Cedar City - Part Two

So besides the house, we actually went down there for the theater. This year I saw 4 plays: As You Like It, MacBeth, The Importance of Being Ernest, and A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder.

All of them were well done, but I probably like Gentleman and MacBeth the best. The younger kids didn’t go to the theater but we did catch a Greenshow with everyone and we all got to wander around the grounds a bit. I love the whole setup they have there. 

Besides the theater, there were a couple other things that made the trip especially fun. We didn’t plan this because we didn’t know about it, but they have a Renaissance Festival every 3rd week of July and it’s free to go to. So we got to wander around that and see the booths and the kids played in some bounce houses and there was entertainment and food. It was a fun way to spend a couple hours one morning. 

Since we didn’t have a hotel pool this year, we checked and they have an aquatic center and we tried it out and we are never going back to hotel pools again. Ha ha in Cedar City, at least. It was so fun and not expensive for what you get. I think adults were $5 and kids were $4.50. The pool has a big kids playground and then a slide and a lazy river. Plus there is a hot tub and an outdoor pool. Kids and adults had a blast. The lazy river was my favorite part, but the kids playground with the buckets that dump water every so often was also pretty fun. 

The weather was also great. I had thought it would be super hot down south, but it was actually cooler than home. They had some monsoon rainstorms a few of the afternoons, but it never interfered with our plans and it was so nice to see some rain and have the cooler temperatures. 

Since this year was a big year with the house and all the kids and 4 plays, I thought maybe I would take next year off… but then I saw what’s going to be on and have to think about it. I can probably be talked into doing a trip like this again, maybe with even more of the family. But I could also just go down by myself and see a few plays and go home.  So I won’t rule anything out. We for sure want to do this again though. It was truly a great vacation.  

Fun Saturday

A while back my nephew asked if I would take him and his sister to see Prince of Egypt at the Hale Center Theater and of course I said yes. We went yesterday to the matinee. They got to my house a bit early so we got down there and went into the biggest Barnes and Noble I’ve ever been in. It’s not too far from the theater and I had no idea it was there. Not that I get down that way very often, but it was fun to see. 

The play was good and I always love how they put on a show in a round theater. It won’t ever be a favorite but still I had a good time. I’m pretty much always up for local theater. After, we went to The Cheesecake Factory for a late lunch/early dinner. I haven’t been to that mall or that restaurant in years. I was amazed at how busy it was. I guess people still do go to some malls? I’m also amazed at how busy that restaurant always is. I mean it’s good, but not the best and it’s expensive. It was a special occasion so I had no problems with going. We all got a specialty drink plus cheesecake so the bill was high. Again, a special occasion but I’m glad that I’m making the effort to save and waste less. It feels good. 

I got to bed at a decent time, but it was the time change so of course I’m dragging today. It’s going to be a lazy Sunday and will hopefully include a nap!

Another Fun Vacation

This week I did a quick trip to Cedar City and the Utah Shakespeare Festival. I didn’t go last year so it was fun to go back. It was a little bit different this year because mom wasn't with us. The day we left I did let myself have my moment to feel sad. She would have had fun with all of us. This year my sisters wanted to come so I had Anna and her girls and my other niece Katya for the theater. My other sister came with her 5 year old twins as well. They just did other things while we were in the theater but they had fun sitting on the grass with us to watch the Greenshow.

This year we went to The Winter’s Tale, Much Ado About Nothing, and The 39 Steps. I didn’t know much about The Winter’s Tale, but they did a great job and I understood what was going on. It’s kind of a crazy story and it’s labeled as a “Romance” but you wouldn’t know it from the first act. I knew I would love Much Ado About Nothing, and I did. It was fun to see it on stage. The 39 Steps just sounded fun and it was probably my favorite because I laughed almost all the way through.  

All 3 of my nieces want to go back next year and the season has been announced and they are doing some good ones, so I will probably be planning out that trip as well. 

While I have been on some really great trips, this is probably my favorite vacation. I get to spend time with my favorite people and go to the theater. 

And now, I'm out of things to look forward to. Except for autumn coming. But all this year during the hard stuff, I've had my Canada trip, this trip, and a day at the Uintah's with family as the things that I was looking forward to this summer. I still have some time off coming, but nothing planned for it. I'm not sure how I'm going to feel about the holidays this year, but I do love autumn and now that school is back it's the one thing I'm anticipating...even as it's still 90 degrees outside. Ah well...

Theater

I spent half of last week down in Cedar City going to the Utah Shakespeare Festival. This was my 4th year in a row. I really love going to the theater there. This year I went with my mom and a niece (but a different niece than the previous 2 years). We had a good time. The shows were fantastic. We saw four: 

The Sound of Music

I must admit I only bought tickets to this one because my niece wanted to see it. I might have skipped it and I’m so glad I didn’t. I just figured I’ve been exposed to it so much, even though I knew the theater production is different than the movie. It was fantastic. The actress who played Maria brought so much joy and exuberance to the role. All of them did so well with their parts. My least favorite was Captain Von Trapp and I figured out to myself why. I was expecting a slightly deeper voice. He sang beautifully but the timbre of his voice was just higher than I liked. I saw him in another play also and it’s just his voice, there’s nothing wrong with it at all. It’s just a personal preference. 

Clue

I was so looking forward to this one and it did not disappoint. I love the movie so much and this stage version was very similar. They hit the comedy right on and the characters were also spot on. It was so good. I had so many laughs. A favorite part was when they were searching the manor for other people and two of the characters were using a Clue board game for the “map” of the house. So funny. 

