Last night I went to Hart House to see their rendition of Romeo and Juliet. Now, R&J isn't my favorite Shakespearean play but I thought, what the heck, I have season tickets, we'll see how it is. It was sooooo good! The set was nicely constructed and very flexible due to its many levels and overall simplicity. Excellent lighting- during every scene change different characters would be standing somewhere on the set and spots would illuminate them for a moment before going to someone else. Also, when a particularly ominous line or important thing was said at the end of a scene, all the lights would go off except for one spot. The sound design was excellent- going from fast and passionate during the fight scenes to low and mournful when the fight sequences switched to slow motion and the lights went to blues and greys. Most of the characters were excellent- Romeo, Juliet, Friar Lawrence, Lady Capulet, Nurse, Mercutio, and Benvolio were all really good. I think the only person I didn't like was Paris- way too wimpy in this version. Overall, extremely excellent evening, even if I went at it alone...

Alison and I just got back from the Santa Claus parade- very crowded with children and parents jostling, quite rudely, to get the best spot for their children. There was this one greek couple behind us who got thier daughter to the front of the crowd and then stood back. Whenever another parent had their child stand up with one of the parade goers for a picture, the daughter would stand up with them and push her way into the pic. Annoying child. Then in between all the floats there were people dressed up to fill the space. But I don't understand how cavemen, penguins, flowerpots, turtles, rabbits, bears, and random Bo Peep/Menonite looking people mesh into something. Was there a theme? Who knows... It was about 2 hours long, my toes got cold and my knee is really hurting, but overall it was pretty entertaining. The bagpipe marching band and one of the bands from New York were really good. I love bagpipes and kilts. They are my people, yo!