Theatre Calgary: Cats

Cats is one of my "top three" favourite musicals. (The other two, by the by, are Les Miz and Phantom. I came of age in the time of Andrew Lloyd Webber, what can I say?) I was beyond excited when I found out last year that Theatre Calgary was going to be putting on a production of the show, and at that time told my husband that I really, really wanted tickets for my birthday.

 I held out little hope - who tells their husband ten months or so in advance? But he's a great guy, and of course he pulled through - when he handed me a square box on my day I didn't know what to expect, but lo and behold, there were the tickets tucked inside of a great mass of tissue inside. Sneaky fella, huh?

At any rate, I only had a couple of days to be excited before the show, but I was in great anticipation. I told everyone who would listen that we had tickets for the show, and bounded around like a maniac singing to my own cats, who tolerated me in their own way.  That is to say, they gave me disdainful stares and barely managed to keep from clawing me to pieces as I tried to make them shimmy with me to Magical Mr. Mephistopholes.

Because we've been to Theatre Calgary performances before, we knew what to expect and headed directly for their underground parking garage.  We were shocked to find it completely full, even though we were quite early.  After some driving around we finally found a regular lot to park in a block over, and counted ourselves lucky to find one of the last two places available!  A tip here from experience; check the Epcor Center calendar to see if other events are happening on the night of your performance, and if they are, be sure you leave much more extra time than you expect to find parking.  We barely made it in the doors before they closed and the performance began. (Sixty seconds to spare, whew!)

Trust me, it was worth the extra bother.

One thing I really appreciate about Theatre Calgary is their extremely innovative set design.  There's something a little avant garde about the way they build their worlds, but it's positively seamless, and always seems to wrap around into the theatre to envelop the audience within the little world of magic that takes place on the stage.  Cats was no exception to that.  With the area transformed into a back alley at night, everything from bins and crates to a broken down vehicle to abandoned neon signs were in evidence in the world of the Jellicle cats.  And don't even get me started on the wonderful twists of set design that emulated a pirate ship or allowed an aerodynamic cat to climb a rope from one of the audience balconies!

Cats is always a design explosion - even little theatres can usually show some amazing production values, but Theatre Calgary pulled out all the stops, with extraordinary sets, costumes that were both finely detailed and resplendently ragged in the traditional Cats style (with a few unique twists I hadn't seen before!), and a cast that romped and kneaded paws, and clawed and tumbled in a beautiful synergistic, energetic display.

I have seen two productions of Cats before this one; a mediocre one at a small dinner theatre and an extraoridinary one by the Broadway touring company. This was at least on par with the Broadway company, with slightly different moments of brilliance in each one. 

In the Theatre Calgary performance, Jennyanydots (Cleopatra Williams) and Grizabella (Cailin Stadnyk) shone the brightest to my eyes; the actresses were positively radiant, Williams for her sparkling tap performance and brilliant personality and Stadnyk for her phenomenal vocal talent and touching shows of emotion. While the entire cast was well-chosen and there wasn't a single "bad" performance in sight, the wonderful frumpy-old-cat archetype of Old Dueteronomy (brought to life by Sam Plett) was my favourite character personification of any performance of Cats I've seen (or nearly any play I've seen, for that matter).  We particularly enjoyed watching him on stage throughout the intermission, where he groomed and stretched, and looked a good deal like our own big fluffy George cat on his perch onstage.

If you are looking for a great musical to help introduce theatre into your children's lives you can't go wrong with this production of Cats.  Theatre Calgary even provides a student guide for those headed in to see this as a school group or just with their families. There is also an audience enrichment guide available for anyone wanting to boost their appreciation of the poetry that makes this play what it is.

It takes about forty minutes on an average night for us to make it from the Strathmore border to Theatre Calgary's location.  Not a far drive for such a brilliant performance and an evening of true entertainment.

