An Anecdote About Non-Awesome Theater-Goers

         This is a true story.  The first time I saw Spring Awakening was at the Durham Performing Arts Center in Durham, NC.  I had a pretty good seat in the orchestra – probably $75.  Needless to say, anyone who buys these seats should know what they’re getting themselves into.  There was a group of older theater-goers behind me, probably in their sixties or seventies.  Now, I’m not saying that all older people are like these folks.  My parents are 62, and my mom was disappointed that Gavin Creel kept his clothes on in Hair.  Anyhow, at the intermission of Spring Awakening, the gentleman behind me remarked, “Well, I don’t love it, but I don’t hate it as much as I hated Rent.”  It took everything I had to keep my jaw off the floor.  I had to resist the strong urge to turn around and exclaim “You can’t be serious,” a la Hanschen.  If you hated Rent, you probably shouldn’t be allowed to go to the theater anymore.  Except for maybe Cats (no disrespect to any Cats fans out there, but I think we all know it’s not exactly challenging any social mores).  Spring Awakening and Rent are works of sheer genius and I feel sad that that man clearly did not “get” what they are all about.
Spring Awakening Official Site