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180abroad · 6 years ago

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Days 126-127: Edinburgh, Part 2 (History, Hiking, and Beer)

Our last two days in Edinburgh marked the two-thirds point of our journey in Europe, and the halfway point of my dad's stay with us in Scotland. So far, all we'd really seen of the city itself was the castle, the Whisky Experience, and a few square blocks around the train station in New Town. There's far too much for us to try and see everything, so we picked out a few top choices and did our best to enjoy them as much as possible.

After saying hello to the neighborhood cat, we took the bus into town toward our first stop of the day--the National Museum of Scotland. Now that we'd figured out Edinburgh's bus system, it was actually pretty easy and convenient. And compared to underground metros, buses give you a much better sense of how a city fits together.

We got a closer look at the statue of Greyfriars Bobby, a legendary local terrier who faithfully guarded his master's grave for 14 years until his own death in 1872.

Passing Bobby by, we headed on toward the museum.

The ground floor entry hall had a diverse collection, including a 19th-century Japanese lantern presented on a precisely shin-high marble plinth. It's funny--when I ate it in the Rif Mountains of Morocco, tearing a hole in my pant leg and scraping up my knee, it healed up just fine after a few days. But when I banged my shin against that stone platform without leaving the slightest mark on my pant leg, it took off a chunk of skin underneath and left a deep scar that's still conspicuously purple six months later.

After killing some time in the gift shop--where I found a miniature Blackwatch-patterned umbrella to replace the much-bulkier one I'd been carrying--we joined up with a free tour that introduced us to the various sections of the museum.

The Museum can be roughly divided into four sections: a Scottish history museum, a science and technology museum, a world cultures museum, and a natural history museum. It doesn’t compare to the British Museum in London, of course, but nothing can.

We saw a ridiculously complicated clock that our guide complained never works quite right.

We also saw Dolly the Sheep, the first-ever successfully cloned mammal. Not a recreation--they actually stuffed her after she died and put her on display. We appreciated the attention to detail with regard to the sheep poop at her feet.

The museum is huge. At the center is a massive Victorian hall inspired by the Crystal Palace that used to stand in London. To us, it looked uncannily like the panopticon of Kilmainham Gaol in Dublin. Our guide was nice, but he was so soft-spoken that we could barely hear him most of the time. Once we felt sufficiently oriented, we broke off and went back to the exhibits we were most interested in.

We spent most of our time in the Scottish history museum, which contains a very impressive (and well-displayed) collection of artifacts either made or found in Scotland, dating from prehistoric times up into the 21st century. Limited on time, we mainly stuck to the medieval history floor.

To either side of an old stone inscribed with Celtic knotwork, the walls bear a quote from the Declaration of Arbroath, a 14-century plea from the people of Scotland to Pope John XXII for support in their battle against the invading English army:

For we fight not for glory, nor riches, nor honours, but for Freedom alone, which no good man gives up except with his life. As long as only one hundred of us remain alive we will never on any conditions be brought under English rule.

One of the highlights of the medieval collection are the Lewis Chessmen, part of a medieval Viking chess set discovered on the remote Scottish island of Lewis and Harris.

Eleven pieces of the set are here at the National Museum of Scotland, while the rest are in the British Museum in London. They are carved from walrus ivory and whale teeth with remarkable detail and emotiveness. They could be characters straight out of a modern animated Viking movie.

The rooks are depicted as berserkers chewing their own shields in battle frenzy.

Nearby, we saw the remains of a Celtic cross from Islay, another Scottish island where we'd be staying next after Edinburgh.

Some other highlights included a 17th-century Scottish flag said to have been carried in battle against Oliver Cromwell, a Celtic harp that may be the twin to the Brian Boru Harp at Dublin’s Trinity College, intricately detailed jewelry, some beautifully engraved early firearms, and a precursor to the guillotine known as “the Maiden”--gently used.

Upstairs, they have a good section on the Jacobite rebellions, when the ousted Stuart kings of England returned to their native Scotland to raise an army and reclaim the throne in London. It was a hopeless cause, and after three generations the rebellions finally died out.

Finally, we browsed through a section on the 1700s, when industries like textile weaving and coal mining were starting to boom like never before.

At the top of the museum, we discovered a fabulous view of the castle to the northwest and of the mountainous Salisbury Crags and Arthur's Seat to the east.

During one of our tours, our guide mentioned Arthur's Seat--a tall volcanic plug that overlooks the city--in a warning against taking online reviews at face value. Apparently, someone on TripAdvisor left a one-star review complaining that it was "just a hill."

