the center of the universe
25 november 2001

for many years gary has referred to london as "the center of the universe" and i now wholeheartedly agree with him. the city invokes a certain energy, unmatched by other places. for us, it's mostly the ubiquitous theatre. i popped over for a few days last week, joining gary who was already there for work. this was the first time he was actually stationed in the heart of the city at covent garden. the location could not have been more convenient. wasting no time after i arrived, we set out to eat lunch and round up some matinee tickets. "time out" is an extensive magazine that provides weekly info about what's on in london. gary had been to the theatre four nights that week and had circled a handful of other plays he thought we both might be attracted to. so many options!! my first priorty was obvious immediately. "kiss me kate" had just opened a few weeks ago with glowing reviews and boasting the original four leads from broadway. our post lunch taxi took us directly to the victoria palace theatre and i'm not sure how we accomplished getting orchestra seats in the center for the performance that very afternoon, but indeed we did. i think gary has excellent ticket karma. having some time to kill, we explored the area called pimlico, near sloane square. our new hobby has become scoping out kitchens and bathrooms in preparation for buying this flat, so we browsed around some stores, making mental notes of tiles and sinks that we liked. on to the theatre after a relaxing coffee break at starbucks. we don't have that type of coffee bar here so it's nice to slink down in a comfy chair reminiscent of our days in boulder where there was more than one choice. not that you can't get decent coffee in europe, just a different atmosphere. usually smoke filled, of course.

i have to rave about "kiss me kate" as it deserves major kudos for being the embodiment of musical theatre. it's a great thrill for me to see a show where all the elements work. i was worried at first because in the opening number {"another opening, another show"}, the first person to sing had a very weak voice and we both cringed. luckily she was in the chorus and never sang solo again. one wonders why they let her have that solo but maybe it was just a bad performance. that was the only flaw in the show and quickly forgotten. it's a play within a play based on shakespeare's "taming of the shrew" and the script is very clever. the music is by cole porter, sung appropriately in this production with a mix of romantic style and broadway belt as needed. the two second leads had major dancing to pull off as well. kathleen marshall's choreography was refreshing and she really utilized the multileveled set to its fullest. "too darn hot" was pretty steamy, enhanced by the lighting design and after the "tom, dick, and harry" number, gary said he had chills down his spine. check out the movie if you've never seen it; it's a real treat and it will definitely spark some laughter. the show, just under three hours, flew by, and i was sorry it was over. that's the sign of a very good show. our evening choice was pale, especially by comparison. we should have paid attention to the reviews, which were luke warm. so was the show. the real draw was seeing dame judi dench perform live. the play was "royal family", based loosely on the barrymore family of egotistical and eccentric actors. the script wasn't very good and we found the performances farily flat, not to mention the american accents not too convincing. feel free to miss that if you happen to be in london.

sometime during that day gary mentioned that he had a surprise for me. most of the theatres in london are dark on sunday. not, however, movie theatres. maybe you can guess what was about to open. HARRY POTTER! we thought it might not make it over to amsterdam for awhile so we HAD to see it in london. we're big fans. there were a few preview showings on sunday so we picked up some tickets {with reserved seats} the night before in order to avoid the massive amounts of little and big kids that day. good thing we did, it was a zoo. during brunch gary was counting down the minutes to "harry potter" and when we arrived, the buzz of energy going through the crowd waiting to go in was pretty noticeable. there was even an announcer with a mike saying something like, " you've got plenty of time, it won't start until such and such. pretty serious stuff, this harry potter mania. as you might imagine, this gigantic theatre was packed with fans, many under the age of 12. as the curtain parted and the commercials began, there was a huge round of applause and a hush fell over the crowd. all eyes were glued in anticipation. certainly we expected the rattling of candy wrappers to accompany the film but once it started, the audience was absolutely silent. i've never seen anything quite like it. the movie, just as the books, was very magical. whoever did the casting nailed it. the kids are beyond adorable and the adult cast is literally all star. it was nice to see hollywood keeping the integrity of the book intact and not going off on some over the top self absorbed deviation. afterwards, i was so jazzed about it that i almost bought the "hagrid" doll. good thing gary was there to contain me. as it turns out, it's opening here today so we may have to see it again since the second one won't be out for a year or so.