 

Five stars.  Even with the drive, this is completely worth the travel time, as it's a brilliant performance full of quirky wit and stunning talent.  Everyone should go!

E & W Chinese Buffet

I travel often with my husband when he is doing his circuit of library visits, which means I get to see a lot of small towns in the southern Alberta region.  Today, it was Trochu and Three Hills that we were set to visit.  Both of these little towns have great libraries, by the way.  If you're in Trochu, you should stop and shop for shoes, and stop at the dollar store downtown, where the librarian in town assures me that the coffees on offer are truly stellar.

Some towns are better than others when it comes to lunchtime offerings.  As a matter of fact, some towns that have libraries don't have a restaurant at all - or even a gas station for that matter!  But the Trochu and Three Hills area has several, and on this particular day my husband was in the mood for Chinese food, so we stopped at E and W, which provides a lunchtime buffet of Chinese and Western food.  More accurately, to my view, what it provides is Westernized Chinese food.

 You'll find it located at 1011 2 st. N, with this lovely mural on the building facing the parking lot. Inside, you seat yourself and can order from the menu if you'd prefer not to sample the buffet offerings.  Still, when you're new to a restaurant, I find that it's often best to try the buffet, so you can choose a little bit of everything just in case the thing you order turns out not to be what you're looking for.

To a certain extent, that was the case here.  Most of the food on the buffet is deep fried and slathered in thick sauces, which isn't always the tastiest, and definitely isn't the healthiest option.  The wonton soup did turn out to be a surprising, light, and delicious start to the meal, chock full of dumplings and green onions in a flavourful broth.  I often find wonton soup to be far too salty, but this was just right.

As for the food, it was a mixed bag.  The onion rings were wonderful, if a bit oily, but perennial favourites of ours such as the sweet and sour pork and ginger beef were vastly disappointing, both soggy and lacking in flavour.  On the other hand, the chicken and asparagus and the steamed vegetables were both delicious.

My Plate

We both found that the noodles had been sitting under the heat lamps a little too long.  My husband sampled the chow mein and I tried the shanghai fat noodles, but we were both disappointed in the results. They had that stale, stiff taste that happens in these situations, though to be fair, the woman working the front register did offer to make a fresh batch of chow mein for my husband, when she noted his dissatisfaction with it.

My Husband's Plate

The buffet contains a small salad bar (with two types of chopped lettuce, a few bottles of dressing on ice, potato salad, orange slices and cookies) and a heated area with the basics of a Chinese menu, as well as two soup offerings.  Soft drinks are from cans, not from a fountain, and refills are not free.  In addition, the drinks were served warm, and with no ice.  I'd recommend requesting either a glass of ice or just ordering ice water instead of getting a soft drink.

Still, it's an inexpensive lunch; buffet and one drink for one person is $11.50 at the register, so if you are looking for a quiet, quick lunch that will have you in and out as fast as possible, this is a good option for the area.  Because of the quality, it only garners a three star rating.

Dining: Ironwood Stage and Grill

Recently, a friend of ours organized a large group outing to have dinner and then see a show at the Ironwood Stage and Grill in Calgary. I was excited about the event, as I hadn't been there before, and I'm always looking to try out new places.  The establishment is located in the SE of the city, fairly close to the Zoo, so not obnoxiously far away.  I also love walking around in the cute Inglewood neighborhood where you can find something new and interesting nestled inside of each of the little storefront shops.  Like these crazy, enormous gnomes.  So cute!

 At any rate, this is 9th ave, where you can find the Ironwood Stage and Grill.  There are pay parking lots on each corner of the opposite side of the street, within just a couple of minutes walking distance. This shot was taken from the parking lot at the far end of the block.  There is also street parking in the evenings, on the same side of the street where the Ironwood is located, but since we were headed in from the opposite direction, it was easier to just park in a lot than try to turn around, make our way back, and parallel park!