The elevator was abominably slow--after spending a good while taking pictures on the roof, we returned to find people who had left the rooftop as we arrived still waiting for the elevator to make its next return. When it finally arrived, we weren't able to fit in, so we decided to make our way down the stairs instead. That may have been a mistake, though. The stairwells and back corridors were so maze-like that we literally caught ourselves going in circles before finding a room we recognized. It was like being back at the Lyon bus terminal.

After the National Museum, I headed off on my own to do some shopping in New Town. Second-guessing my decision to not buy shoes until after Islay, I wanted to see if I could find anything good in the last big English-speaking city we'd be staying in. I didn't find shoes, but I did get some spectacular views.

One of the most striking things about Old Town is it's verticality, which I've mentioned before. The old stone buildings seem to be scrambling up on each other's shoulders, reaching for the sky. We'd also learned from Nik the day before that this is part of an Edinburgh tradition that far predates them. Throughout the Middle Ages, when the city was mostly made of wood, the constricting city walls forced people to build up, creating towering wooden "skyscrapers" that frequently fell down or caught fire. They were crammed with people, and the ensuing sanitation issues were legendary across Europe. It got so bad that Edinburgh earned the nickname Old Reeky.

That was why, in the 1700s, the wealthier citizens finally decided to escape the city walls and build a spacious Georgian-style New Town to the north.

Down in the park where the castle moat used to be, people were crowding to see drum corps performing. August was still a couple weeks away, but the festival season atmosphere was alive and well.

Meanwhile, Jessica and my dad searched out a pub where we could hole up and watch the final World Cup game between Croatia (who we were rooting for) and France. We’ve learned that Scottish people tend to have a great affinity for the French, if only because of their shared rivalry with the English. When the final whistle marked France's victory, the pub erupted in a celebration unlike anything I've ever seen in person.

Emerging back into the overcast sunlight, we cooled off with a relaxing walk down the breezy Royal Mile. We wanted to get some dinner at the famous World’s End pub, but it was full up. The pub's name dates back to a time when it butted against the old city walls. Anyone entering the city had to pay a steep toll to pass through the gates, even if they were residents. For many people, this meant that if they ever left the city, they might never be able to get back in. To them, this pub might as well have been the world's end.

We turned back and ended up enjoying a wonderful dinner at an Indian-Thai hybrid restaurant--once we were finally able to find the door.

After dinner, we strolled the rest of the way down the Royal Mile to Holyroodhouse, Edinburgh's royal palace. It was well past closing time, but we were able to get a good view through the gates.

We also got to see the distinctive architectural style of the of the Scottish Parliament Building, and the Salisbury Crags jutting up dramatically behind them.

We'd be returning first thing tomorrow morning to hike the trail that runs beneath them. But for now, we ran to catch the bus that would take us back home. We tried to get my dad to watch the pilot episode of The Expanse, but we didn’t quite make it to the end before we were all starting to drift off.

The next morning, we bused back to Holyrood Palace and picked up where we left off--facing down the Salisbury Crags.

We--or at least I--didn't have the time or nerve to climb the larger Arthur's seat, but the Crags offered a nice compromise. And we didn't actually climb the top of the Crags. Rather, we followed the Radical Road that runs halfway up the Crags, along the foot of the cliff face.

The Radical Road is named for a group of workers that took part in a nationwide strike in 1820 known as the Radical War. Wealthy Scottish citizens like Sir Walter Scot who supported the Radicals decided to support them by paying them to do other work while they were on strike--such as building a completely unnecessary road midway up the Salisbury Crags and parallel to a perfectly serviceable road that already existed.

The beginning was steep, and my dad and I quickly started to question our decision, but all doubts were erased as we got high enough to see the view over the city.

At its height, the road cuts through Hollyrood Park, which used to be the private hunting grounds of the kings and queens of Scotland.

Reaching the end of the Radical Road, we kept on going toward the neighborhood of Duddingston and the highly-recommended Sheep Heid Inn. The inn has reputedly been in operation for over 600 years, which would make it the oldest pub in Edinburgh and possibly all of Scotland. The name comes from the old Scotts English for sheep’s head. The popular explanation is that King James VI of Scotland (and I of England) presented the pub owners with a golden snuff box engraved with a ram’s head on the lid. The pub was halfway between two royal residences, so James would often visit the pub along the way.

