The SF Ballet's 2005 Nutcracker

[Drunk Monk]

Yep, I'm still stuck in the Iron Crotch hole. In the midst of my brief moment dominated the airwaves fielding weird questions about Iron Crotch from radio DJs, we went to the premiere of the Nutcracker. We got these free tickets because we went to this family day ballet thing with former SF primadonna Evelyn Cisneros at the Asian Art museum (still not quite sure what it had to do with Asian art - we're thinking the Chinese Tea dance maybe?) So free tickets to the ballet, that's cool.

It was nice. They gave out these really classy free teddy bears to the kids and there was free milk, cookies and chocolate for intermission. Behind us were two kids who never stopped talking (Greg would have loved them). In front was this guy who had to lean forward to get a better view (free tickets=nosebleed seats) which only made it difficult for us to see. Still, it was delightful.

Typically, I'm adopt a 'bah humbug' attitude about xmas. After all, I'm buddhist, so xmas seems a bit bizarre. Tara seems more into Chanukah for some unknown reason. But this year, it's not about a Christmas Carol. It's about the Nutcracker, about broken toys, rat scenes, dancing candy, and the dreams of little girls. Oh and cracking nuts...

[Drunk Monk]

I was called to the office to sit in on a meeting with this guy trying to start a kid's martial arts lifestyle magazine. It was a bit of a bother because I have deadlines to meet and it took a good hour out of my work day. If I wanted to waste an hour, I'd post here. Anyway, this guy kept saying 'we'll crack that nut' as some sort of figure of speech. Drove me nuts.

[The Queen]

Tara seems more into Chanukah for some unknown reason.

Way cool! Bring her back to L.A. -- I'll make her some latkes.

[Drunk Monk]

I just bought some frozen ones from Trader Joes. We'll see if Tara likes them. She claims not to like potatoes, but she likes french fries and pancakes, and apple sauce.

She's taken to drawing menorahs instead of xmas trees, and pointed out the menorah that's so prominently displayed in the Steven's entryway. Samantha Stevens, of Bewitched, that is. Whazzup with that?

I've accepted a job from Rockstar Magazine to do something on Iron Crotch. It'll write itself as soon as I can think of a clever hook intro...

[Greg_phpbb3_import1]

The Root, the center of a rock star's being. And we've made it out of iron.

[Drunk Monk]

Rockstar was formerly Exposed. It's a porn mag. I just emailed Ken to see if he knows it. I guess it's sort of a follow-up to my Penthouse cameo last April. I figure Stephan King got his start writing for porn mags, and they pay well. What can I say? :oops:

[Greg_phpbb3_import1]

Whore mt009 mt010 mt011

[Drunk Monk]

I like to think of myself as more of a pimp. A pimp daddy. Pimp Daddy Iron Crotch. Maybe that should be my new forum name... mt029

[Drunk Monk]

...yep, that'll be me right next to those nekkid ladies. i can't find rockstar on any newstand and it's presence on the net is pretty minimal since it's new. that's a bit bothersome. i'm beginning to wonder how hardcore it might be. usually hardcore mags don't bother paying for articles as such. the editor tells me it'll be on stands in Feb. I'll keep y'all posted.

[Drunk Monk]

Wow this was a flashback.

We just watched the Sendak Nutcracker and loved it. Delightfully surreal. And the ballet was magnificent.

Back to Rockstar - they paid me handsomely. In fact, it was the most I ever made on a single article. I never found a copy. For a while, I was combing hardcore porn shops searching for it. I found the mag but never the issue with my iron crotch article. It remains a curious mystery but it paid well.

[Drunk Monk]

ttt42022

I must say that the above thread is such a flashback. I wouldn't have remembered that Nutcracker had this forum not jogged my memory. If this forum ever collapses, it'll be like me getting dementia...

We saw the latest SF Ballet production of Nutcracker. We took Tara and Bri (who had never seen it before and knew little about it). It was delightful. SF Ballet never ceases to impress. It was crazy to be back so soon after La Traviata (http://www.brotherhoodofdoom.com/doomFor...p?tid=7306). The whole place was redone for the Nutcracker. Garlands, wreathes, photo op stations and nutcrackers, of course. So many nutcrackers. 

Stacy noted that Jonah Kim, from our own Cruz symphony, was 2nd cello. How she spotted that in the dense program before the show started is beyond me. 

It was a packed house. Masking was lax. A person a few seats away from me was clearly sick, sniffling and sneezing. She should've worn a damn mask. I masked all the way through. I like masks. 

The production was spectacular. Standouts were the tree erection which was accompanied by Alice-in-Wonderland distorted gargantuan set pieces (my fave was the cabinet that held life size dolls of the dessert dancers later, and the snow drop was a freakin blizzard (150 lbs of confetti according to the program). 

Performance-wise, Queen Clara and the Nutcracker were fire. The sugar plum fairy was also good. The orchestra was on point (or should I say pointe?) and there was a warning at the door that there would be cannons (there was only one but it still make me jump). 

The two critical points for me are the nutcracker v rat king swordfight and the Chinese tea. The swordfight was ok, not stellar, but I did like the rat king and the use of a giant mousetrap added to the drama. The Chinese tea was a miss - it felt more caricature than honoring, as much as they tried. The dancer attempted some psuedo martial arts poses and those just felt derogative. 

There was one big error when a backdrop curtain didn't unfurl revealling backstage to us for a moment. We were in the Orchestra, row F, house right - good seat but due to that, the illusion was broken for a major set change. 

It was a nice xmasy experience, especially with all the red & green lights at civic center. SF gave us a lovely evening.