El Bandito

Last Saturday the stars aligned enough for GH and I to break from our usual weekend routine, which consists of begging friends at the last minute to please hang out with us, having them all say no because they'd already made plans like people who plan ahead, and then renting something from Redbox and sitting on the couch all night like winners. This time we had a proper night out on the town, including free babysitting thanks to Spitfire! I fed her Pioneer Woman's macaroni and cheese in exchange, (with bonus over-cooked broccoli) but I'm pretty sure I got the better end of the deal.

We met up with Desmama and her delightful spouse for dinner at Gaucho Grill, one of those Brazilian places where they bring around grilled flesh on skewers and the salad bar always has beef stroganoff (win and win). If you ever go, be smart like Desmama and order the Brazilian limeade with passion fruit  That stuff was amazing, and then the servers come around and bring you more of it. As for the food, the meat selections weren't as extensive as what you'd find at a bigger place like Tucanos, but everything we had was really good and the service was great. We didn't see grilled pineapple or vegetables, but I asked about it near the end of the meal and they brought them right over. I grabbed two slices of pineapple and GH grabbed one slice, which he put on my plate as soon as the server left. This is how I get all the pineapple I need but don't seem piggy.

Then it was time to wade through the Cache Valley snow and head over to the Ellen Eccles Theatre. A quick note about that place: the shows are good but expensive, and the seats in the balcony are terrible. If you are trying to save money by sitting up there, don't. My mom, sister, niece and I went to see Kiss Me, Kate last summer and sat in the balcony. We were so, so very uncomfortable. The rows are wedged so close together that if you try to cross your legs you will kick the person in front of you in the head. But if you sit without crossing your legs then the person in front of you will basically have your knees on either side of his face. And maybe you are wearing a skirt. Not comfortable for either of us, really.

We were there to see The Hanging of El Bandito. The show is an original from the Pickleville Playhouse up in Bear Lake (also known as The Place Where Northern Utahns Go for Family Reunions Because We Enjoy Hypothermia). They put on melodramas and musicals, and they serve dinner so you can do a meal and a show if you want. I've never been but hear it's a lot of fun. Anyway, El Bandito did a tour in SLC and then in Logan, which just so happened to coincide with us getting out on the town like real humans.

A friend of mine was also there that night with her family and had been explaining to her young son beforehand that plays are different from movies, and this is a nice theater, and he will need to be really, really well-behaved. Then she got there and saw all the kids running around whooping and wearing fake mustaches (sold at concessions) and stopped worrying. The plot (if you really need one) of this musical melodrama is that the thief El Bandito (boo, hiss, etc.) has finally been brought to justice and is going to hang in the town square, but not before his many, many interrupted attempts to get a musical number going so that the audience can feel his pain. A confederate springs him from the gallows and then everybody is trying to re-capture him while El Bandito just wants to be able to focus on his hip-hop career. Along the melodrama theme, so there was a piano player on the side of the stage, and we all got to boo and hiss and cheer. Also there was hip-hop. And dancing. And movie references. And lots of ad-libbing and actors trying crack each other up. The play was definitely family friendly (the kids were laughing harder than the adults) but there were a few lines in there that went over the kids' heads, which I always appreciate because I am fourteen.

I could see going up to Pickleville this summer to catch the newest installment. Maybe I will even grow a mustache to fit in better.