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| Benedick and Beatrice |
The other night I took my wife out on a date. This is kind of a big deal. When you've been married thirty years, it's easy to forget how to set up a date. But a friend of mine at school, Manning Kent, reminded me how important it is to find ways to renew the fun in a relationship, so I told Nancy to clear her calendar for Saturday night, and made us reservations at the Shakespeare Tavern. As it turned out, we had something to celebrate - we found a tenant for our condo. When we left for the show, I programmed our destination into the GPS, so it gave us turn-by-turn directions. I honestly think Nancy was surprised when we arrived at the Shakespeare Tavern. I know she was pleased. If you live in Atlanta, or visiting, and you've never been to the Shakespeare Tavern, you really should go. It's very casual, as Shakespeare should be; you eat dinner and watch a play, usually a production of Shakespeare. We had a nice dinner, drank some beer, and watched
Much Ado About Nothing. It's a good show for a date; Benedick and Beatrice, played by Andrew Houchins and Erin Considine, got the best laughs, but the villain, Don John, played by Jacob York, was my favorite. There's something so cool about a Shakespearean villain. They actually going around saying things like, "I'm a villain," and York clearly savored every evil moment. Don John is an Iago-type villain who pretends to be your best friend and have your interests at heart, just so he can get in your head and destroy your peace of mind. Anyway, everything comes out alright in the end, although I can never get over the fact that Hero marries Claudio even after all the crap he said about her, but then, how else can you end it? But the best part of the play, the very best part, was getting to watch it with Nancy.
