Rock N' Roll

I had a lovely night out yesterday. Rock n' Roll by Tom Stoppard is playing at the Citadel and my University roommate from waaaaaaay back is in it. I was so excited to see her head shot on the Citadel's website as I have not seen her onstage for 9 years (Stratford in Summer 2000). She primarily works in the East since she lives in Toronto and Stratford, but this co-pro with The Canadian Stage Company was a nice opportunity for her to come back to Edmonton for a stint. When I wrote her she did reply "you realize I am only in about 8 minutes in the latter half of Act Two". Didn't matter. I wanted to see her and the show as it sounded like a show that involved thinking and wasn't necessarily predictable. We met for a nice dinner and visit before the show and then I met up with Mark and friends to see the show. Following the show we met up with her in the lobby and she introduced us to some of the cast (including Fiona Reid who played the female lead). So great to see her again. She has not aged a single day. And it was so nice to feel that despite almost 10 years it does still feel like we know each other.

The show was interesting. I would have liked a little cleaner set-up in the first act and it could have stood some judicious editing (but who is going to tell Stoppard to cut a line?). A couple of the actors were the 'wrong ages' but that is a challenge when the play spans 30 years and Stoppard himself demands doubling in the script so where an actor might be right for the age of the character in the first act, there is a shift in act two that doesn't necessarily read right. There are a couple of characters that seem unimportant to the play in function (Magda? what was the point of her?) but it was nice to see a professional show that reached beyond a cast of 4. I am still thinking about the play and I think I would like to read it. Not knowing the history of the music of Czechoslovakia I was a little lost in some places. But I liked it for it's aesthetic and it's reach.

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