HAIR!

So tonight was the last show of the Music Circus season, HAIR. yeah, it was the musical our parents warned us against. It is groovy and emotional. Before the show, many of the ushers swapped stories about having seen the musical in its hey-day. Meself, I saw it in the 1970s... with my mother... who didn't put a damper on anything. On the way home we hadn't exactly discussed the nude scene but we kept staring at each other waiting for each other's smiles to fade. As I recall, that took about a week.

My first thought when I heard it HAIR would play in conservative Sacramento I mentally laid down bets how the nude scene would play out: 'light weight  skin-hugging bodysuits, Full Monty nudity but lights shining so nothing can be seen, or full frontal nudity...' Damned if they just went ahead with the latter. I heard at various Sacramento performances some audience members actually got up indignantly marching out of the theater, offended by 'offensive' words and/or over-endowments of the actors & actresses - trust me on that one. My last thought on viewing Hair this time was really, how few things have changed. There's still wars going on and seemingly not enough love and happiness or certainly peace to go around. The more things changed, the more they stayed the f*cking same.

Broadway Legend Ben Vereen was in Sacto on the 12th,
giving cast of Hair an impromptu Master's class

Tonight was a double 'last' - last show of the Music Circus season and the last show for HAIR. Every seat in the house, sold. We ushers wondering where we'd sit. There are comfy canvas chairs for our use but they pretty much all disappeared over the season. After a lively usher to usher chat, we decided to just plop ourselves on the steps along aisle six. And really, all of us seated in the aisle sure helped the place look like there was a 1960s 'sit in' happening. As the music started up, I was happily cross legged, leaning on the aisle banister. Happy as hippy having a toke.

I was in the same theater as Vereen - YES!

Back in the 70s I wore a nice shaggy afro when I saw Hair. Tonight I wore my sister locks which felt just as right for the occasion. During one scene, as actors tore through the audience, I hastily pulled my leg out of the aisle, freaked I might accidentally trip up an actor. No sooner had my leg pulled out, then an actor leapt onto the banister above me, and leaning down, he playfully tousled my hair! It was suddenly 1967, I was in with the cool hippies and I laughed and laughed! I felt the happy vibes my brothers and sisters. Peace out. 

A Week on the Coast

Guarding the Crop

Spent this past week down in Monterey County, visiting with Barbara, and her gang. Her 'gang' includes Son Eric, future daughter-in-law Alicia & her ensie daughter Aslyn, Barbara's sister Suzi & very-nearly-official-Brother-in-Law Bob, and Barb's friend, and mine, Dru. It was a busy week as I assisted Eric - I was darned near helpfully too - moving some stuff from storage, and had a fun luncheon at Barb's flat with Dru, my newest 'bud'. Poor Dru was lambasted with my so-called best spooky shite stories and she had quite a few of her own so we're even.

For me, the high point of the week was a shopping trip for a replacement of my recently purloined laptop. Barbara had a coupon that got me 10% off the price - like having the tax paid for me!

The last day, more or less the only bit of the week I've pictures for, Barb and I drove to Carmel Valley. There Suzi, and Bob were treated to breakfast for Suzi's birthday which actually took place in July, but better late than never.

Belated birthday girl Suzi & Barbara

Suzi gave us a tour of the condos she and Bob live, in Carmel Valley. CV has a zip code aspire to. Kind of like everyone wanted the Fair Oaks zip code until one of the two following events happened, (1) Granite Bay rose to the title 'best Sacramento County spot live' (2) Claire moved in.

Right after brunch Bob had Lawn Bowling practice. If you are scoffing at the v. green lawn in drought stricken California, know, the condos are taking out lawns and installing drought tolerant landscaping. The green of the bowling field remains safe and watered, at least for now.

Bob is the far distant gentleman 2nd on the left. in the orange shirt

After our tour of the grounds we retreated to S & B's flat which has the best patio view ever. It hangs over a canyon full of coastal pines with a couple of bird feeders. While chatting with Suzi my eyes were glued to the Chestnut-sided Chickadees, Acorn Woodpeckers, Dark-eyed Juncos and even California Quail that scrambled around at the foot of the trees.

Patio with cool view of piney canyon birds

For a bit I day dreamed of living in Carmel Valley's bit of heaven, where I could get in a week's birding from my couch or watch TV as I treadmill at the complex's work out facility. Unfortunately the reality is that single-income Claire can either live in the complex in a one bed/one bath and never entertain company or afford to travel again, or live someplace more affordable and live in the elegant style to which she has become accustomed. Seems the later must persevere as the winning alternative. Ah, but I always have my dreams.

Oh, and I want to show off Suzi's flower arranging acumen.

Love the tiny eclectic clear glass containers.The flowers are bachelor buttons, bee balm, honeysuckle, a rose, a dahlia and others...

And check out this bathroom bouquet with huge white lily, lark spur, rudbeckia and such. All from Suzi's cutting garden... did I mention that before?







So that was my week at Barb's. We're older now and uncharacteristically we get into mini-battles as we each assert ourselves in our relationship. Being older we both think we know precisely what's best and that the other doesn't, but thankfully ten minutes later we're back to being good buds. Tee hee... sure am happy though that neither of us own a handgun!

I Won't Grow Up... but you already know, right?

Peter Pan is why I raced back to Sacramento following that lovely wedding yesterday. I'm a genuine Baby Boomer, who in the 50s enjoyed the immense treat of going downstairs to our neighbor's where we kids gathered round the old black n' white telly to see the live (LIVE!) performance of Peter Pan. I don't know when that tradition exactly started, or how many years it lasted, but to those occasions occupy an immense amount of my brain's real estate. The week following Peter Pan meant ricocheting off living room furniture or beds, shrieking 'I'M FLYING!', singing endless verses of 'I won't grow up! I don't wanna go to school...' and crowing until one's mother threatened bodily harm.

The Music Circus' Peter Pan was the best version of the musical I've ever seen (my sincere apology to the M. Martin estate). Peter Pan - traditionally played by a lady of course - was a great juvie brat and total crack, as naughty as you like, and clueless about the 'grown up' world. Loved the the flamboyant Captain Hook, and the adorably (yes, I said adorable) very-nearly-evil Mr. Smee, and overall, I think I'd hand my thimble over to Peter as the most fun to keep one's eyes and ears on. Oh, and the whole Neverland Indian tribe - with some help from Peter - put on a dynamite, energetic drums performance I think was inspired by that bang on the ash cans Broadway play whose name escapes me. Anyway, that sure set the audience screaming their enjoyment, brats they all were.

One of the pleasures of the annual 'kid's musical' at the Music Circus is always the tots decked out in appropriate costumes, this year there were more Tinkerbells and Peter Pans in the audience than on stage. And please note, the adults far outnumbered kids in the audience and they fooled no one. Sure they entered the theater with airs of respectability and adult attitude to rival Mr. Darling, but didn't take long for them to laugh their post-pubescent arses off. I think the kids were scandalized at how uncivilized their parents behaved. I mean, in public!