ironymaiden | culture high, culture low

C and i had two distinct entertainment experiences today - Team America in the afternoon, and Rigoletto in the evening.

Team America at least partially assuaged my upset over the live action Thunderbirds movie. the marionettes and models were cleverly done and referenced Gerry Anderson for those of us who cared. as with all Parker/Stone productions, some wise cultural comment comedy is tempered with foul language, graphic sex (there was so much marionette fucking they had to cut scenes for an R rating) and vomit. copious vomit. but the vomit is well-timed and used to great effect. it was a pleasant light afternoon, and in this election season i can now sort foreign policy wonks into dicks, pussies, and assholes. as the tune in the film says, "Ameri-ca. fuck yeah."

tonight we introduced

scarlettina,

shellyinseattle ,

the_monkey_king, and Jeff to the wonder of Crow, and then strolled down to the opera. a solid production, with a great Gilda, set in Mussolini's Italy just before WWII. the period choice worked well for a decadent carnivale and a gritty waterfront. i especially liked seeing the party guests playing pool and the Duke tuning in Dona E Mobile on the radio.
this was Jeff's first opera and (gulp) the supertitles weren't functioning in the opening scene. fortunately they flickered to life just as Rigoletto was being cursed. i felt that the production wasn't up to Seattle Opera's usual technical standards - the design was generally good, but the running of the show left something to be desired. i feel like the supertitles weren't the only disaster happening backstage, as the timing of the house lights out of the acts was late, and we held for a scene change that i think was originally to take place behind a scrim but was deemed too noisy. damn thing hurt the momentum of the first act.
still, the sound was great, the acting was good, and there were some inspired bits of staging. i was generally pleased with the show and the time zipped by. i'm glad to have had dinner and the two intermissions to chat with such a great crowd.