Last Saturday: Rope Swings, Failed BBQs, and Gondolieri
Saturday was unusually busy for me. Technically, I guess it began with a few last games of mafia, around the campfire, then going to sleep under the beautiful stars (a new moon). I’m afraid that I am simply no longer able to have a good night’s sleep while camping. I finally got up around 7:00 with a sore back. Luckily, there was plenty of food to cheer me up.
A group of about 12 of us chose to go camping in Mona because of a certain rope swing that we had heard about. The rumors turned out to be true (Google Map). Other than the rope swing and the pleasant pond, one of the niceties of the campsite was that there was no fee.
After breakfast and another few hours at the rope swing, we packed up and went back to Provo. My friends thought I was a bit ridiculous for hopping into Carriage Cove’s boiling-hot hot-tub in the middle of the day, but I thought it might do some good to my back. The rest of the afternoon was filled with a little shopping and studying Gilbert and Sullivan’s “The Gondoliers” in preparation for the evening performance that I planned to attend. Part of my shopping trip included buying a copy of The Format’s CD, “Dog Problems”. I’ve had it on my Shuffle for a while, and it’s definitely good stuff. I also bought some nice bratwurst for the PLUG’s Annual Summer BBQ.
During the two hours prior to the BBQ, I listened to the entire soundtack of “The Gondoliers”, and followed along in a copy of the libretto. I’ve found that I enjoy theatre much more when I’m familiar with the show, especially when it comes to witty writing like that of Gilbert.
The BBQ started at 6:00, and the show started at 7:30, so I figured that I should show up for the first hour, so that I’d be able to enjoy my bratwurst with a few others that didn’t mind being unfashionably early. Unfortunately, despite the advertisement of a 5:30 call for those setting-up, the guy with charcoal didn’t show up until a little after 7:30. He evidently was involved with some sort of medical situation, but he apparently didn’t make any arrangements for anybody to take over his duties. There was another person that happened to have a bag of charcoal, but it still wasn’t ready for cooking when I had to leave at 7:00. Quite the let-down.
I suppose that I should give my operetta critique its own posting…