SWEATERS FOR A LONG DAY’S JOURNEY AND THE OSCARS

We are fortunate here in Minneapolis to have a number of theater venues.  Local tradition holds that, per capita, we have more theater seats than New York City.  I’m not sure how true that is, but I do know that Minneapolis is considered to be one the top cities for getting started in professional theater.

One of our premier venues is the Gutherie theater.  The idea for a new local theater with a resident acting company began with conversations held between Sir Tyrone Gutherie and his colleagues Oliver Rea and Peter Zeisler.  After a nationwide search for a location, Minneapolis/ St. Paul was chosen.  The Gutherie officially opened on May 7, 1963 with a production of Hamlet directed by Sir Tyrone.  Since then, the Gutherie has become a leading theatrical source for the Twin Cities and the surrounding region.

As the Gutherie grew, it set up multiple performing spaces throughout the city, always with the dream of eventually, one day, consolidating them into one complex.  That dream came to fruition seven years ago.  A visit to their website sums it up quite nicely;

     “As the Guthrie entered the millennium, plans began to 
     build a new multistage theater center on the banks of the   
     Mississippi River. It opened June 25, 2006, and the complex  
     includes three stages: a classic thrust stage for the grand-scale 
     classics of the centuries, a proscenium stage for the more 
     intimate classics of this century, and a studio theater for 
     developing the classics of tomorrow. The new theater allows  
     the Guthrie to retain its pre-eminence among theaters 
     nationally and internationally.”

On February 23, a friend and I attended the closing night of Eugene O’Neill’s classic, A Long Day’s Journey Into Night.  This play is admittedly a very difficult show to watch because of it’s frank handling of addiction and alcoholism.  While these topics are openly discussed today, that was not the case when this play debuted.  The Gutherie, as usual, gave an excellent performance and an enjoyable evening was had by all.

I chose to dress a bit more casual for  the evening, and paired a yellow shirt with a brown wool cardigan sweater. Tan chinos were added to this and the look was finished off with a long tie from Brooks Brothers, a pair of vintage maize colored socks from Polo by Ralph Lauren (I don’t know that this color is available anymore as I’ve not been able to find it again), and a my favorite cordovan cap toe shoes.

The next evening some friends hosted an Oscars party.  I’m ashamed to admit that this year I hadn’t seen any of the nominated films, so my ballot was purely guesswork.  Fortunately I wasn’t the only one who hadn’t seen the films so that made the “competition” even more fun.

The evening was casual, and I wore a medium blue cashmere sweater over a pink cotton shirt, with a two toned blue and white bow tie. These were combined with tan chinos, fun socks in complimentary colors, and of course my cordovan cap toe shoes - have you picked up yet on much I love these shoes?