"Home for the Holidays" with the FWSO Pops

Bass Hall
program

The Travelling Toe and a Dear Friend attended the Sunday matinee performance of the Pops Concert presented by the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra.  In this annual event, the weekend following Thanksgiving,  starts the holiday season with a program titled "Home For The Holidays".  

The orchestra was lead by Andres Franco, Assistant Conduct of FWSO.

Andres Franco

The symphony was joined by the Southwestern Seminary Master Chorale and the Lone Star Youth Chorus of Fort Worth.

The program was full of holiday favorites sacred and secular.  The theme from the movie "Home Alone" written John Williams is always enjoyed.  Also fun to hear were the 3 brass players on "Bugler's Holiday".  And who does not enjoy Leroy Anderson's "Sleigh Ride".

As the program was ending.it began to snow in Bass Hall and a very famous person dressed in red made his jolly appearance.

What a fun and enjoyable way to begin the Christmas season!

Fairy Gardens with the Westmont Garden Club

Fairy Garden

The Travelling Toe attended the monthly meeting of the Westmont Garden Club which was held on Saturday, November 14, 2015.   The meeting was held at the Agri Life Extension Office located on Main Street in Weatherford.  Carol Welch, Master Gardener, gave a presentation on how to construction a fairy garden.

Carol Welch
Master Gardner

Carol began the program with an overview of what makes up a fairy garden.  There are 7 factors to take into consideration when designing a fairy garden:

       Simplicity – focal point
            choose 1, 2 or 3 items in the garden as focal points
        

      Texture
            texture in the fairy garden should be varied, such as heavy to light or thin
            to dense
     Color
            use a color in the fairy garden that speaks to you; use the color wheel
            by offsetting warm shade plants with plants from the cool spectrum
     Line
           line is used to connect or define a space by using a fence, or rocks or pebbles
           this design feature allows the eyes to follow lines drawn within the space

     Balance
            formal versus informal
            formal – repeats the same on the left to the right
            informal – right and left differ which gives different movement and feeling

     Unity
            repetition – too much can be monotonous
            consistency – using ground cover such as moss which pulls the scene together
 
     Scale
            compare the plants and element of the scene and ensure that all are close
            to the same size or scale

After learning about the elements that are used in constructing fairy gardens, it was time for the gardeners to get their hands in the dirt.

With assistance and encouragement from Carol, the member’s fairy gardens began to take shape.  Each one was different in style, landscape and elements used.  But each one was beautiful. 

Above are examples some of our completed projects.  The Travelling Toe's efforts did not produce anything as close to the beautiful ones shown.  

This was another interesting and fun meeting for the gardeners of the Westmont Garden Club

Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra, November 15, 2015 Performance

The Travelling Toe and  two friends attended the Sunday afternoon performance of the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra at Bass Hall.  The concert consisted of selections from 3 different composers.

The guest conductor for the performance was Ignat Solzhenitsyn.  According to the program notes, Mr. Solzhenitsyn is a gifted artist  with an active career as both a conductor and pianist. He was an excellent conductor and lead the orchestra through some difficult music.  Here is hoping he will be engaged to return for another appearance with orchestra soon.

Ignat Solzhenitsyn
guest conductor

 The first piece played was "Ma mere l'oye" which is French for Mother Goose and was subtitled "Five Pieces for Children". Maurice Ravel. was the composer.  The first part is for Sleeping Beauty, the second about the little boy who left a bread crumb trail to find his way but instead all the crumbs was eaten by the birds.  The third is the Empress of the Pagodas, the fourth is for Beauty and the Beast and the 5th was titled The Fairy Garden.  

Each of the interludes were lovely.  But The Travelling Toe must admit that Ravel is a favorite composer.  And this music did not disappoint.

Maurice Ravel
1875-1937

After a short intermission for the orchestra to be re-set, the program continued.  William Clay, Principle Double Bassist for the orchestra, was the featured soloist.  He performed the Concerto for Double Bass and Orchestra in F-sharp minor composed by Serge Koussevitzky.  It is not often that the double bass is the solo instrument.  Mr. Clay was amazing and we thought the piece, maybe not one of our favorites was still interesting to hear.  It was fascinating to watch Mr.Clay work so hard and made such beautiful music on that huge instrument.

William Clay
soloist
Principle Double Bass
(photo courtesy of Dallas Morning News) 

Serge Koussevitzky
1874 - 1951

The program continued after a 20 minute intermission.  The orchestra played Sergei Rachmaninoff's Symphony No.1 in D Minor.  He composed it in 1895 and was only 22 at the time.