Ironwood Stage and Grill
1229 - 9th Avenue S.E. Calgary Alberta Canada T2G 0S9
(403)269-5581

 See that sign all in lights?  That's the front of the Ironwood.  The sign proudly proclaims whatever is playing that night, and the Ironwood has lots of shows.  As a matter of fact, you can pick almost any day of the week and find live entertainment of some variety on the schedule.  Check their entertainment listings here, for some very interesting variety, musical, and comedy acts local to the Calgary area as well as some touring shows.

Reservations are recommended for performance times, and I'd second that recommendation.  We arrived early; around 6:30, and there was only one other table of diners in the place.  However, as the clock crept forward toward show time, we were grateful for the reservation for our large group (there were 12 of us) close to the stage because in this small venue, prime space fills up fast.  The Ironwood is long and narrow, with the low stage taking up one of the short ends, and the fairly high bar stretching along a good portion of one of the long sides.  This means many views from halfway back and further are obstructed, so it's going to pay to get a good seat early if you want to be able to see what is going on.

When it comes to service, I wish I could give a better review.  I have a feeling that it wasn't entirely our server's fault; there didn't seem to be many people on staff, and the waitress had a lot to handle with our large group.  However, I have to admit that it was more than a little lacking.  Drink orders were initially filled quickly, but food service took a long time, and arrived spottily.  For my part, my dinner was served more than ten minutes after the rest of those seated around me (though I had ordered the special, which four others around me had ordered as well) and was partially incomplete (the garlic toast arrived another ten minutes or so later).

Some of the food served was lava hot in spots, as though it had been re-headed in a microwave (as Gordon Ramsey would skewer the kitchen staff for were this an episode of Kitchen Nightmares!) but for the most part, the quality seemed good. Additionally, drinks are pricey (expect to pay five bucks for a soft drink) and refills (which are not free) seemed to be difficult to order and slow to arrive.  There were long waits for almost anything.

Gnocchi Alfredo

The special, which most of our table ordered, was a gnocchi alfredo with mushrooms, served with garlic toast. The gnocchi was nicely cooked, though mildly sticky, but the garlic toast was white texas toast from a bag, spread with margarine and sprinkled with garlic powder.  Not very special for a special, I'll admit.  Still, the food was filling and reasonably priced at $13.  Due to the pricing of the appetizers, we all skipped immediately to the main course; from previous experience one of the others in our party noted that the appetizers are extremely small in portion size for the price, and not really worth indulging in.

Steak Flatbread

 My other half opted for the steak flatbread, also reasonable at $16 for the portion size, which hovered between the average small and medium pizza.  He found the steak slices on the pizza to be a little tough, likely from being cooked twice, once on it's own and again during the baking of the pizza.  The crust, however, he found to be nicely crisp and light, with plenty of sauce and other toppings to balance out the meal.

Chicken Lasagna

Also at the $16 price point, one can find the chicken lasagna. Served in an individual lasagna dish, this is a very large serving almost suitable for sharing. This was the item with the inconsistent heating, lava-hot in the center.  The cheese on top was nicely crisped, and the portion was large, though it was again served with the white-bread-and-garlic-powder garlic toast.

Steak Sandwich

Another member of our party chose the steak sandwich, one of the more expensive entrees at $17. This was a slice of flatiron steak served on a slice of plain bread, topped with some onion rings.  There is an option of french fries or salad on the side.  The verdict on this was slightly tough, somewhat overcooked, and not terribly satisfying.







Additionally, those at our table that dared order dessert - a small bowl of vanilla gelato - got a bit of sticker shock when their tabs came due.  Expect $12 per small dessert here; like the appetizers, they are not worth ordering in this venue.

With seating that isn't super comfortable, we were a little stiff after a while in the evening, and while we thought the show we saw was amazing, we were left uncertain about whether or not we would return to the Ironwood for future events.  They do have an amazing variety of acts that play there, so it's a possibility.  The quality of entertainment can be stellar, but the food is mediocre and the service is a bit lacking.  Because of the problems we had and the distance of the drive, the Ironwood earns only a middle-of-the-road two and a half stars from this reviewer.  If you are really interested in a show being presented there, I'd say go for it, but proceed with caution unless you've brought a thick wallet!

