Trivia Question: What musical revival has the most Tony awards?
Answer: South Pacific with 7
Did you know that? I didn’t either, but just goes to show me that a musical revival that’s been seen, heard, and shown since 1949, can still be loved and enjoyed. The musical, South Pacific, has been playing at the Keller Auditorium for the past week and I had the opportunity to go check it out. Here’s a brief overview:
Out of all the musicals I have seen, read, studied, and sometimes know by heart, there are some that have ducked under my radar. I know, I know, how can something like South Pacific be under my radar? Well, I know about it, have heard some of the music from it, and had a vague familiarity about the musical, I’d just never seen it – or the movie for that matter. Shame on me, yes, I know.
[click to continue…]
The lights go down. The audience waits in anticipation. The curtain rises. The first note is heard. A costumed actor speaks or sings. From that moment on, as an audience member, your eyes and ears take it all in. The music, the scenery, the lighting, the costumes, the actors or dancers, the choreography. It becomes a constant stream of processing all of the elements that will hopefully entertain you for the next short bit of time. What you see on stage can sometimes be absolutely amazing. Behind the scenes though, well, that’s a production unto itself. It’s the people that tour with productions, local volunteers and organizations, and local stagehands that truly make things happen. Here’s a quick look based on personal experience:
[click to continue…]
Tagged as:
broadway across america,
local stage hands,
portland dancers
Looking for something to do next Saturday? Why not take part in a scavenger hunt? The CitySolve Urban Race 2010 hits Portland on August 7th. What is this Urban Race, you ask?
Teams of 2 solve clever clues and face fun challenges all while navigating the urban landscape via foot or on public transportation! It’s a scavenger hunt, with all the thrills of the amazing race, mixed in with trivial pursuit, throw in a mini road race and add a dash of cat-and-mouse. And voila! You’ve got CitySolve Urban Race!
According to the website, some of the challenges participants might face may include bowling a strike, throwing a bullseye, or building a house of cards. Then there are the tricky questions. Here’s a sample question from the 2007 Portland Urban Race:
Q: Find this retailer near Jamison Square in the Pearl District. It shares its name with a member of the band whose pop hits include: Wannabe and 2 Become 1.
A: Posh
So if this sounds like fun, head over to the Portland Urban Race page and register. The entry fees are $50 per person by 5:00 pm on 8/6, and $60 per person on race day, and there are lots of prizes to be won.
Tagged as:
citysolve,
hunt,
race,
scavenger
I’ll be the first to admit that I was a very lazy track athlete in high school.
The term “athlete” might actually be a stretch.
As a sprinter and jumper, I looked at practice as more of a place to work on my tan. Suffice to say, the University of Oregon would never have recruited me for my glaring lack of commitment.
As I got older, though, I started to become more fond of running. Admittedly, I would much rather chase a soccer ball around but I have slowly come to enjoy running. I’m not what one would call and endurance runner by any stretch, but I am perfectly happy to get out there and knock out a 5k.
A few weeks ago, I was researching content for one of my shows on pdx.fm (shameless plug) and came across this little gem.
It’s an all-comers track meet.
This is where younger and older alike converge to try their hand (or feet) at an array of events. This may not be Hayward Field, but it is a Portland tradition, with nearly 2,000 participants in 2009.
It is definitely a scaled-down version of a “real” meet, but it’s great to have a tradition like this in a state that values its running so much.
There are two meets left in at the Lake Oswego HS track, July 21st and 28th. After that, there will be cross country meets starting in September.
I have July 28th circled on my calendar.
And we’ll see if I can manage to clear four feet in the high jump.
But at least I might be able to work on my tan.
Tagged as:
all comers meet,
track and field,
university of oregon track