Sergei Rachmaninoff
1873 - 1943

Due to ill health The Travelling Toe was unable to remain for this part of the program so alas, no words on wisdom to share on it.  But after all Rachmaninoff rocks, so it had to be good!



Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra


Bass Hall

Bass Hall

"Dixie's Never Wear a Tube Top while Riding a Mechanical Bull" at the McDavid Stuido

DIXIE LONGATE
riding her
mechanical bull

With two other sassy friends, The Travelling Toe went to see the new show by Dixie Longate at the Sunday afternoon matinee.  We three have seen her previous show, "Dixie's Tupperware Party", so we just had to see her new production when it was scheduled at the McDavid Studio, (which is just right across the street from Bass Hall).  Apparently a lot of other folks like Dixie too as the studio was totally full.  You have to come early to get a good seat to see Dixie.

"Her" show is funny, irrelevant, and has adult language and content.  But Dixie also shares her words of wisdom and her outlook on life.  One of the gems she shared was "we need more time feeling happy and less time feeling crappy". The Travelling Toe agrees with her on that one. She also told the audience that we need to have more adventures and then we have more stories to tell.  Another funny one was that if people are making you mad, then just tell them to "shut your mouth and have a Moon Pie and then get on with your life".  

This was a fun show and we did laugh a lot.  Dixie was struggling with a cold or sinus issues and often her voice was raspy but with her Tupperware tumble full of "medicine", she gave us a great show.

If you have not seen "Dixie" then you just need to do that.  And after the show "Dixie" is out front talking  to her fans and having pictures made.  Oh, and you can order Tupperware too - really!!! Dixie is the biggest seller of Tupperware and has received several awards from the company for her efforts.

Performance Program for
Dixie

McDavid Studio

Disclaimer:  The Travelling Toe is not a professional critic and any opinions expressed are for entertainment purposes only. 

"Other Desert Cities" presented by Circle Theatre

OTHER DESERT CITIES
play program

The Travelling Toe and Dear Friend attended the Saturday matinee production of "Other Desert Cities" presented by the Circle Theatre.  The play was written by John Robin Baitz.  He won the Outer Critics Circle Award for the play in 2011.  It was a finalist for the 2012 Pulitzer Prize for Best Play.

The play is centered on a family reuniting for the Christmas season at the parents Palm Springs home.  The play is described as follows:

After a six-year absence, Brooke Wyeth, returns home to Palm Springs to celebrate Christmas with her parents and her brother and her aunt.  Brooke announces that she is about to publish a memoir dredging up a pivotal and tragic event in the family's history - a wound that they don't want reopened.  In effect, she draws a line in the sand and dares them all to cross it.

This intriguing play will have your sympathies shifting back and forth among each member of a brilliant and yet complicated family.

The two of us thought this play was thoroughly engaging.  The dynamics of this dysfunctional  family were painful and often bitter but sometimes joyful . There is a twist to the real story of this tragic event, but The Travelling Toe will not spoil the ending for you just in case you might see this show yourself sometime.  It is for mature audiences only and has adult content and language.  

The performance we saw had an little extra drama.  As the play was in the depths of finally divulging the true story behind the family secret, the stage lights suddenly went off.  We did not know if it was a strange ending to the play or a bigger issue.  Then one of the actors on stage, announced, "someone hit the wrong button".  The audience laughed and applauded. Since the emotions on stage were so raw at that point, again in the dark, the actor said "we will go to the final scene".  And that is what happened.  We did know the true events of the family secret at that point so the short wrap-up scene ended it on the just right note.

All the actors were amazing in their respective roles.  

CAST MEMBERS

John S Davies

                    Lyman Wyeth

Connie Coit

                   Polly Wyeth

Dana Schultes

                  Brooke Wyeth

                         (who we see often at Stage West)

Jeff Burleson

                 Trip Wyeth

Cindee Mayfield

                    Silda Grauman

Circle Theatre

 

 Disclaimer:  The Travelling Toe is not a professional citric and any opinions expressed are for entertainment purposes only.

"The Beaux' Stratagem" presented by National Theatre Live at the Magnolia Theater

THE BEAUX' STRATAGEM

The Travelling Toe and two friends recently attended the Wednesday afternoon presentation of "The Beaux' Stratagem" telecast from the National Theatre in London.  The production was showing at the Magnolia Theater, which is at the Modern Art Museum.  The telecast was sponsored by Amphibian Stage Productions.  The play was written in 1707 by George Farquhar. It was his final play and is considered a "carnal comedy".

