The Tales Of Mikey Wiseman

What Fun: A lot to take away with this
By Ken Keuffel
JOURNAL REPORTER
Published: September 20, 2008

The Little Theatre of Winston-Salem's current production of You Can't Take It With You is very funny.

But it manages to get a serious message across about values and priorities -- and one worth pondering as the show's many cast members astonish us with their eccentricities on the Reynolds Auditorium stage.

You Can't Take It With You was written by the famed team of George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart.

It conquered Broadway in the middle 1930s, running there for more than 800 performances before being made into an Academy Award-winning film. It's of another time but remains remarkably relevant to ours.

The plot revolves around the Sycamores and the Kirbys, two radically different families that are brought together because Alice Sycamore (Ashley Davis) and Tony Kirby (Ben Palombo) have fallen in love.

The Kirbys are strait-laced, normal and consumed by the Wall Street culture of building wealth.

The Sycamores are just the opposite. Each real or adopted member of that clan zealously pursues his or her own interests.

Some of their hobbies are mundane, but many others are truly bizarre and include evading the taxman for years, making fireworks in a basement, writing plays about war and sex and circulating candies wrapped in paper on which incendiary messages are printed.

The contrasts between the happy Sycamores and the (initially) unhappy Kirbys are vividly drawn in director Stan Bernstein's attractive staging. We get a palpable sense of the wacky disharmony into which the two families fall.

There are a number of fine individual performances. I found that of Mikey Wiseman particularly memorable; he plays Kolenkhov, the ballet instructor who wears his Russianness on his sleeve in exaggerated-but-endearing fashion.

And David Westfall plays Grandpa Vanderhof quite convincingly, teaching us why it's sometimes important to quit the rat race, relax and live a little.

■ The Little Theatre of Winston-Salem will present You Can't Take It With You through Sept. 28 in Reynolds Auditorium. Evening shows will be at 8 p.m. tonight, Thursday, Friday and next Saturday, with a 2 p.m. matinee Sept. 28. Tickets are $18, $16 for seniors and $14 for students. Call 725-4001.

Ahhhh, summer is here, and with it, here in NC (for you folks that live elsewheres) that means frequent, and infrequent at times, rain storms from nowhere. The best part is, it rains in places....you heard me right.....certain places. As in across the street, or over Target and Wal-Mart, not in between! Sounds crazy? Well, as I am more than prone to do, and I am sure you are getting used to, I HAVE A THEORY.....

So I imagine it, (if you believe in) God is up on high, busy, as usual, with all the things he/she has to take care of. So who's in charge of making the rain happen when it is supposed to? OHHH, that's right, some newbie who never really read the Rain manual, but accepted the job because it was a promotion from Garbage Smell creation. So...

Being new at the job, by accident, liberally he's (and yes I say he, because as educated males know, women just don't make mistakes - well, except for Roseanne Barr singing the National Anthem very bad on purpose!) he has spread the rain around to where it needs to go, causing massive flooding (i.e. the midwest, and all the other places - bless those who encountered these misfortunes), unbeknownst to him. SO, when it comes to rain in dear old Winston-Salem and surrounding areas....well.....he's almost out. So he scatters it around as best he can.
No imagine if you will, this guy answering to God....(or the Bossman for those who believe otherwise). I mean daaaaaaaang! God says: Did you get the rain out? Fellah says: Ummm, yeah about that....

God: Oh Me, what happened?
Fellah: Weeeelllll....about that....see I kind of ran out near the end
God: Whaddya mean?
Fellah: Let's just say I had to make do...kind of.
God: Kind of? Oh my Me....what did you do?
Fellah: Well....okay I'm still learning okay? And well, I kind of used too much in some places, and well, when it came to Winston-Salem and its areas, I had to spread it out the best I could
God: As in....? (Sighs) Lemme see.......[Takes a look around].......Oh my ME!!!! Are you kidding? You didn't even have enough to make it rain on both sides of the street? SERIOUSLY! Do you have any idea what people are thinking right now?
Fellah: No...but no one will notice, yeah?
God: (Sigh) I suppose not, well, except for that one freak who's insanity drove him to blog so that others could share in the madness
Fellah: Wait, you mean the guy you gave a receeding hairline to, the slowest metabolism ever, and the 'ability' to run himself into a brick wall repeatedly until he actually learns something?
God: Yeah him. Listen, I gotta run. Please, please try not to redefine 'scattered showers' ever again?
Fellah: Sorry Boss

I'm just saying...That's what it seems like here in good ol' W-S sometimes when the rain finally does come. Nothing like driving from Lewisville where it's damp, through tons of dry land, only to get to downtown W-S and actually find 'the river runs through it'. HAHHAHAA Craziness and imagination at its best!

Proof yet again: Never leave a hermit by himself when boredome is a 'skrong' possibility!!!

Until the next time...........If the ancients could make up stories for reasons in nature, why can't we? And, who was it who said science was exact and always right? >WINKS<

Hello loyal readers! Sorry for the long wait...things have been busy. Now I know that the title of this one makes you think 'uh oh...here comes some speechifyin on God'. Well, not really. Let me start off by saying I have a HUGE fear of small churches. Not those small-ish ones in a bricked up building with a nice parking lot, etc. No I mean the truly small churches that look like they can only fit maybe 20 people, standing room only, at best.

