Last night I saw the musical Cabaret at the Mary L. Welch Theatre on the Lycoming College campus. This was the second time I’ve seen this musical, since it was performed by the Community Theatre League in June 2006. I keep track of all the plays I’ve seen and this makes 130. I’ve seen 130 plays or musicals performed on stage.
It only cost $10.00 to see this musical which seems like quite a bargain after trying to find affordable shows in New York City. I tried to get a seat for Wicked but all the seats were more than $200. I’m sorry, but nothing the theater could do is worth $200! Fortunately I have three tickets for my overnight trip to New York City next week. I’m going to see The Humans by Stephen Karam at the Roundabout Theatre Company. I’m basically making this expensive trip just to see this play because the playwright grew up in Scranton. I read the play and he even mentions Danville in the course of the play. But I will also check out The Flea Theater and the Rattlestick Playwrights Theatre which are Off-Off Broadway theaters that are frequently mentioned in the theater community. Since this will be an overnight trip I can see shows in the evening.
I have not been to the Mary L. Welch Theatre in a long time. You can order tickets online now. I enjoy the ambiance of a college theater since it reminds me of auditorium events from my school days. The show had some technical difficulties with what sounded like microphone plosives occurring for the entire night, even during songs. All of the actors wore mikes which might have been a bad idea. There was a hilarious accident when a pineapple fell though the bottom of a paper bag and the actor had to pick it up. He had to hide the pineapple behind the paper bag to continue the screen. Then when the other actor wondered aloud what he had for her, everyone laughed since we all knew what was in the bag.
Fortunately I won’t have long to wait until I see even more theater. You might think I’m obsessed with theater right now, but it is not exactly the theater that has me entranced. I would say I’m drawn to a grandeur that theater might achieve, but which isn’t necessarily always there. After my trip to New York City I won’t be seeing any more plays until January when my short play will be staged at the Shawnee Playhouse in the Poconos. That has been my major source of encouragement.
