Last night was a busy one for me. Da and I decided to do some Father/Son bonding while hobnobbing (what the hell does that word mean, anyway?) with Toronto’s art elite at Art With Heart.
Da’s never been in the Carlu and was curious as to it’s grandeur. It didn’t disappoint. It’s a beautiful deco setting and the art that was placed throughout was amazing (the website doesn’t convey the demanding presence some pieces command). I have to comment here that the volunteer staff were clockwork perfect. Pleasant, informed docets docents (Andrew helps me spelling!) cheerfully provided information on the art and never patronized. In all, a very organized successful event… I hope. I haven’t heard any numbers back yet, but the joint was packed, and considering Fashion sCares is this Saturday, I hope they made their target numbers!
Then we shuffled down to Canadian Stage to see my brother in Frost/Nixon. I have to admit that due to some of the reviews coming out of Vancouver, I wasn’t hopeful for this production. But when the curtain fell, I can tell you I was very entertained and greatly surprised. They have worked out all the problems mentioned in previous reviews, except the worrisome opinion that Len Cariou’s Nixon was not satisfactorily mimicking enough, which I tend to agree. I yearned to see the Nixon I remembered as a kid but got a sketch of that ideal. Not saying he did a bad job, he was captivating, but there was no jowly “Rich Little” kind of character play (which my brother does rather spookily at one point).
Oddly enough most of the cast and crew had been in science fiction TV shows (Battlestar, Stargate, RoboCop), including my brother, at one point in their career. Does this say something about Canadian culture?
Tonight, Sharkboy and I are off to see A Chorus Line with Mumsey! I’m being exposed to more culture than an open chest wound in an emergency ward!
3 thoughts on “A Night of Art-ness”
ugh, i’d have burned that if i got the chance – chewing gum is disgusting. i’d be less squicked out if it was made from toenails.
Glad to hear! Da and I were enamoured with the Gum Blonde and the docent was kind enough to inform us that he doesn’t actually chew the gum himself. He gets his aides to do it. There’s your art money, Steven Harper!
hey, i wish i’d known you were at the carlu – i worked the event, but was a behind-the-scenes drone for the most part. what i heard at the end of the night is that the dollar totals were more impressive than expected, with only one or two pieces selling for less than was projected (including, surprisingly, the lukacs work.
you were close, they’re called ‘docents’ but outside of university it’s rarely used – add it to your list of words to use when you want to sound snooty. glad to hear you had a good time, and conversations at the end of the night, it seemed that everyone did.