While theatre is my current main obsession, it's not my only obsession. I also love books and Disney World. All three are similar because whether you see a show, read a book, or go to Disney World, you are taken to another place. For a brief moment, the real world doesn't exist. I think we can all use a break from the real world sometimes.
Last weekend, we buried my uncle. He had been sick a while, but death is always sudden. Fortunately, I saw some light theatre to take my mind of things.
On Friday night, I saw Charley's Aunt at the Roxy Regional Theatre in Clarksville. It's a British comedic play about mistaken identity. It's about two college friends who are in love with two women. Both want to propose, but the girls are about to go to Scotland for the summer. One of the guys, Charley, receives a telegram from his aunt whom he's never met but who has been paying for his school, saying she is visiting. The guys use the excuse of meeting his aunt (who will chaperone) to invite the girls over for lunch. Only the aunt is running late. So they get their buddy to dress up as the aunt, and hilarity ensues. Well, not so much hilarity as small chuckles. It was cute. I wasn't crying from laughing. Cute actually is the best description for most of the other things I saw.
Saturday after the funeral, I saw Zombie Prom: Atomic Edition at Street Theatre Company. It was part of their Class Act division made up of teens. It tells the story of good-girl Toffee (all the girls have food names) who falls in love with bad-boy Jonny (no H) - a kid from the wrong side of the tracks and no family to speak of. He dares to question the rigid authority, and that's the only thing that makes him bad. After a few months of dating, Toffee's parents forbid their love, sending Jonny to ride his motorcycle into the nuclear power plant. But two weeks later, after being buried at sea, he returns as a zombie. This musical was silly and fun. I had seen the leads in May in the Class Act production of Spring Awakening, and they are really talented.
Sunday, I went to see Newsies, which I had never seen before, but good lord, every local theatre is doing or has done it in the past year. (Along with Mamma Mia, which I'll be seeing in August.) Newsies was put on by a group called Audience of One in Lebanon. I had never seen anything with them, and I went in with zero expectations. I actually thought it was another teen group, but I was wrong. And hot damn - they were amazing. Of course it's dance heavy, and I think it could go wrong in so many ways. But the cast was phenomenal.
Then this week, I worked the weekend. That means I didn't have as much time to see shows, but I did see one. Pipeline Collective put on a play called The World Over - a hero's journey that showed all but one actor playing multiple characters. The main character, Adam, is found on a deserted island and goes on a quest to find his country which is believed to just be a fairytale. He goes through traditional trials and meets a multitude of people along the way. Throughout the stories, historians pop up with maps and found bits to show us "proof" of his journey. With the multiple (crazy) characters and outlandish accents, it was very Monty Python. The entire cast was incredibly talented, and I'll admit that I got a little teary at the end.
Next weekend I'll be seeing a handful of shows, and the following weekend I'm back to New York to see The Cher Show before it closes. (Yes, I am literally going for the weekend just to see The Cher Show. But I'll see at least 2 others while I'm there.)
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