Two Much Theater for One Day

Instead of our usual family dinner in celebration of my parents' anniversary, I suggested something different to my Brother: seeing a show, like we did when we were kids. I'd check the local theaters and found a touring production of Hairspray at the OC Performing Arts Center. My Brother liked the idea, though perhaps a bit reluctantly, but I'm sure his wife convinced him. I imagine when he told her my idea, she shouted "Of Course!" before he could finish talking.

We all gathered yesterday afternoon for the matinée performance, and after checking out some hearing assistance for my Dad, we found our seats in the first tier, centered almost perfectly with the stage, and settled in for the next 2h30m of singing, dancing, drag queens and high hair.

I need to assure myself that I picked the right show, everyone's having a good time, no one feels bored, etc., so I ask over and over if my Dad's having any problems with his headphones, or if the seats are okay because they're a bit higher than I would have liked. If my Dad's smiles as we headed for dinner afterward were any indication, I think he enjoyed the show. I know my Mom did; she and my Sister-in-Law talked about the music and the fashions, how they reminded her of what she used to wear in college around that time. Even my Brother seemed to have a good time. When Caesar asked how he was during the intermission, he kept saying that the music was good, the music was good. I worry about these things....

With our FiOS still out and not really feeling the urge to hurry home, Caesar mentioned the latest show from our favorite comedy troupe -- The Troubies -- at the Carpenter Center. "Do you still want to see it?" Heck yeah! "Well, since we have nothing else to do, we could always stop by the theater to see if they still have tickets for tonight's show...." Two shows in one day? Really?? "Why not?"

I veered the car toward the theater rather than home, and sure enough, they still had some tickets. So we caught their production of Oedipus the King, Mama!. We laughed until we cried as they attacked Socrates's play, infusing the tale of murder, incest and lies with the familiar sounds of Elvis. They threw in quite a bit of improvisation, gauging jokes by audience reaction and commenting on it, jumping (and one time falling) off stage to involve the audience. James Snyder, who played Cry-Baby Walker on the Broadway stage, even reprised his role as the Young Oedipus. But the best part was their tribute to Michael Jackson as the encore. Because Elvis' daughter married the King of Pop so they had to perform some kind of tribute. When they all began singing and dancing to Beat It -- complete with sparkly white gloves -- the audience erupted into thunderous laughter and applause.

Tired and spent from a hard day of sitting in theaters and laughing too hard, I would say it was a very successful day. I think our theater craving has been filled. For the time being, anyway.