Watching, Watching: Film, Stage, & TV

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BEST PICTURE NOMINEES—Heartwarming and Otherworldly

CODA (Apple TV+)

Cast of CODA (imbd.com)

I hadn’t seen or read much about CODA until it won several awards from the Screen Actors Guild. I then noted it was also a Best Picture Oscar nominee which really brought it to my attention.  It’s a wonderful story, poignant and compelling.  Ruby, a high school senior, is the only hearing member of her family (mother, father, older brother).  She assists the two men in their fishing livelihood, the family’s means of support, and is the resident interpreter for their interactions with the outside world.  Ruby loves to sing, but at school, she is teased and bullied.  When she signs up for the school choir, she begins to find herself and to gain respect and positive regard from her classmates.  

This film is groundbreaking with three of the principals in the cast all being played by deaf actors.  One, Marlee Matlin as the mother Jackie Rossi is a familiar face, but the other two are not.  They are so expressive in their signing that they carry the film.  As Ruby, Emilia Jones embodies teenage angst coupled with loyalty and determination.  Her music teacher, Mr. V. (played by Eugenio Debez), is both demanding and supportive in the best way.  For those who don’t know (and I didn’t), CODA stands for Children of Deaf Adults.  The entire film has embedded captions.  Highly recommended! 

Dune (HBO Max + other sources)

Timothee Chalamet with other cast members (whathifi.com)

The Chief Penguin was more interested in seeing this film than I was.  I knew of Frank Herbert’s award-winning science fiction novel but had never read it.  Dune, the movie, is long (2.5 hours) and full of special effects including amazing spacecraft for interplanetary travel.  The plot is complex and involves several different worlds and a young man who is seen as the savior of his people.   

Suffice it to say that I didn’t love or hate the film and watched it to its end.  I would be surprised if it didn’t win Academy awards for sound or cinematography.  Recommended for sci fi fans.

BASKETBALL & POLITICS ON STAGE

The Great Leap by Lauren Yee at Asolo Repertory Theatre

Coaches flank Manford and his cousin Connie (sarasotamagazine.com)

The Chief Penguin and I just saw The Great Leap, and it’s my favorite Asolo production this season!  Ostensibly a story about a basketball game and a Chinese boy’s coming of age, it’s more significantly a political tale highlighting the contrast between free expression in America and constraints in China.  Set in 1971, coming out of the Cultural Revolution, and then in 1989, against the backdrop of Tiananmen Square, two coaches, one from San Francisco and the other from Beijing come together with their competing philosophies.  Each is determined to win this special game.   

The play is brash, funny, powerful, and thought-provoking.  Having visited China three times in the 1980’s, we watched the events of Tiananmen Square unfold on TV and worried for our Chinese friends there.

Standouts in this performance were Greg Watanabe as Wen Cheng, the Chinese coach, and Glenn Obrero in the role of Manford.  The play runs through April 2, so there’s still time to see it.

FOOD DRAMA

Delicious (Acorn)

Sam & Gina, chef Leo’s wives (radiotimes.com)

I read one mention of this Acorn series and decided to try it.  The setting is beautiful Cornwall and a luxury hotel and restaurant made famous by Leo Vincent, its chef.  It isn’t giving away too much to say that Leo dies early on, and his ex-wife and his widow are left to manage the enterprise.  Gina Benelli, his first wife, is a talented chef in her own right, while Sam, his second wife and widow, gave up her career when she married Leo and doubts her own considerable management abilities.  Add in Leo’s children: Teresa, Gina’s adult daughter, and Michael, Sam’s 18-year-old son, plus Leo’s mother Mimi, and you have conflicts of all sorts among these wildly different personalities.  

Most everyone lies or has a secret about something, and when these truths are revealed, sparks fly.  At its heart, Delicious is more about female friendship than heterosexual love (although there’s plenty of sex about). Some might find Gina and Sam’s clashes tiresome after a bit, but I watched all three seasons and stayed engaged.  The scenes of delicious food are mouthwatering, and Sheila Hancock as Mimi is both tart and loving.  Delicious is lighter fare with an occasional serious message.

Header graphic of couple watching TV courtesy of elements.envato.com

Granddaughters, Fun & Food

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GOOD TIMES WITH OUR GRANDDAUGHTERS

Our granddaughters, Eleanor and Frances, had not been to Florida since February 2020 just before Covid. That year we celebrated Frances’ March birthday (she would turn 4) super early with a heart-shaped, pink-frosted cake.  The Chief Penguin, aka Grandpa, is the resident baker and works his wonders to create memorable birthday desserts.

This year, the weather was lovely and sunny all but one day, and the girls frolicked for hours, and hours, in the pool. They became quite good swimmers last summer and refreshed their water skills while having oodles of fun.  F dove for rings and swam underwater. Using a pink (what other color is there!) noodle, she created a mini zipline effect on the pool stairs railing.  E jumped in the deep end, swam across the pool, and had timed races with her dad to see how fast she could swim.  

