Once

The plan was Gill was going to meet me in London the next day; however, there was a funeral she had to attend, and this changed all of the plans, and we were in a do-our-best sort of situation.

It just so happened that the UK was experiencing some snow, and in general, doesn't handle snow well.  So as she tried to get back to Cumbria, the roads closed forcing her to turn around and catch an earlier train.

I went to Harrods and loaded up on snacks and treats and went back and laid out a spread for us for when she arrived.  We had a good catch up and then we headed off to the theater.

We were seeing a show called Once; this is where everyone says - I never heard of it.  Once is a movie that just happens to be in my top 10 movies of all time.  In looking for tickets over my birthday, I was surprised to see it had been turned into a show - so I bought tickets.

If you haven't seen the movie, it is difficult to explain.  It is quite an intimate movie, and I really could not imagine how it could be put on the stage.  

The theater was fantastic - The Phoenix Theater is an old brick theater and they'd put up the scenery so that  you could see the brick back of the theater over the top.  Occasionally, you could hear the subway trundle underneath.

The Set

They really only had one set, which was a 3 sided bar and they moved in/out chairs, tables and a piano.  At the beginning of the show and at intermission, the bar was functioning and you could go up and get a drink.

The Set / The Bar

The mirrors on the set gave you a number of perspectives on each scene, and it sort of had the same intimacy as the film.  

All in all, I was completely taken aback, somehow they had made something completely new, yet had been true to the original.  It is hard to understand that sort of creativity.