This panto has nothing to do with The Lone Ranger

Ya gotta love any production that encourages the audience to boo the bad guys. I love booing the bad guys.
And that was certainly one aspect that kept me entertained at People’s Light and Theatre’s production, “Snow White: A Musical Panto,” which runs through Jan. 3 at the Malvern theater.
And here I thought Panto was the Lone Ranger’s sidekick. Turns out a panto is part fractured fairy tale and part variety show. Who knew?
And the talented folks at People’s Light are an absolute hoot in this show, which in the true spirit of a Bullwinkle cartoon, appeals to both children and adults.
I’m not a theater critic. I go to shows to be entertained, not to look for flaws in performances. And this “Snow White” entertained me as much as I’ve ever been entertained in a theater. Younger Daughter was with me on this excursion and she is involved in theater arts at her high school. She, too, gave this show high marks.
While all the performers were brilliant, my favorites were Pierre the personal chef, played by Christopher Patrick Mullen, and Miles the butler, played by Chris Faith. Those guys cracked me up every time they appeared on stage. I’d like to go out on the town with those two guys, but only if they stayed in character. Younger Daughter liked the movie director Vladimir Von Upchuck, played by Jeff Coon, and George the gardener, played by Dustin Karrat.
Of course, Regina Valo (the Wicked Queen) played by Lois Sach Binder, was extremely boo-able, which I quite enjoyed. If I was an actor, I’d want to play the villain. It looks like so much fun, and Ms. Binder nailed it.
If you haven’t experienced People’s Light, you should do so. It’s a fabulous local treasure and I’ve never seen a bad show there. And “Snow White: A Musical Panto” is s great way to experience People’s Light.
Laughing all night long and booing the bad guys. It really doesn’t get any better than that.

Some deserve their 15 minutes, others don't

There are a few local things that interest me this week and a few not so local things that don’t interest me, and in fact, are trying my patience.
Among the people I find compelling is Philadelphia singer-songwriter Mutlu, who was scheduled to perform Dec. 11 at the Sellersville Theater.
Unfortunately, a car accident has sidelined him for a little while and canceled the Sellersville show for now. When he has rescheduled, look for a story on him Ticket magazine inside your local newspaper.
He’s the next generation of Philly soul and his career at this point has been influenced by local sons Daryl Hall and John Oates. I’ve seen Mutlu perform a few times and he’s quite good.
Here’s hoping he has a speedy recovery and can get back on the Sellersville schedule in quick order.
The other group that’s caught my eye is called Straight No Chaser, an a cappella group of 10 guys who will perform Dec. 18 at the Keswick Theater in Glenside.
These guys have an amazing sound. We’re trying to put together a preview story for next week on their appearance in this area. Check them out online and on YouTube.
Mutlu and Straight No Chaser are legitimate talents and deserve well more than their 15 minutes.
Consequently, there are a few stories on the national scene that are just wearing me out.
First, there’s Tiger Woods. I don’t play golf and I don’t watch golf on TV. It’s a challenging sport, but boring nonetheless. I’m a baseball player. When I hit a ball, somebody else should chase it. I shouldn’t have to track it down and hit it again.
As for Tiger’s personal life, I really don’t care. It does not impact my life in any way.
Then there are those two goofs who snuck into a state dinner allegedly without an invitation and got face time with both President Obama and Vice President Biden, among others.
OK, so the Secret Service needs to be perfect and wasn’t on this one. Fine, let it examine its security procedures and make the necessary adjustments so that something like this doesn’t happen again.
As for the two party-crashing reality TV wannabes, if everybody just ignores them, maybe they’ll go away. They got 15 minutes that should have gone to somebody more deserving.

'Executive parking' prowess on Black Friday

The best strategy for Black Friday has always been just to stay home. I don’t quite understand the thought processes of those choose to camp out in front of a big retail store just so they can save a few bucks on a big-screen TV. It’s not like we’re camping outside in the crummy weather for Springsteen tickets for crying out loud.
Oddly enough though, the planets were temporarily aligned for me on Black Friday, and I found myself actually contemplating going out amongst the crazy-go-nuts shoppers and drivers. So much so that I actually needed a plan and this was a new thing for me because my Black Friday strategy up to this point was to take a daylong nap in the comfort of my own home.
So here was the plan: Leave for the mall at about 4 p.m. that afternoon — hoping that the really hardcore shoppers were worn out by then — and get back to the house by 6 p.m. to avoid those shoppers who had to work that day and were going shopping that evening.
And I must admit that strategy worked to perfection. Not only did we make it to the mall and three other places in the allotted time frame, we got what I like to call “executive parking” at all four stops.
Executive parking in this instance includes those parking spaces closest to the doors of the stores of which one wishes to frequent.
See, when I’m in the car by myself, I usually have to park in the back 40 of any parking lot I frequent. But when The Blonde Accountant is in the car, we seem to have this uncanny knack of getting the sweet parking spots.
In fact, the running gag over the years has been for me to say, “Hey, did you call ahead for your parking spot.” It happens almost every time.
I thought that her luck would run out on Black Friday given the overall craziness of the day, but it didn’t.
Naturally, given this newest — and impressive — evidence of her good fortune, The Blonde Accountant is now in charge of getting my lottery tickets.