Besides the appeal of the water, there was the matter of food.  F loves strawberries and cherry tomatoes!  She devoured a couple of pints of each.  E, an increasingly accomplished baker and cook, loves all kinds of cheese, and helped with meal preparations and making pancakes, all with the occasional assist from Frances.  It not being Maine, these pancakes were made special with the addition of mini chocolate chips.  

The entire family likes pasta, so noodles and penne were featured in several dinners along with turkey chili, Italian Sunday sauce, and sauteed shrimp.  Going to Tide Tables Restaurant, a cozy spot on the water with inside and outside dining, is a tradition so, one day we braved the crowds to arrive for an early dinner.  Despite what was a packed parking lot, the elapsed time between arriving there, parking, waiting with drinks, and being escorted to a table was just 30 minutes!  The staff deserve credit for efficiently organizing the whole process.  

This is a family all of whom love clams.  Lunch at the Cortez Clam Factory on Saturday fit the bill.  A cousin visiting from Colorado joined us, and we were able to sit outside on the patio.  While only one person ordered clams, the brisket Reuben, Cuban sandwich, shrimp, and fried haddock were very tasty.  A true success!

On the home front, there were several opportunities for tennis, the girls and I kicked around a soccer ball, we did a fish puzzle, and we read books together and silently.  The girls also played with a favorite dollhouse plus blocks, Legos, and Calico Critters.  And we made time for going to Sarasota with a look at the boats in the marina and visits to two shops.

Reading on the stairs
Enjoying a book of jokes!

For the finale, we celebrated Frances’ upcoming 6th birthday with a unicorn-themed cake and cupcakes made by you know who.  It was a magical visit, full of fun for all of us!

Special birthday cake and cupcakes

SARASOTA TREATS

Most of my regular readers know that I am passionate about two stores in downtown Sarasota.  One is Artisan Cheese Company located in the Rosemary District and source of an array of cheddar, Swiss, Camembert, and other delectable cheeses from here and abroad.  The shop also sells distinctive butters and crackers, chocolates, Rancho Gordo beans, and unusual condiments plus homemade soups and delicate feta from Lesbos, Greece.  

My other favorite is Bookstore1Sarasota, a marvelous independent bookstore with a great selection and a very helpful staff.  They are now in a new location on Pineapple St. in The Mark, a new condominium building.  The shop is spacious and attractive with big windows and a colorful tropical flower graphic naming the sections.  From Staff Picks to the latest in fiction and nonfiction plus classics and books for kids, it’s fun to browse.  I always find at least one new title to buy!  There’s also have an upstairs area for events which might include a café at some point.  Both stores are worth the trip!

SOPHISTICATED DINING IN BRADENTON

Chateau 13

Chateau 13, in our opinion, still serves the best, most sophisticated cuisine in the area.  At a recent dinner there, the Chief Penguin and I were re-impressed with the caliber of service (the bread plates even came with a bread-and-butter knife, almost unheard of these days!) and the food.  We indulged in historic Champagne cocktails followed by the charcuterie cheese plate for the Chief Penguin and the French Caesar salad for me.  He then had the salmon rillette salad and the stuffed piquillo pepper appetizer while I savored the salmon en croute.  To top it off, we shared an order of truffle fries, but no dessert.  Everything was delicious!    

Note: Photos ©JWFarrington. Header graphic courtesy localjaw.com

The Local Scene: Culture & Food

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CLASSIC THEATER

Our Town

George, Stage Manager, & Emily (heraldtribune.com)

Most everyone of a certain age has been exposed to Thornton Wilder’s Our Town in junior high or high school.  I recall that we read it in English class and may even have acted out a scene or too.  When we were young, many of us (theater folks included) found the whole business dull.  Therefore, I approached the Asolo Theatre production with skepticism.  To my surprise, I enjoyed it much more than I anticipated. 

The staging is spare, and a diverse cast made the residents of Grover’s Corners, New Hampshire, come alive.  The stage manager describes the layout of the town and introduces us to the main characters, then steps in and out of the drama to move things along or to go back in time.

Yes, the play is dated.  It is set in the early 20th century when milk was still delivered by a horse-drawn wagon, and mothers focused on preparing meals and raising children.  But the themes of love, duty, and death it explores are universal.  The last act, set in the cemetery with the dead talking to one another, delivers a gentle punch to the gut.

Unlike the stilted, formal presentations of this character I remember, Kenn E. Head imbues the stage manager with humor, verve and a bit of sass.  He makes the role, and by extension the play, memorable!  Performances continue through March 26.

BOOK OF THE WEEK

The Rent Collector by Camron Wright

Camron Wright (amazon.com)

I’m currently reading The Rent Collector, a novel for our local book group.  It’s by an author I hadn’t known.  Like the nonfiction work, Beyond the Beautiful Forevers, set in a trash dump near the Mumbai airport, the setting here is also a dump, but in Cambodia.  People live in shacks constructed out of paper and cardboard, and they pick through the trash for items to sell or recycle.  This is a more hopeful work and is also based on real people.  

