Coupl'a Things XVII

1) As in the Great Depression of the 1930's, those out for the evening are flocking to more light hearted, flashy, escapist entertainment. Theatres and performing arts groups are more than happy to oblige; giving the public what it wants reaps box office rewards. Thus I, and if last night's crowd was any indication, many others enjoyed the recent run of the Gilbert and Sullivan classic "The Pirates of Penzance" at the Kansas City Lyric Opera.

"Amusement! Merriment! Glee!", trumpeted the print and radio advertisements.

Bright, cheery, straight forward sets, bright, cheery costumes, and the, breezy, short, never pretentious score and plot of this bright and cheery opera (ok, I made the point) have pleased audiences for years. Even the audience gets to participate, standing and joining the cast in singing "God Save the Queen" at the beginning of the second act. Each night the Queen was played by a "guest Queen". Friday was Katie Horner, local weather lady from KCTV. I know who Sunday's guest Queen will be and it should be a hoot.

2) HM has been totally fêted from around the world on her 10th birthday. Here are a couple of her specially made treats she picked out from her favorite purveyor of Royal Treats, 3 Dog Bakery:





3) It is only 61 degrees today. Hello, this is Spring... bring on the warm!