(2-3)– I’m slowly started to settle into a routine, part of which starts with a run every other day. Although it isn’t keeping me quite as healthy as I used to be, it still feels nice to be out and active, and exploring the parks has turned out to be a really, really good way of seeing the city. My circle has stretched about a 30 min distance each way at least, and it’s getting bigger all the time!
And now that I’m a little more used to the routine, I’ve also had a chance to go back and see a couple things I missed the first time round! I went on a second run in The Regent’s Park with Mia, and I still liked the set-up, organization, size, and sights more than the other parks I’ve seen. With the sun out, it was even prettier!
Although I ran a bit in the same direction, I eventually turned towards Queen Mary’s Garden, part of the park I hadn’t seen before. Before I made it there, I passed some pretty cool sculptures. Carved from timber by Tom ‘Carver’ Harvey with chainsaw and chisel, you almost couldn’t help but reach out and touch them. The “Girl and the Jaguar,” (2012) and “Fox and the Girl,” (2010) we’re actually almost unassuming and hidden, off to the side, but the pure skill alone it took to carve them made them stand out to me.
Mia and I kept running and ended up reaching the Gardens. First, we circled around Regents University, London, a private college in the center of the park–originally founded in 1849 as Bedford College, the first university for women, it moved in 1911 to Regent’s and took its current name.
A little past the college, the Jubilee Gates mark the entrance of Queen Mary’s Gardens. Iron and gold, the gates themselves are quite impressive; they mark the official opening of the Gardens in 1935 and the Silver Jubilee of King George V (husband to the same Queen Mary of which the gardens are named). They were donated by benefactor Sigimund Goetze, the family of which also donated the beautiful “Triton Fountain,” (1950) the detailed bronze sculpture of mermaids in the centre of the park and the first view inside the Gardens.
Although too cold for the flowers to bud fully– I’ll have to wait until June for that– the rose garden was impressive nonetheless. with 12,000 roses and 85 single variety beds on display, the Gardens house most types from classic to modern, including a version especially bred called the “Royal Parks” rose; they also house a number of other flowers (such as begonias), trees (such as the cherry blossoms pictured), and shrubbery to “add a sense of mystery and privacy to the gardens.
When we got home, we spent most of the middle of the day inside writing in our journals and chatting. We made a quick journey out to get some groceries at Marks & Spencer (what I’d call the equivalent of an Aldi’s, with its own brand), and then ran home to make a quick dinner before our 7:30pm show of Waitress! Carly, Mia and I got reduced-price tickets (48 pounds, or 68 dollars) for ninth row seats, a pretty good view in a pretty large theatre. Even more amazing, Sara Bareilles and Gavin Creel– Bareilles being the writer of the music and both returning to roles they once filled in New York– were performing. I wanted to see them then but missed the show, so this was a dream realized for me.
Right away, we were so amazed; the curtain is designed like a giant pie, and both corners of the stage have pillars with real pies like absurd heating racks in a bakery.
Inspired by the 2007 movie of the same name, the musical tells the story of a young waitress who loves to bake, her accidental pregnancy, and her escapades with love and loss. Jenna, played by Sara Bareilles, is, of course, a vision and has the voice of an angel. Her Grammy Award is well deserved, and the words she wrote and sings right in front of your eyes can’t seem to help but pierce your heart.
Her love interest, Dr. Pomatter (played by Creel), is also as strong as he ever was in his other shows (Book of Mormon and Hello, Dolly, to name a few), and their chemistry on stage is undeniable. Marisha Wallace as Becky, Evelyn Hoskins as Dawn, and Joel Montague as Ogie all bring a sense of humor and authenticity to the piece that you can sometimes be hard-pressed to find in shows so blended with comedy and tragedy. Even Tamlyn Henderson as Earl, and Andrew Boyer as Joe, two characters that throughout most of the show, are easy to dislike, have moments so real that you almost forget they’re standing on a stage. From the set to the lighting to the cast, it was another musical I couldn’t help but love and want to recommend. (Although, now that I’m thinking about it, I wonder if there will ever be one I actually dislike?)
We finished off the night and the musical in the best of ways– we popped around quickly to the stage door and waited for some signatures. And unlike Broadway, we didn’t have to wait long at all! About 30 minutes later, we left for home elated after having short conversations with almost the whole cast. Wallace has her own tour all of March; Hoskins, surprisingly because of how well-integrated she seemed, had joined the cast only a week before, the same time as Creel and Bareilles; Bareilles said hello and Creel even asked us where we lived, making me laugh by calling me “a Broomie.” All in all, I’d say it was a pretty good day/night!
Ethan Knox 
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