After all the lockdowns from the pandemic, it has been almost 2 years since I have seen any live theater in person. Luckily, the Colorado Shakespeare Festival moved forward with a (limited) season, which gave me the excuse to visit Colorado again. While the bus and BART to the airport were quite empty, the airport was not. I guess since the lockdowns have ended people are really starting to travel. The airport and the plane were full. Prices are up for things like hotels and rental cars. Nonetheless, it’s good to get traveling.
I came in a day before the plays to get settled in an Airbnb in North Boulder. On my second day, I traveled down to Denver to have lunch with an old friend who lives in the area with her family. We had a nice long lunch at an Italian restaurant that we’d been to before, and caught up on things. Then I headed back up to Boulder in time to catch the evening’s performance.
The first play in this summer’s lineup was Homer’s The Odyssey. It was a very warm night and I didn’t even bring a jacket. In the theater, all groups were spread out with 3 seats and a row in between each group. We had to wear masks when entering the theater, but not when seated. When the first actor started speaking I became surprisingly emotional. I suppose because I’ve missed live theater more than I realized. The play was really well done. A fairly minimalistic set (partly because they wanted less craftsmen involved due to Covid). They used some great symbolism to represent the various adventures that were undertaken. A very enjoyable evening to start my return to live theater.