Nora had an extra ticket for The Misanthrope by Molier last night and kindly invited me along. The performance was at a theater I never knew existed, the Varosmajor Szabadteri Szinpad in the park near Moszkva ter off Csaba u. I knew about the park and its resident church because Csaba u. is also the home of Hungary's first organic shop (Egészségbolt, XII. ker., Csaba u. 3. Tel: (1) 212-2542). The production was part of the Budapest Summer Festival, and the theater was packed even on a record hot evening. In the opening scene I leaned over to Nora and asked, "Hey, isn't that Biff?" To my surprise, indeed half the cast were also in Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal that we saw a few months ago. The actors came from both the Turay Ida Színház and the Spirit/Fuge Kamaraszínház.  The director integrated very good music by Quimby, which both the actors and other musicians performed live on stage. The stage and costumes where all ice-cream white, even the bicycles which were the centerpiece of the set. I did not understand the significance of this but it looked good. Maybe they were just trying to keep cool in the 39 degree heat. I understood even less the use of what must have been quite uncomfortable children-sized chairs. On the other hand, Gabor Szeplaki singing in sign language in a fold-out lit up window was an innovation, as was the surprise bicycle merry-go-round at the end. Lead Zalán Makranczi must have a bladder of steel, since as part of the play, he drank at least four liters of liquid during the first act alone, and the rest of the cast were not far behind. Since my Hungarian is very good, and I have rarely had problems at the theater before, I did not prepare myself by reading a summary of the play. While the acting was very good, I found the vocabulary way over my head and unfortunately I did not understand much. I am going to have to see if I have a copy of the play at the bookstore. While less impressed with the female actors, Gabor Jaszberenyi and Gabor Szeplaki were very good. As we were going in to our seats, Clarence Joubert du Cellier from Le Gourmet de Bordeax grabbed me. I wrote about his cheeses and wines a few weeks ago when I attended an Expatshungary event. They had a stand set up just for the evening to compliment the French play. We were running late, but tried five of his yummy imported French cheeses on a cheese plate during the intermission and were very impressed. I think the one Nora liked best was the Cantal vieux (7000huf/kg).

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