Day 24 - See a Traveling Broadway Show

Date: January 30th, 2010

One of the neat things about growing up in Connecticut was just how close we were to New York City.  That made seeing a Broadway show no big thang.  That might be an exaggeration.  It was definitely a treat to go see a show.  A big part of the experience was the trip though.  We'd take the train into the city, get dinner at a semi-fancy New York restaurant (I call them eatin' parlors), walk around and look at the lights, and then hit up the theater.  I think the best part for me was getting dressed up all fancy for it.  I was never a big girly girl, but it really did feel special to put on beautiful clothes and go see a play.

So much of the experience was wrapped up in the New York City aspect of it.  To be completely honest, I don't actually remember much about the shows I saw.  I remember loving Showboat, crying like a baby at Les Miserables, and being annoyed at the cats... in Cats.  Other than that, the shows are somewhat of a blur.  I wanted to see a show of Broadway quality without being blinded by those bright, beautiful lights, so I started looking for a Broadway style play outside of Broadway.

 

Look what I found.

I'm going to change the subject completely for a few minutes to tell you about my family and  my childhood.  Its important.  Pay attention.  See, in my family people collect things.  Its makes Christmas and birthdays so incredibly easy if you're in a pinch.  Let's say it's December 24th.  Christmas is tomorrow.  Oh man guys, I can't think of anything for my mom.  What am I gonna do?  Oh, that's right, she collects frogs.  To the Hallmark, stat!

My whole immediate family has a collection too - its not just my mom.  Her's really is frogs, mine is bears, and my gramma's is Charles Dickens memorabilia.  My dad's collection is the reason for this entry.  See, he collects Oz and L. Frank Baum memorabilia.  Most people don't know that there are dozens of books in the Wizard of Oz series.  It is actually one of the longest running, most detailed, most rewritten fantasy series in modern history.

 

If you don't know Ozma, you're dead to me.

My dad's collection had a huge impact on my life when I was growing up.  I credit it (and him, of course) with how fast I can read now that I'm all growed up.  Every night, for 11 years, my dad would read me a chapter from the Oz books before bed.  When I was a baby, he would trace his finger along the page with each word he read so I could see what he was saying.  Just so you understand - we read a chapter a night for 11 years and we did not finish the series.  That is how many books have been written about Oz.

The Wizard of Oz was also the first play I had a major role in.  When we lived in Connecticut we found out about a traveling children's theater group called Missoula Children's Theatre.  They went around the country hosting fully professional shows for children.  They retained a couple narration roles to make it easier for the kids to memorize their lines, but essentially it was a full and complete play with sets and costumes and everything.  I was cast as the Cowardly Lion in their version of the Wizard of Oz.  We all know it was mostly about the hair.  My blond, untamed locks cannot be contained.

In any case, the story of the Wizard of Oz has been a major part of my life, thanks to my dad's collection (and his awesomeness, but that's a different story for a different day).  About a week ago I discovered two things.  The first was that the Houghton Lake Chamber of Commerce does not respond to e-mail inquiries regarding pre-registration for their yearly polar bear swim.  The second was that the traveling Broadway production of the Wizard of Oz would be stopping in Detroit for two weeks.

 

I'm comfortable with my decision.

I'd never seen a traveling Broadway show and I'd never been to Fisher Theater so it seemed like beautiful kismet that the Wizard of Oz was coming to Detroit.  That being said, it didn't seem right to go see it without my dad, since his nightly chapter-reading so deeply defined how I grew up.  So, I bought myself a four-pack o' tickets and we headed out to the show.

 

Pictured: My date for the evening.  Hi Gramma!

It was incredibly well done.  The performance was fantastic, though that's not surprising given the caliber of acting, singing and dancing it takes to get to that level.  I think my favorite aspect of the show was one song they put back into it that had been cut from the movie.  The number is called The Jitterbug, it was really cool and I would highly recommend clicking that link cause I found a version of it sung by Eartha Kit (which is just amazingly random and cool).

It was a great show and its going to be at the Fisher Theater until February 14th.  This is my personal stamp of approval and recommendation for that show.  Go to it.  Watch it.  Be amazed and delighted.  Also, and most importantly, Toto was a real, live, incredibly well trained puppy.  You know you love it.  He stole the show, but I feel like that was inevitable.  A live puppy, running around the stage.  I mean, there are very few things in the world that don't lose out to that sickening level of cuteness.  So... go see the cute puppy.  You'll love it.