Into the Woods - Stephen Sondheim & James Lapine

This is one of the last plays I saw in Stratford. Therefore this is one of the plays I remember best. Other than watching Shakespeare, one of our favorite things to see were musicals. And this one is a good one. I love plays/stories where they take something that I (or we) all know and love, and either provide the "back story" or another prospective. Another way to see the worlds and characters we know and love. (Examples: Wicked - the Musical not the book, Rosencrantz & Guildenstern are Dead)

This play is just that. It takes all these fairy tales and bedtime stories that everyone knows so well, and creates this other world. The other side of the "Happily Ever After" that we as children don't see or as adults we don't want to see. The play is a little hard to read because so much of it is placed to music which is not provided in the book. But I still have some recollection of the melodies so it is like seeing the play all over again.

This story really touched me when I saw it. I was about to go off to college the next year, and so the shelter of home was no longer a constant for me. I was about to leave all that I knew to be safe. In the play there is a witch of course (what good fairy tale doesn't have one?) - who, in this play's light is only a mother trying to protect her daughter from all the evil in the world. After this play my mother looked at me and bemoaned the fact that she was my "wicked witch". That she had tried so hard to protect me from the world, that she feared my 'entering' it. I called her (lovingly of course) my "wicked witch" from then on. Luckily I did not end up like the Rapunzel in the play, so it's okay.

I just really enjoyed this play because, now in this stage of my life, I'm wishing for a lot of things. And sometimes we don't always see the consequences of those wishes. This play, to me is a reminder of that. That I should be grateful for what I have and not wishing for a castle in the clouds - because it will always cost more than you bargain for, and it will never be as beautiful when you're staring right at it.

So if you can SEE this play first, before reading it ... or somehow listen to the music first ... then read the play, I think you will enjoy it too.

Final Score: 4 out of 5 stars

Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead - Tom Stoppard

Where to begin with this play? I watched this play ... I don't know when. I think in a literature class in high school. I loved it! I don't know how else to put it. I absolutely loved it. It had Richard Dreyfuss (he's in What About Bob? & Jaws) and Gary Oldman (he's in Harry Potter & Batman Begins). It was witty, it was hilarious. It was all my favorite things in one. I really don't know how to describe how much I like this movie. Because when I did finally buy it and watched it with my mom, she looked at me and said, "I don't get it." It made me laugh, because I thought everyone would love this movie. This is my guilty pleasure/no one understands why I enjoy it movie.

I thought this movie was a deep existential journey. It is the story of two characters - Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. Anyone who has read Hamlet should recognize their names. That is where they are from. They have very limited screen time in the play - essentially they show up out of no where, have one or two scenes, and then at the end of the play it is announced that they are dead.

This play uses that as a starting point. It is the story of Hamlet from their point of view. It is hauntingly real to me. The feelings that these men feel are ones that I feel. Where things seem to happen to them, out of their control and out of the reach of their understanding. They are victims to the ebb and flow of other people's choices. Or is it fate? There is a part of the play (well, it actually happens a couple of times), when Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are trying to think back to how they got involved in this mess. They remember a man knocking on their window, on the saddle of his horse, saying that they have been royally summoned. At one point in the play, the two characters reminisce and contemplate that they must have had the choice to say no.

I don't know why I keep choosing books/topics on which it is so hard to explain. But this is one play that I love reading over and over again. The movie has some interesting additions to the plot that add to its enjoyment. In particular I love the scene when the "play" questions. So if anyone does indeed read this blog (or find it for that matter) I would HIGHLY recommend this play, and the movie. And for those who have read/watched/have some kind of knowledge about Hamlet, I think you will enjoy all the illusions to events in that play as well.

Final Score: 5 out of 5 stars

The Complete Works of William Shakespeare [Abriaged] - Adam Long, Daniel Singer, & Jess Winfield

To begin this post ... I guess I should admit my overly ambitious nature. I was entirely planning to read all 6 Jane Austen novels for the month of February. And I had a good start when I read Sense & Sensibility and Northanger Abbey in essentially a weekend. Then I got tired of reading after that. I didn't pick up a book until two weeks latter. I am in the middle of Emma but I soon realized that I was not going to finish 3 more books, let alone 4 books in a matter of days when most days I had previous engagements already planned.

