Yesterday, Mer and headed to my old (12 years ago) stomping grounds in Akron to a clothing resale shop. What would get us out to a resale shop at 8:00 on a Saturday evening? Two of Mer’s former students were displaying their photographs in the store, and it was opening night. The photographers had about sixty photos displayed aroud the small store. The subjects were of industrial areas (factories, machines, etc.) and nature shots. Several photos caught my eye – a sunset through a seeded dandelion was great. My favorite (which I ended up buying – we bought art!) was a small two-lane road cutting through fields with a misty fog about. It reminded me of Maine. Meredith bought a dramatic shot of headlights slicing through a couple of trees, a very nice shot. We can’t pick up the prints until the show is over in about a month, but it was nice to support young artists.

One odd part of the evening was that the resale shop was next door to a club that was having a hardcore music concert. The heavy drums, banging guitar chords, and screaming made for an interesting backdrop while trying to talk with the photographers. They laughed it off, which was the right response. I wish them well, and I hope they sell all of their photos.

The art continued today. This afternoon, we went to see one of my former Fools in U. Akron’s production of Sweeney Todd. I knew almost nothing about this play – only that it was a musical about a mass murderer. I had  the additional delight of bumping into a Former Fool and a Fool supporter in the audience, and two of Mer’s students were there as well. We had our own little CVCA row going on in the theater.

The production was very fine. The music was supplied by two pianists, either playing two pianos, or playing a piano and a keyboard. It always amazes me that young people can play like that; they were excellent. My former Fool did a great job in the play – she was in the chorus, and I was amazed at her power and range. I had no idea she could sing like that.

The actor playing Sweeney Todd was good and creepy. He had a large stage presence, and his voice was fantastic. I thought he was a baritone (I think everyone is a baritone, since I am one), but his bio said he was a bass. Either way, he had a fine vocal quality and a large range.

The production was well done – the scenery was fairly elaborate – there was a house/shop that rotated, several gates and fences, and a large stove that puffed “smoke.”

It is hard to label the play. One of the artistic directors is a CVCA parent and the mom of a Founding Fool, and she asked what we thought. I wanted to say I liked the play, but it is hard to say that when you have seen dozens of people murdered on stage. With that caveat, I did like the musical – the music was fine, the singers were great, the staging was very good, and the production as a whole, while very dark, was entertaining. Well done, U. Akron!