Shakespeare in the Park

A few weekends ago we went to see Much Ado About Nothing. It is part of a 49 year tradition a local park has of putting on free Shakesperean performances each summer. Everyone spreads out blankets on the hill, eats picnic dinners, and waits for the sun to set so the show can begin. It was a lot of fun. It took both Mike and I a few acts to catch on to the language. It's been so long since I've read any of his works! As I was struggling to get the hang of it again, I worried that perhaps bringing the boys wasn't such a great idea, but they LOVED it! They hung on all the way to the end (10:30) and laughed at the funny parts and were against the villian.

It is such a great, comical play. The men "returning from war" in the beginning of the play rode down the hill past all of us on their "horses" (bikes) and the boys thought it was so funny. Later on, the constable character and his assistant came wandering up in to the crowd during a scene they were not involved in. They sat down on our blanket and asked the boys if they had any fruit or sandwiches. The boys gave them each an apple and then were thrilled to see the men eating their apples in the next scene! After the play was over and everyone had done their final bows, the constable shouted out for the "two white-haired boys" to stand up. Then he had everyone clap for them and told Jake and Andrew "[they] rock!" It was a fun outing and so good for the boys to stretch their brains with the different way of speaking. This will be another event to throw in with the growing list of family traditions!