Now's the time!, stores seem to whisper. Time to show your beloved how you feel...by buying him/her lots of candy!! And expensive flowers!! And don't forget that cute stuffed animal to go with it! Oh, and that massage oil! And be sure to book your reservations at an expensive restaurant! Do it now, or they'll think you don't really care about them...
A bit extreme, perhaps, but you get the idea. Valentine's Day has been taken to extreme lengths by retailers over the years, who blow it way out of proportion. On a non-romantic note, this has resulted in candy overload for our kids. In our house, Valentine's Day & Easter have become less about love and more about recapturing that memorable Halloween-esque sugar rush!
But enough grousing. Nathan and I may not be very romantic, but we're not opposed to gift-giving either! (when we're not being insufferable cheapskates, that is) Nor are we opposed to a nice evening out. And as luck would have it, this year we got to do a little of both.
Our "evening out" actually came a couple of weeks before Valentine's Day (Feb. 2nd), but who's counting? Nathan's company got a large batch of tickets to a local Tucson institution: The Gaslight Theater, on Broadway & Kolb. The Gaslight is probably the best-known community theater in town; they have been in business for more than 30 years now. As you can probably see by the picture, the stage itself is pretty tiny, and the "pit orchestra" actually sits stage right!
The Gaslight's seating is a bit snug; it's technically a "dinner theater," so everyone sits at a tiny table (with complimentary popcorn!), and food is served throughout the night. Nate & I planned on having a small dinner after the show, so we each ordered a soda and a snack (hot wings for Nate, fried zucchini for me). The food was...adequate, hee hee. Nothing to write home about.
The shows themselves (the Gaslight puts out a new one every few months) are heaping platefuls of cornball ham & cheese. We watched "The Two Amigos," a not-so-subtle spoof of the 1986 comedy classic movie "The Three Amigos." Melodrama is the name of the game at the Gaslight! Overacting abounds, the sets & costumes are B-Grade, and audience participation (right down to over-dramatic "boos" and "hisses") are not only expected, but encouraged by the performers themselves.
And yet...I had a really fun time, and I'd love to go again (someday; it's not an "every day" kind of show for me). Sure, the food is middling, the humor is broad, and the drama is anything but dramatic...but the actors are clearly in on the joke too. They are all pretty talented, and they obviously really enjoy performing in this type of venue. This isn't "high theater", but it isn't meant to be...it's actors having a fun time putting on a silly show for a receptive audience.
I also couldn't help but notice that Nathan and I were one of the few couples under 45 at the Gaslight that night. There were a lot of senior citizens there, and I suspect this is a fairly normal occurrence for this theater. This probably explains why the content for the shows is fairly inoffensive and "generic." I guess a lot of seniors prefer their humor the way they prefer their food--bland and soft. :) Content-wise, though, I'm not complaining. It's nice to see a show (particularly a comedy show!), and not worry about getting overwhelmed with a bunch of offensive, gross humor.
So, that was our "Valentine's Day date" for the year. Now it was time for gifts! As I mentioned above, since Nate & I aren't terribly romantic, our Valentine's Day gifts to one another tend to be un-romantic as well. In the past, we've given each other DVDs, bath towels, and chips and salsa (no really...at least I was thinking "hot and spicy" for Valentine's Day!). This year, I got Nathan a new T-shirt--with a picture of bacon on it. Yes, nothing says "I love you" like a shirt with bacon on it. However, Nathan loves bacon, so he was happy enough.
My gift ended up being a little more dramatic--and just as "meaty"!
We had a meat salesman come to our door the weekend before Valentine's Day; these guys are fairly common in our neighborhood. They offer top-quality meat, farm-direct, choicest-cut, yada yada yada. I don't usually buy steak from the store; it's just too expensive for our little family. However, Nate was apparently missing out on his red-meat fix, because he was very excited about buying lots of steak for a discount price. I was hesitant at first because of the upfront payment, but we liked the selection of meat offered, we were able to get the meat at a discount (at least compared to grocery-store prices), and we had enough room in our freezer to store it all. It was the perfect storm.
Last Saturday, we tried the bacon-wrapped filet. It was delicious! Nathan had a brief bout of "buyer's remorse" after we put all the meat away, but our little feast last week (which also included stuffed mushrooms, sauteed Jerusalem artichokes, and a fresh green salad!) soon put those fears to rest. This is going to be a fun Valentine's Day gift--at least for a foodie like myself. It will be nice to pull out steaks every so often and enjoy a change of pace from our usual fare.
Now...we need to buy a proper backyard grill to cook all this meat! Oh well...it's been a purchase we've needed to make for a while, anyway.
Happy Steak and Bacon T-Shirt Day to us!
No comments:
Post a Comment