Addams Family Fun, Tango And Inka Mamas

Saturday, November 18, 2017, my family and I attended a play at the Orange County School of the Arts. The play is put on by the students, but as I watched the play they did not seem like students, instead they were quite professional in their singing, dancing and acting. The play was in a small theater, Symphony Hall, on campus.  I was told it had just been refurbished though I could tell it was an old theater.  Not all the seats were taken but the crowd cheered and clapped when the characters did something outstanding.

The Addams Family, a New Musical Comedy, had the characters of Gomez, Morticia, Uncle Fester, Lurch, Grandma, Pugsley, (the odd little boy) and his sister, Wednesday. How well everyone in the theater remembered the characters from the television series. As the actors went through their antics and talked in clichés, I recalled watching them on t.v. The gist of the story was that Wednesday falls in love but everyone tries to dissuade her from being in love with a normal man. The young man has  parents who think that the Addams family is weird and try to get the young man to give up his love for the girl. When the boy's mother drinks a truth-telling potion she reveals how unhappy she is in her marriage, Morticia finds out that Gomez has kept secrets from her and everyone in their
mixed up lives is ready to go their separate ways. Yet, love wins out and every one is reconciled. Great singing and dancing by supporting cast members of "dead" persons.

 ***************

After the play, we headed to Segerstrom Plaza in Costa Mesa to watch tango dancers. Lessons were being taught by an instructor and those learning were doing just that -- learning. The one thing I noticed was that women had to dance with women because there weren't enough men. My son-in-law was approached by a young woman who asked him to dance. He politely told her he did not dance. His comment to me was, "She must really be desperate to go up to a stranger and ask him to dance!" Most of the people stumbled around but after the lessons, the real tango dancers showed up. They made the intricate dancing look easy as they moved around the large checkerboard floor.

****************

Watching the dancers my daughter saw a teacher she worked with and she was there to Tango!  She gave us Tango pointers which were interesting. "The woman always walks backwards, your knees must be flexible, and be prepared to dance close to your partner," were some of the things she told us.  She has been dancing Tango for a few years and when I saw her dance with a man who knew the steps, she looked good as she gracefully followed his lead! After watching the dancers, we decided to go eat dinner at Inka Mamas.

A delicious meal of chicken, rice, vegetables, and a hot sauce called Aji tasted good and I don't know if it was because I was so hungry or if it really was good, but I enjoyed the meal a lot! The meal was probably the best Peruvian food I have ever eaten!

The day was busy and full of fun. I wondered what was on the agenda for the next day. I love spending time with my California family and what surprised me the most was how warm and summer-like the days have been.

"I sustain myself with the love of family."

Maya Angelou


(Written on November 18, 2017)