Just Watched : Book Of Mormon Musical in Altria Theatre

Few things I did know about Book of Mormon (musical) before watching it - Mormons are offshoot of Christianity, the Broadway show is made by creators of South Park in 2011, has won many awards, is controversial and some people may find it offensive. In my limited tryst with Broadway musicals before this one - Chicago and The Lion King, I loved them. Both of these were spectacular in their own ways - while Chicago was lyrical noir, Lion King was visually stunning. So I knew The Book of Mormon must be good, but in which way I had no idea. 

So the successful shows after their high on Broadway start their journey all across United States as part of touring theatres. The local theatre venues (like Altria Theatre in Richmond) have their schedule published more than a year in advance for upcoming Broadway shows. This gives people like me to see acclaimed shows without visiting the actual Broadway street in New York city next to crowded Times Square. And then you get a good price on tickets too, while on Broadway budget tickets cost you 100$+, here in Richmond you can snag the same one for almost half the price. 

My wife and I booked a week day evening show, and the show was almost houseful. We had balcony tickets as we had been to Altria theatre before, and knew balcony has good view of stage for a decent price, but is definitely not a place for tall people. 

 

Scene from Broadway version. In Richmond version, the leads were played by Gabe Gibbs and Conner Peirson

The musical is about two Mormon missionary teenagers - Elder Price, devout, hard working, smart, and Elder Cunningham, compulsive liar, star trek fan and lonely, selected for their first mission to Uganda after being trained on door-to-door Mormonism conversion method. The people in Northern Uganda, which was anything but like their vision of Africa from Lion King and other fantasy books, were suffering from appalling conditions like poverty and AIDS, and on top of that local warlord Butt-Fucking Naked (Yes, that was his name) ,who is obsessed with female circumcision, is making their lives miserable. The two teenagers along with other missionaries, found themselves stuck in an impossible situation to promote Mormonism among these people, who repeat single phrase Hasadega Ebowai, in response to their various misfortunes. 

The play is hilarious. From the first scene where teenagers are being trained to be Mormon missionaries, to the last scene where newly minted missionaries in Uganda going through the same routine, each scene will make you laugh really till you cry. All the songs are fantastically executed and interwoven with the story. Some of the songs which I enjoyed more than others during the performance -  Hello! the door to door cold calling routine, Hasadega Ebowai, local's response to their misfortunes,  Baptise Me, the double meaning one on Baptism and Turn it Off! the missionaries way of responding to their sorrows. I find myself humming the songs even though I don't remember all the lyrics.

 I loved how elder Cunningham made the Mormon origin story into a fantasy mix of Jesus, Joseph Smith (Mormon founder), Star Wars, Lord of the rings, Star Trek and any other fantasy his mind could think of. And I remember how hard everyone laughed whenever 'I've maggots in scrotum' was repeated or whenever General Butt Fucking Naked mentioned his name.

The show is a laugh riot, however a note of caution -  the show is not for everyone though, it is a satire on a religious book so there is a lot to offend some people, and then it is created by South Park people, so be ready for lewd jokes, sexual references among other things. And did I mention that Hasadega Ebowai is Ugandan phrase, translated in English as "F*ck you, God!" 

Panromic View from T. Tyler Potterfield Bridge

Panoramic view from T. Tyler Potterfield Memorial Bridge in Richmond VA taken on 28th Jan. The new bridge, inaugurated on Dec 2nd 2016, is  universally-accessible, non-motorized route connecting Brown’s Island to Manchester. Specifically it will connect the Three Days in April interpretive display/overlook section on Brown’s Island to the Manchester climbing Wall on the south, with access to the floodwall path and the Manchester neighborhood.

VA State Parks #1 - Westmore Land State Park- First Day Hike 2017

New year, new adventures! We started off 1st day of 2017 in Westmore Land State Park. On the occasion of new year all of America’s state parks have ‘first day hike’ event that encourages everyone to explore their surroundings to connect with nature in it's parks. This year it was the sixth annual national event in which all 37 Virginia state parks participated and, were open for all with zero admission fee and a guided hike program. I think this idea of getting people out of their couches on new year is incredible, as it brings them closer to nature.It sure is a healthy way to start a year.

We decided for Westmore land state park which is 90 mins drive from Richmond. The park's trails were first built in 1930s by the Civilian conservation corps (CCC).It is located on the Potomac river's northern neck and offers many trails to hike which are well maintained and marked out nicely. In case someone hikes alone it’s easy to find way in and out. They also provide cabin and camping for overnight but we just visited for our special first day hike. 

We signed in for the park's popular 'Beach Trail' to the Fossil Beach. It is a short distance away from the visitor Center and opens up to beautiful fossil beach by the Potomac river which is located below horsehead cliffs.

We tried to hunt down the fossilised shark tooths for which this beach is really famous. It was a guided hike program so our guide also provided us the wire basket to filter the sand and zip locks to save our find to take home.

After spending good time searching for tooths, we went to another trail, it just few meters before the fossil beach a right turn for 'turkey neck trail' & 'big meadow trail' starts here with a nice boardwalk leading to the observation deck where an amazing view of fossil beach and the meadow surrounding is waiting for your camera to get clicked.

We went to the end of the board walk to see the trail and swamp but made our comeback after the swamp.

we had an amazing day and also collected few shells and weird looking stone which we took home with us. After a week, we got another gift  a 'First day hike bumper sticker' from the Virginia state park by mail.

If I recap all what we got then 'free entry to the park, guided hike program, first day hike sticker and most of all we really enjoyed our time with nature', I would say not a bad way to start a new year!right?!

