A(nother) world premiere musical at Virginia's Signature Theatre

                So, even though I live in Raleigh and I love North Carolina to pieces, I am and will always be a Washingtonian.  I was born and raised in Arlington, VA – I love DC, and my parents still live there, so I make a habit of visiting as often as possible.  One of my main reasons for visiting is that DC’s theater scene is crazy awesome.  My personal favorite is the Signature Theatre in Arlington, which does plenty of Sondheim and even more original work.

It’s no secret that I see a lot of theater.  My “Broadway” playlist on my ipod is well over 1,200 songs and growing.  I love it all.  Yet, seeing new work is always a special thrill for me – I don’t already own the original cast recording, I don’t already know all the lyrics, I’m not already familiar with the plot, and I don’t know how it’s going to end.  It’s a different experience from a lot of the shows I see.

                Signature puts on a lot of new material, and I love it.  I saw Sycamore Trees there a while ago, which was the world premiere of a new Ricky Ian Gordon musical.  So, for my birthday, my parents took me to see the world premiere of the brand new musical And the Curtain Rises by Michael Slade, Joseph Thalken, and Mark Campbell.

                My past positive experience with new work was echoed at And the Curtain Rises.  I very much enjoyed the thrill of seeing a plot, entirely new to me, unfold musically.  I especially enjoyed the second act.  I felt it moved very smoothly – perhaps because I was more familiar with the context by then, or perhaps because it actually was more smooth, I really can’t tell.  I’m now enamored with the idea of a musical about the birth of the musical.  I must admit, a hot shirtless man every now and then really didn’t hurt their cause either.  I found the subject matter interesting and the story fitting.

                Ultimately, I find myself glad that it was the Signature at the helm of this premiere.  They know how to premiere works.  They know how to handle new material.  I fear that had I seen this production anywhere else, I may have been disappointed.  I’m not sure the show is quite Broadway-ready, but it was enjoyable and worthwhile, thanks to the capable (and Tony-winning ) Signature.

Walter Cronkite is Dead, and I’m an Old Matinee Lady at 24

                Where are all the young people?

                Let me back up a little bit.  Last weekend, I went to the Signature Theatre (winner of the 2009 regional theater Tony Award!!) in my hometown of Arlington, Virginia to see the world premiere production of Walter Cronkite is Dead, written and directed by Joe Calarco.  I went to a Saturday matinee with my parents.  I have a confession to make: I was the youngest person in the theater by about 30 years.  Okay, so maybe I’m exaggerating a little bit, but there weren’t very many people there in the under-50 set, much less in their mid-twenties like me.

                Am I an anomaly that I like to go to matinees?  Are all the twenty-somethings going to the evening performances?  This isn’t the first time that I’ve noticed the age of those around me at a matinee.  I really hope that young adults aren’t avoiding the theater completely.  I’d love to hear input from frequent matinee-ers like myself and people who work in box offices around the country – is it just that young people aren’t going to matinees, or are they skipping the theater altogether?

                Yes, I realize that I haven’t actually talked about the play yet.  Thanks for your patience.  Well, the play was good.  There was a lady two rows behind me who, judging by the volume of her laughter, thought it was the best thing she’d ever seen.  While it wasn’t the best thing I’ve ever seen, I really enjoyed it, and it was certainly a worthwhile theater experience. 

The basic premise is that two women are stuck in an airport.  It’s just a two-actor play, a concept with which I recently had a wonderful experience.  It’s hard to write, act, direct, etc. for just two actors, and my respect for those who tackle two-actor pieces is growing exponentially.  Despite understanding how difficult it is, I totally see why people do it – the potential for powerful theater is great. 

I thought the direction of the play was its best feature – the way the script was conveyed on stage was impeccable.  Could that be because the director was also the playwright?  Perhaps.  Who knows?  I was a little taken about by how realistic the portrayal of the southern woman tourist was.  Perhaps since I’ve lived in North Carolina for almost a year now, I’ve stopped noticing the eccentric quirks of that certain breed of Southern woman, opting to only see the delightful qualities – but I must say, it was dead-on.

So, all in all, it was a good experience.  But seriously, twenty-somethings: go to matinees every once in awhile!  You’ll like it, I promise.