You ever notice how they have such a small building, and yet there is a HUGE lot of land behind them? Now this is purely theory, but why, if they have all that land, do they not get a small parking lot, or maybe a picnic area, or I dunno - just something back there? Hmmm? Minds clicking yet? I think it is because, if you were brave enough to go into the church shack there's some secret entrance that goes UNDERGROUND. And when you become a full on member, you get access to go there.

Yeah that's right, I'm talkin like the extremely, uber-religious sects that have a compound set up for its followers where they can hang out, live rent free, play checkers (or chess), and etc. Hmmmm? And with groups out there that do all that storing of arms because the aliens are coming, or because they plan to rid the world of sinners by force and etc., kinda makes me wish I could be real invisible sometimes when I'm passing by. Especially if I'm walking!!!

So yeah, next time you pass by one - you'll know it when you see one because it'll look like a storage shed with a little posterboard sign announcing they are the church of you-only-think-you-know, as well as some acreage behind them with nothing on it but grass - think real hard on these thoughts I've speechified...and see if you notice any small chimney holes or air holes in that lot!

Okay, okay, so it's about time I 'speechified' on this subject for a second... I mean really? I was in Target today, just perusing through with that someone special, she was looking for clothes, me, eh, I was just perusing. So I'm in the men's clothing section (looking for a 'nice' pair of black cargo pants for work). Nothing much there as everything's ready for summer and is either shorts or slacks. And there they were....

Men's underwear. Not that I have a problem with that, I mean, I'm a man, well at least a guy I s'pose, and I wear them, but here's my problem: WHY, I mean WHY do the pics on the front of the packages HAVE to be of these super-ripped fellahs that pretty much only exist on the front of romance novels? I mean seriously!
Now I will admit, yeah, it makes me think, 'Ooh, I would look that sexy in these underoos!' But really? That'd be a HUGE no! I mean, If...IF i am that susceptible to buy a pack (okay, okay, fine....I bought a pack..well two - SHUT UUP! I stopped after three, aiight?) I get them home, and well naturally, I'm ready to look sexy like that, so I strip to the nakidity (it's a word...well at least now it is anyways), and put a pair on.

First thing, apparently the men in the photos? They have no ass because these things rode ride up mine like I was wearing a freakin' thong! And these are supposed to be briefs for crying out loud! Next, (and I'll admit, I don't have abs, but I don't exactly have a gut) these things made me feel like I was Peter from The Family Guy, gut sticking way the hell out over my pants or something! And holy cow, do these guys have sticks for legs? Mine felt like they were turning blue from lack of circulation.

In short, I think they need some more normal guys on these photo fronts. I mean they do that for women now right? Help us guys out a bit, you underwear people! Quit making us feel like fattie patties! Although...I think about it....if they did that, then the peeps in the fast food industry (worthwhile ones like Hardee's and Taco Bell) would probably downsize portions.....then Hungryman TV dinners would downsize...then you wouldn't be able to get a 'decent' size meal at a restaurant -it'd be all that frou frou crap you get at 'gourmet' restaurants for 90 bucks a portion- , then cats and dogs would walk together, and....AAUUUUUGHHHH!

Maybe the little ripped guys advertising sexy underwear aren't sooo bad when i think on it.....

Just have to comment on something amazing... I am a fan of going out to eat (though I never can afford it!), and yeah, I appreciate the Chili's, the Tex-Mex places, the McDonald's, and etc., In other words, all those 'commersh' places we are so fond of, but I have as of recent become more and more a fan of the local, fa-nocal, ma-and-pa type places as well. For example, should any of you wonderful readers live in or visit Winston-Salem, NC, you should try El Triunfo (El Salvadorean food - I highly recommend the papusas), El Torrero (Tex-Mex the way it should be, Peanut's (Hot Dogs that will make you scoff at anyone's paltry offerings), and....well the subject of today's offering: The North Point Grill.

Located on North Point Boulevard (in between University and Cherry streets), this place has some of the most fabulous un-known fare I've ever had. In fact, I'm seriously thinking on throwing their name at little mister whats-his-face on the food network, you know, the guy that visits all the local dives? They would be well worth the publicity!

Anyways, in specific for me, the one thing I love the most, is their key lime pie. Hey, maybe they get it out of a can, or off some restaraunt industrial vendor, but you know what? It's THAT DAMN GOOD! Who cares where it comes from! I mean, from bite one to bite finish, it really is a fantabulous adventure of taste that is more than worth going back for!

It starts off, when you take the first bite, very sweet and you can taste the lime, as well as the graham of the crust, and the sweetness of the frozen whipped cream on top. However!!!! I mean, HOWEVER!!!!! The best part of any key lime pie in my opinion is the 'bite' or the slight sourness of the lime that gets you afterwards. The best way I can describe it is: Open mouth, insert bite.......wait for it......wait for it...............oh YES!!!! Maximum flavor and mouth watering (eye watering too!) flavor scored!!!

It was a wonderful experience, not to mention the chicken-fried steak and Oh-My-Gaw! Potato Salad it came with. Just saying, The North Point Grill here in Winston-Salem? WELL WORTH the trip to visit!

But maybe that's just plain-ol, easy to please me........Somehow I highly doubt it, though...