Two opportunities to celebrate Valentine’s Day…Laguna style
By MARRIE STONE
Love it, hate it, dread it or look forward to it…Valentine’s Day is upon us again. Leave it to Laguna to have the right attitude about it, turning a Hallmark holiday into a hilarious, irreverent and sometimes silly event.
If you’re looking for the right place to take your date – even if your date is some stranger from Tinder, your sister or your dad – there are two fun, funny and unconventional choices in town next week.
On Thursday, Feb. 13, Third Street Writers (TSW) will do a reading at Laguna Beach Books. “Love Out Loud” promises over a dozen humorous, ugly, romantic and sad stories about love in all its messy and diverse forms.
“Love takes many shapes,” said TSW President Theresa Keegan. “I think attendees will be laughing, maybe shedding a tear or two, or even hearing stories of regret. More importantly, they’ll be connecting with each other through the stories we’ll be sharing.”
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Photo by Mary Hurlbut
The Third Street Writers (TSW) on stage at a reading last summer. Next week, they’ll read love-inspired stories at Laguna Beach Books for Valentine’s Day on Thursday, Feb. 13 at 6 p.m.
On Saturday and Sunday, Feb. 15 and 16, No Square Theatre offers their annual Valentine’s musical. I Love You Like a Table delivers 30 popular songs sung by 10 performers about the messiness, chaos but undeniable human need for this crazy little thing called love. From musicals like Waitress and The Wedding Singer to The Wild Party and Company, the show represents every type of love and the emotional ride of falling in – and out – of it.
“This show is all about the different forms of love and what happens when they go wrong,” said Braxton McGrath. “I Love You Like a Table is gonna be all about the quirks, the struggles and the journey of trying to find love in the strangest places. Aren’t we all just looking for a little love in our lives, and who hasn’t had the experience of that not working out?!”
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Courtesy of No Square Theatre
Benne Spotts and Braxton McGrath perform in this year’s (almost) annual Valentine’s Day concert, “I Love You Like a Table,” on stage Saturday and Sunday, Feb. 15 and 16 at 7 p.m.
We caught up with a few writers and cast members from each of these events to probe inside their own love lives. We found out their favorite dates, their worst dates and their best relationship advice.
Best Dates
Amy Dechary (current board member and former president of TSW): My best date was my first date with my husband when we were freshmen in college (32 years ago). We had dinner at Ruby Tuesday and saw The Last of the Mohicans starring Daniel Day Lewis. I felt like we had known each other forever even though we had just met.
Suzanne Spinelli (member of TSW): A fabulous lunch with my current partner in a pub in the UK where they filmed some scenes for the movie The Holiday, one of my favorite movies.
Steve Fayne (member of TSW): When I met my wife, I took her to a hotel Downtown because they had a nice bar. She went to the ladies’ room and there was a power outage. The lights went out, she ran back into the room and hopped in my lap. We’ve been together ever since.
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Photo by Mary Hurlbut
Steve Fayne (right), longtime TSW member, will entertain the audience with an inspired-by-true-events story about condoms next week
Marc Marger (director of No Square Theatre’s Valentine’s show and cast member): My best date might also be my worst date. It was my first date with my husband. He took me to a surprise party for a co-worker (and invited) his sister. We ditched the party and grabbed a bite to eat afterwards, just the two of us.
Susan Geiser (No Square Theatre cast member): My first date with my husband in 2010. We were living in Arlington at the time, so we played pool and just walked around the city.
Braxton McGrath (No Square Theatre cast member): One recent favorite is a picnic in the park. Even with so many things not going to plan that night, there was so many fond memories born out of the unexpected twists and turns of the date. All you really need is the right person and an occasional “something unexpected” to make the night truly memorable.
Worst Dates
Dechary: In high school, I briefly dated my friend’s brother. One night, I got home past curfew. He called the house (this was during the days of landlines) to make sure I got home okay and woke up my parents, blowing my cover!