Sew Delicious

Princess Magic at work!

Out in Carseland, delicious things are happening.  That's where Brenda Stuart-Berry resides, with her husband, son, two mischevious barn cats and a kitchen that is magical.

At least, I think it's magical.  That's the only explanation I can come up with for why my husband reacts the way he does to her baking.  Either that, or she sneaks crack into the fondant.  Nah, Brenda is too much of a sweetheart for that; I think it's magic.

Check out that gold leaf on the binding!

For my last birthday, I was treated to an amazing cake from Sew Delicious.  It was, in fact, the perfect cake for a voracious reader and writer, and happened to be delicious, but this wasn't my only sampling of Brenda's cakes.  In fact, you may have enjoyed one yourself, as they spring up at numerous events around town, including Quality Dog Grooming's customer appreciation parties, and events at Shoppers Drug Mart.

 Without a doubt, her cakes are beautiful, and always designed with a personal touch for the recipient.  I've seen her come up with cars, houses, laptops, game controllers, a rack of ribs and even a mountain with a tunnel that a train could move through for a very special Thomas the Tank Engine birthday party.  Whatever the subject matter is, Brenda carries it off with grace and style.

It seems almost unfair to show this when you can't taste it...

And that isn't even touching on the beauty and elegance of her wedding cakes.  Sitting down at a cake testing with Brenda is a special event.  She lays out a pretty table for her brides and grooms, with a selection of her wares, so that the nuptual pair can mix and match to their hearts content, rather than try to imagine what the frosting from this cake would taste like on that other cake with the frosting they hate. Really, when I had a tasting for my wedding cake, I just had to guess.  This is a way better solution.  Plus, you get more cake.

As for the flavours and compositions of her cakes,  Brenda has most bakeries beat from the get-go.  She offers unique options, such as her pina colada which is moist and bursting with coconut and pineapple, and makes her fondant from scratch, which means it isn't that nasty stuff you have to peel off to get to the good part of the cake; it's delicious in and of itself.  My husband is a big fan of both her fondant and of her lemon vanilla cake.  As a southern girl at heart, I really can't get over her red velvet, which is a deep, rich red, moist, and full of chocolate flavour.

Whatever you choose, when you order your wedding cake from Sew Delicious, you can rest assured that you'll be happy with the beautiful and tasty results.  Even better, while you're out there for a tasting, you can have your wedding dress or suits altered, have flower girl (or bridal) dresses made, or shop for pretty accessories like ring bearer pillows in your own custom wedding colors.  On top of the baking, Brenda is also an expert seamstress.

Check out these beautiful items from her display at the Bridal Show in Strathmore!

You can find Brenda on the web at http://sewdelicious.vpweb.ca or give her a call at 403-361-1060.  You can also drop her an email at brendastuartberry@gmail.com to book an appointment. She comes to Strathmore at least three times a week for pick-ups and drop-offs, but visiting her out in Carseland is a must for fittings and tastings.  It's about a twenty minute drive from town, a bit more if you get stuck behind a slow freight train at the crossing.  Overall, Brenda gets five stars for stellar and beautiful work, and a smile that can brighten anyone's day.

Quality Dog Grooming

Meet Ivy.  She is our sweet little shih-tzu, and as you can see, not at all a spoiled girl.  She also is a little bit of a mop when she goes too long between groomings, which sometimes happens. Schedules get busy, and making an appointment can be a hassle, as can dropping her off and picking her up during the day, since my husband works and we only have the one car.

A friend with an equally beloved little canine recommended that I give Quality Dog Grooming a try.  She assured me that they were awesome people and a joy to work with, and that it would solve my problem of having to get my girl to and from the groomer during working hours.

