ALL ABOUT BOB

In a previous post, I introduced you to BOB, the unofficial back-stage mascot of The Lion King. Veronique, Bob's and handler, recently posted a gallery of Bob's various looks and moods, giving us a true impression of what a chameleon he really is. I thought it would be a good idea to share some of Bob's many faces before he becomes a celebrity in his own right.

Bird-Lady Bob


Dashiki Bob



Grasslands Bob


Rafiki Bob (complete with mini-baboon-butt)


Shenzi Bob


Simba Bob


Zazu Bob


And just for something different...
Stagetech Bob

We're not entirely sure how Veronique finds the time to build all of Bob's various guises, but one thing is clear, the girl is certainly creative ( and just a little eccentric) !

During a recent matinee, there was very little time for backstage creativity, particularly for Stage Management as they had their hands full. One of our SM team was calling the show and suddenly became ill and passed out early in Act 1. Fortunately, our show is called from an elevated booth on stage left, so the booth is easily accessible. The Senior Stage Manager immediately climbed the ladder and took over the show after calling for the assistance of our heroic phyiso-healer who was on the scene in moments to assist. Unfortunately, the ailing SM also, well, there's no nice way to say this,....up-chucked all over the booth. It was difficult not to enjoy the comedy in yet another SM barging into people's dressing rooms screaming, "I'm taking all your toilet paper !!!". Now, this in itself would have been enough to keep everyone busy, but we also had an unexpected addition to one of the early musical numbers in the show. During "Grasslands", a bat appeared on stage, weaving and skimming through the tall-grass headmounts worn by the ensemble. Many of the audience were extremely impressed, assuming that our mastery of the puppet arts was so complete that we could dazzle them with this stunning, life-like effect. The bat, ultimately, disappeared and the ailing SM is fine except for a bump on the head. I guarantee that people who work in offices don't have days like these.

I mentioned before that we had reached our 100th performance. For this milestone, a short media event was organized to celebrate and show off the production in the Marina Bay Sands shopping mall. A temporary stage was erected on the skating rink (yes, skating rink, though it isn't actual ice) where the cast performed a few numbers from the show. The balcony around the area was festooned with character banners from the show. I've never presided over a skating rink before.

Gugwana and I hanging out in the shopping mall

After Geo & Marylin visited Singapore, they headed off to see some of Australia. They must have had Lion King on the brain because they felt the need to snap this pic of questionable taxidermy.

Young Scar after a night on the town

I enjoyed dinner recently at one of my favourite spots in Singapore, Orgo.

Orgo with Singapore Flyer and MBS in the background

I was introduced to this spot by Louise Withers, my Australian friend who's company was instrumental in guiding our work-visa applications through the twists and turns of The Ministry of Manpower.

Orgo is one of those needle-in-a-haystack spots in Singapore. A peaceful, beautiful oasis of serenity in a desert of noisy, traffic-infused restaurants. It's hidden away on the roof of The Esplanade theatre complex, over-looking the lagoon and the financial district. On my first visit, Louise and I were introduced to Champagne Mojitos, and sat in the blissful silence, punctuated by the odd sigh as we gazed at the city skyline.

I love the martini glass of chilled grapes that automatically comes to your table

And speaking of restaurants...

There's a little place near my apartment, Zenso, that serves a Thai and Japanese menu. Simple, cheap, nearby and delicious. I stopped in for lunch yesterday and the waiter asked me if I wanted my "usual spot". I realized that, without meaning to, I'd become 'a regular'. Not surprising considering that I eat there at least once or twice a week. I go there mostly for the beautiful Thai curry, and on this day, the green curry with chicken was particularly yummy. Creamy with coconut milk, complex, fragrant and perfectly spicy.

My favourite lunch...
Green curry chicken with baby kai lan in oyster sauce and fried shallots
(Oh yes, ... comes with rice !)

And speaking of food...
I'm sure that many of you know the movie "Under The Tuscan Sun". You may not know that the woman who wrote the book on which the movie is based, Frances Mayes, has written several other books, a few of which focus on her true-life story of living in Tuscany. Our Supper At Summerfield group in Niagara is passionately devoted to her books and have devoured them like we have devoured her recipes.

Before I left Canada, we had a Frances Mayes Tribute dinner, using recipes or inspirations from her books. I, of course, blogged about it and sent a link for the blog entry to Frances via her blog. To my surprise, she responded. To my greater surprise, she asked for my mailing address and said that she would send some olive oil pressed from the olives grown on Bramasole, her Tuscany estate. I sent her the address, and several months later...

...three cans of this precious, delicious stuff arrived at the house in Niagara. I insisted that Michael send one to me in Singapore. I'm certain that the rest of it will be savoured by anyone lucky enough to be there to share it.