The kitchen wasn't quite open yet, so the three of us ordered drinks and enjoyed a rest after our hike. Once the kitchen opened, the food turned out to be just as spectacular as all the people who'd recommended it to us said. Jessica and I both had linguine with crab, shrimp, and chorizo. I don't even like seafood, but I loved that meal.

After lunch, we took an Uber back to the World’s End, where we each had a shot of Drambuie in honor of my dad’s Scottish friend John. For those of you who didn't know either, Drambuie is a sweet liqueur made from Scotch whisky, honey, and spices. A very distinctive beverage, it somehow manages to be both delicious and disgusting at the same time.

Our long-awaited toast complete, we decided to make it an official pub crawl and continued over to the BrewDog pub on Cowgate. My dad and I had learned about Brewdog from the TV show Brew Dogs, where the two Scottish brewers who run BrewDog travel the US crafting locally inspired novelty beers and converting beer skeptics to the way of the hop.

My dad had their signature Punk IPA, and I had their 5AM Saint red ale. I generally don’t like IPAs, but the Punk was surprisingly well-balanced despite being so hoppy. It had the sour and citrusy notes of a typical IPA, but very little bitterness. My ale was also surprisingly good. It was hoppier than any other red or amber ale I’ve had before, but the bright hoppy notes actually did a great job balancing out the ale and making it refreshing instead of heavy.

Jessica had a cider that was pretty good, too.

Went to St. Giles’ Cathedral, the seat of the Church of Scotland. It isn’t the largest, but it is stunning inside. The stained glass is mostly modern, but it is strikingly good.

It's free to enter the cathedral, but you are expected to pay if you want to take pictures. And we can confirm that the people working there will not hesitate to call you out for breaking the rule.

We still had some shopping to do--including picking up something for dinner--so we decided to walk over to New Town. I lead us along my footsteps from the previous day, taking Jessica and my dad through narrow closes and down the hill.

Tomorrow, we would head out early for Islay, so we caught a bus home with plenty of time to rest up and start packing.

Before I close our chapter on Edinburgh, I have to mention our charming hosts, Joyce and Ian. They were very kind and accommodating, but sometimes we felt that they didn't expect us to take them up on their offers as much as we did.

For example, they said we couldn’t use the kitchen to cook, but we could use it to heat a ready meal up in the oven. On our last night, we bought some meat pies that we didn’t realize at first weren’t microwavable. Ian said that it would be no problem for us to use the oven, and he even showed us some tips on how to get the crust to brown up just right. But when Joyce showed up and asked suspiciously what we were up to, Ian was nowhere to be seen.

It was a good time, and I’m glad that Jessica and I got to enjoy the British bed and breakfast experience several times during our months on the island. But we really found out just how strongly we prefer having a place to ourselves with a proper kitchen that we can use whenever we want.

Next Post: Islay (Introduction and Arrival)

Last Post: Hadrian’s Wall and the Scottish Borders

#180abroad #edinburgh #scotland #travel #history #museum #hiking #beer #pub crawl

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thesweatycollectiontyrant · 7 years ago

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Most Demanding Female Roles in Musical Theatre

Hey everyone! I’m gonna be on vacation for the next few days, so I decided to do some shorter posts and queue them once a day while I’m gone! If you have suggestions on some shorter articles I could do on the go, feel free to send topics my way! I’m gonna do a male counterpart to this post, as well as articles for plays.

I’m going to begin that this is in my personal opinion. I’m gonna be just kinda going as I think. I will not be ranking these in any way. ALSO this will not only pertain to lead roles! I’ll be looking at everyone!

Let’s Do This

Rose Hovick in Gypsy

Described as the following: “bossy, demanding, horrific, monster,” this role is kind of a no-brainer when it comes to what is considered demanding. Many amazing women of the theatre have played this role: Ethel Merman, Patti LuPone, Tyne Daly, Angela Lansbury, Imelda Staunton, Bernadette Peters, and just this summer, Carolee Carmello and Beth Leavel. The role is fairly vocally demanding. She sings several of the songs and she has to have a strong belt. She doesn’t dance much, but what really kills the actress is the acting. Tyne Daly described it as “a prize fight”. The role is very demanding. You have to be more or less a ham onstage, age at least ten years over the course of the story, and go through the ache of losing your favorite daughter to seeing the one you settle for become a stripper. All onstage. The character is such a facade. She proclaims that she wants what’s best for her children while she lives vicariously through them. Rose is the prime example of what a stage mother really is. In the final moments of the show, Rose has a mental breakdown in “Rose’s Turn” envisioning herself performing in front of an audience, followed by Louise and her reconciling in the end.

