Lovely Niagara on the Lake, Ontario, late afternoon in October.
Really odd thing happened when we went back to the Shaw Festival in Niagara on the Lake. Guess what the odd thing was? Well, there we were waiting in line to cross the border into Canada, when the customs officer told my husband to go to Immigration. Yes! Seems there was some problem with his status.
This did not look good. Turns out that years and years and even more years ago there was an issue with a work permit my husband had. I think it had to do with the date on the permit. Anyhow, even although he was allowed in to Canada to work, for some reason the glitch remained on file. Weird! We had been umpteen times into Canada over the years, without one single problem. Until October of 2014, that is. They did allow my husband to enter Canada and we did manage to attend the Shaw Festival.
Do you another odd thing about this latest trip? We found the ending, and indeed the stage setting of the musical, Cabaret, somewhat confusing. We had never seen the whole of the musical before, so we hadn't a clue how the original ended. It was odd that the narrator mimed the final words and the director of the music hall was the one who was speaking them.
The trip was a spur of the moment event, and I only read the reviews after seeing the musical. It's hard to tell if the critics were just plain jealous of the director, or whether his changes to the script and stage setting were indeed really bad choices.
We still enjoyed the performance. And, an added attraction was watching the other attendees. This was a special matinee for senior citizens and for people under 39. Some were so elderly, they could hardly walk. They took teeny tiny steps and I was concerned they'd fall. But, good for them, getting spruced up and venturing out to the theatre. There several young girls who I also was worried they might fall. They were wearing shoes with really high heels. Can't imagine how they didn't trip and fall!
Life is indeed a cabaret. Between the fuss at the border,the unusual interpretation of 'Cabaret', and watching people who looked as if they were about to fall, it without a doubt was an unusual week-end.
