Sunday, February 26, 2006

Will somebody PLEASE get the spectacle?

Just got back from a fundraiser held at the Noble Horse- you know, that stable you can see from the brown line near Sedgewick? Lord, I nearly died. Fancy air-filtration they might have, but it's no match for my hair-trigger timothy hay allergy.

Anyway, Noble Horse used to be a barn, but they redid it as a much smaller, ad-hoc version of Medieval Times. Dinner theatre with ponies! As a whole, it was charmingly inept, but spotted with some really jaw dropping acts: circus riders jumping on and off horses at gigantic speeds, somersaulting around, riding backwards and upside down, this fabulous woman with a bullwhip whose horse walked on its hind legs and, and bowed and spun around like it had an orc on its tail. Acts like should be supported-- they COULD be supported-- by excellent non-horse performers, a better thought-out theme, and some nifty costumes and props. I am issuing a CALL to our fine spectacle oriented theatre companies. I know some of you have always wanted to do a show with ponies- there's somebody in the city right now with the right facilities and some of the right performers. All they need are some fine theatrical geniuses to spin sheer gold out of the hay. Just tell me- I'll get you the numbers.

Meanwhile, it was a very cute show, and the children in the audience adored it. Free pony rides for the little ones at the end.

Saturday night I caught "Serpent Woman" at the Side Project. Didn't enjoy it as much as I'd hoped. See, it was about a man who had to free his magical wife from the clutches of shapeshifting fairies, a premise which I like.* And most of the fairies, especially a pair of super-clown types, were great. But the man and his wife were boringsville, so when they triumphed, I really didn't care. I wanted the fairies to win, as they were more fun. Still, giant puppets!

*Even though the fairies are slacking from their rightful occupation, baby-stealing.

2 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Never did tell you about "Arabian Nights" in Orlando, FL, did I? Still loads of beautiful horses, but bigger, better and with magic tricks. And a story. And an opportunity for one poor audience member to ride a horse and split her pants all at once.

Bottom line: people, you haven't seen theatre until you've seen an all-horse Broadway kick line.

9:46 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Thank you so much for checking out Noble Horse for me first! Another nagging curiosity satisfied.

Merrie

11:09 AM  

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