60 Seconds with The Shaws: Brunch With Bronte

Have you read the novel Jane Eyre? It was written by this incredibly talented woman name Charlotte Bronte and it is truly one of my favorite classics. It's a great story with excellent conflict, strong characters, and lots of romantic tension. Let me give you a brief synopsis:

Young girl named Jane (yes the novel is named after her) is an orphan, her aunt doesn't love her and sends her away to school
Jane has a friend named Helen who helps her become a better person.
Helen dies
Jane stays at the school (which is an awful school by the way) for about 8 years
She leaves and goes to Thornfield Hall to be a governess to a little girl named Adele
Adele is the ward of Mr. Rochester, a dark and brooding man (who doesn't love a man who knows how to brood)
The house is full of mystery (i.e. maniacle laughter at night, bed curtains randomly catching fire and some very suspicious comments from Mr. Rochester)
Inevitably Jane falls in love with Mr. Rochester but she is just a plain governess so of course that union would never work out
Mr. Rochester invites a bunch of rich people over to stay, one of them being a very attractive lady named Blanche Ingram
Everyone is certain that Blanche and Mr. Rochester will get married
Jane is upset
Jane decides to leave
Mr. Rochester reveals that he only invited Blanche over to make Jane jealous and that he loves her and he wants her to marry him
Jane agrees
a few weeks bliss ensue
The wedding day rolls around
And then everything is revealed

Not gonna tell you the end, or what the whole mystery of the house is because that would totally ruin it if you ever decided you wanted to read it.

Anyway, there are several movies made of the novel (my favorite is the one starring Timothy Dalton as Mr. Rochester, boy does he know how to be brooding and passionate!)

Isn't he attractive? He also played James Bond once upon a time. Mmmmhmmmm!!! :) What a guy!

So, we discovered a few years ago that there was a musical adaption of the book! We bought the CD, fell in love with the music and then were horrified to discover that it's a musical that no one does anymore. I guess it hit theatre's at the wrong time, a time when people weren't interested in watching plays with amazing music and talented actors, so it had a very short run. I resigned myself to the fact that I would never get to see it and live out the rest of my life comforting my aching soul by listening to and memorizing the soundtrack.

But then one fateful day, we got the mail! Well we get the mail almost everyday, but on this fateful day there happened to be a flyer inviting us to come watch a musical version of Jane Eyre! My Dad almost threw the flyer out but my sister Rachel convinced my father to save it and show it to Mom.

Once we established that it WAS the same musical that we were so in love with Mom secured tickets and I got work off!

And today, Rachel, Natalie, Mom and I drove to Seattle to watch this play!

My Lovely Mother in the Drivers seat

Natalie and Mom walking the Streets of Seattle

We then stopped for lunch at the Cafe in the theatre. It was DELICIOUS!! Such good food!

I had wedding soup

and an English Chicken Mushroom Pie. I don't like mushrooms but I ate around them and enjoyed the authentic European Dish

Mom had Berry Pie

And Soup and Salad

And Poor Natalie had no food at all :(

Actually she did get food eventually but for a few minutes we were worried that she had been forgotten about.

We completely cleared our plates and bowls! It was seriously delicious food!

Then we watched the play! This is what the theatre looked like before the show began. We were up in the balcony looking down on the actors.

Overall the show was awesome! I loved the music and the acting. Mr. Rochester was a little bit too passionate for me (but then again he's marrying Jane not me, so I don't have to worry about it :)