For the last, oh, several years I’ve been dealing with issues with my finances. The sign company was never profitable and closed, real estate sucked, and i took a mediocre paying job that just lets me get by. All through that I’ve been very fortunate that I still have my car, I still have my iPhone, and I still have my cable TV. I was and am not poverty stricken but, I did stop spending money on things that I enjoyed doing. Movies have become a luxury. Going out to eat at nice restaurants stopped ages ago (unless someone else was paying). And the theater, well, I haven’t seen a live show in years until tonight. Who can justify a $40 theater ticket when there’s car insurance to pay and gas to put in the car.
There are two shows currently playing in Phoenix that I was dying to see. I love my musical theater cds and there are a few I’ve owned for a few years that I enjoy listening to. One is called ‘[title of show]‘. It’s a musical about two guys writing a musical about writing a musical. Gay. I know. Let it go. I’ve listened to the album many, many times and though the whole show is great there are two or three classic, knock-your-socks-off songs. I’ve thought about getting tickets but the opportunity and the finances have not really presented themselves.
Tonight, I was driving home from work looking towards another night of rerun TV until Project Runway came on and I decided, “I’m going to do something for myself tonight!” I called the Arizona Theater Company and found that they had lots of available seats tonight (don’t get me started on the sad taste of Phoenix theater goers) so I pointed myself towards central Phoenix. I parked my car and walked over to the Herberger and bought my ticket for tonight’s show. I happen to have the soundtrack to ‘[title of show]‘ on my iPhone, so I plugged in my headset and took a long walk around the Convention Center and central Phoenix.
I love being downtown. I love the buildings and the people and the activity and the charm of Phoenix. I wandered a little and ended up back at the theater about half an hour before curtain time. I took my seat early – one single seat, dead center, second row of the balcony. Score! There was a pre-show discussion by the stage manager which was quite interesting about how the show came to be and how it came to play in Phoenix – this is the first city the show has played since it ended it’s Broadway run. People slowly filtered into the theater and by curtain time, there was almost no one sitting around me – no one in front of me, no one on either side. I felt like this was my personal performance of the show.
Initially, I was a little concerned about going to the theater alone but when the lights went down and I was alone, with the cast and the music, I was in heaven. The show was stellar – the music great, the cast, amazing, the story funny and cute with lots of insider theater jokes. I got some and I’m sure I missed some but I don’t care. I was in heaven. It’s been so long since I’ve done something for myself and by myself that truly moved me and touched me that by the next to last number of the show I was tears. No one was sitting near me but I still sniffled quietly to myself, hiding my tears from anyone who might notice. I’d forgotten how much I love going to the theater, how much I love a good musical. And more importantly, seeing the whole show, as it was created by creative minds from sets, to costumes, to staging that you can’t even being to imaging from just listening to the soundtrack album.
There are certain things in life that totally turn me on – doing the Sunday New York Times Crossword Puzzle on Sunday (and finishing it), a great musical theater performance, seeing a show for the first time whose music I know my heart, great use of the English language (see authors Michael Chabon and early Richard Russo), watching the sun set while sitting on a beach chair at the back of a cruise ship and being dressed up in a fancy restaurant with good friends and finishing the evening off with a snifter of Grand Marnier. When life becomes a struggle, its hard to remember to appreciate the little things that turn you on. I often forget to leave the struggle, even for a few minutes, and appreciate those things that provide true enjoyment. Tonight, I enjoyed my theatrical experience. And I’m home early enough to watch Project Runway. How much better does life get on a random Thursday night?
Thanks for reading!
Peace.
My blog
Feb 252010
