Parades and picnics, festivals and fireworks: The 4th of July season is upon us.

Columbus' Red, White and Boom on July 3rd drew over half a million people last year. Many of them arrived hours before the fireworks, making "camp," visiting the vendors, chatting and picnicking. If you don't feel like driving into that kind of crowd, take the bus; COTA has special buses scheduled.

And Columbus' sparkling display isn't the only game in town. Many Central Ohio communities have festivals and fireworks on July 4th -- check this Columbus Dispatch article for a complete listing.

A friend and I picnicked at Schiller Park and watched The Three Musketeers the other night. The play touched on some of the darker parts of Alexander Dumas' novel, but it is a mostly fun-filled performance. It has athletic fights and bright-eyed (and touchy) youth. And the Cardinal conveyed a world of restrained creepiness in his "Ouch" when the Queen slapped him.

The addition to the story of Sabine as D'artagnan's sister worked well, particularly for the ending. I'm not a big fan of changing art to meet current sensibilities. So, when I first heard about the Sabine character, I thought, "They did that just because there are no strong good female characters." (The female villain -- Milady -- is a very strong character, and well-played in this production.) But the character of Sabine fits. She stays true to the time period of the play. There were adventurous girls, and they would have to disguise themselves. She didn't sound like a 21st-century woman.

But, unfortunately, there are moments when 21st-Century ideals invade the play for no artistic reason. That throws me out of the play. The characters leave the world of The Three Musketeers, and become just normal people in costumes. One blatant instance was near the end. Constance, lady-in-waiting to the Queen and D'artagnan's lover, insists on calling Da'artagnan "my best friend."
Milady responds with "You mean your lover."
Constance insists, "No, my best friend."

Constance's label is modern, not true to the play or her character. The Queen would have been Constance's "best friend." And no woman of that period would refer to a non-relative male as "best friend." This pandering insults the audience's intelligence and hurts the play.

But that's just a nit-pick. Overall, the play was a fine performance. I can't wait to see the other two plays Actors' Theatre has lined up this summer.

Photo by Carol Ottolenghi

I'm still kind of floored by last night's concert at Value City Center, aka the Schottenstein Center. I've loved both groups for decades, but never saw them together before. I was ready for great harmonies and complex horn improv. What caught me off guard was the raw energy -- the joyous energy -- that poured off the stage when the groups played together at the beginning and end of the concert.

When Earth, Wind and Fire took the stage solo, they kept that energy going with Maurice White's visionary fusion of funk, jazz and R & B. Fun choreography mixed Temptations-style dance steps with jump kicks and a touch of flash. Phil Bailey's voice is still seductive after all these years. And you could tell that Verdine White coaxed and spanked those tonal belly laughs out his bass for us, letting the audience share his pleasure in playing. Killer elegance with depth and substance.

It's a shame that Chicago came after EWF. I might have raved about their set...If I hadn't been soaring already from EWF's performance. Chicago performed credibly, but they lacked EWF's stagecraft, polish and vocal depth. I can't believe I'm saying that about Chicago! The performance lineup should have been flipped, with Chicago playing solo first.

But the best part of the night was when the bands played together. Their joint singing highlighted the tour's purpose: To raise money to fight hunger in the U.S. They've recorded three songs together to continue this fight. People can get the tracks by donating to the cause at Chicago's website. Incredible music; worthwhile cause.

I haven't driven 315 for a while, and I'd forgotten all about the construction project. Make that CONSTRUCTION PROJECT.
The Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) started 315's much-needed rehab this week. The project stretches north from I-670 downtown, past the OSU campus to North Broadway. All traffic -- north and south -- is using what used to be the southbound only lanes. This means that northbound exits from I-670 and other roads are closed.

Note: This is now a 45 mile-per-hour zone, and it will be patrolled heavily.

ODOT posts the latest updates on this and other projects at Paving the Way.