Friday, March 30, 2018

Day 274 Good Friday Stations- Revisit to St Anthony's Chapel -Troy Hill


On this Good Friday I am re-posting  the Station of the Cross experience at St. Anthony's Chapel. I revisited this Chapel again last week. The beauty of trying and sharing new things is the discovery of "new likes" on this journey.

During  this  Easter season, I venture to the little chapel in Troy Hill that I discovered last summer (see Day 35 )  and experience the Stations of the Cross. I have been to the stations of the cross, (the telling of the story to Calvary),  but it was a new experience at St. Anthony's Chapel  with life sized sculptures.

Thursday, March 29, 2018

Day 273-Rent-PNC Broadway in Pittsburgh-Power of Love




Rent in 1996  was one of the first rock operas to hit Broadway. It chronicles an unforgettable and inspiring year  of seven poverty struck artists in a NYC Greenwich Village flat determined to follow their dreams (art for art’s sake) but  they can’t  pay  the  rent.  Being a practical person, my first thought about this plot was “get a job, so you can pay the rent” but, when I first experienced this  show, I  became immersed in the music. This rock opera  emulates the power to overcome adversity in the shadow of  HIV/AIDS with diverse forms of love.

Wednesday, March 28, 2018

Day 272- Pittsburgh Opera-Moby Dick-A Powerful Tale, A Powerful American Opera


I have recently added the Pittsburgh Opera to my empty- nest repertoire but I have only experienced one other American Opera (see Day 212 Summer King). Moby-Dick  is an American opera with music by Jake Heggie and lyrics by Gene Scheer.  It is based on the classic novel by Herman Melville. I have to admit that I never  read the book but I know the story of  Captain Ahab’s feverish pursuit of the great white whale that took his leg. It's the story of the whale’s defeat of  man. I was excited to see if the musical strength of the predominately male cast would match the power of this man versus beast story in this Pittsburgh Primer of Moby-Dick.

Saturday, March 24, 2018

Day 271- Heisenberg-Pittsburgh Public Theater-Unpredictable Romance/Predictable Needs -O’Reilly Theater


  

 Heisenberg is a romantic comedy named after physicist Werner Heisenberg who pioneered the “Uncertainty Principle”- a particle’s position and momentum can  not be  measured at the same time.  The play applies this scientific unpredictability to the development of a relationship between a spirited 40 something year old American woman, Georgie Burns, and a 75 year old Irishman, Alex Priest. Heisenberg, by Simon Stephens, reminds us that although relationships may be unpredictable, human needs are the same at any age.

Tuesday, March 20, 2018

Day 270 Pittsburgh Opera Fashion Event “A Song of Thrones”-Medieval Meets Modern




The recent Pittsburgh Opera Fashion Event, "A Song of Thrones” featured some of their ornate operatic  costumes in conjunction with fashions by Diana Misetic of Shadyside fashion studio and boutique, Little Black Dress. What I enjoy most about the opera experience is that it’s  an extravagant production of set, costumes, and of course sound.  Mixing the pageantry of  the opera with  fashion is a dramatic way to display clothing. Since the theme for this fashion show was based on the epic television series “Game of Thrones,” the experience was a dramatic mixing of medieval and modern worlds.   

Friday, March 9, 2018

Day 269- Waitress- Pittsburgh Broadway Series-Savor the Flavors


The musical Waitress,  similar to this blog,  is about a  woman’s  life journey.  Unlike me, who struggles with cooking and baking, Jenna is an expert pie baker who used this delicious skill to cope with a burnt life in a small town.  Jenna and her two friends, Becky and Dawn, are waitresses who through friendship and love eventually  savor the flavors of a better life (culinary puns are intended).   

Sunday, March 4, 2018

Day 268 Bodyguard-Pittsburgh Broadway Series-Punches With Music and Suspense


The musical, The Bodyguard, is based on the iconic 1992 movie with the same name that skyrocketed Whitney Huston's career. The movie was packed with record billboard hits: So Emotional, One Moment in Time, Saving All My love, and the song that always gives me goose bumps- I Will Always Love You.   Who can forget the romance between singing superstar, Rachel Marron (Whitney Houston) and Frank Farmer (Kevin Costner), who was the former secret service agent  hired as Marron’s bodyguard to protect her from an obsessed stalker/assassin. It was a thriller and a love story.