Rhubarb rhubarb

This is being blogged while making rhubarb custard for Maddy, to make up for the inedible rhubarb crumble I did the other night. Worst crumble I've ever made. I didn't even know it was possible to mess up a crumble, but I did.

(Here is the Lorraine Bowen Crumble song.)

Several blogs back, I let people know that if they wanted tickets to the Stephen Merritt CORALINE musical they should buy them, as it was a very small theatre and a very limited run. The run has just added two weeks -- it's now going until July 5th. Which may make some people happy.

I get to see the preview tomorrow, and am a bit nervous and a bit excited. So far I've only seen the first 20 minutes in a rehearsal space. I loved it, but am aware that 20 minutes is not a show, and a rehearsal space is not a stage, and that numbers are going in and coming out. Here is a photograph of Stephin Merritt looking thrilled by this musical-making process.

Time Out New York says,

In Coraline’s epigraph, Gaiman quotes G.K. Chesterton on why we believe in fairy tales: “Not because they tell us that dragons exist, but because they tell us dragons can be beaten.” The stage version has a moral too. In this quintessentially theatrical world, there’s a tacit argument for resourcefulness, imagination and valor. “We put four new numbers in last week during the day, and did a preview at night,” says Silverman, about to dash back with notes for the cast. “Jayne will turn to me right before she goes onstage and quote the show: ‘Be wise, be brave, be tricky.’ And every time, I think: Exactly!?”

Over at http://www.ny1.com/Content/ny1_living/99409/stage-musical--coraline--in-previews-off-broadway/Default.aspx

you can see some video footage of the show as they interview an actor, the director and Stephin.

More photos of me and Cabal-the-Dog at http://kylecassidy.livejournal.com/513940.html
and for those of you who have asked repeatedly recently for more Cat photos, Kyle took some of me and Zoe-the-blind-cat-in-the-attic, and of Pod and Hermione, the mad sisters who live in the basement library and do not mingle, and who are now 17 years old, and Lorraine put them up in her blog, at http://blog.fabulouslorraine.com/2009/05/in-which-we-see-more-photos-by-mr-kyle.html.

I'll post some here too, soon.

...

Hi Neil,

I'm sure you have more pressing issues at hand; however, I'm quite late in perusing the Luminato listings and by god, just noticed you're doing a reading. Of course, it's sold out. Is it possible that extra tickets go on sale for your readings or am I out of luck?

If it's a no go, I may have to travel to Montreal for a reading if you're doing one. Do you know if you will at the science fiction event that's happening there in August? I don't remember what it's called.

Regards,

Theresa M.

I'm afraid the 500 Luminato tickets sold out about 5 minutes after they went on sale, and there won't be any for sale at the door (unless someone is trying to sell their extra tickets on). But yes, I will be doing readings at Anticipation, the Worldcon in Montreal.Also panels, interviews and probably making speeches too. Please come.

...

The rhubarb-custard was very nice, but it would have been better in a pie, and tasted nothing like the really good rhubarb custard pie I bought at the farmer's market. But I left it in the oven, after Maddy and I had eaten our fill, and although I turned the oven off when I went back to put it away I discovered it had caramelised into something amazing, but so terrifyingly sweet that one spoonful had me reaching for the unsweetend cranberry juice.

Right. More soon. Huge backlog of questions from the FAQ line to get to.

Labels: "be wise be brave be tricky", Lorraine Bowen, rhubarb, the crumble song