Hello, piglets. You know that I spend a lot of time here on this blog extolling the many merits of live theatre. Well, today I am going to talk about one of its disadvantages.
Live theatre is fleeting.
You can't rent it on DVD later if you miss it. Even if you could, it would merely be a cheap imitation, capturing only a fraction of the true live experience. When a show closes, it is gone forever, except in the hearts and minds of those who were fortunate enough to see it while it was running. This is a fact that I lament weekly, because, for as many shows as I see, there are plenty that I miss as well.
I am glad not to have missed Town Hall Arts Center's My Fair Lady. David Ambroson is ever-brilliant in this, his fourth interpretation of the iconic Henry Higgins. Sara Seever will steal your heart as Eliza Doolittle, so just brace yourself for it, and, to quote the two teenage girls sitting behind me, Chris Boeckx is "so adorable" as Freddy. Director Chris Willard's take on the show is inspired and refreshing. If you've seen other productions of this show, you've not seen it like this. There are precious few opportunities left to catch My Fair Lady as it closes June 24th, and the actors all go on to their next projects. (David Ambroson gets furry in Front Range Community Theatre's Beauty and the Beast, and Chris Boeckx heads over to the Avenue for I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change.) Fleeting.
Performance Now's Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat runs for a scant two weekends. It opens and closes inside of ten days. I know many of the talented performers in the show, so I am already certain of just how entertaining and moving this show is without even having seen it yet. (I'm going tonight.) However, if you want evidence, check out the media blitz surrounding this Joseph, starting with John Moore's opening-night review. Blink, and you could miss this show. And you do not want to miss this show.
Spotlight Theatre Company's Run For Your Wife has also received some great press of late, and not just from me. Here's John Moore's review. Run For Your Wife has been selling out so frequently that they have now added a performance on Thursday, June 28th. Something that makes this production somewhat unique is that, after Wife closes on June 30th, most of the cast will re-unite two weeks later to present the sequel, Caught In the Net. Now, can you enjoy the sequel without having seen the original? Of course you can. But if you hustle, you won't have to, will you?
Theatre is a living, breathing thing. It cannot be adequately captured or archived. To rely upon a description of it is akin to the tale of the blind men trying to describe an elephant. Live theatre must be experience to be enjoyed, and above are three shows that cannot be experienced for too much longer.
Support local theatre, and share it with friends and family.
No comments:
Post a Comment