Sick of the endless gray and rainy days, I headed off to our local nursery to buy some plants. Weather: You’re not going to stop me any longer! I need to pretty up my porch!
You can see just how gray the skies were, but the plants on display everywhere are lovely! This is my favorite nursery and it’s a straight shot down the road from us. Ten minutes at the most.
I bought coleus and vines for the vintage pots out in the Secret Garden, two hanging plants (not the usual three – trying to save a bit of money,) impatiens, some calibrachoa, and a hollyhock. I’ve no idea where I’m going to plant the hollyhock as we’ve dismantled the raised bed that was just outside our kitchen door. That area gets a lot of sun, so hollyhocks do well there. I have to find some sort of planter.
But it was cold and rainy, so I held off planting anything until today. It rained all last night here but the day itself will be rain free. Cloudy, but no rain.
We watched the end of the movie version of Our Town as we were eating dinner last night. It brought forth groans from both of us. Our Town (one of my favorite plays) was – more than most any play I can think of – written for the stage. Not film. The sets are suggested with a chair or a table. The Stage Manager breaks the Fourth Wall to tell us the story. None of that transmits well to the screen, so filling out the story with real sets just looks silly.
Both of us know this play well, as Don has been in it and I’ve coached it.
And…our mouths dropped open as we gasped in disbelief when we realized they had changed the ending of the play so that Emily lives, rather than dies. Are you kidding me? That’s the most important and heartbreaking scene in the play! Unbelievable!
I’m sure the producers decided the audience needed a happy ending. Oh, for heaven’s sake, give the audience some credit! Plus, Martha Scott and an almost unrecognizable William Holden are too old to play George and Emily. When we watch whatever is playing on TCM while we eat dinner, we get a glimpse of movies that we might not watch otherwise and sometimes we make sure to watch the entire movie after that. This one? No. Way.
This is the month in which our new sofa will be delivered. We’re excited. It probably won’t be here until the end of the month, but it’s coming. And every time I sit on the loveseat and feel it sinking a bit more (broken wood brace in the front) I cross my fingers, willing it to hang in there until the new loveseat arrives.
Don’s been working on his guitar playing, teaching himself via a well-known guitarist’s videos. I am fortunate to have Don playing in the background as I write this. Beautiful.
Four of the actors nominated for a Tony Award are actors I have worked with and coached. All of them are incredibly talented. I’m so happy for them. And for everyone else, including some designers I have worked alongside on various productions. And Terrence McNally, the writer of Anastasia as well as many other plays, is getting a special Tony this year.
Okay. Have to get a move on!
Happy Saturday.
Claudia, that’s so interesting to hear about Our Town (the movie). I saw the play for the first time just a few weeks ago. It’s been on my bucket list for a while, but it just isn’t done very much, at least not around here. It was at a small community theater and I though the production was lovely, but the last scene was a little difficult to hear in parts. I thought I should watch the movie, but now I’m not going to. Perhaps I’ll just read it instead and hope for another local production sometime soon!
No, don’t watch the movie! It will only confuse you more. Read the play – it’s so beautifully written that it can stand on its own.
Glad you got a chance to see it, Karen!
We are due for a rainy weekend here also. I have been so lucky to have John here and planting and amazing array of herbs which he uses when he cooks. Its been a fun time. He has some minor surgery scheduled for May 9th and after that he will decide where he needs to look for a place to live. We are just too squished in this little 2bdrm for him to continue here much longer. I’ll miss him but we will continue to see each other I believe. Life is coming full circle in many ways.
There is such beauty in the full-circle, Linda. I am glad you are there for each other. Family is so important!
I haven’t seen the play of Our Town, but I’ve read it and can imagine your shock at the changed ending. When the movie of The Golden Compass came out years ago, my daughter and I went to see it; we dug out our kleenex as the end approached and . . . they had changed it. It’s like having a bucket of cold water thrown over you! Not to mention an insult to the original story. Now I need to find Our Town to read it again.
I agree! So sorry that happened to you, too! Thanks, Linda!
Claudia, hope you can get some planting done today. I usually don’t plant many annuals, since I have perennials that were chosen so I have color 9-10 months of the year. It’s turned gray and overcast here, too. I think it may rain. I’ve only seen bits and pieces of “Our Town”, as a play on TV, probably in my youth on PBS on a weekend afternoon.
Last week, I saw Sondheim’s “Company” put on by the local theater, which is a small and intimate space that can seat audiences on three or four sides. I liked the men’s voices (singing), but the women’s, especially the ones who had solos, were a bit too shrill for my ears. I spotted a friend on the other side of the theater and spoke to her during intermission. She introduced me to her friend and her friend said she thought the women’s voices were shrill also. All in all, though, it was just ok for me, and I wasn’t as mesmerized as I was for “Chicago”, or “Wait Until Dark”, or “Elephant Man”, or “Boeing, Boeing”.
I only plant annuals in pots and on the porch. Not in the ground. And of course, we only have 4 or 5 months in which to enjoy our flowers!