Edith Ewing Bouvier Beale/Edith Bouvier Beale in Grey Gardens

Christine Ebersole originated the mammoth of a role in the screen-to-stage adaptation of the timeless documentary in a dual role, playing “Big Edie” in Act One and “Little Edie” in Act Two. One thing that makes this role demanding is that these people she’s playing were real people who know what these people did, looked like, and sounded like, and if it doesn’t meet expectations, they walk away unsatisfied. The acting in this role is different because of the switch between characters between acts, but the demand for both characters is still there. Big Edie is detrimental in Act One as she tears apart Little Edie’s dreams, then the actress plays Little Edie in Act Two as a woman in her fifties, who reluctantly takes care of her mother despite the hurt she harbors. The actress has to have great comic chops and the ability to impersonate Little Edie in particular. The actress also has to have a very versatile voice to match the elegant Soprano of Big Edie and the squawky timbre (which sweetens quickly) of Little Edie. This is truly a fantastic role.

Margaret Johnson in The Light in the Piazza

This phenomenal woman decided to take her daughter on a trip to Italy, only to discover it wouldn’t be as much of a trip as it was a move. Margaret takes care of her daughter Clara, who is developmentally stalled. In a heartbreaking monologue in Act Two, Margaret explains that at Clara’s birthday party, they ordered a pony for her to play with and show her friends. Margaret went to answer the phone, and the second she wasn’t paying attention, the pony kicked Clara in the head, injuring her brain. Margaret, while in some cases overprotective, wants what’s best for her daughter. She goes through many journeys throughout the story. She watches her daughter grow up before her eyes, realizes the dissolve of her marriage, and ultimately joins a family. There are many asides and monologues that can be dug into and given meaning. This score is notably difficult. It’s filled with many high and low notes; Margaret’s range spans over two octaves (G3-G#5). Victoria Clark immortalized the role for all to see after it was professionally filmed and broadcast on PBS. Seeing a struggling middle-aged woman as the lead of a show isn’t often, and Adam Guettel’s show displays that platform with integrity.

The First Ladies in 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue

I did a post about this masterpiece of a flop last week. The actress who plays The First Ladies play the following roles: Abigail Adams, Eliza Monroe, and Julia Grant and Lucy Hayes (simultaneously). The actress must have strong Soprano chops, but also be a good character singer, especially for the tour de force, “Duet for One”. This is theatrically and vocally demanding. Bernstein gave us that. Praise.

Elle Woods in Legally Blonde

Some might say that this role is all fluff. I don’t agree. Elle is a vivacious human who thinks she knows what she wants, and discovers what she needs along the way. This role has to be a true triple threat, as you have to be able to sustain the demanding score, the constant energy, and multiple ensemble dance numbers. Elle is in almost every single song in the show. She has to dance her butt off. Not to mention that she also has to remain in the bubbly sorority girl archetype, but also becomes a stronger woman who begins to trust herself. It’s a very demanding role, and I don’t need blue hairs coming for me.

Diana Goodman in Next to Normal

Brought to life by one of my favorite actresses, Alice Ripley, Diana provides a story that shows her thoughts under a microscope. She suffers from Bipolar II Disorder that comes along with hallucinations of her deceased son, Gabe. Because of her struggle with mental illness, she pushes her daughter, Natalie, away and affects all those around her. What a woman has to go through as Diana is bare her soul. That role is truly for those who wish to leave it all on the stage. The role has a lot of belting in it, but ultimately is for a Mezzo. The range goes from Gb3-F#5 (yes, they’re enharmonic, but they’re written differently), so just on two octaves. Diana goes through several breakdowns throughout the show and ultimately leaves her family in hope that they will be better without her. This takes both a powerhouse actress and singer.

Cunegonde in Candide

This role has been performed by many actresses and singers, but. Cunegonde is the definition of elegant, but just a bit off her nut. She sings one of the most difficult musical theatre songs ever written, “Glitter and Be Gay” and has several duets with notes almost as high in “We Are Women,” “Oh, Happy We,” and “Make Our Garden Grow”. The score is incredibly difficult, so I would definitely say that this role is very demanding.

