Customs, Christopher Plummer, Shakespeare and Canada

Last week, i took my very first trip to Canada! We went up on the weekend to Stratford (Canada) for the annual Stratford Shakespeare Festival. Every year, Stratford attracts tons of tourists for the festival that has yearly productions from Shakespeare to modern plays. We stayed in Canada for a day and a half, and along with all the sight seeing, shopping and eating we saw three performances.

PETER PAN (The Boy Who Never Grew Up)
The first we saw was "Peter Pan". The story tells of a boy who never wants to grow up and takes back three children with him to Neverland, one of them Wendy Darling to be the lost boys and his new mother. When the children realize that they've forgotten their real life and parents they decide to return home, but run into problems with pirates along the way. Peter Pan was the first show we saw in Stratford to ease us into seeing two more Shakespeare plays in those 48 hours. The Avon Theater was jammed with many children who (throughout the show) made their opinions and comments well known to the others in the theater.

EXAMPLES:
1. Peter Pan: (Addressing audience) "Where's Tinkerbell?"
Kid: "She's up there!"
2. (The Darling children have flown off with Peter) Kid: Mommy! It must be magic, I can do it to!

Peter Pan was the oldest boy who never wants to grow up that I've ever seen! He was alright, but Captain Hook and Smee had my vote (as well as one lost boy whose voice cracked the entire time and sounded like a Monty Python character). The show was great to start with and after it was over, we had a few hours to shop, eat and be on our way to the next show!

THE TEMPST
For our second play of that day, we went alongside the river at sunset to the Festival Theater to see Shakespeares, The Tempest. The Tempest was the last play that Shakespeare wrote during his life and many think that some of the lines and concepts are things that Shakespeare wanted to "get across" to "certain people". This production was especially special because of its star actor, Christopher Plummer!! Christopher Plummer played Prospero, a man who once was Duke but banished (along with his daughter Miranda) by his brother to gain power. While on the island, Prospero sees a moment to shipwreck his enemies on his island and take his revenge. But what revenge will he take on his enemies? The show was sold out, and for good reason! Along with Christopher Plummer (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001626/) a truly amazing cast put on a spectacular show. The set was great and the costumes phenomenal! Every moment left you either with goosebumps out or wanting more, but by the time it was over you it seemed we couldn't stop clapping. It was something that I'll never forget.

The next morning before our third and final show, we took a small trip to the Shakespeare Costume Warehouse. We had bough tickets to take a tour of the warehouse where after every show 2 or 3 costumes are selected, stored and never worn again. Instead, they're put on display for others to see and sometimes re worn in other productions. We went to the earliest tour they had and was happy when we found out that it was to be a private tour! We walked through seeing old costumes, props and sets that were used once in a production. It was a great way to start the day and appreciate everything that makes a production possible (besides the actors).

AS YOU LIKE IT
Our final show, As You Like It, was in the same theater at Tempest but instead was a comedy. The show follows Rosalind, a girl who is banished from the court and flees along with her cousin Ceila to the Forest or Arden. While she is in the forest, she learns that the man She loves, Orlando has also flown the court and lies somewhere in the forest. Wanting to take advantage of the opportunity, Rosalind becomes a young man and meets Orlando in the forest to find out how he truly feels for her. The show is most famous for the quote "All the world's a stage, and all the men and women, mealy players". The show has many great monologues and memorable scenes that weave magic into the story of two girls and a boy who fall in love.

As soon as the show was over, we jumped back in the car and drove home to Michigan. In almost two days we had made it to Canada, through customs, shopped, geocached, seen three shows and made it back to Michigan and already wanting to go back for more.