It seems to be a fact of life. A calendar will look empty leading to the false conclusion that “I don’t have to do that now, I have plenty of free time to accomplish what I need to do.” Then, suddenly the calendar is full. This is what my April is looking like. Cruising along comfortably and suddenly I see there are many things scheduled. Happily they are things I look forward to.

I recently had the grand experience of accompanying a three-year-old as she experienced her very first live theatre production. How exciting to see the instant fascination as she was thoroughly engaged. No problem with short attention span, she was glued to the action before her. Three is obviously old enough when the material is age-appropriate. Looking forward to  accompanying her to another production very soon. I get to watch the play but just as exciting, I get to watch her watch the play.

Then four more productions appear on my schedule before month’s end. Fortunately the Kansas City area has a large variety of opportunities.

Spring is here and 2015 looks to be an exciting year theatrically. Stay tuned (in other words watch for the May blog). Meanwhile, see a play, visit a museum, go to a film, paint a picture, sing, dance and enjoy all the arts.

Hello, So Nice To See You. That is the typical greeting from persons greeting audience members,taking tickets, seating patrons and selling concessions – usually volunteers at smaller theatre companies. This has certainly been my experience at many of the Kansas City venues: The Spinning Tree Theatre, KCActors Theatre, The Unicorn, The Coterie and The New Theatre. There are others that I have not yet attended but which I’m sure offer the same kind of personal touch.

Why do I bring that up? Because the movie I attended this week was a dreadful contrast. I won’t mention the theatre chain but rest assured I have let them know about my experiences. My friend and I arrived at about 2:45 for a 2:50 scheduled starting time. After waiting for some time in front of the empty ticket booth I walked over toward the person in the concession stand. I asked about a ticket agent and a young woman, leaning against the wall outside the concession stand, left her very important cell phone game or text to let me know that, “He’ll be back right away”. Right away proved to be five minutes plus. Already we had lost ten minutes of our afternoon just waiting. Finally the agent came back accompanied by the cell phone woman and the concession stand employee and the three of them were able to conger up our tickets. I asked about a hearing device but was handed a long piece of apparatus which was a set for closed captions. I decided to give it a try so I told the clerk which movie we were to see and she set the device accordingly. Then, with no one taking tickets or providing instructions to the right theatre in the complex we found our theatre, entered and sat down.

What does one do when waiting for the deafeningly loud ads and previews to start? We visited, catching up with events since our last outing. After a while we began to wonder why there was nothing showing. Fifteen minutes past start time and nothing on the screen but a shot of a poster. So, at this point I decided to find a manager. Down the long empty hall, down the escalator until I saw a person in a theatre uniform. He told me that they had had trouble with that theatre/feature earlier in the day but thought they had fixed it. He contacted a manager who told me the same sad tale but said he would start the previews right away. I rejoined my companion, the previews came on and we relaxed, ready to see the show.

We did see a show. Unfortunately, it was not the one we came to see, the one we bought tickets for. That meant too that the closed captions didn’t work because the device had been set for a different movie.

After the film (fortunately one that both of us planned to see at a later date) I turned in the captioning device. There was one employee in the very large lobby and he was very pleasant and apologetic. Too bad other employees didn’t share his attitude about customer service.

Next adventure will be a play presented by one of the wonderful Kansas City theatres.

Movies? – getting lower on my list of things to do.

“…with every paper I’d deliver.”

(Sorry I couldn’t resist.)

It would seem a good way to spend an afternoon or evening in winter, or at least one would think so. Though my recent experiences have proven this to be chancy. In the past couple of weeks I was fortunate enough to have tickets to (in order) a community theatre production, a piano concert and a tour of a well-known Broadway show and a local professional production.

Community Theatre: I am often impressed with the quality of these shows. This one had its ups and downs. The two leads gave very good performances. Natural, believable and clear characterizations. It was a script that I didn’t particularly care for but the two good performances outweighed the poor script for me. The worst thing about the evening was the woman laced with perfume who was seated near us. Not quite next to us but near enough. Many perfumes give me a headache and this one was well on its way to that. By all means if one wants to wear perfume, that’s fine. But please, do not wear perfumes in large doses at the theatre.

Concert: A beautiful setting, good seats, excellent sound and a spectacular young pianist. The program featured of some of my favorite classical composers. An outstanding program and very well performed. What could possibly go wrong. Cell phone!! None that I heard went off but the tween in the row in front of us believed she could surreptitiously text, surf, without her mother noticing. Unfortunately mom did not notice but I was subjected to annoying flashes of light throughout the first half. I told my companion that if it continued after intermission, I was going to get it stopped. And, in the very first number here the flashes began again. So, I tapped mom on the shoulder with my request that it stop. Please, don’t just silence your phone, turn it off.