Sweeney Todd

This is one of my favorite musicals. It’s one of the rare instances where I love the dark themes and not happy ending. I love the music and the cleverness in the lyrics and how the harmonies all work together. This was my mom and nieces’ least favorite and I can see why. I think you need more exposure to it to really appreciate it. Making meat pies out of people is not for everyone! But it is for me and they did a great job.

The Tempest

Our last play was finally some Shakespeare. This one was in the smaller theater that I had never been in before. They set it in the 1990’s and Prospero and Antonio were played by women. Oh my gosh, it was good. I had some good laughs and really enjoyed seeing what they did on a small stage with very few props. I would love to see it again. Plus, I had forgotten it is the play that Mary Stewart used in her book This Rough Magic and I’ve been re-reading it since I got home.

I thought four plays might be a bit much but it was not. I loved them all and really could have gone to 1 or 2 more without any problems. 

So it was a great time. Right now I’m actually not planning to go next year because I’ve already seen the only play that actually appeals to me but I may change my mind later on. You never know. 

Theater

I spent a few days last week in Cedar City for the Utah Shakespeare Festival. This year I went with both my mom and my niece. We saw The Comedy of Errors and Pirates of Penzance. Both were excellent, although Errors might have been my favorite. I’ve seen Pirates twice before but decided if my niece is going to do theater, she needs some exposure to Gilbert and Sullivan. In the play orientation before Errors started, the guy had said something about you won’t have any problems understanding what’s going on because they speak English. He was correct. I didn’t have any problems understanding it at all although I feel that’s partly due to the great acting. I borrowed the ebook before we left but didn’t get past the first page. LOL I just wasn’t in the mood to fight my way through the text. It’s much more assessable in the spoken form for some reason. It was nice to get out and it was so nice to be back at the theater. I didn’t mind wearing the mask at all if it meant I was back.  We already plan to go back next year for sure.

A very old poster from the festival on display at SUMA. 

I’m super tired of the news and COVID and problems this morning. I guess that means I’m taking a break from some online stuff for at least today. I was listening to an online Sunday school lesson yesterday and the guy talked about how there were sunflowers everywhere he didn’t see, even in his own backyard. So this week I’m going to try and focus on how God is already in my life, I just have to see Him. I know that will help me get my balance back.

My Weekend

I spent a fun weekend in Cedar City with my niece. We went to the Utah Shakespeare Festival at Southern Utah University. This was my second time going. This year we saw Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and Twelfth Night. It was my second time seeing both of them on stage but I still loved them and thought they did a great job.  This year I saw some of The Greenshow also. It’s put me in the mind to try reading another Shakespeare play. There are a few I’m interested in learning more about or curious about the story.

While we were waiting we went into the Southern Utah Museum of Art and saw the Al Farrow exhibit. I loved it. He made religious buildings and structures out of guns and ammo and gun parts. I thought it sent such a powerful message to be able to make art out of something that people have used for killing.

These are just a few of them. I just really enjoyed the exhibit. It was thought provoking. 

Anyway, I had a good time with everything we did. Now I have to get ready for the work week and back to the grind. 

A Fun Weekend

Last weekend I went to the Utah Shakespeare Festival in Cedar City for the first time. I’ve always wanted to go but with finding someone to go with and figuring out schedules and things, I just never did. So I went by myself and I had a great time.

I took Friday off work and hit the road around 10:00 am. On the way, I stopped to go shopping, and then a little later I stopped at the Cove Fort visitor’s center. A nice sister missionary took me through the place. When I got to Cedar City, I checked into my hotel and had enough time to go get something to eat and go figure out where to park on the SUU campus.

The first play I saw was The Liar. It was a comedy about a guy who can’t (won’t or doesn’t want to?) tell the truth and a case of mixed up identities. It was funny. It was written in the 1600s but translated into English and “updated” a bit for modern audiences. They rhyming speech was hilarious, as was the fun modern updates, such as a light saber duel.

On Saturday I was a little lazy in the morning but ended up at the Frontier Homestead State Park museum. I always love seeing any part of history and pioneers are a big part of my history. I liked the museum with the old houses, log cabins, and carriages, etc. Then I wasted some time on campus and went to my next play: The Foreigner. I have seen that one before and it was still so funny. They did a great job with it. It’s about a shy guy whose friend decides to help him out by telling people he doesn’t speak English. He then overhears all kinds of things. It’s funny, but also has a great message about the value of people, no matter where they are from.

After that, I drove back home.

I would totally go again, but I’d do things a little differently next time. First, I’d make it a 3 day weekend. It’s a lot of driving for 2 days. There were a bunch of things near Cedar City I thought about seeing, but didn’t really want to get back in the car for a drive. Making it into 3 days would help with that and give more time to see other stuff, plus go to the plays. I’d also look more into the festival itself. I did go to one orientation before my second play, but I didn’t realize the lectures and things they do, or the timing of them. It’s my own fault, but I would have liked to attend some of those also.  Plus, I didn’t actually see any of the Shakespeare, and I’d like to do that, especially if I could go to one of the lectures/orientations to become more familiar with whatever play I was seeing. There are only about 5 that I’m really comfortable with.

People keep asking me who I went with and I say nobody. I go to movies and plays and other stuff by myself at home all the time and I travel for work by myself but haven’t done a lot of solo travel for fun. As I do travel by myself I’m slowing seeing why people love it. It’s pretty freeing to do what I want to do and when and just going instead of having to find weekends that work for multiple people. The downside is not being able to split the cost of a hotel room, but I think I can handle that.