Cleveland Shakespeare Festival - Cleveland, Ohio
July 15, 2012
Brad - A
Chelsea - C
We had the whole day to waste before we saw As You Like It, so we seized it. First, we went to a giant, bulk candy store. It was amazing:
Those are shelves and shelves of candy. We bought a bunch of stuff for the wedding reception, and I bought a box of super red rope licorice for my own personal consumption. Then we headed downtown!
After candyland, we went to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
.JPG)
It is housed in this very strange looking building.
So, they don't allow pictures on the inside, unfortunately. But it is pretty, pretty nice. It is pretty amazing to see an iconic album cover sitting next to the actual clothes the band wore or the guitar used in the photo for said album cover. They also have some awesome stage sets from past tours, such as The Wall:
.JPG)
The only disappointment was the lack of anything Jimmy Buffett. He is a true rock-star, and someday, when the Hall recognizes this, I will go back to see his exhibit. But we did see some items from Fitz and the Tantrums.
.JPG)
They aren't technically in the Hall of Fame yet, but with more albums like their debut album, they will be there someday! Here is a short, sweet sample of Fitz and the Tantrums:
So, we hopped on Johnny Cash's tour bus and headed back to the burbs for more Shakespeare:
But we still had a bit of time to kill, so we stopped at Barnes and Nobles for a coffee, a giant chess game, and quick read.
If you are curious what Chelsea is reading, she is catching up on the most recent prepper literature. What is a prepper you say, pollyanna? You'd better learn before TEOTWAWKI. After deciding on our bug out location for DC, we headed back to the Collonade for Shakespeare!
So, As You Like It: Frederick usurps his older brother's duchy and exiles him, but he allows his brother's daughter, Rosalind, to stay in town to be friends with his daughter, Celia. Orlando, after fighting and beating a very large man, sees Rosalind and falls in love. Shortly thereafter, Frederick banishes Rosalind. Angry, Cecilia agrees to leave with Rosalind (along with the jester Touchstone). Celia dresses as an old woman and Rosalind as a young man named Ganymede. At the same time, Orlando flees the duchy to hid from his older brother. All relevant parties, fortuitously, escape to the Forest of Arden, home to the exiled duke.
Orlando, lovesick for Rosalind, begins writing horrible love poetry and posting it on the trees of the forest. Rosalind/Ganymede sees it, discusses it with Orlando, and agrees to teach Orlando how to woo a woman. So, Orlando goes about woo-ing Rosalind/Ganymede. However, a shepherdess falls in love with Ganymede/Rosalind much to the chagrin of the Shepard in love with her. And because love is in the air, Touchstone tries to seduce a lady friend.
After a big fight with all of the lovers, Rosalind --- still dressed as a man --- has Orlando agree to marry Rosalind, and the shepherdess agree to marry the Shepard, if the shepherdess cannot marry Ganymede. Because Ganymede turns out to be a woman, at the end of the day, everyone is married off, and everyone is happy.
This production was better than Henry VIII. Orlando was great, and Rosalind was better. Touchstone, a Cleveland acting establishment, was also pretty good. This kind of play is perfect for Shakespeare in the Park. It was light and fun. This play also contains the famous "All the world's a Stage" monologue. The weather was great, the crowd was full, and I ate three pieces of super red rope licorice during the production. All in all, a good experience.
After the play, we packed up and headed home. Because Cleveland is only 5.5 hours from DC, we actually made it home in pretty good time. It was a successful weekend, and I can tell you that I've now spent plenty of time in Cleveland for one lifetime.
Brady-mede