Sunday, January 13, 2013

The Newseum



Location: Newseum, Washington, DC, USA
Visited: December 2012

Though extremely well done, I found this museum far more depressing than I'd expected. Of course, I should have known: what makes the news, after all? Crime, tragedy, and politics. I loved the section with the old newspapers, and the 9/11 and Oklahoma City Bombing exhibits were interesting and heartbreaking at the same time, and the assorted homages to fake news (The Daily Show, SNL, et al) were fun. I'm not sure I'd go back, but I'm certainly glad I went.

Saturday, January 12, 2013

Youngstown, OH



Location: Youngstown, Ohio, USA
Visited: November 2012

While visiting my in-laws, we had brunch at Mill Creek Park. The food was good, and the scenery was nice, though it was far too cold to truly enjoy. I'll have to go back sometime when everything's in bloom.

Friday, January 11, 2013

The Kennedy Center



Location: The Kennedy Center, Washington, DC, USA
Visited: November 2012

This was my first visit to The Kennedy Center and my second time seeing the musical Jekyll and Hyde. I had loved it the first time around and my husband had enjoyed listening to the soundtrack, but this version was kind of flat. The show itself had changed a little bit, with some songs replaced and others rewritten. A few of the changes made sense, making the story a bit clearer (I can recall, for example, not quite getting that the people killed were the board of governors when I first saw it, for example), but all in all there were far too many ballads. "Murder Murder" was slowed down and the new song "Bring on the Men" just didn't fit at all. The two leads were pop stars - Constantine Maroulis and Deborah Cox - and while the singing was excellent, the blocking left a lot to be desired. There was a lot of standing still with arms hanging at one's sides while singing. The lighting was also rather dark, making it quite difficult to discern details. I was especially disappointed with the song "Confrontation", which had so impressed me the first time around. It's a "duet" between Jekyll and Hyde, played by the same man, but for this production they chose to prerecord Hyde's part and project it onto a screen while Jekyll sang live. Oh well. We still had a great time, as we always do at the theater.