Opening night and another first

Tonight is opening night for the Braintree High Theatre Guild production of "The Mikado" which is directed, musically directed, choreographed and conducted by yours truly.  It is a tradition to have an opening night cake in celebration of the production but also as a way to thank those who supported it either through a donation or through purchasing tickets.  As mentioned this year we went with Gilbert and Sullivan.  The students' response when first told about it was "the what?" Over the course of the rehearsals they came to really like and appreciate the work. It took some translating to get them to understand the things they were saying but that's part of the process. The surprise is that they usually had to be asked if they understood something.  You might think the would preemptively ask but these are high school students.

Don't know what to call it...

...but it looked mighty tasty! UPDATE it's called a hazelnut-almond dacquoise!!

Good stuff on the inside especially the gooey kroquant layer!

In addition to this being the night of the first performance it was also the first time that we had treats from the renowned Flour Bakery in Boston. Since a car was on hand our provider was able to stop by on the way in and pick up the goodies.  These included primarily the rectangular chocolate creation with the almonds.  I forgot what it is called but it was a little like a big Napolean pastry. It was very, very good!  It consisted of cake, filling and some kind of chewy crispy thing that was delicious. The quality of the chocolate and the other ingredients was obviously, according to taste, very high and altogether it was quite a tasty treat. Everyone was impressed and enjoyed trying it.

Selection of mini-tarts!

Looking good!

Also impressive albeit smaller were the four mini-tarts - three of them fruity and one like a mini-chocolate bomb. These things in addition to looking good tasted great.  These included a small fruit flan including figs, a lemon custard tartlette, a raspberry lemon mini cake and the aforementioned chocolate bomb.  From this experience I would conclude that the accolades usually given to Flour Bakery are indeed appropriate.  This stuff was good and this will probably not be our last selection. For further reference: http://flourbakery.com/

The D'Oyly Carte Opera Company performed G&S Operettas for over a hundred years

The show opening is "The Mikado or the Town of Titipu".   Gilbert and Sullivan are pretty popular but most people, particularly of recent generations, have not heard that much about them (see student response above.) Nonetheless this was an opportunity to enlighten many and so they were.  Despite the fall off from the general consciousness it still remains one of if not the most performed musical piece in the English language repertoire.  Take that Phantom of the Opera (which was done last year BTW!)