A group of us went to a play last night. Our town has a
summer repertory theatre festival each year.
There were two actors new to the festival playing the lead characters –
and they did an amazing job. This experience
led me to reflect on theatre I’ve attended over the years, and I realized I
seek stage plays wherever I travel. I do love live performances.
I can’t recall the first play I attended. I suspect it was
in high school when the arts high school held their annual musical theatre
productions. I do recall that the first time I mounted a play was in grade 8. As
a group, we were to present a book report of sorts. Our group chose to write a
stage play (adapted from the book) and my major role was as writer and
director. It was not something that would ever win a prize, but it was a lot of
fun.
Everywhere I’ve lived I’ve attended local theatre
productions. It is amazing how much untapped talent there is in a small
community. When I lived in larger centres, I was a regular at theatre. In
Winnipeg, we went to Rainbow Stage musicals every summer. As part of a research
project I was working with, I received a ticket to see The Ecstasy of Rita Joe
when it played MTC. Amazing and powerful.
Living in Toronto opened a whole world of plays. Sadly during this year
I had very little income as I was still a student. I did see a few things,
though and was able to immerse myself in ballet as a story-telling medium. In
Saskatoon and Regina, I experienced many wonderful musicals – Evita, Phantom of
the Opera, Anne of Green Gables, Camelot, and Grease to name a few. There were
some wonderful actors appearing in these plays including Peter Davison, Adrien
Zmed, Micky Dolenz, and Don Harron.
Living in Atlantic Canada, I’ve gone to Charlottetown Festival to see
Anne of Green Gables and last summer the new musical Evangeline (amazing). In
Halifax, I saw the one-man play, Dream a Little Dream, with Denny Doherty.
When travelling for meetings and vacation I always check to
see what is playing where I’m headed. At Toronto meetings I’ve made side trips
to see The Wizard of Oz, Miss Saigon, Rent and other amazing plays – seeing Lea
Salonga and even Patrick MacNee (not a musical <smile>. In New York, we went to see Mephis -- and there are many more trips needed to see all the amazing plays and musicals there <g>. In Chicago a group of cohorts at an
international conference went to see Menopause: The Musical – 90 minutes of uncontrollable
laughter <g>. In London I’ve seen The Mousetrap at St. Martin’s Theatre (a
highlight for this Agatha Christie fan) and last year the highlight – The Audience
with Helen Mirren – stunning.
So – from this it appears that I love theatre more than I’d
actually realized <smile>. Needless to say, I do have plans to see more and make trips just to do that. Today’s
selection deals with those working in this genre. Enjoy!
Why? -- Raul Esperanza
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