Venetia Araminta Cassandra Dawlish Graham Darling always prefers to going to The Theatre as opposed to The Cinema. We are often treated to our heroine going to see stage productions of current (to her) musicals. It's always musicals. Cats, The Phantom of the Opera and let's not forget the classic Starlight Express. Boy did La Neels have a thing for Andrew Lloyd Webber music.I too occasionally enjoy stage productions of musicals - I've gone to several over the past few years... The production values v
ary widely, talent - ditto, but there's one thing I know I can count on. It won't set me back more than $8 a ticket. Dr. van der Stevejinck and I go to the biggest cultural event of the year here in our small town...the high school musicals (I'm sort of kidding...but not completely).
ary widely, talent - ditto, but there's one thing I know I can count on. It won't set me back more than $8 a ticket. Dr. van der Stevejinck and I go to the biggest cultural event of the year here in our small town...the high school musicals (I'm sort of kidding...but not completely).We've never been a "drama" family. The closest that we've come to having someone in the show was the year Nathan, husband of The Zombie Bride, ushered for Lil' Abner. He may have gotten extra credit or something. Even though our family members haven't been in the shows, we always seem to know at least a few of the kids that are in them.
Last night we spent three hours voluntarily sitting on high school auditorium chairs so that we could watch this year's production of The Sound of Music. The talent pool this year seemed a bit shallower than usual...with the exception of the von Trapp children - some of them seemed to be able to not only carry a tune, but also to sing in harmony (we Hanna Bettys do not cast stones at those who are musically challenged - those stones would probably turn into boomerangs and come back to smack us in the face).
There is something to be said for live entertainment...what stage productions have you gone to (musicals or otherwise)?
I was in the pit orchestra for 'The Music Man', have enjoyed a touring Les Mis, highschool versions of 'How to Succeed' and 'Guys and Dolls' and a very good university production of 'Brigadoon'. That's all I can think of just now.
ReplyDeleteWe sound great together because we are all off by just the same amount to make it sound almost purposeful. Others would sound off when singing with the Hanna Bettys.
ReplyDeleteBarbara here--
ReplyDeleteWith a mixed comment. Whilst I was in high school I went to my school's spring musicals, of course. And as a young married lady living near Washington DC in the early/mid 1970's (yes, I know, the veritable Dark Ages) I went to a number of touring shows at the National (and other) theaters (and no, I've never actually seen a musical on Broadway).
But my most infamous musical moment is from my youth. I was a child growing up in Hawaii (yeah I know--a tough life!) and I wanted to join my parish's youth choir. And a Genuine Member of the Von Trapp Family was going to direct said choir. And she (Hedwig, a child of Maria and the Captain) told me my voice was so bad I could only be in the choir if I LIP-SYNCED!!!!!
Okay fellow Bettys, have any of you ever been dissed by a famous person??
Barbara: I'm laughing out loud - only because I'm pretty sure that that would have been my fate also. I love to sing, but have no illusions as to the quality of my voice. I sound great only when singing with my sisters...and there's not much call for groups of ladies that only sound good while singing such classics as the theme song to Gilligan's Island.
ReplyDeleteI'm partial to musicals, myself. Haven't been to the theater in ages, but some of my favorite productions back in the day were "Les Miserables" performed in Fort Worth, a touring company performing "Big River" in my college town, and "Madame Butterfly" in downtown Houston, but that's just the tip of the iceberg, because my college major was theater/television and I can't even remember all the shows I've seen. (Even spent a summer performing "Joseph & The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" and "St. Joan" in repertoire in a barn down on the Guadelupe River).
ReplyDeleteI always love Betty's forays into the theater world, although as you say she is awfully fond of Andrew Lloyd Webber.
Don't you think the heroine goes to the theatre or opera with the RDD (or hero du jour) but goes to the cinema with the hapless houseman Archie who just wants to talk about his girlfriend back in Canada?
ReplyDeleteThe cinema is also used as a blind a lot--as in: "I can't go out with you. I've promised to go to the cinema with a bunch of other nurses."
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