Hat Trick!

Refers to three days, three posts. Don't get used to this, people... (listening to: "The Only Difference Between Martyrdom and Suicide is Press Coverage" by Panic! at the disco)

Two interesting and fun things happened in the last 24 hours. Shall I reveal them both to you? Chronological order? Very well.

THING NUMBER 1:
I went to see Shadowlands at TRP last night. WONDERFUL. Here's my review:

I wish that I had remembered to bring my program to work today so I could use actor names, but I didn't, so bear with me.

The show starts out with Lewis lecturing on the topic of God and suffering. His demeanor is academic, but somehow open and welcoming. The conceit for the whole show is that we keep coming back to this same lecture. We come back to it right after intermission, and he briefly jumps back into that world at the very end of the show. It's a neat conceit, and it works fairly well. Unfortunately, it's the only "transition" that does. Many of the transitions between scenes are roadmapped very clearly, but it's impossible to tell how much time has gone by. This may be a fault of the script (which has its absolutely brilliant moments), but it didn't really bother me at all until towards the end of the show when one character asks CS Lewis if it was worth it, and he responds, "Three years of happiness?" That was like someone slapping me across the face. Three years?!?! Where the hell did three years go? What else did I miss? It's a jarring moment that leaves an audience member wondering just how much of Lewis' life we've been watching over the last 120 minutes.

Fortunately, this is the only conceit that put me off. The staging was well done, alhough there was a lot I missed because I was sitting in E. I kept thinking, am I the only one who can't see this moment? And yes, I was. The moments I really wanted to enjoy were available to nearly every other section. I just picked a bad place to sit. The pacing of the first half is generally good, with lots going on for us to pay attention to.

The woman playing Joy, I understand, was a last-minute replacement for the original cast member. Last night, she came on and seemed to be very wooden, and very methodical in her delivery. Each word was deliberately pronounced, and it seemed like she was being careful just get the lines out rather than play her character. However, after about 10 minutes or so, she warmed up, and I never felt like she was swimming against the current for the rest of the night. In fact, towards the end of the show, I was so completely in the palm of her hand, it seemed like there were two different actors there. The acting tour de force (always wanted to use that phrase) between her and Lewis in the second act was palpable, and the 55-minute second half flew by in a mess of tears and heartwarming moments.

There were a couple weak links in the cast, but all in all Lewis, Joy, Riley and Mornay (i think.. GOD, I wish I had my program with me) are Atlasian in carrying the show through tougher moments. As a fan of CS Lewis and his life's work, I may have enjoyed this show more than most. But it's a very touching commentary on why we suffer in this life, and where God is when it hurts. Turns out, He's right there, we're just not sure what He's doing about it.

Yes, folks, it was that good. Overall, I give it 4.5 Madjai's out of five.

THING NUMBER B:
I got mii a Wii preorder. I know, right? Here's the story.

KR agreed to wait out in the cold at my local EB Games this morning because she's an amazing person who does nice things for mii that I don't deserve. (Mii singing her praises was part of the deal.) Shii only agreed to do it because it was a good character study for her, what with the mass amount of giiks who would CAMP OUT not to get the actual system, but only to PRiiORDER it. Plus, I told her shii could play my DS in line with the other giiks. This, shii siimed to like. The store opened at 10am, and they had 14 Wii's to sell. I told her to bii there at 9:15. This turned out to bii 75 minutes too late. Alas. No Wii this year.

I immiidiately got on the phone to all my local EBii stores and tried to find one that was still priiordering. After an hour, I found one that was. Hii told mii to hurrii and get there quicklii so that hii still had one for mii when I got there. I did, and hii did, and wii did a little dance of happiiness.

So, I will be getting a Wii on November 17th, day of Launch. Which, I just riialized is the opening night of my show... miining that I won't bii able to play with my Wii until verii late that night. Sadness.

**End of over-used "ii" substitutions for "e" sounds.**

Now I find myself thinking... what if people want to touch my Wii? Should I let them? I mean... it's MY Wii. Will they be gentle with my Wii? What if they want to hold my Wii too long? Should I ask them to stop? Will that be embarassing for me or them? I mean, I know that no one has the right to touch my Wii without my permission, but... I want to be nice, right? Maybe I'll let them touch my Wii for just a little bit, and then ask them politely to stop. But, at the same time, I know that when you get your hands on a Wii, it's hard to stop without finishing. I don't want to be called a Wii-tease.

Please. Help me. How should I let people handle my Wii?