I've blogged about being at the Fox Theatre in Atlanta before, so, even though this is 8 or so days later, I felt the need to document this wonderful experience in my life.
On September the 30th, Terri and Steve, Judy and I got up early that Sunday morning and made the trip south. It's only 3 or 4 hours away, but plenty of time to catch up on each others lives. Trips to Atlanta come a couple times a year, whether it be to attend a Becky's wedding, as mentioned in an earlier post, or to visit Tony, Judy and Terri's brother. However, the trips to see stage plays at the Fox have been some of the best times.
"War Horse" won six Academy Award nominations after opening last Christmas. The movie and subsequent stage plays were based on the 1982 children's novel by Michael Mopurgo by the same name.
The play first appeared on a London stage in 2007, and is based on a horse's perspective of the horrors of World War I.
Now, you might not think you could get into the mind, or the story, of a 100 pound cane and metal horse puppet, but believe me, you can! Some have written that the stage "Joey" is somehow more real than the live one in the Spielberg's movie! That's so true!
You start out in the first minutes seeing a huge horse size mechanical thing heaving and moving around the stage supported by two men inside, whose legs, for the most part is all you see, and one guy sliding around beside the huge frame holding up a horse shaped head. However, as time passes you begin to see the star, the real star, Joey, who is telling the story. He breaths, twitches his ears and his tail, moves his eyes, and soon he's as alive as any "real" horse.
As the play progresses, you feel Joey's pain and suffering, and by the time he becomes entangled in the horrible biting barbed-wire of War World I, you weep for him. You find yourself quickly wiping away your feelings so no one can see, but then you find that you're not the only one. Everyone feels the real suffering of war...part of purpose for the original book.
Eight million horses in total are believed to have died during the four year war that begin in 1914. Sounds like a lot, huh, but think about there being twice as many human deaths; 10 million military and 6-7 million civilian! Mind boggling!
I'm not sure what happens in the movie or book, but on stage Joey survives...barely, and by chance events.
Joey was just one of Britain's conscripted horses. England lost over 484,000 horses, one horse for every two men!
I'll not go into the story, because you should read or see it yourself. You're cheating yourself out of some real raw emotion if you don't.
On the way home we treated ourselves to a great meal at the "Marietta Diner", just off I-75.
I had the fried scollops, and I don't remember what the others had, but we were all full and satisfied. There's some great food there and plenty of it!
The girls got to enjoy their brother just a little longer and Steve and I got your bellies full. Which was just the ticket we needed to dose all the way back as Terri drove.
So, bottom line...go see the play...not the movie!
Unfortunately for you though, it's no longer at the magnificent FOX!
I so wanted to go back last weekend and see Jack White, but alas, I'm the only one here that even knows who he is!
But, there's still time to educate them, so maybe we'll go back sometime soon!
