In good Company with Nia Vardalos, a taste of Cuba and BBQ improvisations

I was back in Toronto at the theatre on Saturday.My buddy Adam Brazier's theatre group Theatre 20 was doing a production of Stephen Sondheim's Company. This was a show that I wanted to see when I first heard they were doing it, mostly because I usually like Sondheim and curiosity because I didn't know much about this particular show . I wanted to see it all the more when I heard that My Big Fat Greek Wedding star/writer Nia Vardalos was going to be in it.

For those who don't know Stephen Sondheim is a legendary Broadway composer whose works include Into the Woods, Sweeney Todd, A Funny Thing Happened on the way to the Forum, and the lyrics for West Side Story. Back in December 2010 I actually met Stephen Sondheim. Sadly it was not a great stage door experience. If you've read my old myspace blog, you'll know this story, but forgive me while I recount it. There was an evening with Stephen Sondheim with Q&A etc, afterwards I stage doored. One of the theatre employees told the crowd Stephen had left, I had to go to catch the Subway, and came across Sondheim sneaking out another exit about to get into a car, I asked him if I could get a picture. He replied with a "no." Not I am sorry, no explanation, just flat out "no." Nothing else was spoken between us, talk about being unappreciative of your fan base!

My stage door experience on Saturday on the other hand was quite the opposite. Nia  was a complete and utter sweetheart. The Berkley theatre has this outdoor patio stage door area, and eventually I was the only one waiting left there, I was worried I had some how missed Nia even though I was out there right away. I would be surprised if I had, because I am sure people would have been stopping to talk to her. I guess that is the matinee crowd for you. One of the theatre employees was kind enough to double check for me, and as soon as she heard a fan was waiting for her she came right down. She introduced herself, asked me my name. I was able to tell her that I really related to Toula of My Big Fat Greek Wedding, and she said she was Toula too deep down, I even got my DVD signed. She asked me how to spell my name, but the pen I had brought actually had my name one it, so I pointed it out.  That was definitely the cherry on a great afternoon. Here's a pic of us and the DVD:

As to the show itself, I enjoyed it, although at times I thought the vocals were overpowered by the band. I didn't find the songs particularly catchy, nothing got stuck in my head. (Although I really like the song Getting Married Today which was featured on Glee) The performances were great, I really didn't like Louise Pitre's character, which was a testament to her ability because I have met Louise and seen her perform a couple of times and she is a really nice lady. It was strange I didn't even recognize of the actress Marisa McIntyre from when she was on the signing competition show How Do you Solve a Problem like Maria?and she was my favourite, unfortunately I didn't get a chance to tell her because I didn't find that out until after. (Through out my theatre going I have actually seen 4 out of the 10 finalists on that show. 

I had purchased an onstage seat. I had only ever done that once before and I got hit by the actor but that a story for another day/post. There was only me and another lady with seats on stage, and she decided not to sit there during act 2, so I sat in the audience as well. I was too self conscious being the only one up there. I didn't really like the sideview anyway, but at least I can say now I was onstage with Nia Vardalos and Brent Carver. (I had hoped to meet him and have him sign my Kiss of the Spiderwoman soundtrack but that didn't happen.) The seat in the audience wasn't much better because of the guy in front of my kept moving his head.

Before the show thanks to the helpful box office clerk I found myself in the distillery district at a Barcardi Cuban festival.Not really knowing where the theatre was I showed up uber early, and never been to the distillery before. I got to lunch on a pina colada and cubano sandwich (Which if you have seen the movie Chef, you'll understand my curiosity to try one) It felt like I was on a mini vacation exploring new culture, foods and shops etc Here are a couple of pics:

 

Definitely a better than the weekend before when a bad element on my stove was accidentally turned on and it basically exploded and there were sparks and there was need for the fire extinguisher. Even though the element was replaced there was a short in the stove, and so it couldn't be safely used. That happened on the Sunday but I didn't get a new stove until the Wednesday (Of course Canada Day was on the Tuesday so nothing was open and very few people were working). The incident led to some creativity my boyfriend suggested a cookie sheet as a griddle on the barbeque and that is how I made french toast one morning. I became quite adept at using the propane camp stove over the next few days. I will leave you with pics: