A Visit To Broadway
Last Saturday
we went to a Broadway matinee. We went
with Bill and Hillary to see “Children of a Lesser God.” No, not that Bill and Hillary. My old college
friend Bill, known more often in this blog as Frog, and his wife Hillary. I just like saying Bill and Hillary instead
of Frog and Hillary.
It was a nice
day. The train and then the subway get
us to the theater in about an hour and a half.
I worked downtown for forty years, but I am lost uptown, I just follow
Mrs. C.
The play is
about a school for the deaf, and in particular an instructor teaching one very
smart but reluctant young lady to speak.
He fails, but they do fall in love.
Problems between the deaf world and the hearing world ensue.
Before the
show, Mrs. C and I watched the movie, the one where Marlee Matlin won an Oscar. The movie was pretty good if a bit too
long. The play was too long and not so
good. I fell asleep for half of the first
act, a nap that cost me about $50 based on the ticket price.
When we
watched the movie, I remarked how it would be interesting to see how they do
all the different scenes in the play. It
turned out to be not so interesting. The
stage was all grey. The only changes
were two benches that popped up and down while the audience was forced to
figure out if the scene was in school, home, a duck pond or a restaurant.
Several
actors were hard of hearing (naturally) and it was a little difficult
understanding them sometimes. The
theater displayed the lines above the stage to help with this, but the
displayed lines were poorly timed with the actors delivery, adding to the
confusion.
It was
interesting to see actors having to know the lines and also the signing. They were very good in roles I thought pretty
difficult.
I did learn
how to sign “Bull Shit.”
The theater
experience was fun and along with the nap we had a good time. Truth be told, and this is not very PC, especially
for a play about such a sensitive subject, but the play…er…well sucked.
After the play
we went to dinner at…I forget the name, but it was really good and reasonably
priced. It is pretty hard to find a restaurant
in Manhattan that is not really good. Any
restaurant that is just fair, or way overpriced will not be in business for
long as there is so much great competition in Manhattan.
There was a
famous person eating across from us, we could not figure out who he was, but we
were pretty sure he was someone sort of famous.
Frog wanted to ask for his autograph to find out who he was, but how do
you ask when you don’t know his name?
“Excuse me, may I have your autograph
Mr. um famous person we think?”
He may have
just been someone we saw on the subway earlier.
It’s been a long time since we saw a play on Broadway. We have a friend that was an actor back then and had friends working on Chorus Line. We also saw Best Little Whorehouse that week. They were both great.
ReplyDeleteMaybe it was a reality star?
ReplyDeleteFirst of all I would like to say wonderful blog!
ReplyDeleteI had a quick question that I'd like to ask if you don't mind.
I was curious to know how you center yourself and clear your mind before
writing. I have had a hard time clearing my mind in getting my thoughts out there.
I truly do take pleasure in writing but it just seems like the first 10 to
15 minutes are generally lost simply just trying to figure out
how to begin. Any suggestions or hints? Many thanks!
It sounds like a nice day, even if the play left something to be desired.
ReplyDeleteThat was one expensive nap.
ReplyDeleteWell, it's all about the experience. And you DID get to spend time with Bill and Hillary. I've never been to a Broadway play, or ridden the train. The closest I got was seeing Kathy Griffin at the Fabulous Fox in St. Louis, and riding the Red Line in Boston.
ReplyDeleteWe saw this show at the Kennedy Center in DC and it starred Marlee Maitland. But it was really good. Not gray.
ReplyDeleteMediocre plays probably don't last too long, either. Glad you had an overall good time.
ReplyDeleteDidn't Mrs C nudge you awake or was she napping, too?
ReplyDeleteI've seen a few stage performances that were fun, musical comedy routines of Gilbert & Sullivan's plays, but 99.9% of the time I'd rather watch a movie or read the book.
ReplyDeleteCertainly I wouldn't enjoy a play that was just a couple of seats being moved about while the audience tries to figure things out.
I guess the good food and company was some kind of compensation for the mediocre play.
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like a good time in spite of the play. Yers ago we took the kids to see The Wiz. My daughter was so little she sat on my lap the entire time, but we still had to buy her a ticket ($35!! as I recall). It was an evening performance and of course she fell asleep. I poked her awake though (mean momma) as I am not inclined to waste money like that.
ReplyDeleteWell hey, we're headed down to the Evil City next week and even plan on catching a show at the Way of the Broad. Hello Dolly, or at least I think that's what she booked. Details on the week are sketchy ....
ReplyDeleteI was a little let down at who Bill and Hillary really were but sounds like you had an interesting evening if not great. Your review of the play sold me on staying away. However, you never know when knowing how to sign BS will come in handy. That gave me the giggles.
ReplyDeleteRosie O'Grady's
ReplyDeletei got you at very first when you said bill and hillary Joe!
ReplyDeleteouting with friends is fun always (well most of the time :)
sorry you did not find the play as interesting as the movie was .
i love watching and reading stories about person with physically disabled but handling life better than normal people
I saw the movie and I think I remember that I liked it (it was a long time ago). If I were to go anywhere with a Bill and Hillary, I would just leave it at that and not explain the Frog part. Be a little mysterious and intriguing...
ReplyDelete