Talk of the Town: Cruise fun with Don! Go hear Ashley! Sign up for improv classes!

Happy July 4th, all you loyal readers! Let’s celebrate our day with patriotic cheers.

I’m sleeping in until 5 a.m. and that’s celebration for me!

More cruise updates:

Dr. Donald Behnke, Green Valley News opera critic, and his wife Ruth, recently cruised the North Atlantic, stopping in Barcelona to hear Benjamin Britten’s opera “Death in Venice.”

After a week at sea and a visit to Bermuda, they set sail for the Azores and Madeira on the way to the Spanish coast.

As Donald reports:

Land Ho! Mariners over the centuries have waited longingly for those wonderful words, and our appreciation for them increased 100fold after four days at sea on the Seven Seas cruise ship Voyager.

The days have been leisurely and fun, filled with lectures about the two Portuguese islands we have visited, about Portugal’s maritime history, walking on the upper deck, celebrations of Cinco de Mayo, more cabaret music by the Mabel Mercer Society, the casino, the gym and spa and, of course, plenty of partying and eating.

The unique location of the Azores has made them stopping off points for ships ever since they were accidentally discovered by Portuguese sailors in 1427.

They lie at about the latitude of Washington, D.C., some 1,100 miles to the east. Some claim even Christopher Columbus stopped by on his way back from the New World, and since the first inhabitants arrived in 1466, that seems a real possibility.

Judging from the yachts in the harbor at Horta, the traditions of R&R plus putting aboard fresh provisions continue as principal reasons for visiting the Azores today.

To the cruise ship visitor, there are high volcanos to visit and roads teeming with hydrangeas.

The beautifully green terraced hills are home to agriculture and cattle raising which share tuna fishing as the major occupations of the populace.

There are Jeep safaris off-road, coach tours of the island and whale and dolphin watching.

With few beaches and no large-scale resorts, the Azores are mercifully free of mass tourism. Life is wonderfully civil, calm and unhurried.

The wonderful old British music hall ditty “Have Some Madeira, M’Dear” epitomizes the product for which this island is best known - Madeira wines, fortified with brandy to bring up the alcoholic content.

History records the drinking of Madeira in the Colonies by Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin and the product figures in a number of novels by writers such as Charles Dickens.

There are four types of Madeira still produced on the island - dry, medium dry, medium sweet and malmsey, the very sweet.

We sampled them at the Wine Lodge in the main city of Funchal and found them, as the Brits would say, “very pleasant, indeed.”

Contrasted with the Azores, Madeira projects a much more tourist atmosphere with casinos and the venerable Reid’s Palace Hotel, elegantly serving mostly European and British guests since 1891.

A complete list of their famous guests runs from Winston and Clementine Churchill to Noel Coward, Roger Moore and Gregory Peck plus a passel of princes and other European royalty. Sample the Reid Palace’s version of the famous, delicious and only slightly decadent Madeira cake.

This one was a light pound cake flavored with honey, but there are other moist, heavier versions with cherries and nuts.

A number of picturesque villages can be visited around the island, and the port city of Funchal has museums, a cathedral, nice shops and other attractions that easily fill the day off the cruise ship. Plus you can “Have some Madeira, M’Dear; it’s so much better than beer.”

One more time change and we are on the Spanish coast for visits to Malaga, Valencia and finally Barcelona. Hasta luego.

Donald.behnke@yahoo.com

Beth Shalom Temple Center, 1750 Rio Mayo, is proud to host a Summer Serenade and Barbecue on Saturday, July 12, starting at 3 p.m. in the social hall.

The event will feature Ashley Hutzel, a sensational musician and singer with tastes ranging from Patsy Cline, the Beatles, the Beachboys, to Elvis Presley and Mariah Carey.

The public is invited. Each paid reservation of $20 offers a chance to win a fabulous door prize.

Checks should be made payable to: Beth Shalom Temple Center and mailed no later than July 6 to: Beth Shalom Temple Center, P.O. Box 884, Green Valley, Az. 85622-0884. Please be sure to mark “ serenade” on your envelope.

Ashley, a 2006 graduate of Rio Rico High School, currently resides in Tucson. Throughout school she participated in many diverse activities which enhanced her abilities to perform. Her participation in choir and concert band honed her musical skills.

She was the official national anthem singer for her high school for several years.

Ashley attended “American Idol” auditions in San Francisco in 2004 and Denver in 2005.

With her keyboard, sax, guitar, and powerful voice she began her solo career in 2006 performing in Nogales.

She entertained admiring crowds for quite some time at the Esplendor at Rio Rico resort before heading north to Tubac, where she has totally wowed crowds at Dos Silos, Cowgirl Ugly, Manos Gallery, Melio’s, Old Tubac Inn, Tubac Festival of the Arts, and is now a regular at the Presidio Cafe.

Princess Cruise Lines has hired Ashley to perform on board for six months beginning in August, so let’s go see her before she departs for other waters.

This is so cool! And it’s free!! A four-week Teen Improv Theatre Class is starting Tuesday, July 8 at the Joyner-Green Valley Library, 601 N. La Canada Dr. from 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. in the conference room. Classes continue at the same time Tuesdays, July 15, 22 and 29.

The class is for teens interested in a fun way to learn drama skills and will feature a series of interactive games, focusing on developing character and scene structures.

Most of all, there will be laughter. Lead by DD Jay, actress, producer, director and founder of FoxPaws Improv Troupe, the classes are free, but enrollment is limited. Call DD at 777-4478. DD will also be compiling a list of adults interested in improv. I’ve worked with this director and she is good.

I’ll be signing up, too. I’m also going to stop by at her class July 8 and see the teens in improv action.

rford@gvnews.com | 547-9740