Music for all Seasons

We were having a Saturday night out with our SLG friends.  “Meet in Paraparaumu for dinner”, we were told, “followed by a show”.  That certainly sounded like fun.  We arrived early after our drive up to Paraparaumu, which gave us time to visit the adjacent shopping mall and buy a Lotto ticket.  There was over 10 million up for grabs.  If we win a big Lotto prize, we always said we would buy ourselves a brand new Winnebago Campervan.  And go over to Australia to collect it, as they are now assembled there for the Australasian market.  So it’s fingers crossed and here’s hoping!

Is he buying the winning ticket?

We were meeting at the Cobb and Co Restaurant for dinner.  We were still a little early, so settled down to wait for the others to arrive.  Jan, who was organising the evening, had been a little worried earlier in the week in case  some of us could not make it with the snow causing major road closures.  Our friends who live in the Wairarapa were doubly hemmed in during the Polar Blast – not only was the Rimutaka Hill road closed for several days, but the road at Mt Bruce at the other end of the Wairarapa  was closed too, so they were trapped with nowhere to go.  Luckily the snow eased as the week wore on, and everyone could attend the outing.

Cobb and Co Restaurant, Paraparaumu

Seated at our table we had not one, but three menus to peruse.  There was the original menu ( a bit pricy), then one featuring all the specials (even more pricy), and finally a “Seniors” menu.  You’ve just got to love these senior prices, two courses for $19.90 seemed very reasonable to us, especially when the ordinary  prices were well above that for just the main course.  Most of us chose the roast pork, with a dessert to follow, all very tasty with excellent service.

Two senior meals please

Then it was just a short drive to our show.  We were attending the Coasters Musical Theatre, to see “Music for all Seasons”.  Much to Robin’s embarrassment, I took one sneaky photo inside the hall before the show started. 

Seating was cafe style inside the theatre

The show was dubbed “A musical look at a year in the life of an American Hotel of yesteryear”.  Set in an American hotel in the 20s and 30s, with the cast clad in the elegant costumes of those times, it was an evening full of song, style and elegance.  There were bell-hops and maids, men in well tailored suits with beautifully attired ladies on their arms, and even a trio of good time girls looking for their next meal ticket.  As in most of these amateur productions, the singing is very good and enthusiastic, but there is always a smattering of a few who fall into the professional category.  All the items were very well done, but I particularly enjoyed  the very spirited “Master of the House”, followed later by the more subdued and sad “Empty chairs at Empty Tables”.  These small local theatre companies fill a great need bringing a little culture and music to the local communities and should be encouraged and supported so that they can continue in the future.

PS:  We checked the Lotto ticket and are sad to announce that our Winnebago will not be ordered anytime soon.