An Afternoon at the Fox

Several weeks ago Mom had emailed me to see if I was interested in taking in any concerts or performances while I was home.  Who can say no that that?!?  She had a list of several options and my reply was "they all sound great, you pick".  The end result was matinee tickets for Atlanta Ballet's "The Nutcracker".  I've seen the performance once before several years ago and remember the dancing and music was incredible, so I was most certainly excited.  

Prior to the show, we decided on lunch at R. Thomas, one of our relatively recent discoveries that serves up some pretty tasty vegetarian and vegan cuisine.  The restaurant itself is quite eclectic from the moment you arrive.  It wouldn't surprise me if the outside decor and dozens of birds caged along the entryway have been enough to deter guests.  Fortunately, we knew that what awaited inside was worth passing the obnoxiously loud birds.

I started with the Sleepy Hollow juice - a deliciously tart combination of fresh squeezed apples and cranberries

For my entree I chose R's Raw Veggie Dinner.  It included raw falafel, cauliflower tabouli, spice veggie noodles, asparagus fennel salad, and kefir dips (curry, rosemary,dill, and lime cilantro).  Awesome group of salads and completely unlike anything you can find at other restaurants.

Mom modeling her selection - The Southern Vegetarian Bowl.  Collards, millet corn casserole, smashed potatoes, shiitake mushroom gravy, butternut squash, lolla rossa greens, and a garlic chili flax dressing.  The end result was a clean plate, so I'd say she loved it!

As we drove into Midtown in search of parking near the Fox, we were greeted with dark skies with threats of rain.  No sooner did we get parked and the threat turned into a reality.  We're talking about summer-like, raining like cats and dogs, type of rainstorms.  We made a run to the theater with umbrellas in toe, but dry we were not.  Any chance I had of being somewhat less than saturated was ruined by the very nice lady who chose to dry her umbrella by quickly opening and closing it directly into my face.  Thank you very much lady - Merry Christmas to you too!  And speaking of etiquette, to the 3 women in the bathroom who were using all 3 of the "hand dryers" to dry their umbrellas and boots, shame on you for telling me to wait a few minutes with dripping wet hands  while you addressed your personal needs.  Obviously you never learned the lesson of sharing in the sandbox.

Mom and I before the show.  Do we look like sisters?  We hear that a lot, and Mom loves it!

Let the show begin!

Our seats were perfectly located just 16 rows back and left of center stage.  

Just minutes before the show began, a rather large woman found her seat precisely in the seat in front of Mom.  In theory, the seats are staggered and you should never have to stare through the head of person in front of you.  However, when your head is as wide as your shoulders and your neck doesn't exist, you pretty much block the view of the stage for everyone in a 4 foot radius.

The Fox Theater is so amazing!
The architecture is ornate and detailed and the roof is even designed to look like an evening sky.

The ballerinas were all fantastic.  Mom enjoyed reminding me of my ballet days in preschool.  Unfortunately, I was never gifted with the grace necessary to succeed as a ballerina and I quickly transitioned to soccer instead.

The snow that began falling just prior to intermission was greeted with squeals of delight from the children in the audience.

New to the show this year was a live orchestra for all of the performances.  I really enjoy the Nutcracker music, but having the live performance really took it to the next level.  It brought back great memories of playing in the orchestra for musicals in high school.

All together, it was a great Mother-Daughter afternoon!  Great food + good company + a spectacular performance. It's been hard for me to wrap my head around the fact that it's nearly the end of December and Christmas is fast approaching, but The Nutcracker certainly reinforced the reality and excitement of the holiday season!