tour de force

I am on my way out of town but I wanted to stop and tell everyone who will listen about the Remy Bumppo production of Frankenstein now playing at the Theater Wit.  It is a tour de force. The performance of the Creature and Victor Frankenstein rotates night by night between this company's two most gifted actors Greg Matthew Anderson and Nick Sandys.

I only wish I had time to see a second performance with the roles reversed.  This story would seem to be well known- let me tell you it is NOT.

here is a note from the director that helps focus on the points that made this production so spectacular...

the adaptation of the book was done by Nick Dear for National Theater in London about a half decade ago - and we had been  seeing promotions for quite a while for the NT Live production but kept passing on it...next time I will definitely go to see their production which starred Benedict Cumberbatch and Jonny Miller as the dual roles mention above-

from the NT Live website-

Frankenstein returns to international cinemas to mark the 200th anniversary of Mary Shelley’s most famous novel.  Captured live in 2011 from the National Theatre stage in London, this thrilling, sold-out production became an international sensation, experienced by almost half a million people in cinemas around the world.

Directed by Academy Award®-winner Danny Boyle (Trainspotting, Slumdog Millionaire), Frankenstein features Benedict Cumberbatch (Hamlet, BBC’s Sherlock) and Jonny Lee Miller (Elementary, Trainspotting) alternating between the roles of Victor Frankenstein and his creation.

Childlike in his innocence but grotesque in form, Frankenstein’s bewildered creature is cast out into a hostile universe by his horror-struck maker. Meeting with cruelty wherever he goes, the increasingly desperate and vengeful Creature determines to track down his creator and strike a terrifying deal.

Scientific responsibility, parental neglect, cognitive development and the nature of good and evil, are embedded within this thrilling and deeply disturbing classic tale.

our cast last night-

go see this if you can find any way to fit it in your schedule- heart wrenching performance.. worth your time and effort.   And if you have NT Live in your area- the two versions are playing on October 22 and October 29 - I am sorry to say I don't know which is which but I am sure they were both terrific- as I think it is fair to say each actor is more than competent and the script is what truly carries the work into the territory of ART.... #gonow

anniversaries

I started this blog 1400 posts ago- and here was the photo I posted - as I entered retirement or "semifreelife" as I called it...

in ten days that will be eight years ago.... so I am thinking this morning about the eighth anniversary of blogging and more about the time flying by because the company I helped build from an infant to a college grad (so to speak) for nearly twenty years of my practice life turning 30 years old this year...

my last iteration of being a "lawyer" encompassed many roles and I was reminded of all that last night at the 30th anniversary dinner where the "old folks" were the honored guests...

just so you don't think I am falling down on my food photo duties- here was the dinner (sorry foodies- not up to the beauty pageant standards of last night's meal but serviceable for a banquet dinner LOL)

so as with much of life- you don't know how things will turn out when you start down a particular path.  I didn't know that EIGHT years later I would still be blogging away - nor that I would end up writing over 1400 blog posts and have over 152,000 views...

and in a similar vein - I had no idea when I interviewed for a job at what turned out to be OMSNIC that I would spend roughly two decades of my life there- nor that they would be the most exciting, challenging, and rewarding years of my legal career.  But even more, I had no idea how much I would come to know and love those people who shared in the task of building that company.  The names of those men are listed above on the honored guest list.

From that evening we went to hosting my long time colleague and fellow road warrior of a decade- Dr. Alan Deegan... or General Alan Deegan although I knew him as Duke and am honored to call him a long time friend along with his wife Cathie - whom I have known nearly as long as Duke and just as well over the 25+ years.... we had a couple of great meals with them and caught up on all the things happening in our lives -

we also grabbed a Chicago dog at Red Hot Ranch on Saturday mid day-

and had dinner at Oceanique on Saturday night-

an amuse from the chef to start  - smoked salmon

then appetizers - chicken liver mousse for Cathie and Foie gras for Phil and Duke and oysters for me!

another chef gift - butternut squash ravioli

a palate cleanser of sorbet-

followed by my halibut and Phil's bouillabaisse and Cathie's lobster dish I think Duke had swordfish but I have no photo :-(

the dessert tray - Phil and I had the night and day cake and Cathie and Duke had the napoleon I think

the weather was cold for their stay so I am sure Cathie was happy to head back to Phoenix - Duke sadly headed to Denver (their other home) to say goodbye to his long time practice partner who passed away the day after Duke's return.  RIP Rich Nelson - I know Duke was grateful for your years of friendship and support.

so on we go- we managed to meet Brian & Tina for an end of season dinner at Bien Me Sabe and then got the BahnMi I have been hankering after for dinner after a lecture at Northwestern by Vincente Fox (former president of Mexico) and today we did our annual meeting with the accountants and lunch at Pappadeaux (a favorite for the distant burbs)... tomorrow night dinner with Neil ans Friday the theater... in the last six days now before I leave...Phil doesn't follow for several weeks.... looking forward to Lucy getting her outdoors back (she's been cranky) and some warm days and sunshine...

by the way- as I mentioned the blog turns eight on Lucy's birthday (the cats birthday was my first post ever) and after that I am taking a holiday from publishing- for a while... we'll see how long...