...But taking New York out of the girl is going to take some time.
I (along with my friend, Christy and Christy's mom) journeyed to the local community theatre (The Firehouse Center for the Performing Arts) this past Friday night to see Forbidden Newburyport, Newburyport's own version of Forbidden Broadway. It was a really cute show and about half the cast were surprisingly good performers bbbbbuuuuuut... that being said... As a 35+ year stage veteran, I couldn't stop myself from being overly critical of the other half of the cast. It's a terrible habit that I got into while living in New York and one that I'm going to have to try to break myself from doing. I spent half the time laughing at the material and the other half picking apart their subpar performances. Clearly, these performers were on stage for the sheer joy of performing and not to advance their career (which is a refreshing change from NYC non-Broadway theatre). Although I think many of the performers were very good donors to the theatre. Oops, there I go again.
For the most part, I had a really enjoyable night and found the show to be an entertaining way to learn about my new town, which apparently has dog poo issues (really, dog owners pick up your dog's deposits)! There were two moments that really stuck with me: the first was a ballad about the reeking local landfill (sung to the tune "Maria" from West Side Story) (hilarious!) and the four octogenarians performing a tap dance routine which really inspired me to want to return to dance class. And perhaps very soon, visitors to and residents of the Port may see my return to the stage - after a mere 6 year hiatus.
Fingers crossed.
2 comments:
This is so funny. I can totally relate as El Paso is 30 years behind the times. They have a local theatre that they restored which is pretty much the only venue for plays and entertainment (small scale). It is nice and well restored but by no means is it Broadway caliber. When Mamma Mia played, I found myself saying, "Why would I see it here when I already saw it on Broadway?" Same for Cats and other shows. We saw Beatles Rain there and it was nowhere near as good as the original Beatlemania which I saw three times on Broadway. Not to mention that I saw Cats on Broadway more than 20years ago! So now they all think I am a snob. Oh well, I guess I am.
I was hoping that you would involve yourself with the local theatre and get back into performing. Maybe even direct some shows, write a play? Sounds like that sleepy little town needs a shot of cousin Sandi to nudge it into a new direction. This could be a great opportunity.
Go get em' and break a leg!
Cousin Marianne
"Yes! Live! Life's a banquet and most poor suckers are starving to death!" - Auntie Mame
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