From cornfields to Broadway
Trip Start
Aug 06, 2011
1
2
5
Trip End
Aug 19, 2011
Where I stayed
Gleason Hotel
What I did
Drove
Chautauqua, New York
Saturday, August 6, 2011
We had a confusing hour or so trying to park our car, unload our luggage at the Gleason Hotel, and eventually drop in exhaustion.
The town, at least the area around the Chautauqua Institute, does seem to be a world apart. No cars (after they unload on arrival day), few air conditioners. Our hotel has no AC, no TV, no phone. It's definitely vintage Victorian, painted yellow with lots of woodwork, several lovely porches filled with painted green wicker, no keys or locked doors.
We napped, showered, ate sandwiches on our back porch with its lovely view of the lake, and then set out for the evening's event. The Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra presented a program in conjunction with the opera department here. Instead of arias, however, they sang selections from the Broadway musicals of Bock & Harnick?
Never heard of Bock and Harnick, you say? Well, think of Fiddler on the Roof and She Loves Me! One of their first collaborations was Fiorello, which just happens to be a musical I "borrowed" for use in our high school musical. "Little Tin Box" was a hit. The orchestra was adequate, the singers were fine, the amphitheatre was nearly full, and the evening was lovely.
We walked back to the gleason, passing music students who were busking in the plaza. It was simply a delightful evening after an exhausting day.