So I went to plan B.

I read 3 plays. I love these plays so it was good. Theater is one of my true loves. I remember for 10 years we would go to the Shakespearean Festival in Stratford, Canada. Usually it was for weekend trips, but some years we only went to one play. But I loved it. I was 8 when we first started. I can still see in my minds eye the beautiful sets of The King and I, the costumes of A Midsummer Night's Dream, and the cast of A Much Ado About Nothing. And those are just the first ones that come to my mind. I grew up on theater. It helped that my mom got her Master's in Theater while I was in middle school. Me and my sister use to go with her to Eastern Michigan University to her classes. We played theater games for FHE. It's in my blood.

And this play ... well, I don't know how I first got introduced to it. I think it was a conversation once that I had with an aunt maybe. Where they mentioned that there was a group who did something like a shortened Shakespeare play. That was the first I heard of it. And then I think one of my high schools did it as a school play. Anyway ... flash forward to when I am at school. For some reason, this play comes back to my mind and I buy it on a whim.

I love this book - because it is more of a diving board of ideas than anything else. It is one example of how to have fun with Shakespeare. At times it gets a little raunchy, a little gory - but what Shakespeare play isn't?!?! The first time I read it I thought how funny it would be to do it at BYU ... with a Mormon twist. I love this play just because it is the beginning step to a whole lot of ideas. It's an inspiration. It's a really quick read (one of the reasons I chose to read it. I got it out in a baby sitting appointment).

Final Score: 4 out of 5 stars

Northanger Abbey - Jane Austen

I guess I am going to date myself a little bit, but what the heck. I remember growing up and watching Wishbone, a TV show with an adorable beagle who would explore literature that corresponded to his 'real' life. I used to love that show -- that probably explains a lot about me. Every week we would watch this show and learn about literary geniuses and their extraordinary works of art. This (now) guilty pleasure of mine is what introduced me to Northanger Abbey when I was growing up.

I remember that this was one of the episodes. I do not remember much beyond that.

Anyway, that is beside the point. When I made this resolution to read all these books this month, I had no idea that I would be snowed in for 6 days. So today I decided that I would use this to my advantage and just get another book done and out of the way. Of course, one of the shorter books was more desirable than my intended next read (Pride & Prejudice). So, I snuggled with two dogs on my belly and finished it in one read.

It was good. However, you could tell that it was Jane Austen's first. A lot of the story plots/characters/problems with love that show up in this novel, come back in her later novels. But it had one set back, at least in my eyes. Austen constantly talks of her heroine, Cathrine. Yet, many times throughout the novel thought the story was more about the other characters.

Either way, it was a good book. I'm happy that true friends lead once again to true love. [As I will mention in my post about Emma - Mr. Knightly & Emma comprise one of my favorite couples in literature]

Final Score: 4 out of 5 stars

Sense & Sensibility - Jane Austen

For the month of February, I thought it would be appropriate to read the quintessential 'chick flick' books. Jane Austen came to mind ... love, marriage, and all the problems that come from dating/flirting/miscommunication. I started with Sense & Sensibility because I have always felt a connection to Elinor. Her temperament is very similar to mine -- the silent suffering type. I'm not a very open person when it comes to feelings of love or even attraction. I've been fooled enough times now to know not to open my mouth in order not to get burned.

Jane Austen is a very interesting writer. It takes her a long time to say something. Her story not only includes her main plot, but about 4 other tangents off of that main story. All the parts are interconnected and affect the main heroine of the story. But at times I feel as if the story is more about the events on the sides, rather than the main attraction.

** SPOILER **

I was also shocked to find that Willoughby comes to Elinor. I mean, the most interaction I have had with Sense & Sensibility is the Ang Lee adaptation with Emma Thompson. I thoroughly enjoy that movie, so it lead me to read the book. However, for thematic reasons the scene when Willoughby comes to explain himself was left out. I have mixed feelings for the scene, but I still feel it was an important event in the story line. It finishes the Willoughby/Marianne conflict a little more completely. Because of that scene, I hate Willoughby even more because he is such a [donkey], knowingly committing wrong to a dear sister. On the other hand, I feel and sympathize with him a little more knowing why he acted the way he did.

I guess it is always good to read the book and not just rely on the movie.

Final Score: 4 out of 5 stars