Spinelli: My one and only Match.com date where nothing about him in real life “matched” his profile.
Fayne: I was home for vacation from college and a friend set me up with a girl he described as “exotic.” We were double dating. I went to pick him up and his mother was there. As we were walking out, she whispered to her son, in a voice a little too loud, “What was that?!” She was referring to my date. She’d been sweet on the phone, but her personality just disappeared. It was really a very awkward evening.
Geiser: I went on a blind date to see Snakes on a Plane. The fact that he chose Snakes on a Plane killed it. I don’t remember much else, other than not wanting to be there and leaving promptly when the movie ended.
McGrath: A Tinder date I took to South Coast Plaza a few years back. There were so many things that fell apart and we just weren’t a match in any way, shape or form.
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Courtesy of No Square Theatre
The cast of this year’s No Square Theatre Valentine’s Day concert, “I Love You Like a Table”
Relationship advice
Dechary: HAVE FUN! It’s easy to get buried in the household routine, raising kids, careers, etc. It’s crucial to make time for the things that originally brought you together. Go dancing, take a picnic to the beach, cook a fancy dinner…whatever brings you joy together. (Dechary has been married for 23 years, and with her husband for 32.)
Spinelli: Don’t be afraid to take the leap if it feels right. It took us a few tries but when David and I reconnected after almost 30 years apart, we decided it was now or never. He moved from the UK to the U.S. less than a year after we got back together. (Spinelli has been partnered for 10 years.)
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Photo by Mary Hurlbut
Suzanne Spinelli (left) appears at last summer’s reading. She doesn’t want to reveal too much about next week, but says she hopes true love lasts beyond time.
Fayne: Marriages go up and down. Sometimes when they’re down, partners don’t think it’ll ever get better and that’s the end. We’ve seen a lot of friends get divorced and I don’t know that most of them are much happier afterwards. (Fayne has been married 56 years.)
Marger: Find the fun! With all the stress in life and relationships, savor the fun times. We go to The Cliff, we sit in piano bars. It’s all about having fun together. (Marger has been married 25 years.)
Roxanna Ward (music director for No Square Theatre): You have a choice. You’re either going to be lonely (single) or annoyed married. Take your pick. (Ward is single.)
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Courtesy of No Square Theatre
Music Director Roxanna Ward (right) will provide the musical accompaniment for this year’s show
McGrath: Be yourself. When you find the right person, you want them to love you for who you are. They’ll love the intricacies of what makes you unique: your strengths, shortcomings, quirks, struggles, passions and insecurities. But in the end, you have to choose to lead with that person, flaws and all.
Back to our regularly scheduled programming
Both events offer low-key ways to gather with friends and bond over the universal human experience of heartache, heartbreak, and the agony and ecstasy of falling in love. Mix and mingle over nibbles and drinks at both events; maybe meet someone new and create your own memories next week.
“It’s wonderful to celebrate the written word with a local business,” Keegan said of Laguna Beach Books. “The bookstore is an essential link to the town’s literary community, so celebrating a holiday of love feels like a perfect partnership.”
Keegan is waiting for deadline adrenaline to kick in until she finishes her piece, but there’s no shortage of material.
“I’ve now been married for more than 35 years,” she said. “If I use stories from my personal relationship, it will either be very funny or likely involve a murder. Hopefully it’s the former.”
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Photo by Mary Hurlbut
(L-R) Ellen Girardeau Kempler, Theresa Keegan (president), John Tynan (vice president), Amy Francis Dechary, Miranda McPhee and Jennifer Griffiths
“Love Out Loud” will take place on Thursday, Feb. 13 at 6 p.m. at Laguna Beach Books. To register, visit their website here. Note readings are limited to three minutes and include original poems, short stories or essays.
“I Love You Like a Table” happens on Saturday and Sunday, Feb. 15 and 16 at 7 p.m. on the No Square Theatre stage located at 384 Legion St. Tickets are $21.50 and can be purchased here.
