A Day Like All Days

SUNDAY

I ended up getting up twice during the night and didn't sleep well. When the alarm went off at seven, I texted Colleen to let her know what was going on and that we wouldn't be joining her and Dad at church. Then I rolled over and went back to sleep, getting up once more before starting our day around ten.

Gary left around noon to get some lunch at Big Boy. Around 1:30 Colleen arrived with bananas, Sprite, applesauce and gelatin cups, and Italian ice. She stayed for a few minutes and we chatted about some family drama, which came as a surprise to me and I hope gets resolved as soon as possible.

About halfway through the Cowboys-Giants game I felt sleepy again and laid down for a nap, and felt a lot better when I got up. We watched the rest of the Bengals-Steelers game while keeping track of the Seahawks-Cardinals game online. Then we had dinner at a little Chinese place in a strip mall across the street, and came back to watch the Colts-Titans game. I ended up falling asleep around quarter to midnight as the game ended.

Last night the Seattle Men's Chorus had our premiere performance of Falling In Love Again, a look at life in Germany before and during the Nazi era.

Act One features the music of Weimar Germany which inspired the musical Cabaret, including the title tune and "Wilkommen" from that musical. The Emcee from Cabaret is portrayed by Nick Garrison and I must say he's done an excellent job in the role. I get to play one of the three pigs in "Who's Afraid of the Big, Bad Wolf?"; I'm the one with the brick house. (Cue up "Brick House" -- oh wait, that isn't period. :-) Also we have the Spectrum Dance company in several numbers, and Frau Schnaub, portrayed by a simply huge young chorus member (who can't wait to start growing his beard again ;-), in the comic dance number "Fräulein, Pardon". The title tune of our concert is performed by a chorus member impersonating Marlene Dietrich and backed up by the full chorus.

Act Two is an operatic piece entitled For a Look or a Touch, originally a "chamber opera" for baritone and speaking actor, and expanded to include a small ensemble (Captain Smartypants) and a full men's chorus. The chorus represents the gay men sent to the concentration camps in Nazi Germany, with costumes and makeup to create a haunting, zombie-like effect. The actor portraying Gad Beck, an aging Holocaust survivor, is David Pichette who is a well-known Seattle actor and portrayed Voltaire in last year's production of Candide. The baritone soloist, Morgan Smith, portrays the ghost of Gad's lover, Manfred Lewin, who perished in the camps.

If you have the time I would highly recommend coming to see the show at 2:00 this afternoon at McCaw Hall.