I had a day of stage related activities today.
Stagefest
I went to Stagefest a little after lunchtime and hung around for over three hours. I spent much of the time walking around looking at booths, briefly stopping at stages, and trying to decide what to eat. It was hot and sunny, and I felt somewhat cooked when I left.
I don’t think I stayed for an entire performance. Some of the performances I caught parts of included: Mamma Mia show tunes, improv comedy, barbershop singing, disney tunes, and sword fighting. I also came across one or more of a large group of disney princesses and two superhero’s repeatedly.
I stopped at my boss’s Sweet Modern furniture booth when I first arrived. Sounded like they did quite well, selling plenty of furniture and getting interest.
I finally settled on a large lemonade and a philly cheese steak for food. I sat on a curb to eat.
Porgy and Bess
In the evening, I went to Playhouse Square’s Ohio Theatre to see Cleveland Opera perform Porgy and Bess. I got there early to buy tickets. Luckily, they hadn’t run out. I went with the cheapest level, near the back of the middle section on the floor.
There was still time before the show, so I went outside and walked around, looking at the city. I walked down to the tall CSU building and walked underneath the sides of it that extend over roads. I had my umbrella, but it didn’t rain.
I went back and, after visiting the bathroom down some narrow stairs, headed to my seat. The woman next to me was fairly talkative and discussed Gershwin, Porgy and Bess, and Cleveland Opera. She looked a little familiar.
The performance was good. The music was very Gershwin and enjoyable. Plenty of jazzy bits, and some familiar songs, including “Summertime”. The words were all in English, so I could mostly follow what was going on, though some was hard to understand.
The performance was long, running over three hours and having two intermissions. It was a bit long to sit for, but worth it.
After the show, I told my neighbor I liked the performance. I then waited to go down front and talk to my coworker, who played the violin and helped her family prepare the show. She briefly took me below the stage where the musicians were putting away their instruments, among other goings on. We talked about the show and about things at Cogneato. I helped her collect some stand lights. I then headed home.