy did not read from the book; she talked a little and then took questions from the audience.

I have never heard Judy talk before, but I must admit that she was sounding tired. She noted that a lot of the access to politicians was becoming superficial. When she does meet with some of them, she only gets nodding agreement to what she is saying and little more. That is when they will meet with her, some only send their staff.

While she is very frustrated with the progress on the national level, she was turning her hopes to the local levels. In particular she singled out Iowa as an example of what can be done on the local level. Its small size and homogeneity made it easy to present the issue. California on the other was the exact opposite, and would be difficult.

The part of the book that I have read so far is a personal account of the death of Matthew, and I will present more as I read it.

Good luck, Judy

August: Osage County

I went to a preview of the play August: Osage Count last night. First it is a long play at almost 3 hours in length, and it has 13 characters. The play is almost Shakespearean in it complexity with the number of plot lines running through the play.

The play is about the Weston family. The patriarch, Beverly, starts the play by hiring a house keeper for him and his wife, Violet. He admits that he is partial to drink while Violet has problems with pills. After doing this he disappears, and is soon found in a local lake---drowned. This brings his three daughters home for the tragedy.

The youngest daughter, Karen, comes with her philandering fiancee, Stave. She is proud of the things she will have when she will be wed,and is not really involved with the family.

The middle daughter, Ivy, has not moved away from the family home. Her mother is never satisfied with her appearances, and is always criticising her cloths and life style. She does not appear to have "a man in her life".

The oldest daughter, Babara, has it all. She comes with her husband, Bill, and teenage daughter, Jean. However, the husband is there to just support her in her time of grief; he has been living with another woman and is seeking a divorce. While the daughter is in full rebellion.

At the wake, Barbara challenges her mother's dependence on pill. She has everyone search the house for hide drugs, and calls in a doctor.

Things fall apart when the Steve makes a pass at Jean. His fiancee leaves with him blaming the family for the situation.

Ivy's developing relationship with her cousin is then revealed. She is planning to move to New York with him, but this falls apart when his blood relationship to her is revealed.

Finally, Babara's personal life is revealed to her mother, but she also discovers her mother's involvement in her father's death. This drives her from the house leaving her mother with only the housekeeper to take care of her.

This performance of the play was an earlyl performance of a touring company. While the company has been working on it for some time, there is still work that needs to be done on it. One of the actors obviously dropped several of his lines. Also Violet was played by Estelle Parsons. Her performance was very similar to Roseanne's mother, who she also played on television.

Over all this was a good performance of a good play.