Chronicles of Emilia: Oklahoma @ Stratford Festival

A colleague of mine, Irene, asked me: "...so, Emilia, have you been to Stratford?" I responded without turning my head away from my computer monitor: "You mean, Stratford-and-Avon...in England?" "Dah! Noooo....noooo! Our very own, Stratford, Ontario?" my colleague yelled as she smacked my keyboard as I was typing and talking to her at the same time! She is very motherly and, well, a bit of a pain but she is one of my good friends. Anyway, she said that her neighbour is unable to come to Stratford Festival and she was wondering if I would be interested to join her. I thought: "Oh man, a full day with her.." He he he! I asked how much the ticket is as my head quickly did a clockwise rotation back to my computer monitor!

Irene said that her neighbour paid $108.00 for it [**my cheap brain started making sounds like 'caching...caching...'] but Irene added that the neighbour is willing to give the ticket for free due to its last-minute notice. The neighbour, who is a senior citizen, is due for surgery and would therefore not be able to make it to the show. I said: "Naaahhh, I will pay for it." I insisted in paying half of the ticket, just to be fair, and darn - I am glad I did...

The sound that announced the start of the performance....

The story: Oklahoma was changing fast and the first great influx of homesteaders was settling the land and the cowboys try to hold the openrange life they have come to enjoy including the love of their loves. Romance...action...comedy...lots of amazing dancers and singers!

We were like 3rd row from the front. Excellent seats! The stage is up close and personal (as supposed to the stage ambience at `Royal Alex`or even `Princess of Wales`...

Before and after the show, we had the opportunity to roam around downtown Stratford. Sun was blazing but not toasty hot...summer wind blowing on our face, it was perfect! The City of Stratford sells a bag of corn to people who wanted to feed the ducks and our group purchased three bags...