Margaret White in Carrie

Yes, I know this show was infamous for being kind of awful, but the place someone has to go to play this part is so dark that it’s scary. A woman like Margaret has clearly been abused of some sort. In fact, the book (I believe, it’s been a while since I’ve read it) reveals that Carrie was conceived by rape. It’s truly heartbreaking. This woman wants what is best for her daughter, even if she goes through some interesting ways to giver her that. The subtlety an actress has to have to not cross the line of making Margaret’s religion and motives borderline comical is great. The role seems very easy to make a caricature of Christian women over the area. The score in the revised version is quite difficult, calling for Margaret to be a Soprano who also has lower notes and some belting, although there’s plenty of room for stylistic choice! I’m just going off of the brilliance of Marin Mazzie. The role is quite demanding for anyone to step into.

Eva Peron in Evita

To play Eva Peron, a woman has to screlt her face off and sustain that for the entire night. The different places her voice would need to go is so vastly different. The range extends from E3-G5 without much of a break. The vocals are very demanding. Since I haven’t seen the show live and it’s *mostly* (?) thrusung, I’m not sure what all vigorous acting has to be done. But oh my Lord, the score is tough.

Trina in Falsettos

I don’t even know where to begin about this character. There’s very little dancing for the part, but there is just about everything you could think of in the other two departments. Her range spans two octaves, and she has to belt at the top of her range, but also have a nice an strong head voice throughout the show. The acting is very vulnerable. Trina is a person who has been exposed to a lot of hurt throughout her life. She goes through just about everything, and still comes out of it. This is a beautiful and heartbreaking role.

Veronica Sawyer in Heathers

The score in Heathers is pulsing with punk rock and 80s influences. Veronica is a very demanding part because of the plot points that happen to her. It’s a very interesting and complicated story that I don’t want to get into, but just know that this role is a whole step away from having the highest belted note in Musical Theatre history (A5), losing only to Jennifer Simard as Sister Mary Downy in Disaster!, who belts a B5. Veronica goes through a lot in this story, and is in most of the scenes in the show, and is also constantly singing and belting VERY high.

Dolly Gallagher Levi in Hello, Dolly!

I want to preface this with the fact that typically, this role is done by an older woman, so take that into circumstances. This role is loaded with stage time, comic timing, and singing. You have to have great comic chops, and depending on how you do it, one of three things with your singing voice: you can sing it in the original keys down the octave (which is the way it was originally done) which puts you as a super low Alto/Female Tenor, you can do it similar keys that Barbra Streisand did from the movie, taking the range to a Mezzo, or you can be a brave Soprano and sing it in the original Carol Channing keys, but sing everything up the octave. Any of the three are delightful. This is one of my favorite roles, and is TRULY demanding. The emotional journey (while not trolling Mr. Vandergelder) is beautiful for Dolly. She discovers so much about herself and what she becomes after she accepts Ephraim’s death and decides to move on with her life. It’s just sublime.

Effie Melody White in Dreamgirls

This is another role that would be very easy to make a caricature of. Effie is a troubled and talented woman. The role is very taxing vocally, and also the acting is very intense, especially in Act One. Effie truly has an amazing transformation from a misunderstood starlet to a confident woman. She doesn’t have a lot of time offstage until Act Two, and even then, she has an amazing solo.

Bess in Porgy and Bess

I don’t want to get into describing the heartbreak that this character goes through. Just know that there are a lot of traumatic events that happen to her and she still finds love (even though it ends different then you want). The score is incredibly demanding, even causing Broadway superstar Audra McDonald vocal problems. This is a fantastic role for an African-American Soprano who has great acting chops.

Dot/Marie in Sunday in the Park with George

Bernadette Peters did this brilliant role on Broadway and it was broadcast to the world on PBS. The dual role that actually switches and then switches back once again is very theatrically and vocally demanding. The role is onstage most of the show and is just very alive and energetic throughout the show, even when she plays an old woman. The beautiful and poetic words that just flow everywhere have so much meaning. There’s quite a bit of range that spans through the show as well.

Celie Harris Johnson in The Color Purple

There is such a delicate presence for this role. Celie is like a cat. She starts out like a kitten that is hushed and silenced, but by the end she is a roaring lion that will speak for everyone to hear. I adore the resilience this character has. LaChanze possibly had a lot of pressure to be like the movie. Cynthia Erivo definitely made the role personal to her, and it showed. Celie is a demanding role because of her constant stage time and the relentless score. The character literally spans from an E3 to a G5 in ONE song. Oh my Lord. But what a role. It really is amazing. And demanding.

I’m sure there are some that people feel I left out, but be sure to message or let me know your thoughts on this!

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