January 31/08 Café

Anniversaries. Milestones. Growth. A mad dash from commitment to execution. Two weeks of intense preparation, figuring out the new space, organizing the bar, licensing, rehearsing for hours with vast amounts of veggie chili (!!), bringing in a new accompanist (yay Tara "Lady Ninja" Scott), making donation receptacles (Bonnie to the rescue) and in the end, a special time to commemorate our start then and again, now. New Year, new...

Michael and Verna, two patrons from the very first Café were back for the anniversary special and enjoyed as we presented some of our favorites from the past. Our biggest fans, Megan and Gina, crossed over to the dark side and joined in the fun of performing, even doing an impromptu group rendition of "Pave Paradise" with Mike C. on guitar at one point. Ann gave freely of her Icelandic folksongs. Ivan and Mike managed to do a bit of improv, Garry and Eric did "A Little Priest" with loud acoustic gratitude following.

Excerpts from Four Actors, The Modern World and 13 Ways and we miss Shtev though Kim tries as the creepy german kid. A nod to Pip and Shtev as we open with a performance of "Pi."

An anniversary wouldn't be complete without sock puppets and Elvis (and those seem to be the only pictures we have from the night), but there was also the complete set of Urban Mysteriez - with joyously fun changes... Jill hides under the table but look, it has a glass top!... Suzanne stalks off to the bathroom and finds a sandwich at her place on her return... Jill and Helen have to improvise a horridly long time because Suzanne can't hear a blessed thing including her cue... the narrators duke it out for lordship (or ladyship).


An ensemble number to start it off and to almost end it seemed appropriate, though we must try not to stand in a line like that again (!) and the finale a first-draft-special-for-the-cafe Bedtime Story, "Juliard Hears the Call of the Jungle," penned and read by Kim. Augmented by Keelin's sublime inspiration to lead remaining patrons to a carpeted area to sit on the floor with their respective stuffed animals.

And of course, the lot of us out to Freeman's for drinks and eats and both happily and sadly, required two huge tables for our growing numbers. Café rocks on...