Quality Dog Grooming has both a website and a Facebook group, and I'll admit to checking both out thoroughly before making an appointment.  And the actual booking was pretty easy, because they make it so - you can book through a website message, through email, through a post on their Facebook page, or by calling - whatever is easiest for you!  I love businesses that work around your needs, instead of the other way around.

I set up a pick-up time for Ivy, and the owner -  Melissa David - along with her new assistant Allison Broad arrived to an enthusiastic greeting from my very very kissy little Ivy.  She loves meeting new people, and loves kissing them all over their faces.  Both Melissa and Allison are very clearly dog lovers, as even Ivy's wet affection won smiles and belly rubs from the pair.  They were thorough in asking questions about Ivy, her history, and my preferences in grooming.  In fact, they were at least twice as thorough as any other groomer I've ever taken her to.  I felt extremely comfortable putting my sweetheart into their hands.

Melissa began grooming rescue dogs, a cause that is very close to my heart.  My spoiled sweet girl is a rescue herself, and animal causes are kinda a big deal around our house. She still volunteers her time with the town, readying doggies who land in the pound for adoption with forever families.  From talking to other clients and reading her Facebook page, it's clear that she knows her client doggies well, and cares about each of them personally.

As to the service, we had a tight schedule the day Ivy was being groomed, and had to head out of town.  But Allison was right on time dropping Ivy off, setting all my worries to rest.  And boy did my little girl look beautiful!  She came home with a cookie and a bow, as well as a punch card for the loyalty program at Quality Dog grooming, to get points toward a discounted grooming session.  The best part was that Ivy wasn't nearly as upset as she usually is after a grooming.

Usually, when Ivy comes home, she shakes and is incredibly clingy.  She's insecure and a bit scared.  It has always been this way at the groomer, so I figured it was just the price we paid for having her professionally groomed.  I knew it was hard on her, and it made me put off her groomings for too long sometimes, but eventually it had to be done, and I just didn't have the tools or know-how to do it myself.

But this time, what came home to me was a happy, happy dog.  Sure, she was glad to see us, but she wasn't having the separation anxiety she usually did.  It was fantastic!  I was so happy that she was content and "herself" after the grooming.  It just brought home to me how important it is to have a groomer who cares about your dog.

Overall, both Ivy and I had a great experience with Quality Dog Grooming.  I would recommend them highly, especially if you have a dog who is a little skittish about being groomed!  Quality Dog Grooming is located in Strathmore at 23 Strathford Close.  You can call or text them at 403-923-8983 or drop them an email at quality.grooming@hotmail.com

Five stars for giving me back a happy and prettiful pooch!! Don't forget to check out their website and Facebook!

Now Playing: Safe House

Who can resist these guys??

Playing at: Sunridge Spectrum Cineplex
2555-32nd Street NE
Calgary
AB, T1Y 7J6

Driving Time: 25 - 30 minutes from the Strathmore border

Costs:

General (14-64) $12.99

Child (3-13) $8.99

Senior (65+) $8.99

I've been waiting to see Safe House since the first trailers started to appear.  I'm a huge Denzel fan, and pretty fond of Ryan Reynolds as well.  My husband was happy that the must-see movie on my radar was something it looked like he'd enjoy as well, and when I had a rotten Monday, it seemed like the right cure for my mood, prompting us to head into the city for a bit of distraction and action-movie mayhem.  There's very little better for crankiness, in my opinion, than some mindless entertainment that doesn't make you think too much.  Explosions, car chases, adrenaline-pumping, and cute guys.  Sounds perfect, right?

The movie starts with a nice build-up and a bit of character development before jumping right into the action.  I like that in a movie.  While I think some people (read: some guys!) like the shooting and fighting from the get-go, I need to get emotionally invested in a character to care who wins in the end.  It's easy to get behind Ryan Reynolds' character.  He has the typical nice-guy face, and it suits him well in this role of a lower-rung CIA operative, charged with maintaining a safe house; an apartment, in this case, in South Africa, where detainees can be brought for interrogation and/or torture.

