Loving Live Theater: Part I

From high school plays to Broadway and off-Broadway events, I enjoy going to watch these productions.

Years ago, while in high school, I was involved backstage in the makeup department for our productions. I remember the guys not wanting makeup! Ever try putting mascara on a guy? Good times! Especially when trying to assist them with their ‘coloring’ for West Side Story! I also remember going to Park Avenue with our advisor to purchase greasepaint for the shows. I never really wanted to be on stage, but loved being back stage!

Later on, I won tickets to see The Phantom of the Opera in Toronto. That was exciting! And definitely got me hooked on ‘the big stage’ shows. I made a few trips to Toronto from Rochester, New York over the years to see shows, enjoying the experience of each of them. I’ve probably seen Phantom a dozen times since, in many different locations, loving each production.

A trip to NYC for my daughter’s audition for a regional theater production, offered the opportunity to purchase TKTS for Les Miserables. Great seats and a another great production, using a revolving stage. Again, I love the ‘workings’ of live theater. The revolving stage worked well for this performance. I’ve probably seen Les Mis at least a half dozen times in many locations from high school performers to traveling theater troupes.

A later trip to NYC with a co-worker had us looking for something to do besides work while we were there. I did some research and found an off-Broadway show, called Menopause the Musical. This show has since moved up to be an ON Broadway show as well as being shown in many cities. Love this show and have also seen it multiple times. You’ll laugh til ya leak!

My love of live theater found me purchasing season tickets for the Rochester Broadway Theater League, where I had an excellent seat and enjoyed many shows.

While living in Las Vegas, I was able to enjoy many live shows and performances with my daughter, Karen. I sure do miss those days! I enjoyed writing about those shows in my now closed Las Vegas Show Stoppers group page on Facebook. Between Karen’s ‘plus 1’ invitations and my HouseSeats membership, we were very busy theater goers! See my other blog post about Loving Live Theater Part II: Vegas Style (coming soon!).

I’ve also been in the audience for a few Cirque du Soliel performances in Las Vegas, Orlando and Washington, D.C. area. Definitely a 3-ring circus trying to catch all the acts and watch all the actors do their amazing acrobatics.

We even enjoy (usually) live theater when we are on a cruise. You can usually find us in the ship’s theater after dinner for their nightly show offering. Usually a small troupe consisting of a couple lead singers and a handful of dancers, they put on several types of shows from variety to iconic and more.

I still have many of my original Playbills from the performances I’ve attended; below is a sampling. You might wonder what Twilight Tattoo is. It’s not a stage production but an actual live re-enactment performed by soldiers in the U.S. Army. What a great experience! If ever in the Washington, D.C. area and you can attend a performance, you will not be sorry! It actually sent chills through me as they represented different eras of battle to music.

It’s been a bit of a dry spell, theater-wise lately. But I have great memories of all the wonderful shows I’ve been privileged to watch.

“The life you have led doesn’t need to be the only life you have.”
– Anna Quindlen