Afterthoughts on the Legendary AO final - Federer vs Nadal

   

Credit : AP Photo

 

Just an hour ago it was 2 sets each, and I was really wishing (can i say demanding) for Rafa to win the 5th set. A break up in 5th was definitely the HELL YEAH moment, but then the plot unraveled itself in a twisted way, and Roger first broke back and then won 6-4, 3-6, 6-1,3-6, 6-3 to claim his 18th grand slam and 5th Australian open trophy.

For a few moments, I was upset, it hurts, Right? - just like old times when he lost all those finals to Djokovic, but unlike old times it did not last long. Federer was in tears in middle of Rod Laver arena just like old times. Nadal congratulated Federer on the net but you could see that his hurt to lose a slam final. You could see Federer sitting in his chair still trying to comprehend his win, and Nadal with a clenched jaw trying to hide his emotions.

In the presentation ceremony,  I was expecting Nadal to go through the regular routine but he did much more. He is not a great speaker but this time he outdid himself. He said of Roger 'I fight a lot, probably Roger deserved it a little bit more than me today' then added 'Just amazing the way that he is playing after such a long time without being on the tour. It's very difficult to make that happen. I feel very happy for you.' He even joked about being runner up for 3rd time.'It's the third time I have this (showing his plate) with me - it is beautiful but the trophy is better! ' But most of all he was hopeful for the future ' I'm just going to keep trying. I feel I am back at a very high level. I will keep fighting the whole season to have a great season and to come back here for so many years and keep trying to have that trophy with me.'

Then it was Roger's turn, and he floored me with this 'Tennis is a tough sport. There are no draws. If there were I would have been happy to accept one tonight and share it with Rafa' ' Keep playing Rafa. Tennis needs you.'

 These two are fighting it out on the tennis courts for a long long time. Throughout this week both of them talked about their meeting in Mallorca when Federer. with an injured knee, and Nadal. with wrist injury found it difficult to get together even for a charity match, and now they are back on top form.. The respect and love they have built for each other is exceptional. On a lighter note, Couples could learn a lot from them on the qualities of 'the' perfect couple. No, I still don't like calling them 'Fedal'

In my perfect world after losing to Federer for AO title, Nadal would have gone to win both French and Wimbledon, just like Federer did in 2009, but i know Murray, Djokovic and others are ready to pounce on the next opportunity.

But till that happens. Lets enjoy the moment and savor the memories. What a match! LEGENDS FOREVER!

Federer vs Nadal - AO 2017 Final - A Moment to Cherish

Federer vs Nadal for Australian Open crown 2017

The first thing I did, as soon I woke up this morning around 6:30 ,was to see the match score in my mobile. It was one set each, and Nadal serving at 5-6 in second Australian open semi final. I waited till Nadal won the tiebreaker and then switched on the TV. Can't jinx it. Right? I saw him losing the 4th, flipped the channel, then switched back after he broke Dimitrov in the 5th. And then I saw him WIN. WIN to have a Federer-Nadal final. I never liked calling them 'Fedal'. I couldn't believe even after few hours - A Federer - Nadal final. Just perfect. No?

By now, everyone know the stats - 9th grand slam final, 23-11 record, 1st meeting since Basel final 17-14 slams etc. etc. But frankly, this final is not about all that, probably after the match it will again be all stats, but not right now. Right now, it is just a pure feeling of amazement. It was just a wild chance before the tournament started, a wish after the first week, a good prospect by Wednesday and a reality by Friday.

I remember the last AO final in 2009 because I wrote a post about it after the match. (Click here for the post) More than the match it was the presentation ceremony, where Federer couldn't hold his emotions any longer and said the words 'It is killing me'. It was a great match and even though I am a Nadal fan, I wrote 'May be, just may be, he will beat 'Nadal' in both French and Wimbledon and achieve everything he strived for'. Needless to mention that even though Federer did not beat Nadal, Nadal got injured and Federer went on to win both French and Wimbledon that year and completed career grand slam and passed Sampras for most slams.

That was the time when Sachin Tendulkar was still waiting for his first World Cup, Lance Armstrong was still a hero, Ronaldo was bigger than Messi, and Federer and Nadal dominated the men's tennis. Lot has changed since then especially in tennis, after winning 21 of 24 slams between 2015-2010, Nadal and Federer could only win 06 of 24 since then, and none since 2014 French Open.

I remember when all of us were either in Federer camp or Nadal, there was no middle ground, when we use to have lengthy arguments about why Federer and Nadal are better than one another, who will win most grand slams, and follow each and every match. Then slowly Federer crossed 30s and grand slams dried up, Nadal even though younger and winning FOs, became more susceptible to injuries. The conversations almost stopped, other than occasional flicker.  

For a sports fan in most sports, their hero reaching 30 is hard. You know your hero in prime will soon be a mortal, but you do not want to believe it. And slowly you see your hero become a mortal, needing to fight with opponents for a win which was a surety just a year back. And if as a fan you are also in 30s it becomes even harder, because there are no more heroes of your age. Athletes older than you are either retired, reaching that stage and athletes your age are flickering at the end of their prime.

So such a rare moment when your resurgent heroes get back to their best at the biggest stage, roasting the young guns along the way, to fight it out one more time with one another is definitely a moment to cherish. A morning post on my facebook page after Nadal's win attracted many old friends from both sides to be back with their arsenal of arguments, even for just a few days.

I am still a Nadal fan and I would love to see him win. But I am not sure if I will be upset if he doesn't anymore. I am sure it is going to be great match though.

And how can i not mention - the woman's final between Williams sisters. It's a great day to be a fan in 30s.

Nadal and Federer's on-court interviews after SF wins