Sunday, November 6, 2005

Breakfast: ramen noodles. Napped. Patrick and I drove to Berkeley for a Cal Performances performance by the Beijing People's Art Theatre of The Teahouse by Lao She. The play is described as "a masterpiece of world drama in which 65 distinct characters converge on a traditional teahouse as they make their way through three generations of modern Chinese history." This is the first Chinese theater company to tour internationally. It is performed entirely in Mandarin with English supertitles projected above the stage (with Windows 98!). The performance was outstanding, and I'll remember in particular the opening scene which was filled with so much activity that for a few seconds I forgot to look above to "hear" the dialogue that was taking place. The play is told in three acts which show the teahouse scenes in 1898, 1918, and 1948. An intermission occurs after Act 2. For me, the best thing about this play was seeing history come alive in the stories and lives of the characters. The company received a standing ovation at the end which lasted for many minutes. This evening I met for the first time Patrick's martial arts instructor, Simmone, who also attended the play with Rhonda, one of her other students. Simmone is just as I had imagined and gathered from Patrick's descriptions of her interactions with her. It was a pleasure to finally meet her. Dinner with Mom Ryan and Patrick at Eric's Restaurant (415-282-0919, 1500 Church Street). Combination platter for 3 (crab rangoon, egg rolls, potstickers, drums of heaven, shrimp chips), sesame chicken, Eric's chow mein, assorted vegetables with prawns, Hunan fish (not spicy), steamed rice. Mom Ryan's fortune: You are capable of extremely hard work and dedication. Patrick's fortune: You are very persistent in pursuing your goals in life. My fortune: Use your charm and personality to your advantage. All the dishes were excellent, and service was attentive, as usual. We had plenty of leftovers to take home. Dinner was $56.90 after an $8.25 tip. After dinner Patrick and I attempted to hang some decorative banners for her in her apartment but we were missing some tools we required, so we decided to try again another time. Mom Ryan's apartment is just about all set up. She received her coffee table and has lots of photos and artwork on the walls.