Sang Ly, the main character is learning to read, and she and her husband Ki Lim and their sickly son Nisay eke out their existence midst this challenging environment.  Winner of several book awards, this is an absorbing and uplifting novel.  (~JWFarrington)

EATING OUT

BOUTIQUE RESTAURANT IN SARASOTA

A Sprig of Thyme

Interior (tripadvisor.com)

This cozy restaurant close to Sarasota Memorial Hospital offers an appealing menu of seafood and meat entrees which should tempt and satisfy any palate.  Friends introduced us, and we were very pleased with our choices.  I ordered Scallops and Shrimp Taulere on a creamy parmesan risotto with a chardonnay wine sauce.  The scallops were large, the shrimp perfectly cooked, and the whole dish saucy in a good way.  The Chief Penguin opted for Saltimbocca of Scallops (sea scallops) being a saltimbocca kind of guy.  

Our friends each ordered the Mediterranean Shipwreck which was a grouper paillard, three jumbo shrimp, and a diver scallop all broiled on a cedar plank.  Most entrees came with asparagus and yellow pepper strips plus a choice of the risotto or mashed potatoes.  Other menu items range from a selection of salads to beef, lamb, duck, veal, and chicken entrees.  Service was both professional and friendly.  We’ll go back!

CASUAL LUNCH FARE IN BRADENTON

Central Café

It was several years ago when we last dined at Central Café.  In the interim, they have expanded their dining room and still serve a great variety of salads, sandwiches, and fries to die for!

Plate of fries (sarasotamagazine.com)

We were there with friends and shared a heap of skinny fries.  Two of us had the Caesar salad with either shrimp or tuna while others ordered the beet salad and the Californication sandwich (made of ahi tuna, bacon, and condiments).  We arrived before noon, and within about fifteen minutes, the place was full!  A perfect place for as much lunch as you’d like.

The Local Scene: Comedy, Food, & Letters

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COMEDY MID MARITAL DISCORD

Grand Horizons

Bill & Nancy struggling to communicate (heraldtribune.com)

The Asolo Theatre seldom fails to present wonderfully designed sets and compelling productions.  Grand Horizons, a comedy from Broadway, showcases Nancy and Bill, a long-married couple.  They have just moved to a retirement community when Nancy announces she wants a divorce.  Initially, her statement gets almost no response from her husband. But when she gets in motion with her plans, their two sons become overly involved in trying to make things whole. The family members argue and fight over past and present slights. Later, Carla, Bill’s punkish “so-called girlfriend” shows up.  

It’s a funny play, but not a perfect one.  I thought some of it was overdone and that Nancy’s character was dated in terms of things she had never done or had, like her own bank account.  Nevertheless, it’s good entertainment and it was well worth returning in person to the theater!   The play runs through April 1.

PRE-THEATER DINING

Ringling Grillroom

Formerly known as Muse, this restaurant in the visitor’s pavilion at the Ringling Museum of Art, has new owners, a new menu, and a lighter brighter interior.  We dined here before seeing Grand Horizons, and the food was very good, a notch or two above what we’d experienced under the old regime.  

We shared the Sicilian calamari appetizer, lightly battered and very tasty. The Chief Penguin enjoyed a Caesar salad along with the ahi tuna poke appetizer.  I sampled the bamboo steamed trigger fish which came on a bed of basmati rice with spinach and artichokes.  The fish was delicate and lovely.  And, because I just couldn’t resist, we ordered a slice of key lime pie to end the meal.  Overall, we were pleased and satisfied.  That means more meals here in the future!

BOOK OF THE WEEK

Chickens, Gin, and a Maine Friendship:  The Correspondence of E. B. White and Edmund Ware Smith

E. B. White & Edmund W. Smith (downeast.com)

I don’t often read books of letters, but my friend Jill, who also spends time in Maine, gave me this book.  It’s a delightful exchange of views between two writers from 1956 to 1967.  Neither E. B. White nor Edmund Ware Smith was a native Mainer; they both moved there in middle age.  Both loved the outdoors and were natural storytellers.  

Their letters share the details of daily life in the country and dealing with publishers and editors, along with their personal aches and pains.  After a few missives, they graduated from the formal, “Dear Mr.   “, to addressing each other as Whitey and Smitty.  The volume also includes a pair of essays by each of them; one by E.B. White is “The Hen:  An Appreciation,” while “The Outermost Henhouse” is by Edmund Smith.  

My Maine friends will find it noteworthy that this trove of letters was only recently unearthed from a bank vault in Damariscotta.  In 1980, E. B. White gave the letters to the Skidompha Public Library there after the death of Smith’s widow.  Smith and his wife had made their home in Damariscotta.  The library stored the correspondence at the bank for safe keeping, but it was subsequently forgotten.  

When we visit Maine each summer, we are in and out of Damariscotta and always drive or walk by this library.  I’ve long been intrigued by its unusual name, and this year I will go inside.

Note: Header photo is the dining space at the Ringling Grillroom (heraldtribune.com).