Friday, September 26, 2008

Fully Committed - Madison Repertory Theatre

Our first play at the Madison Repertory Theatre, Fully Committed, was FANTASTIC. Based on the title and the rumor that it was a one woman show, I assumed we would be watching a female spiraling into an insanity worthy of full commitment to the insane asylum. Although we never made it to the asylum, the woman did spiral and, thankfully, rise again. It was a wild, fast-paced descent to complete and utter humility. Downtrodden myself, a spectator, I wanted to do anything I could to help out; my empathy was limitless and entirely unexpected from a one actor presentation. Thankfully there was a feel-good ending, and one felt props were given where props were due. Despite leaving with a feeling of vindication and elation that a good person was finally getting good things, one is left wondering whether the concessions to get them were worth it. How far do we stretch our morals to get what we want?


See the link below for storyline and directing/acting credits.

http://madisonrep.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=44&Itemid=94

Monday, September 22, 2008

Michelle Obama in Madison


An estimated 1,800 people came out to see Michelle Obama just outside of Camp Randall stadium. A good number of us came carting strollers and squirmy toddlers which was fully and warmly accepted by Ms. Obama, as she even worked one child's rebuttal into her speech. Thank goodness she didn't hear young Caleb say "All Done, Michelle". Quite excited and cheering for her at first, he was just fed up with the crowds and lack of play equipment after a good hour of waiting and then listening to speakers. Michelle's speech was on par with what one would expect from the Obama campaign. It wasn't glitzy and worthy of crowd ferver (think John Kerry bringing Bruce Springsteen and Sheryl Crow to Madison in 2004) but it was heart-felt, modestly passionate and rational, all attributes significantly lacking in the current administration. I was happy to get out and cheer for my team, and sweet little Caleb came away from the event recognizing and calling out any and all Obama yard signs. I think my work is done ;)