Ramblin' RET

Sunday, December 10, 2017

Joseph-Dreamer of Dreams

Program-Front Cover.

Yesterday (Saturday December 9th), I went with my son, Richard, to see the matinee performance of "God Meant It For Good: JOSEPH, Dreamer of Dreams." It was a play presented by the Truth Baptist Church Drama Group (sort of odd because the church's web site does not list this group even though these dramas are an annual event and the director is the Associate Pastor).

We went because it was free and a bunch of people from my church were involved, including the lead role of Joseph. Ian did a fantastic job! All the acting parts were done by young people (mostly high school-ish age) with the tech parts handled by the grownups.

It was a long (2-1/2 hour) performance consisting of two acts (covering 29 scenes) plus an intermission that went by quicker than the audience wanted.

This "Biblically-based, teen drama" covered the story of Joseph as portrayed in the Biblical book of Genesis. The play had a happy ending, when the entire family was reunited in Egypt. It cut out the the last few chapters where the Patriarch Jacob dies and Joseph also kicks the bucket and leaves the Israelites stuck in Egypt destined to become slaves. Got to have a happy ending-that's show biz, folks!

But really, a terrific job by all involved. We got our money's worth.

In order to see this performance, we braved the first major snow of the season. It turned out to be worth the effort and snow.

On the way home, we stopped at one of our old haunts, Angelina's Pizzeria for a bite to eat. We always feel safe there because usually there are several police officers and/or state troopers having supper.

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Links:

https://www.jba.gr/Articles/jbanov01a.htm

https://www.truthbaptistchurch.org/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_(Genesis)
http://biggestpizzainct.com/
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Written Sunday 10 December 2017.

Sunday, November 26, 2017

Once Upon A Mattress

Program for "Once Upon A Mattress."

My son, Richard, and I enjoyed this musical, Once Upon A Mattress recently. It was produced by a local community theater group. The performance was at Richard's high school alma mater.

Why did we go? A young lady at the church I go to mentioned she had a part in the show and I thought it would be neat to try to reacquaint my son to his theatrical past (and perhaps inspire him). I also like supporting local productions, especially grass roots functions. And all this was a good excuse to get out and try something different.

Before we got to the theater (at school), my only knowledge of the play was that it was based on the fairy tale, The Princess and the Pea. During the show, I recognized the song, "(I'm) Shy", from Sylvia's recital earlier this year. The lead role of the Princess was played by Sylvia's music teacher/coach who did a fabulous job.

The show is connected to the Rogers and Hammerstein organization since it was written by Mary Rodgers, daughter of composer Richard Rodgers.

Our playbill (see picture above) had a little insert announcing the recent death of Dean Fuller, Jr., a co-writer of the book on which the musical is based. Mr. Fuller, a Connecticut resident, died on October 31, 2017 at the age of 94!

Although I enjoyed the show very much, my only regret was that this was the final performance (of 4). I enjoyed it so much, I wanted to encourage others to attend and share this pleasure.

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Links:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Once_Upon_a_Mattress

http://westhartfordtheater.org/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Princess_and_the_Pea
http://www.rnh.com/show/66/Once-Upon-a-Mattress
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Rodgers
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Rodgers
http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/hartfordcourant/obituary.aspx?page=lifestory&pid=187100706
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Finished writing Saturday 2 December 2017.

Saturday, November 18, 2017

NYC Church Surprises

On Tuesday I took the train into New York City for work. I don't remember exactly the last time I went into NYC, maybe it was three years ago. Same with the train. This time I also took the subway, from Grand Central Station to the upper East Side.

As I was walking to the meeting, I was surprised to encounter a Roman Catholic church, St. Catherine of Siena Church. I was surprised because I had been on this street before but never traveling from that direction. Suddenly, I realized that there was a church there. It was inconspicuous because it was not the front entrance (but the altar side). Since I was early for my meeting, I went in.

This is what I encountered.

Main Entrance-Exterior

There are a lot of good pictures and background of the church here and here. Sadly, it is one of those "consolidated" parishes consisting of two churches.

This is what the interior looks like. More pictures at here.

This is my picture of the "Mary " side altar.
I assume St. Dominic is at the left and
St. Catherine of Siena is at the right.

After my work was done and I was heading back to the subway, I stumbled across another spectacular RC Church, St. John Nepomucene, which, similar to the church above is a parish consisting of three churches.