Gilbert and Sullivan at the Atlanta Lyric Theatre

The Atlanta Lyric Theatre (which used to be the Southeastern Savoyards) is doing HMS Pinafore this weekend. I went last night with my brother and older niece--sister-in-law was supervising younger niece's sleep-over.

( Wonderful voices )

( Don't get too picky about nautical sets )

What remains a huge negative for the Lyric's performances is the sound system at the Ferst Center. The whole evening was over loud and "flat", and one mike had noticeable distortion--anytime people were singing or speaking on the far right of the stage, that mike picked them up. I'm sure that not everyone in the cast could have projected well enough to be heard, but I dearly wish I could hear Ralph and Josephine sing without that @!#$@! sound system in the way.

Castle cake underway

Ever since I saw celticdragonfly's post on her castle cake last June, I have lusted after a castle Bundt pan. I finally broke down and ordered one, and with very little effort convinced younger niece that she needs a castle cake for her birthday party tomorrow.

There were a few challenges. New cake pan, of a size that doesn't quite match a classic Bundt pan or a 10" tube pan. Might be designed to be the capacity of a "standard" 2-layer cake. And then there's the niece's Type 1 diabetes, diagnosed just before Christmas. Oh, and the cake must be chocolate.

( Cake recipe, baking, and partial decoration )

I'll take pictures of the completed cake at the party tomorrow. I just wish I had a tabletop grape trebuchet to complete the presentation, like celticdragonfly and selenite!