My auspicious birthday weekend is almost at its end, with more merriment to begin Wednesday when my honey and I hit Santa Cruz for Boardwalk and beach, and then the hometown for BBQ and buggy-bashing. But before I forget, I want to tell y'all about the terrific play my sweetie and I took in on Friday during pre-birthday festivities.



























For two weeks only, the Brothers Grimm tale, The Robber Bridegroom will be reimagined by the Stars and Garters Theatre Company as a Southern Gothic tale of star-crossed lovers. We saw it on a sold-out opening night, which is traditionally a bad night to see a play, but it was really enchanting and well-done.

Brimming with charming puppetry, song and dance, excellent live musical accompaniment, clever set design, and a trapeze artist as the moon, it was whimsical yet dark, and very cabaret-esque. Jenny Jo Kristan, the writer and director, did well to have the actors speak in sometimes fantastical rhyming couplets, as it gave the show a more period air and pulled the audience deeper into the eerie phantasmagoria. Well worth the $12-$20 sliding scale to come out to Mama Calizo's Voice Factory to support this live troupe and their top-notch work.