The Nutcracker in Portland

On Tuesday morning I got a call from Michele telling me that she had news that was going to mess up our plans. The company that Michael works for gives generously to the arts (Oregon Ballet) and as a result, he had access to tickets to "The Nutcracker" showing in downtown Portland.

This turned in to a frenzy of phone calls in an attempt to make a decision on whether or not to participate. You see, Mom and I purchased tickets for Hult Center's (Eugene) version of "The Nutcracker" next Friday (Mikayla included). I thought that if Mom and Dad were able to join us, we'd bypass the second ballet. But, alas, Mom and Dad had a previous engagement. I figured we'd skip out as well, but Michele persuaded me otherwise - and why don't we bring the Whites too.

Sadly, Stephie got sick this week - and given how hot the auditorium was tonight, she made the right choice to stay home. It also went long. We weren't aware until partway through the performance that this was not one of the "real performances", but a "trial run" (or whatever the stage word is for that), where they invite donors and supporters, but are at liberty to give direction to the performers. Nothing happened at all in the 2nd Act, but in the first, it was quite comical to hear the director's voice overshadow the performance and have them "rewind" and do over a particular scene.

I might need to readjust my plans to go twice as this one wore Mikayla out. It seemed that the performance of "The Nutcracker" we went to two years ago wasn't quite as long. The key quotes of the evening were: (from Mikayla) "When is halftime?" (which perhaps indicates she does indeed need more cultural intervention...) and (from Brayden), "I'm gonna just die if we have to stay for the second half" (which he got a bit of an ear-full for saying). We did all survive though - and my goodness, the talent......wow.

We didn't bring any cameras, so I had to settle for my cell phone to capture the memories (which despite the complaints - was a fun memory for me). I especially like the picture of the girls gazing at themselves in the ladies room. =)

(and, btw, I'm only about a quarter inch - if that - taller than Michele. I just happened to be wearing heels tonight while she wore flats....)