And I'll get to that in a moment. First of all, I had a great weekend. Friday night we joined some friends and attended the Denver Modernism show. It took place in a warehouse type of building and was a glorious spectacle of mid-century furniture, artwork, and household goods. I oohed and ahhed over the Mies, Noguchi, and Saarinen. I think I just about drooled on every Eames chair I walked by. The event was complete with a Tiki bar (which had some amazingly strong drinks) and a hilarious retro slide show presented by the fabulous Charles Phoenix.
Saturday we had a classy night at the theater to see the Pre-Broadway production of The Little Mermaid at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts. We went to dinner before the show at Kevin Taylor's at the Opera House. Kevin Taylor is probably Denver's most famous chef. Like a local Bobby Flay or Emeril. Because of this, I was expecting a fabulously divine and interesting meal. I've also been watching a lot of Top Chef lately, and I think this has made my expectations extremely high. Anyways, the meal was definitely good, but somewhat of a disappointment. Perhaps I was expecting too much, but I really thought for the reputation and prices, this meal should have kicked some major butt. After dinner we headed up to the Opera House to see The Little Mermaid.
It appeared that everyone, adults and the little ones dressed in their Disney princess costumes alike, overwhelmingly enjoyed the show, due to the standing ovation that began immediately when the ensemble came on stage to take a bow. Call me an uber-critic, but I don't give standing ovations to just anything. I was a bit confused when the mass public rose before the main characters had come out to take a bow. They were giving a standing ovation for the actor that raised the sail for 5 seconds in the beginning of Act I and the actress that handed Ariel a towel after she got her legs and washed ashore. Really? Were these actors deserving of a standing ovation? Did they really knock the socks off of us viewers so much that we (when I say we, I mean everyone in the theater aside from Brian and I) stood up the second they ran back out on stage for their final bow? Experiences like this, in a way, make me lose a bit of respect for my fellow theater-goers.
Don't get me wrong. The musical was quite entertaining. I was blown away by the sets- it really gave the illusion of an underwater landscape. And the transition between under the sea and up on land was quite smooth. The actress who performed the part Ariel had a killer voice and looked remarkably like the Ariel in the original film. My main complaint was the ending, and I will not give anything away, aside from the fact that it jumbled, quick, and all too-easy.
This brings me to the something that ticks me off. To give the illusion of floating or swimming, the actors wore Heelys: you know, those damn shoes with the wheels in the back of them? You see kids (and now adults) gliding around these on sidewalks, through the grocery stores, on their way to school, at the mall. Yeah, I HATE these shoes. I LOATHE them. But, I think that they found their one appropriate place to be worn: on stage in the production of The Little Mermaid. Makes sense. Does anyone else hate these shoes? I hate them so much that I hate the parents that buy them for their kids. I think I hate these shoes even more than Crocs (Which, as Colleen proved in Las Vegas ARE actually comfortable. Still not attractive, but comfortable). Actually I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that I hate these shoes twice as much as Crocs. We were at the mall the other week and saw a Mom and child wheeling around on these stupid shoes, getting in our way, zipping in and out of the crowd nearly knocking over mothers holding babies and old men with canes. I exaggerate, but I have never seen something more ridiculous than a 40-some-year-old woman on Heelys. Ok, rant over.
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