On Stage: Moonlight and Magnolias

Last Friday I had the pleasure of going to my favorite playhouse in town, the aptly-named              Santa Fe Playhouse.  It's a small location without a bad seat in the house and it's celebrating its 90th birthday.  Currently showing at the Playhouse is Moonlight and Magnolias, a four-man play billed as an "uproarious comedy."

Photo by Steve Collins c/o santafetravelers.com

Moonlight and Magnolias is a based on the true events leading up to the movie release of Gone With the Wind.  The first act begins with the high strung producer, David Selznick, announcing that he has shut down the movie only a few weeks in because he simply doesn't believe in the project.  This is clearly agonizing as the studio has fronted an ungodly sum of money to get this picture rolling.  Add to that pressure from the public that has read the best-selling book and are highly vested in the movie's outcome.  In other words, there is a lot of hype to live up to.

Selznick decides to bring in his screenwriting pal, Ben Hecht, to revamp the script.  Here's the catch- Hecht has never read the book and he only has three days to write the script.  Selznick also brings in Victor Fleming, a film director one week out from completing The Wizard of Oz.  Selznick traps all three of them inside his office for a three-day long screen writing marathon. Selznick and Fleming act out each scene while Hecht crafts the dialogue into a script.  They are only permitted to eat bananas and peanuts.  I don't know why, but them's the rules.  Hi-jinks ensue!

Ben Hecht in a much less frazzled state.

 So, did I like it?  Yes and no.  First the yes:  The actor who plays Hecht, Dan Gerrity, is fantastic.  He has great comedic timing and he really brought Hecht to life as a real person.  Fleming and Selznick tended toward caricature.  Sometimes caricature can be funny, and it is at times in Moonlight and Magnolias, but it does get tiresome over the course of the play.

The other "yes" was Hecht's objection to the racism contained in Gone With the Wind.  He argues with Selznick several times that, as Jewish Americans, they cannot produce a movie that glorifies slavery on moral and ethical grounds.  Selznick convinces Hecht that the movie is worth doing anyway as the story itself is compelling, not to mention the extraordinarily high stakes for his studio.  Selznick  argued that he can break out of the cage of his ethnic stereotype by producing something mainstream and loved by all.  Hecht disagreed and argued that by creating Gone With the Wind they were not "breaking free" of anything; rather, they were selling out, becoming assimilated, and losing their identities.  I felt this theme ought to have deserved more lip service as it was genuinely interesting.  Ultimately, Hecht decides to continue writing the screenplay because he does not want to leave Selznick high and dry and also because Selznick has offered him a princely sum.   Maybe that is the one true bleak & universal message- everyone has a price.  Hmm.  Despite my bleak realization right there, there are quite a number of good zingers, comedy, and levity in the play.  As I said, hi-jinks.

Now the no:  I have never read Gone With the Wind or seen Gone With the Wind.  Yeah. Kind of a big deal when going to see an entire play about the making of Gone With the Wind.  As GWTW is enough of a cultural phenomenon, I know the main plots and references.  I know there are multitudes of GWTW lovers out there who would be thrilled to go behind the scenes and see how it was done.  But, unfortunately, I am not one of those people.

Don't be a moron like me. Watch this movie first.

If you decide to go, it is playing now through December 18th on Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays.  Tickets are $20, which is a freaking steal, or you can really go on the cheap on Thursdays for $10.  There are also discounts for students, teachers, and seniors.  The seats are general admission so it's not a bad idea to arrive there early, especially if you're in a larger group.  But, like I said before, it's a cozy stage and there are no bad seats in the joint.

How a request to the commentariat:  Do you have any recommendations for current or upcoming performing arts events in and around Santa Fe that I can attend and then review for The Mad Mex?  If so, POST BELOW!

Santa Fe Up All Night: Late Night Bites in the City Different

Ok, let me just put this out there.  Santa Fe is not a late night town.  It's just not.  It's difficult to find a restaurant that serves past 9 pm. And on a weekday?  Fugeddaboudit.  Those coffee shops filled with students cramming for tests in the dead of night?  They're not a thing here.  So what's a hungry girl to do?

All hail The Flying Star Cafe!  A relatively new place in the Railyard, the Flying Star is a local chain.  They're all over Albuquerque but the Santa Fe one stands alone.  The Flying Star is open and serving food until 9pm Sunday - Thursday and is open until 10pm on Friday and Saturday.

I accompanied my darling High Desert Dude over there last week for a late dinner and some reading/study time.  The Flying Star has free internet access and a well-stocked magazine rack and is an inviting atmosphere for those of us who like to study/read/play board games/do sudoku/blog/mindlessly surf the internet while in public.  In other words, just my kind of place.

Here's the interior, with another patron studiously reviewing his fantasy football team statistics:

The food at the Flying Star is nothing to write home about.  It's mostly sandwiches, burgers, fried chicken, and other American home-style cuisine.  When we were there last, I had a surprisingly tasty salad.  It was like a taco salad but with shrimp and a citrus dressing.

