Demonstrating the Power of the Spoken Word

Dorit and I went with friends to see Misalliance, by George Bernard Shaw, last night at the Boston Publick Theatre. It was wonderful.

The Publick Theatre is a delightful, intimate, outdoor venue on the banks of the Charles River.

We started with a picnic on the riverbank in the sunshine. Both couples had spent a fair amount of our picnic money at Whole Foods of which the highlights were a great bottle of red wine, a manchego cheese, some fabulous olives, and three chocolate delivery vehicles (including a bar of Lindt 70%).

The theatre performance started at eight o'clock, as the evening light was dimming. The play was mostly on the stage in front of us, and on a projection into the audience, but also took advantage of the outdoor setting around us. We were amazed at the modern outlook of a play written a hundred years ago. The strong characters were the women, and the ideas they espoused were of independence, adventure, honor and directness. The men were various levels of buffoon, and even their insight lacked the strength to break out of societal constraints.

The Boston Globe has a good review of Misalliance to give you more flavor, and I recommend this production very much. If you live in, or are visiting, Boston, go to see it.

The Publick is also doing Romeo and Juliet this season. Click here for details of their performances (both playing through September).

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