GEORGE FARQUHAR
playwright

According to the National Theatre's website, the story is about two young men who are in deep financial trouble and are looking for a way to solve their problems.

             The ‘Beaux’: Mr Aimwell and Mr Archer, two charming, dissolute young men who have blown their fortunes in giddy London. Shamed and debt-ridden, they flee to provincial Lichfield. Their ‘Stratagem’: to marry for money.

           Lodged at the local inn, posing as master and servant, they encounter a teeming variety of human obstacles: a crooked landlord, a fearsome highwayman, a fervent French Count, a maid on the make, a drunken husband, a furious butler, a natural healer and a strange, turbulent priest.

          But their greatest obstacle is love. When the Beaux meet their match in Dorinda and Mrs Sullen they are most at risk, for in love they might be truly discovered.

We found the play to be very engaging and funny.  We did experience a little issue with the accents (as I am sure they would with us Texans).  But the acting was wonderful.  English actors just know how to play farce so well.  All the cast members were so good in their parts.  The costumes were delightful, as was the make-up and hair pieces.  This play featured a live band playing original music written for this play, which added another layer of fun to the events taking place on stage.

The next Nation Theatre Live presentation will be "Hamlet" staring the heartthrob of the moment, Benedict Cumberbatch. The Travelling Toe has it on good authority this is an outstanding production.  So make plans to go see it.

Amphibian Stage Productions

The Modern Art Museum

"The Martian" additional information

THE MARTIAN
movie poster

The Travelling Toe has already published a short review of the film "The Martian", starring Matt Damon.  However, one scene does deserve it's own mention.  If you have seen the movie then you might know what it is.  

Mark experiences issues with his helmet and has to fix the problem immediately.  So what does he use?  The handyman's' favorite tool.....DUCT TAPE.  Just be assured that it works as well on Mars as it does on Earth.

Duct Tape

Red Green would be so proud!   And if you don't know who Red Green is, then you are just not very handy!

RED GREEN

Red Green

"Kinky Boots" at Broadway at the Bass

KINKY BOOTS
play program

The Travelling Toe and 2 other friends, feeling a little kinky, went to the Broadway touring show of "Kinky Boots".  It was presented by Broadway at the Bass.  We saw the show at the Sunday matinee performance at Bass Hall and it was full of other kinky people too.  

Broadway At The Bass

This musical comedy is based on the 2005 movie of the same name, "Kinky Boots".  The stage show premiered in Chicago then made it's Broadway debut in 2013.  It went on to win 5 Tony Awards.  The touring company set out on the road in 2014. 

The music and lyrics for the show were written by Cyndi Lauder - yes that Cyndi! The book was written by by Harvey Fierstein.

CYNDI LAUPER

HARVEY FIERSTEIN

The story beings with a young boy Charlie, leaving his Dad in Southampton to run the family shoe factory alone. Charlie is on the way to trendy London to make his fortune.  Along for the journey is his girlfriend  who sees a bright future ahead for the 2 of them far away from Southampton.

But Charlie's Dad passes away and Charlie finds out the shoe company is in dire financial trouble.  When he contemplates that the factory will have to be closed and the workers will lose their jobs, he tries to think of something to do to save the business.  Then he happens to meet "Lola" a beautiful transvestite who is complaining about the shoes "she" is wearing.  When a man wears women's shoes they just don't stand up to the wear and tear of a heavier body. Charlie has his "ah ha" moment and he soon has Lola designing kinky boots. The fiancee does not want to leave London for Southampton and returns back to her life in the Big City.  Charlie and Lauren, who works at the factory, become very good friends as they are work long hours together to get the boots ready for the Milan shoe season preview..  

KYLE TAYLOR PARKER
Lola

STEVEN BOOTH
Charlie

So Dear Readers, do Charlie and Lola save the factory, the workers jobs and form a great working relationship?  Well, after all this is live theater and anything can happen!

Lola and Charlie
in their
Kinky Boots

It was great fun to see the men also wearing high heels.  This is a fun show to experience.  One of the songs that both boys sing is a lament to their Dad's was "Not My Father's Son", each from a very different perspective.  Later in the play Lola has a solo,  "Hold Me In Your Heart" that was amazing. Charlie was excellent during his solo of "Soul Of A Man".  Both leading men had fabulous voices.  