It was listed on the specials board (located immediately in front of the paper menus at the start of the ordering line) as "Acapulco Tostada.  If you're just in for a coffee and a pastry, the Flying Star has this ridiculous baked goods case filled to the brim with goodies- pies, cupcakes, cookies, scones, cakes (by the slice and whole), sweet yeast breads, and brownies.

Other advantages: good for large parties as the dining area is spacious with tables suitable for pushing together, good for families with kids because of their kids menu & aforementioned spacious dining area, good for cheap eats (get their small mac & cheese or just a beverage and you're set), good for breakfast for dinner or dinner for breakfast types, friendly service that allows for "public solitude", good for people watching & eavesdropping (especially the emo-teens), good public bulletin board in the entryway & bookcrossing shelf in the back.

Disadvantages: not my choice for anything New Mexican, sometimes noisy, food is middle of the road (but still adequate & fresh).

The Star is generally my choice for weekday evening snack-study sessions.  If you go, be sure to sign up for their rewards program.  It's free of charge and once you accumulate a certain amount of points, you get free coffees, pastries, and other such coupons.  Ez-pz!

The NEW Second Street Brewery

So, I think I've mentioned Santa Fe's new Railyard area on this LJ before.   There's a train station and the Santa Fe's bi-weekly farmer's market there.  (Click here for a link to my October post on the Farmer's Market.)  In any case, a brand-spanking new restaurant opened there and yesterday afternoon we decided to check it out. 

It's the Second Street Brewery!
The original Second Street Brewery is on Second Street, naturally.  That location is large and frequently has live music.  The scene reminds me a lot of a Boulder bar- kind of hippy-ish and sporty-ish but yet still new and clean.  Anyway, the railyard location is smaller but still very nice. Also, the menu is a bit different than at their other location and includes several dishes with locally raised food from the farmer's market.
Here's K at the bar:

There is a lot of light and many of the windows are like garage doors so in the summer an entire side of the restaurant will be open air.  Cool, huh?
We sat down and split an order of our favorite food- mussels:

I thought the mussels were great.  But, in the interest of full disclosure, I will say that I have had a bad cold for the past week and I have lost most of my sense of taste and smell.  K, on the other hand, thought that the mussels were bland and had to add salt and pepper.  I have never heard of anyone ADDING salt to brine before so I have a suspicion that K's assessment was more accurate than mine. On the other hand, we both liked the tortilla chips with habanero and pinon nut salsa.  

Who is everyone rooting for in the Big Game tonight?  I'm rooting for the underdog Saints this year as my team, the Steelers, were terrible this season.  We're heading over soon to watch the game with some pals.  I'm making super-delicious jalapeno poppers:

What could possibly be better than a jalapeno stuffed with cream cheese and wrapped in bacon?  Nothing, that's what.

The recipe I got from The Pioneer Woman.  Recipe linked directly here.  

Santa Fe: Breakfast Edition

K and I have started something of weekend tradition. We go out for a late breakfast on either Saturday or Sunday. Recently, we've been hitting up the Counter Culture Cafe. The Counter Culture is a counter-service only place with a super-delicious breakfast, lunch, and dinner menu. I'd say that it specializes in baked goods (baked on premises) and fresh salads and sandwiches. That is not to say that it skimps on the New Mexican-style foods. No siree. Their green chile has been nuclear hot recently. It's great place to get a well-priced and beautifully fresh meal.

As far as atmosphere, it's noisy, busy, and attracts hipster/artsy types. Good vibe.

We have also rediscovered The Tune Up Cafe.

It's a neighborhood haunt in the Agua Fria area. We often see people we know there enjoying a cup of joe. The food, though, is El Salvadorian influenced with plenty of classic New Mexican dishes, too.
This time, Kev got a giant cinnamon roll and a plate of chiles rellenos.

I had the special, which was chicken enchiladas smothered in mole sauce with a side of fried bananas.

Deee-licious.
The Tune Up is small but it boasts a sizeable covered patio, which is great to sit on during these warm autumn days and people-watch. The price is nice and it is also counter-service only.

Finally, K and I went to Los Amigos for the first time yesterday. It's on Rodeo Road, close to the corner of Rodeo and Richards Ave, and next to the Chevron station. It's modest exterior hides a delicious, family-run, classic New Mexican-style menu.

Kev got the huevos rancheros "christmas," which means that it was topped with both red and green chile.
I got the "Buenos Dias," which is a plate of cubed potatoes smothered in the chile of your choice and topped with cheese and an egg.

This restaurant is fabulously good and appears to be essentially a local's place, a rare feat in Santa Fe. (Many of my favorite breakfast places have been featured on "Diners, Drive Ins, and Dives" which means that the wait to get in to these places have increased exponentially. And, FYI Guy Fieri, chile is spelled with an "E" at the end, not an "I." )

Also, for those so inclined, K found a very good restaurant review blog for places in and around Santa Fe. It's called NM Gastronome.