Tennessee in Slovenia

Yesterday a very kind friend invited The Captain and I to join her in fancy box seats for the Drama production of Tennessee Williams' Orpheus Descending. The Captain had been itching to go to the theater for a while, but was worried that I wouldn't understand; so this was the perfect opportunity. My friend gave me a brief synopsis of the plot beforehand and would kindly lean over a few seconds after a pivotal scene and quickly explain what had happened. While a lot of the language flew right past me, I still had a fairly good understanding of what was happening, and I think I must attribute this to the skill of the actors in acting out the story not only with words, but with their bodies. I must especially highlight here the great physicality of award-winning actress, Silva Čušin. With a small but strong dancer-like body she seemed to leap and glide across the stage, and I was gripped with her every move. She is an interesting person to watch (she reminded me a bit of Broadway star, Donna Murphy) and I would definitely love to see her perform again.

Since I spent so much time watching the bodies, I was also pretty focused on the clothes and I must also commend the great Ljubljana-based costume designer, Alan Hranitelj, for a job well-done with the women's costumes. While they decided against making it all look retro 50s, the clothes still had a great vintage feel. There were some ensembles that I coveted and frankly I had to restrain myself from jumping onstage and grabbing a few. Hranitelj is one of the big creative talents of this country and his name keeps coming up in conversation. In fact, I actually found myself lunching (with Dr.Fil) one table away from him about a month ago. He was the subject of a large museum show last year and the exhibition was well documented, after all these encounters I think it is time for me to finally "study up" on this very smart and stylish man.

So, all in all, I give my first theater experience a big thumbs up. I noticed The Captain picking up the season schedule on our way out, so I am certain we will be back soon. Bravo!