No Sin, No Trespass

Fall arrives and the play's the thing again.

I've been back from the beach for exactly 29 hours and in that time, I've eaten at 2 restaurants, been accompanied by two men, seen two plays, walked 5 miles with a friend I haven't walked with since we had a non-dotard president and interviewed a southern soul legend.

All I can say is, that's a lot to jump back into after being oceanfront for days.

For plot novelty and the elusive lesbian central character, there was Cadence Theatre's production of "Fun Home," spun from the graphic novel of the same name about a young woman growing up in Pennsylvania, discovering who she was and finally learning that her father was a closeted gay man, too.

Now there's a switch from walking on the beach.

Barely a day later, I got Virginia Repertory's production of "Shakespeare in Love," which means Tom Stoppard-written words (Is she obedient? As any mule in Christiandom!), fabulous period costumes and a plot designed for Shakespeare fans and students of love.

I will have poetry in my life!

Upstairs at Max's for dinner, we were part of the sizable pre-theater crowd, though most of them were on their way to see "Shakespeare in Love" and we weren't. But we were greeted by a favorite actor stopping by to say hello and guarantee that we'd be out in time for our curtain.

He wasn't just whistling dixie, either, because he also showed up with trifle at the end of dinner.

On the other hand, it was nothing but crickets chirping at Graffiato's, where we were the lone bar sitters and the crowd didn't even begin arriving until we were well into our roasted cauliflower, pizza and monkfish. Clearly some people didn't have a curtain to make.

The best part of coming back from the beach is all the things the beach doesn't offer, you know, plays and restaurants where people don't all wear flip-flops. Engaging my brain again and restocking on opinions and experiences.

The worst part is all these people complaining today that it's 85 degrees on the first day of fall. We've got plenty of time in the months ahead for cool, dry air and I'm going to enjoy every warm moment until I have to close my windows.

I'm also going to take the advice of the 75-year old southern soul legend, who assured me from Memphis, "Don't give up on love because love won't give up on you."

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe entire plays have been written on that subject. Turns out I go to a lot of them.

Because in addition to the beach, I will have poetry in my life.

Peddlers of Bombast

It took me nine days to get there but it was sure worth it once I did.

In conjunction with the VMFA's "Hollywood Costume" exhibit, they're showing 60 films in 60 days, each with a costume represented in the show.

Today's was "Shakespeare in Love," and what could be sweeter than an afternoon of Elizabethan love on a gray, rainy day?

I'd already seen Shakespeare's doublet and Elizabeth's gown, now I wanted to see the source material.

As icing on the cake, a friend e-mailed offering to take me to lunch beforehand, so we met at Chez Foushee for matching grilled romaine salads with shrimp in a cozy, tucked-away table that allowed us to gossip with abandon.

Then he was off to work and I to the museum for some romance.

Not surprisingly, the crowd was mostly women with a few men thrown in for good measure (for measure).

Since I hadn't seen it since it came out in 1998, I'm not sure if I'd forgotten or, horrors, not noticed originally how many inside Shakespeare jokes were in this film.

And I'm not talking about the obvious ones like Will's coffee mug, which read, "Souvenir of Stratford-upon-Avon."

No, I mean all kinds of lines from later Shakespeare plays being spouted by characters throughout and the Shakespeare-literate audience laughed about them all.

Plus there was the kind of language humor like when the producer takes the cast to a bawdy house and orders drinks for everyone, saying, "Oh, happy hour!"

While there someone describes a dish of pig's foot marinated in vinegar on a buckwheat pancake being served and while that might have gotten a groan in 1998, it actually sounds both tasty and trendy now.

Will discusses his writer's block with his shrink, saying, "It's as if my quill is broken, as if the organ of my imagination has dried up, as if the proud tower of genius is collapsed. Nothing comes. It's like trying to pick a lock with a wet herring."

Clearly he's not just talking about writing and the good doctor asks, "Tell me, are you lately humbled in the act of love? How long has it been?"

"A goodly length in times past, but lately..." Truly, nothing says Shakespeare like veiled genital humor.

I could relate to our heroine Viola, played by a luminescent 26-year old Gwyneth Paltrow, when she proclaimed, "I will have poetry in my life...and adventure and love."

What more could a girl ask for?

How about a man who describes his feelings by saying, "I love her like a sickness and a cure together"?

The fabulous Judi Densch has one of the funniest lines at the end, instructing, "Tell Master Shakespeare to write something more cheerful next time for twelfth night," but Viola had the most romantic.

"I love you, Will, beyond poetry."

If hearing that that doesn't clear up a man's wet herring problem writer's block, god help him.