free for all.

every year for few weeks in late may, the shakespeare theater company holds free concerts in rock creek park. it's been years since we've been, but this year we thought we would try and turn it into a double date with our friends john & d'ann. the real trick is getting the free tix. since you are only able to get them the day of the performance, a beautiful sunny day friday makes that probability all the more scant. so after my online reservation attempts failed miserably (timed out pageloads = supreme frustration), i implored stephen to save the day. so at lunchtime, he scooted to the harman center in chinatown to stand in line for the coveted tickets. and he picked them up in a breeze!

after returning home from work, we packed a mini picnic, picked up our friends and headed up the beautiful parkway to the carter barron amphitheatre. what a great quick escape...surrounded by serene lush greenery, you absolutely forget you are in dc. a gorgeous day turned into a chilly evening. during intermission i made stephen go get my accenture/NMAI chief joseph blanket from the car so i could fully enjoy the rest of this great play. :)

i truly loved the modern take on this classic, hamlet. with many of the actors juilliard trained and frequenters on the long-time soap, all my children, the drama was very present - a much needed ingredient in any of shakespeare's works. and of course the delightful combination of wit, double entendres, pregnant phrases, and plot twists makes for an entertaining time.

it also brought back many memories of my one and only writing class i took in college - shakespeare and film... my professor, ann cole brown, who during one of our individual review meetings, noticed my tridelta pledge pin and recounted her delta days at michigan. a few years later as a delta officer, we were looking for a new academic advisor, and i recommended her whole heartedly. she was awesome - funny, warm and courageous...breast cancer survivor. and she really brought shakespeare to life for me which is a gift i will always treasure. thanks ACB!