A tale of two Tommys

What the Dickens? How strange is it that two local productions of the old (ok, 17-year old) warhorse would have simultaneous runs in the same city? Well, truth is stranger than theater, and your intrepid reviewer made his inaugural visit to both houses, a week and less than a mile apart.

The City Lights version was really a bare bones affair, in an intimate, 108-seat venue. With a Union Jack backdrop on a minimalist stage, the cast was less than a couple of dozen. The standout of the evening was Isaac Benelli's "old" Tommy. He had a very athletic stage presence and handled the vocal duties with aplomb. However, the band left much to be desired--a weak performance punctuated by cringe-inducing bum notes throughout the show. Overall, the TSG assesment? Not bad.

What a difference a week made! The Children's Musical Theater production was more in the spirit of the original that TSG attended at the La Jolla Playhouse back in 1992. (which went on to Broadway and Tony recognition)

Despite the impression lent by the photo here, the opening night show played to a nearly full house. The atmosphere was completely different from the laid-back sense of "having seen it all before" crowd at City Lights. The patrons at the Montgomery Theater were excited to be there, and there was a definite buzz in the air.


TSG wasn't sure what to expect, but the under-18 cast put on one helluva show. It's a bit unfair to compare the two productions, but the CMT show stood head and shoulders above the version I saw the week before. The cast was uniformly excellent, and the orchestra was GOOD and LOUD. The staging effects were excellent, with the requisite rear projections, trap door appearances/disappearances, video feeds, and kaleidoscopic wardrobe changes facilitated by sliding screens. The TSG assessment: FANTASTIC!

The Noble Pronghorn

(Note: TSG had multiple difficulties with the format and layout of this post. Our apologies if it displays in a haphazard manner in your particular browser)

As we enter the traditional Summer road trip and beer-drinking season, TSG's thoughts hearken back to journeys of yore and the attendant encounters with local wildlife.

One of the creatures that always quickens the heartbeat when sighted is the iconic western ungulate, Antilocapra americana.

There's no mistaking the distinctive horns (famously shared with the rare Lepus alleni hybrid), or the white rump that one is most likely to see as the Pronghorn flashes away across the sagebrush. Clocked at nearly 90kph in a sprint, TSG once had the thrill of being paced by a Prongy along a dirt road near Factory Bluff, Utah. The adult male ran parallel to the road, easily matching our vehicle's 40 miles an hour. Then in a burst, the magnificent animal veered off and was gone in a cloud of dust.

The antelope that frequent the campgrounds at Flaming Gorge NRA aren't quite as skittish as their free-range brethren. Seen here at Lucerne Valley, a doe and her fawn were quite at home grazing in the grass and ambling along the loop roads.

So let us raise a glass of our favorite beverage--in this case, Big Sky IPA--and toast the noble pronghorn. Symbol of the west, wide open spaces, speed and freedom to run to the distant horizon. Cheers!

Forest Service issues whitewater warning!

Summer rafting used to mean hours of carefree fun on the river. No longer. Word has gone out to vacationers across the land that their floating frivolity might just come to a tragic end.

It seems that the exotic pet trade in America--long blamed for alligators in the sewers of New York--has another life-threatening consequence. Thoughtless owners of once-cute baby sharks and hippos have been releasing their grown-up, no-longer-cuddly pets into the nation's rivers and streams.

The horrible repercussions
of their careless actions
are illustrated here.
These shocking images
bring to mind the movie
slogan from the summer of 1978,
"Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water..."

Well, Mr. and Mrs. America,
it AIN'T safe, so watch your rear ends out there.