Who Is Giving You Direction?

Last night we went to see Evita at the Stratford Festival. As I mentioned yesterday, this was the first Broadway show I ever saw and that was many years ago...in High School days.

I love the music to Evita so frankly it could be performed by a kindergarten class and I would probably be happy. So...I was happy. It was great to see my old friends again too.

I had read in play reviews that the actor who plays "Che" was really good. Unfortunately Che was an understudy last night. The understudy was just "ok".

Maybe I am being a bit hard, as I saw "the best" do it on Broadway, but the lady who played Evita...in my opinion...just didn't cut it. She pretty much screamed the role.

Don't get me wrong...there are times when Evita needs to scream the role, but there are times where she needs to show vulnerability too. You have to be able to see why the people loved her so much.

The thing is, however, when I reflect on it, I feel kind of bad for the actress. Every now and then you could hear that she was capable of a softer voice. That, to me, means that she probably had the skill to do it right which points to one thing. Bad direction. Somebody should have told her to find the different levels of Eva.

The director should have seen the need for a softer side. We should have seen her rise from the gutter to the elite and not simply have seen the gutter with the elite. I know Evita had a strong dislike for the elite, but I wanted to feel that she had developed some level of class through her life experiences. She seemed like Sarah Palin from beginning to end. No class.

As we were driving home it occurred to me that on this food journey I need good  direction too. I can't do it alone, nor do I want to. It is not a failure, it is recognition of one's self. I need someone to tell me when I am doing a horrible job, and when I am simply pretending I am doing a good job. I often act like I am Weight Watcher's member, when I am not throwing myself into the role...I am simply...well...acting. When I am like this I am not listening to direction and when I don't listen to direction my performance suffers. I do not get the results I want.

Thank god I have a good director and thank god I have you!

My attempt at pre-planning my meal last night didn't work. I was good (aside from the 10 jube jubes I ate in the theatre)  but I had spent quite a bit of time figuring out what I was going to order from the on-line menu and recording the likely ingredients and associated WW points. When I got there the food I intended to order was no longer on the menu. I had shrimp and tofu stir fry which was the best I could do under the circumstances. It was real good. This is the second time in two weeks the item I picked to eat on-line in a restaurant was not there when I got to the restaurant so from now on...I have to think about a back-up meal. Otherwise it is to easy to decide that the fact that the healthy choice isn't there means the universe is telling me it is splurge night. I was so close to going that route yesterday...but I held back.

Today is Thanksgiving dinner at my brothers and tomorrow is Thanksgiving dinner with good friends. I am looking forward to both but will really need to watch portion size. I worked out for two hours yesterday to try and offset the food a bit , and will do the same today.

Happy Thanksgiving and Be Healthy!

Alan