Shirley Valentine Weekend

The worst of the weather has passed and all is well! As you must already know, we planned our recent trip to Richmond to see Muffinface in her second one woman show! We had the pleasure (thank you, Gretchen) of seeing Gretchen, Harry and Allie (Harry and Allison pictured above) during one afternoon. My dad and Kitty-mom made Richmond a stopping point on their way home from North Carolina. We went to Liberty Valance, a themed steakhouse and neighborhood staple (just don't ask me which neighborhood)!



That's Allie, showing off her special talent of trapping iced tea in a straw!





Later that evening, at Hanover Tavern, we met up with Sparki and the Dean and Phil (here's Phil sans Vicki). I guess I was more preoccupied with getting photos of the food than of all the people!



Here's Sparki and behind him is the Shirley Valentine set. He looks very excited! We were all excited to see Muffinface portray the title character. As soon as the lights came up, I saw my sister for one beat and then realized we were actually watching Shirley. We weren't watching someone play her. Of all the theater I have enjoyed starring my sister-- and there has been loads of it considering she has been doing this all of her life-- this piece was, by far, my favorite. The story is that Shirley and her husband raised their children and now live a predictable day-to-day existence. A 42-year old Shirley wonders what happened to her life and realizes (as she talks to her kitchen wall) that she has wasted her potential and hasn't exactly lived her life the way she imagined she would. She escapes to Greece on a trip with a friend and finally comes into her own. I'm the same age as Shirley and a few years ago, I took stock of my life and took steps to change things. The message in Shirley Valentine is universal, timeless and I could feel the energy in the theater as every audience member took the journey with Shirley.

After the play, we met up with my sister, Steve P., my sister's BFF, and a few others. We went to Davis and Main, another restaurant, for a few drinks. Some had dessert. We had time to sit and to catch up on things with friends we hadn't seen in a few years, and my dad and Kitty-Mom who we hadn't seen since their recent trip to Russia. You know how there are people you might not see for a couple of years or even more and 5 minutes after you see them you feel that no time has passed? That's what this night was like. It was one of those treasured times when you are physically surrounded by family (whether they are blood relatives or not). I wish we could do it all over again tomorrow.

We bid our farewells and went home to my sister's house to collapse. The next day, as we made our way to the airport and back to Florida, the weekend seemed like a blur- a dream- but we had no regrets, having fit a week of visiting (and eating) into two short days...and the eggs.