as we all know, london is not renowned for its quality of cuisine although right in the center of town you can usually get a nice meal. since we were only minutes from chinatown, we went to a place gary used to frequent in his younger student days when he lived in london. for years i've been hearing about the joint which had four levels and a line around the corner and where they would ask you to leave if you were spotted trying to linger after dinner by impolitely saying "you go now". the epitome of "turn and burn". there was no line on this particular night but it was full, everyone sitting together with people they didn't know at community tables. quite the scene and the food was pretty good but no one said "you go now" so i was a little bit disappointed. as hard as it was to top "harry potter", we did see another very good film that night. the london film festival is going on right now so there are lots of foreign films among others. i kept my eyes pealed for famous faces but i guess the real preview for the stars was the week before. the movie we saw was by the coen brothers of "fargo" fame. it's called "the man who wasn't there", film noire, very dark but thought provoking and definitely worth seeing.

going solo the next day while gary was back at work, i felt the irrestible pull of the "gap" drawing me in to have a look. well maybe just a small purchase or two. i really can't stay away from that store for some reason and it was around the corner from our hotel so i didn't even try to fight the urge. i did come away with only two items from the sale rack totalling about $30.00 so i was quite pleased with myself. luckily i couldn't find the right pair of jeans, which definitely would have jacked up the price. i love wandering in general. so i trekked through the market at covent garden and took some time to browse in stores gary probably wouldn't have been interested in if he had been with me. such great stores in that area! i also stopped in "muffinski's", an organic muffin and coffee shop. now i was really having a heavenly day. can't get those here and i've already put my order in for gary to bring some home tomorrow. they probably don't travel too well but who cares. at lunchtime we met, and afterwards copped some tickets for a drama that night. i then was given a quick tour of gary's "office" and continued with my window shopping, stopping back at the hotel to re group and figure out where i wanted to go next. at last i made a choice. it had to be the national portrait gallery, where there was an exhibit of self portraits by women artists dating from the 1800's. funny how we don't think of too many women being painters in previous centuries; at least i don't. most of the art was from the 20th century though, with very different perspectives on how each woman depicted herself. i also made a pass through an exhibit called "painted ladies", not what you think but beautiful, stately portraits of women in the court of charles II. i didn't realize how much i like portraits until i went to that museum last year. they certainly have an amazing collection with everyone from elizabeth I to elton john. it's really a fascinating place and i was glad i chose to go back there.

one of the great things about gary working in london is that he isn't tempted to stay at work until ridiculous hours of the night. otherwise he would miss going to the theatre. this is a nice change for him {and me}. he was back at the hotel by six and after a quick dinner, we settled into the duchess theatre, one of the smaller ones. "blue/orange" is a heavy play with only three performers. it takes place in a mental hospital, already a depressing subject and perfect for the intimate setting of this theatre. it's the kind of play that drains you of energy because it's quite intense but incredibly well done with virtually no set, carried by the acting and leaving you with a satisfying theatre experience. i could easily have stayed longer in london and gone to many more shows but alas, i had to get back to amsterdam the next day. lucky gary though, he came home last weekend to see our good friend june who was visiting from ireland, but then he went right back bright and early monday morning. he'll be back tomorrow night, hopefully with organic muffins in tow!!

soon we're off to freiburg, germany, where i will do a three day gyrotonic training course. we're hoping to spend some time exploring the black forest region. as i write this, many of you are sitting down to thanksgiving dinner. for us, it's just a day like any other but i'm thinking of you and wishing you a very happy turkey day and a magical holiday season. until next time.......

with love,

deb