I was in Company years and years ago. One of my favorite musicals – but that’s because I am a big Sondheim fan!
Oh, and I plant morning glories and zinnias from seed! They’re annuals, too. In CA our morning glories were year round, but not here.
What part did you play, Claudia? All the vignettes were funny and poignant, but I think I would have liked it more if it were on a big stage.
I played Joanne. She sings “Ladies Who Lunch” – I was a bit too young for it, really, but it’s a dream role and a dream song.
Claudia, Joanne is a very strong character, compared to the other women. I would have loved to see you play Joanne! However, I liked the character of Sarah the most. I think it’s because not only is her role very funny, but the actor who played Sarah played Marsha in the production of Vanya and Sonia and Marsha and Spike, and I enjoyed her performance in that role also.
I like Amy because she sings “Getting Married Today” which, if done well, is a show-stopper. Oh, and “Another Hundred People” is an incredible song for any actress. Stunning.
Unfortunately, the actor who played Amy had a small voice, even though she was miked. Ought I didn’t prefer some of the individual voices, the ensemble pieces were well-done and harmonized nicely.
Amy should have a big voice and be able to sing those words very, very fast. The original Amy was Beth Howland, who died a few years ago. She was later in the cast of the sitcom Alice. I’ve never heard that song done better than her original performance. She was married for years to Charles Kimbrough who played Jim Dial on Murphy Brown. In fact, they were both in the original cast of Company.
I enjoyed Alice and the original Murphy Brown. I love knowing Howland and Kimbrough were married, as I love TV trivia! (Taking a break from planning my U.K. trip, and now will get back to taking notes from the tour books borrowed from the library.)
xo
You must feel a sense of achievement seeing actors you’ve coached in their careers now being nominated for prestigious awards! Is the ceremony televised so that you and Don can watch?
It’s a Bank Holiday weekend and I had intended planting packets of flower seeds which I bought for pennies in an end of season sale last summer. There’s Cornflowers, Canterbury Bells, Poppies, Godetia and my absolute favourite Sweet Peas. I was mistaken in my previous post, these are the ones that have a little tag attached to the packet, not the American ones which were like yours.
The trouble is it’s forecasting rain not only for the weekend but the whole week! Temperatures aren’t promising either, around 10C or 50F.
I even felt cold at work yesterday as the boiler is usually turned off from May until October. Two weeks ago at Easter, folk were wearing short sleeves!
Have a good weekend
Yes, it’s televised. I have some issues at times with the Tony awards, but I think I’ll watch this year to cheer my friends on!
Your weather sounds like ours, Dee Dee! So sorry it’s happening on a Bank Holiday weekend!
I know what you mean about Our Town and wrong for the screen — in just about every single way! But hats off for diving into the gloom and heading to what looks like a magnificent garden center! And best of luck to your Tony nominee pals — every one of them!
Three of them are in the same show: Hadestown.
Enjoy your weekend, Jeanie!
Your trip to the garden center is well deserved. I’ve made my lists…but want to finish mulching the garden beds before I plant my containers. I think. Depends on if I can contain myself any longer.
I’m sure it’ll be fun for you watching the Tony Awards and cheering your friends on. Something to look forward to. Have fun dressing up the porch. I’m off to mulch. ( it’s a beautiful day here…and the neighborhood is alive with activity! ) Enjoy your day! ;)
I have to mulch two more beds, but it rained all night so I’m going to have to weed again before I mulch. Plus it’s going to rain tomorrow as well!
I saw the play years ago, never the movie. Now I won’t bother. We’ve been invited, as part of a group, to go to a musical I’ve never heard of: “Come From Away.” It’s a “wife of” thing because it’s benefiting Dean’s non-profit for us to go and make nice with this group. Hope it’s good. “Anastasia” is coming in July and I’m working on talking him into seeing that. Hope you get all the planting you want done today. I wanted to go to OUR fave nursery this weekend, but I think it’s still too early. Will only be in the forties all next week.
Oh you must go see Come From Away! It won all sorts of awards – it’s the story of the Canadian community who took in all the people who were stranded on 9/11 because their planes couldn’t land in the U.S. Wonderful. It’s also directed by Christopher Ashley, who won a Tony for his direction and, coincidentally, directed Escape From Margaritaville.
Claudia, I agree with you about changing from the original script. “Gone With The Wind” movie has a lot of differences from the book. Good luck to Don in his learning to play the guitar. We have a guitar that we had intended to learn to play. A video sounds like a good idea. My twin has a drum set that she wants to learn to play. Enjoy your flowers and gardening. Have a great week end.
Marilyn
Well, he already knows how to play the guitar – he’s been playing since he was about 10 years old. He’s just trying to take his playing to the next level.
Have a great weekend, Marilyn!
Hopefully, the plants will cheer you up. So maybe that’s what I need too right now: It is snowing. Arrrrrr.
What a drastic change of an ending to “please” the aucience. How could they!
Enjoy the Sunday.
Regula
Oh no! Not snow! I’d be unhappy, too! Thanks, Regula.