Denzel, on the other hand, is a likeable bad guy; a rogue former agent who now sells secrets to foreign powers, but who seems to have a great inner compass for right and wrong and a strong sense of who to trust.  He was in a bad spot; forced into an embassy by a series of heart-pounding events, and subsequently escorted to the safe house where the team of CIA agents hoped to peel his secrets out of him via a bit of waterboarding and intimidation.  When the safe house is breached, and a narrow escape is made, the real ride begins.

There's plenty of excitement in this film, with car chases and shootouts and chases along rooftops and some seriously anxiety-producing fight scenes.  Just when you think you're going to get a moment of calm, something else utterly shocking and terrifying seems to pop up.  The plot line is a little thin, but only because they had to make room for all of those action scenes.  You can't expect Shakespeare in this kind of a movie.  However, the depth of the character development is really nice, including the way the relationships between characters is developed, exploited, and showcased through to the very end.  You won't go away feeling like you just saw a lot of crash-bang and nothing of substance with this one.  It has enough to it that it will satisfy those action-seeking guys as well as the plot-loving women out there.

I'm rating this with a strong four stars, because the effects and acting are both very very good, but there could have been a bit more done in terms of developing some of the subplots that were interesting, but not fully explored.  Definitely a good night out!

Local Professionals: La Shaun Andrews, Realtor

I've read that moving is one of the top five stressful events that happens in your life.  I've moved at least ten times since I met my husband and I pretty much agree.  If there is one thing in this world that can make moving a little less anxiety-producing, it's having a good realtor.

Richard and I stumbled upon La Shaun accidentally the first go-round.  She was the realtor representing Abe Fehr construction, and was therefore the person selling the condo we were interested in buying. Two years ago, she toted us around town to show off other Abe Fehr buildings and convince us to buy his condo.

Clearly, it worked, and we love the place.

At that time, we were a little gun-shy about buying a place, because the last place we bought burned to the ground.  (We got to live in it a while first, at least).  That can scare anyone off!  Renting seemed easier, less committed.  But she lured us in with talk of paint chips and counter top options.  No, no, actually, she was honest and upright about why buying a condo would make good sense for us at that time, why the market was right, and even guided us toward finding good financing.  And she was there for us while we picked finishes and the like as well, even though I took about an hour to make up my mind on the lino.  I can be picky.  She never complained, and I never even caught her looking at her watch, even as I examined all of the little chips of counter top on the giant metal ring, and held every one that seemed promising up against the paint choice, the counter choice, and the laminate choice.  And then the other lino choice.  I took a long time.

At that point, because our situation was relatively simple, so was buying a house.  We had a down payment in the bank, no hindrances to hold us back, and easy peasy, we were done.

I gave her a call the other day.  "Surprise!"  I said, "We need a bigger house.  Much sooner than expected."  I then proceeded to give her a long laundry list of what we were looking for.  I had everything from square footage requirements to bathroom and bedroom requirements to projects-to-be-done and condition requirements all on a tiny tight budget.  I also had a long list of questions about listing our condo, changing financing, and how this whole shebang would work.

Throughout the process, La Shaun has remained upbeat, positive, and charming.  She helped us figure out why certain places could be awesome for us, and opened our eyes to things we might not have considered on our own.  And let me tell you, this woman is patient with unfailing optimism.  Even in odd circumstances, she tells you it's her job to figure out the details, and that she'll take care of you.  It's the sort of kindness you need in a situation where you feel kind of like a kid again; just enough to make you understand what's going on and not even close to a smidgen of condescension.

Overall, I'd give La Shaun a strong five out of five stars and would recommend her highly to anyone buying and/or selling in the Strathmore area.  Find La Shaun at Aztec realty in downtown Strathmore, or visit her website here: http://www.lashaunandrews.com/