Turn and face the strange... ch-ch-changes

Breathtaking entrance.

Last night I headed over to the Kennedy Center to check out part of the month long Nordic Cool festival. Feraz had asked me to meet him there at 7 because he had wanted to surprise me with a show and I decided to make a full evening of it by going early to check out the Gaup Sisters. (Every night at 6pm, the Kennedy Center has free performances on the Millennium Stage.) The sisters would be performing joiks (pronounced yoik) which are a traditional Sami type of song. The sisters talked about how a grandmother would yoik her grandson, or a husband might yoik his wife and that people even yoiked animals! Needless to say, I started laughing like a third grader every time the sisters talked about yoiking something new. To my defense, a lot of other people couldn't stifle their laughter either.

The Gaup Sisters via washingtoncitypaper.

After all the yoiking, I walked around the Kennedy Center to check out the exhibits. My favorite installment was a collection of waterfall photographs that were presented as posters often are in stores.  When you pulled out any particular photograph, the sound of that waterfall would play. I wanted it in my house so badly.

Sarah and I fought over who would get to take this horse lamp home.

Summer wardrobe.

After some meandering around, I got a text that Feraz had arrived and I met up with him. I found out that we were going to see Metamorphosis performed by an Icelandic and British company! Feraz scored us great tickets up front in the orchestra section. I always feel like I should go home in a town car after I sit in orchestra.

I think Franz Kafka's Metamorphosis is one of the greatest short stories ever written. I had no idea how it would translate to the stage and was impressed by the clever set design. The bottom half of the stage was set up as a traditional house and the top half was set up to create the illusion that the audience had a bird's-eye view into Gregor's room. The actor that played Gregor was a phenomenal gymnast. For half the show he was hanging sideways from walls and ceilings. See the picture below.

via Washingtonpost.

Overall, I don't think the performance did justice to Kafka's work but that is a monumental task for anyone cast or production team to take on. Although the play fell short, it was still a great work and worth seeing.