La Grande Vitesse

Week 25: Grand Rapids, MI

"Things are more like today than they have ever been before."
--Gerald Ford

The most famous son of Grand Rapids was our 38th president, Gerald R. Ford. And tributes to Ford are everywhere in this city, from the Gerald R. Ford Museum to the Gerald R. Ford Airport and Gerald R. Ford Freeway. All I really remember about the Ford administration is my parents griping about inflation and the lines at the gas pumps. And Chevy Chase as Gerald Ford falling down all over the place on Saturday Night Live! Grand Rapids is also the home of Amway products and was at one time a leading center in furniture manufacture. "La Grande Vitesse" or "The Great Swiftness" (some might translate it as "Grand Rapids") is the name of a sculpture by Alexander Calder which has graced a downtown square here since the sixties. And it seems to have inspired a citywide love of outdoor sculpture. Fine pieces are peppered throughout the city and there is a very fine sculpture garden in the vicinity. There is nothing especially "swift" about Grand Rapids. It has a quiet, slow energy and an attractive skyline. The Grand River passes through town so there are some nice bridges spanning the water, much like in Milwaukee. The city is clean and in some surprising ways, architecturally quite interesting.

We are performing this week at DeVos Hall, which is part of a convention center.
It is a modern theatre, with a sprawling backstage area. The house has an interesting lighting feature--the concrete walls behind the frameworks of the seating areas are splashed with vibrantly colored light that shifts hues every few seconds--hot pink, vivid lime green, blue, purple. Sort of like a huge mood ring or lava lamp. The lobby looks like a cruise ship, with etched glass panels, art deco murals in aqua and green, and lots of tile. There is always an adjustment when playing a new theatre. In Madison, the orchestra pit and edge of the stage were much narrower, putting us closer to the audience. We were able to see the faces in the first few rows and this made for a stronger connection with the audience. Here in Grand Rapids, the audience is far enough away from us that all we can see much of the time is darkness out there and the reactions of the crowd feel very far away. These things have an impact on the way the performance feels.

I visited GRAM, the Grand Rapids Art Museum.
GRAM is a very beautiful, modern and airy space and the museum can boast that it is the only completely "green" museum in the US. There is a very strong environmentalist conscience in Grand Rapids and it is very encouraging. The museum collection is eclectic but there are significant pieces from some important American painters like Childe Hassam and Mathias Alten. There are also some very nice pieces of decorative art from the Bauhaus and Arts and Crafts periods, including a magnificent chair by Frank Lloyd Wright which I would have gladly tucked under my arm and walked away with! GRAM is currently hosting a very fine Andy Warhol exhibit which I found surprisingly illuminating. I always thought of his work as rather kitschy and this exhibit revealed a very deep social conscience and social criticism in his work; particularly his "Death and Destruction" series of prints, which treat tragic subjects like the assassination of President Kennedy and suicide in a way that is moving and biting at the same time.




Did I tell you about movie night? Back in Greenville, I held the first of what has become a weekly Wednesday night movie gathering. I enjoy introducing people to classic movies that they have never seen (and share them with those who already love them)--films that I feel are significant either because they are just great cinema or because they have high camp value, which makes them classics of a different kind! Thus far we have viewed "All About Eve," "Summertime," "New York, New York," "Valley of the Dolls," "Breakfast at Tiffany's," and this week, "Some Like It Hot."
We usually gather in my hotel room, just a few folks from the company (although all are invited) with some snacks and a cocktail after the show on Wednesday. It's become a fun tradition and I really love seeing people discover my old favorites for the first time, and watch them become their new favorites.

Okay, soap box time. I have very strong opinions about things, and sometimes, as you know, dear readers, I just have to express them. Traveling as I do, I have the wonderful opportunity of really seeing our country and observing mainstream America. It's one of the great perks of this job. Those of you who follow this blog know that my outlook tends to be fairly sunny--I look for the good. But there are a couple of very disturbing patterns I have observed in our culture that make me terribly concerned for our nation's well being. The first is the prevalence of smoking.
I am a reformed smoker myself (the worst kind, you may say) and have not touched a cigarette in 18 years. I am astonished at the numbers of people in this country that are still engaged in this poisonous habit. We can no longer claim ignorance--the evidence is clear; the deleterious effects of smoking on the body are well known, yet people continue to light up. It is also crazy to me that more communities in America have not banned smoking from public places, bars and restaurants. If someone put you in a closed space and announced that they were about to unleash cyanide gas and carbon monoxide into the room, wouldn't you dash for the nearest exit? Incredible to me that more of this country has not gotten with the program in regard to the hazards of second hand smoke. Smoking is a habit that is simultaneously selfish and self-destructive. Please, if you smoke, STOP. It is very hard to quit but it's the best thing in the world you can do for yourself and your family.

The second dangerous health issue I have observed in my travels is that of obesity. America is an abundant country. All you have to do is walk through any suburban grocery store to know that we have everything we could possibly need to feed ourselves and more. It is not surprising then that we are the fattest nation on earth. Now, before you get angry with me, just know that I am incredibly compassionate toward people who suffer with eating disorders and health problems, both bodily and emotional, that contribute to being overweight. I have worked for several years as a Pilates teacher, working with people of every body type and with all manner of health issues. I think many Americans carry around a few more pounds than is healthy for them, and there are an astonishing number of people who are extremely overweight. All you have to do is watch a documentary like "Super Size Me" or read "Fast Food Nation" to know that Americans feed themselves a steady diet of crap. Processed foods, meats pumped full of toxins, and sugary drinks laced heavily with high fructose corn syrup (which has been found to release a chemical in the brain that signals the body that it is still hungry, thus causing people to eat more than they need to eat) are at the heart of the American diet. Restaurants serve plates of food intended for one that could easily feed three. And don't get me started on the "all you can eat" buffet restaurants that line every highway in America. We need to get conscious in this country about what we are putting into our bodies. There are great programs and wonderful nutritionists who can help people who have problems with eating. We Americans spend a lot of energy working to invest in our retirement; yet most spend no effort at all investing in their miraculous bodies to ensure that they will be healthy and vital to enjoy their retirement. As we become more and more green conscious, let us not forget that if we cease polluting our own bodies, we may be less likely to pollute the planet. At least this is my opinion. Let's love ourselves and cherish our bodies so we can be strong and caring for each other. End of soap box. Still with me? I have a feeling I may get a few comments this week!

Here I am with Marianne! Marianne is my Grand Rapids dresser. Unlike my novice dresser in the last city, she is a thorough pro. She has been a stage hand for over 20 years and used to manage a theatre company in the region. She knows theatre and loves it. Her friends and family can't fathom why she continues to work and don't really get that this is what makes her happy. Her enthusiasm and devilish sense of humor have been great fun this week. Thanks Marianne!

Minneapolis is our next stop, so more from the land of Mary, Rhoda, Lou, Murray, Ted and Phyllis next week.