On Thursday Nick and I went to a production of Pride and Prejudice on the UNC campus, which was an adventure (not all of it good). Beforehand, we stopped at Akai Hana for sushi in Carrboro, a town in which I have not had much experience. After getting confused by the street numbering, we finally found a little sushi restaurant which only had a few diners because it was just a little before 6pm.
I ordered the chicken teriyaki combination which came with chicken teriyaki, mixed tempura, rice, vegetables, a California roll, and salad and miso soup. Nick got the chirashi bowl. Then we decided to order two rolls: a spider roll and a salmon skin roll. Needless to say, it was a lot of food.
My combo was pretty solid if not outstanding. My friend Lyndsay judges Japanese places by the quality of their miso soup, and Akai Hana's version was pretty good. Nothing next to Zen Toro, but that's to be expected.
Nick enjoyed his chirashi but commented that there was way too much rice for the relatively small amount of fish he was given. This is coming from a guy who loves his rice. I thought the piped wasabi was a nice design touch.
Our rolls were mediocre based on texture and the variety of flavor presented. I decided I will only get salmon skin hand rolls from now on.
...The Pride and Prejudice performance was marred by confusion of seating. They let people sit in our ticketed seats because we arrived at exactly 8pm (after getting lost) while people were still being seated and the performance had not yet started. They told us we could get our seats back at intermission, which meant awkwardly kicking out the people who had been in our seats during the first act.
I also had issues with casting and off-portrayal of characters. I don't mind if they set the play in a new era or have fun with the text. But I don't think you should totally change the essence of the character. I doubt Elizabeth Bennet would really be that weepy or Mrs. Gardiner really that silly. That is wholly reserved for Mrs. Bennet, thank you very much. Also, there was no chemistry between Mr. Darcy and Miss Bingley. You didn't even get the feeling that she was desperate for him. Where's the fun in that?
1 comment:
Don't you hate it when it seems the actors and/or director totally don't get the essence of a literary work? You just want to trounce up there on the stage and shake them by the shoulders.
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