Touring Show: A well-known show in a equally well-known venue. The show was beautifully staged, very well acted and sung. It was a mesmerizing afternoon with neither of the two annoyances listed above. An attentive and receptive audience. Tickets much more expensive than those shows listed above and I hesitate to speculate about what that means in terms of audience behavior. It’s an unwelcome thought that we have to teach audience behavior so that all audience members can enjoy themselves regardless of ticket price. This isn’t a film, please, act as if you are a regular partron of live theatre.

A local production: Nicely staged, imaginative and engaging set design and very well acted. A long show – 3 hours from curtain to final curtain but so well done it didn’t appear to be unmanageable. Here we go again with the complaint – the gum chewing patron sitting directly behind us. Please, if it important for you to have gum for some physical reason, by all means have the gum. However, please be thoughtful enough to chew silently.

Hoping my future experiences (and yours) are without these preventable annoyances.

Coming up in February: Auditions, Equity shows and High School Musicals. Hmmm. Hope I don’t feel the need to tap anyone on the shoulder or ask for a change of seating due to overly perfumed, texting and/or gum-smacking patrons.

As the old song said: “Teach your children well”. . . and by example. bh

Time for those resolutions. I resolve to publish a new blog at the beginning of each month. That is the one I may be most likely to break. So far so good.

Are you wondering what the next spate of commercials might be? I can’t recall when the political commercials started in 2014. Might have been May or June for the November elections. Might have been earlier. Fortunately they did disappear after election day.  Ahhh. Perhaps we will have a little time before the money starts flowing to campaign coffers and ads for the 2016 election take over the television again. Of course, that election is 22 months away but no matter. What else do the politicians have to do.

Then, the airways were filled with Christmas (or if you prefer Holiday) ads. Toy stores to grocery stores – even a funeral and crematory service – all inviting you to spend, spend, spend. and use that plastic.  I was purchasing a gift in a well-known store and handed the clerk some cash – she was taken aback. “Don’t see cash too often, do you?” I asked. “No,” she replied, “almost never.”

The holiday commercials that made me laugh the most were those for fragrances. Hollywood stars pick up lots of dough as they ooze sexuality encouraging the use of expensive perfumes. Suggestive looks, glamour poses, the sudden appearance of someone of the opposite sex all designed to convey the message that you too can have this glamour and attention – if you smell right. One I found especially amusing was that of a GQ beautiful male at the beach, walking in the surf if I remember correctly. That made me think he might need a special fragrance when he came back to shore.  Those ads are gone as are many of the CLEARANCE DEALS on cars, furniture and other expensive items. Got to clear that inventory before tax time.

Currently it’s all things football. Not only commercials for games, especially the Super Bowl, but also the “Game Day” shows. For hours before the games you are invited to watch 3 to 5 announcers and former players discuss strategies, statistics and player personalities. During the game plays are called along with (again) strategies, statistics and player personalities. After the game please stay tuned for recaps bolstered by strategies, statistics and player personalities. At this time you may also be treated to forecasts of the next game, the potential playoff positions along with the above mentioned strategies, statistics and personalities.

So, those are some random thoughts to start 2015. Put February 1 on your calendar to see if I have lived up to my resolution or fallen away already.

Whoops – it’s nearly half gone. Can’t imagine what I may have been doing since coming home from Abilene and the GPT production of Driving Miss Daisy.  Thanks to all who were able to attend the show. Our feedback was phenomenal.

Recently I have been lucky to see some wonderful productions in Kansas City. Spinning Tree Theatre’s production of Violet was very impressive. It’s a lovely story and was sung and acted beautifully. The Unicorn Theatre’s Bad Jews was a refreshingly different play (for me).  A fast-paced family interaction, funny and touching at the same time. The New Theatre’s production of Sheer Madness followed.  What can I say, the title tells it all. The antics were hilarious, lots of puns flying about along with timely references to people and events. Back at the Unicorn for Honey: I’ll Eat You Later. A one-woman show with the fabulous Donna Thomason portraying Hollywood agent Sue Mengers. One more to come before Santa. I love the many varied companies in this town and the variety of selections available to theatergoers.

The opinions above are mine and mine alone.

Merry Christmas and/or Happy Holidays. Here’s hoping that 2015 is a wonderful year for all…”Wait a minute!! Why SANTA, I am shocked!!  I certainly never asked for anything like that!!“