One last note:  The make-up, costumes and choreography were super.  And the touring orchestra members were excellent as well and never played over the singers.  

If this show comes you way go see it.  If it comes back to Fort Worth we will be there!

Kinky Boots
Lola and girls

Migrating Monarchs presentation by Master Gardener Carol Welch

MONARCH BUTTERFLY

The Travelling Toe attended the October monthly meeting of the Westmont Garden Club.
The program was presented by Master Gardener, Carol Welch on “Migrating Monarchs”. 

Carol Welch
Master Gardner

Carol started the program with this quote:

                       

            “God has the foolish things of this world to confound the wise”

Carol shared the story of how a young Canadian boy was so entranced with the monarch butterflies that he began a lifelong journey to find their nesting place. Then in 1975 their nesting location was indeed found in Mexico.  It was photographed and documented for a 1976 edition of National Geographic Magazine. 

The Monarch butterflies leave their winter nesting location in Mexico in late February and March.  They then begin their long migration north to Canada.  One of the interesting facts that Carol shared was over this 2,000 mile journey, the butterfly needs to know when to leave, how to travel and how to know when they have arrived at the right place.  On their journey Monarchs have been known to hitch a ride on fishing boats to help them go south.

 Carol talked about how important native milkweed is to sustain the Monarch.  A female will lay over 1,000 eggs in her lifetime and only lays them on milkweed plants.  

There has been a downward trend of Monarch population.  This is due to loss of habitat and various chemicals used on weeds and other crops. 

What can we do to help the Monarch survive and thrive?  

  

Make your own garden a Monarch Waystation and have it certified.  The specifics of this venture can be found at the Monarch Watch website:

                                               www.monarchwatch.org.

A Texas based program to help re-forest the nesting grounds in Mexico can be found at:

                                     www.forestsformonarchs.org

Carol was featured in the July “Weatherford Now” magazine and is quoted as saying:

Becoming a Master Gardener is the best thing I ever did.  It is so

rewarding and challenging and sharing what I have learned is important.

Master Gardner Program

Carol Welch
Master Gardner

Monarch Joint Venture
page 2

Monarch Joint Venture
page 1

"Bad Jews" presented by Stage West

BAD JEWS
AT
STAGE WEST

The Travelling Toe and Dear Friend attended the Sunday afternoon performance of "Bad Jews" at Stage West.

The play was written by Joshua Harmon. The play had it's world premiere at Roundabout Underground, located in NYC, IN 2013. Since that time it has been performed at various venues in the US and abroad as well.

Joshua Harmon
playwright

A brief overview of the story line is as follows: 

The night after their grandfather’s funeral, three cousins engage in a verbal battle over a family heirloom. In one corner is the unstoppable and self-assured force of “Super Jew” Daphna. In the other, the immovable and entitled object of her secular cousin Liam. And in the middle is Liam’s brother Jonah, trying to stay out of the fray. 

Coming into this squabble between the cousins is Liam's girlfriend, Melody.  She is not Jewish and because of that it becomes a major friction between Liam and Daphna.  What is at the crux of the dispute is who gets custody of the grandfather's Chai symbol necklace.  It is a sacred symbol to the cousins as their grandfather was able to hide it while he was in a concentration camp during the Holocaust. Both he and the Chai necklace survived and now who receives this astonishing symbol of their Faith becomes the focus of their rage and anger. And dare one say, petty jealousy? 

According to Google:

The Chai symbol can be worn by Jews as a medallion around the neck, similarly to other Jewish symbols, such as the Star of David. "the letters of chai add up to 18. For this reason, 18 is a spiritual number in Judaism, and many Jews give gifts of money in multiples of 18 as a result."

Chai Symbol

All four of the actors were very good in their roles.  There is lots of dialogue, especially for Daphna as she goes on her rants.  Joshua is very quite and just wants to be left out of the tug of war between Daphna and Liam.  Melody is the interloper who tries to make everyone get along. There is a very poignant scene at the end of the play that really reflects the love one of the 3 cousins had for the grandfather. 

The only negative of the play noted was that the "F" word is rather over used.  The Travelling Toe realizes that the "F" word provides shock value in a live performance, but it makes one wonder could not the playwright think of any other word to use to express anger and frustration than that one?  Just a thought!

CAST:

                                Jonah                                        Matthew Grondin

                                Daphna                                     Kelsey Milbourn

                                Liam                                          Garret Storms

                                Melody                                       Alexandra Lawrence

Stage West