Tuesday, November 10, 2009

honeymoon year: 1st stop NYC


D. and I just got back from the first leg of our "honeymoon year" which is what I've coined this next year of trips! For my Tea Party bridal shower, my dearest friends all donated to our "honeymoon fund" and told us that we needed to go on a trip and we couldn't use the money for anything else! What an awesome idear! So while we were deciding where we should go, wondering how we were going to get the time off work after our 3 week wedding trip, we realized that there were a bunch of little places and trips we always mean to go to that we never make the time for. Soooo....this is how we decided to use up our Honeymoon Fund! A Porter Airline seat sale made the first choice easy...NYC was our first destination! D. and I had a lovely weekend of shopping, eating, catching up with friends, play watching, eating and shopping some more!

We were very excited to have tickets to see the highly anticipated "Hamlet" with Jude Law! Jude Law was spectacular, and pretty and really does deserve all the rave reviews he is getting...but besides watching the deliciously designed Jude Law, little did I know what a deliciously designed show I was going to watch!

I was taken away by the completely modern approach they took. Based in modern-day Denmark, they created a set that was so simple in design and yet so stunning to stare at. It was covered in dark grey tiles that depending on the big doorway at the back of the stage, either resembled the outside walls of a castle-like building or a gorgeous grand hall. The door changed between a huge, heavy wood door that when opened, framed a beautiful, old brick wall of a neighbouring outdoor building or with a booming woosh of sound the door would be replaced by lovely, royal drapery that immediately allowed you to imagine you were inside the castle in a grand hall. So simple and yet so well done! And the lighting was incredible too. As seen in this picture below, they opened the big wood doors slightly and lit it so it looked like you were inside a chapel in the castle! How are people so clever?!


Look at the beautiful brick wall they had at the very back of the stage. You only got to see a part of it through the big open doors but it looked so old and European! And then the light snow fall, and the white carpet of fake snow - it looked so real!! And doesn't Jude look dreamy standing there all sad and broken-hearted? Like I said...he too is very well designed!


This scene is where Hamlet sees the ghost of his father. Again, the lighting and fog was so perfect it truly looked like a ghost but not in a cheesy way at all!

But on top of all of that, the costumes were to die for! They wore the most gorgeous outfits all in dark colours like smokey mauves, charcoal greys, blacks and browns. All of the best cuts and fabrics...I was absolutely fascinated!! They had the nicest jackets and scarves...I wish I had a chance to look at the wardrobe backstage...although I think I would have been tempted to grab a few pieces for myself!

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