Now that's -- Entertainment!!

Digesting Dvorak  & Gyrating to Greece

 

When I think of Schubert and Dvorak - I think of of  the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra or the Berlin Philharmonic taking listeners to a special place with their remarkable ability to re-create the work of those musical geniuses. So when I heard about a classical concert in Nairobi with tickets for only $8.00 I was a bit skeptical. The Nairobi Orchestra has been going strong for 50 years but often not well attended as a favored local event. A close friend warned me about the last performance - noting that at $8 it still may not be good value for money. I immediately thought of my kids many school concerts I had attended and listened to the "strings" performances. Is that a cat in heat I thought to myself once.... but of course you have to start somewhere :)

In the end it was extremely well done.. in fact it was superb!!! I went with a group of classical music lovers and as we sipped wine later and compared notes -- it was clear that the NSO had exceeded our expectations. Good for Nairobi. In a land where thoughts of life, food, health and death are often top of mind -- it is a beautiful and fragile thing that the arts are growing and accessible to Nairobians.

In the weekend following my good friend Jayne called asking if I wanted to see the musical Greece with her. Well -- actually -- she just asked that I buy tickets for here as she was out of town and didn't want to miss out. Hehe. After some begging -- she ( I think reluctantly) agreed to take me along.  I'm sure she was afraid I would embarrass her by being overly enthusiastic... I do love musicals!!!

Jayne has been in my life since my firsts weeks in Nairobi. A great friend - she is as interesting as she is thoughtful. A successful actress turned rabbit farmer - to construction manager - to agricultural specialist - there is little that scares her or doesn't pique her curiosity.

As we huddled conspiratorially over Samosas and beer before the show - she regaled me with stories about her past week in India working with agriculturalists there to improve the quality of life. What a cool chick!!!

 






From Rizzo, slutty and lovable -- to Sandy pure and perfect -- the cast did a terrific job putting on a very entertaining show. Notable in particular was the dancing. Kenyans can really move -- maybe not to the same degree as this writer  💃- but pretty good all the same.  On the right is a toothpaste advertisement that sums the reality nicely.  If you recall the story of Greece - it ends with a dance competition where John Travolta chooses a woman of "questionable" character (albeit sexy AF) as his dance partner and goes on to win... leading to Sandy adopting a more "sexy come bad girl" persona to win him back. I wonder if that part was written by Harvey Weinstien ... anyway - the young woman who played this part (Cha Cha) was so talented it was nearly impossible to look away. She stole the show in my mind ..... what a treat that was!

At the same time as I thoroughly enjoyed the Kenyan entertainment offerings which are growing in both number and quality, the harsh realities of an unstable  security environment are nearly everywhere. Pictured beside - the burned out hulk of a Matatu that wont be ferrying passengers around anytime soon. A roadside reminder the election violence from that same week. It should be over now... hopefully put aside for now and forever.

 On my way to work on Friday, on a quiet street lay a man. As the traffic including ourselves drove by others walk past the body of the man. It reminded me of a deer or dog in my own country after being hit by a car. The legs are oddly positioned as are the arms... leaving you with undeniable evidence of yet another preventable African tragedy. Crossing the street is literally taking your life in your hands.Someone had thoughtfully placed a large bow of Bougainvillea just ahead of the body so traffic would avoid running over him again and again. The image stayed with me for the day -- as I hoped someone would grieve his death and that the people responsible for the well-being of pedestrians might be reminded of their duties and responsibilities.

 

Thanks reading -- Layno -- suddenly 55 years old !! WTF?