As I handed my ticket to the woman at the front door, my eyes scanned the crowd growing inside the entrance room. The eager audience was mainly composed of white blue-collar families with only a sprinkle of color. The smell of perfume and cologne intensified the obvious – the audience was middle class and out for the Friday evening. Children, teenagers, young and old mothers, fathers, and proud grandparents were all present.
As I started to look for my place, children pushed passed and ran toward the seating area. Older women slowly made their way, blocking the teenagers who were in a hurry to grab their seats and talk to their friends. I patiently waddled behind them. People would stop in the middle of the walkway and give greetings of hugs. I waited until it was clear to pass.
I finally found my seat, almost exactly where I sat for the previous show. I slid down, riffled through the brochure and looked for my daughters’ names. As I sat and read, the noise level expressed my excitement of an opening night performance of Footloose. My daughters had worked for weeks and tonight was their night.
The lights dimmed and a voice announced that cameras and flash photography were not allowed. The request was also made for cell phones and pagers to be turned off. More light disappeared and the curtain was raised approximately 2 feet showing eight pairs of feet. The music began and the feet danced.
Actors playing Ren, Arial, Shaw, Vi, Willard and others made their characters come alive. The young lady who played Rusty did a fantastic rendition of “Let’s hear it for the boys.” It was impressive. The hard work had paid off.
Two and a half hours later, my youngest daughter grabbed me as I stood in the hall. Her smile asked if I enjoyed the show. Hopefully my returned smile was all she needed to know. Yes. It was a great show. Congratulations.
Posted by LPH at March 27, 2004 04:43 PM | TrackBack