A Night at the Opera, Trip to the Ballet, Evening of Theatre . . .

Well, I've just had the most wonderful week, theatrically speaking. Perhaps not the most wonderful ever, but pretty darned good. Since Tuesday, I've seen five performances of various things. :) And possibly the best part is that I only spent $11 for the entire thing! Hee hee hee . . .

On Tuesday, I went to see Janina's opera, The Gondoliers at UNR. Chris and Stephanie went with me. Jeanne, Hana, and Leoney were going to come, but it didn't work out (illness and all). So, I paid my $5 and saw the opera. It felt like I was back at NNU where I literally knew everyone, considering how many people I saw and knew. Melinda and Tara teased me every time I stepped foot on the actual campus during the Student Teaching semester, because of the people I'd greet and such. They used to torment me by keeping a running tally, and time how long my conversations went! Anyway, I saw my family members, and some of Janina's friends whom I've been introduced to. The opera was funny. I just want to reiterate to the entire world how much I love Gilbert and Sullivan--oh so hysterical! Some of the people's acting could have been better, but my guess is that the production was more concerned with the actual music as opposed to great performances. Janina was good as the Duchess. There was one point where she had to run after her husband, and the way she did it was too funny. I laughed heartily! Chris and Stephanie both said that they enjoyed it, as well. Good.

Wednesday night was the show A Star is Born at CVC. Ashlee Negrete, one of my 8th graders, invited me to the show back in September, so I couldn't very well refuse! She's one of those kids that will be hard to part with whenever she's not my student any longer. She played the snobby, hard, evil Ivy M. [Medea] Robespierre in the play I directed at school last year. Back to the show; it was CVC's kids Christmas musical. I was impressed at how well done it was, truly I was. Having been a veteran performer of some of the church musicals myself, and seeing plenty of them, I know what they can be. The kids looked sharp with their dancing, sounded great with the singing, and generally did a great job performing. Ashlee played a "Big-Named Hollywood Star" for this musical. My stomach hurt with laughter at her performance. Oh, and Jim (who was the Minstrel in Mattress) also did a great job. I got to talk to several of my students, former students, parents of students, etc. One of my challenge kids from last year, who's not attending CCS this year, stopped me to talk. He thanked me for the Drama program I had last year and letting him be involved in it! I don't know if I can actually put into words the emotion he expressed, because apparently it meant more than I realized to him. I was a little shaken by this, but have to admit, it felt wonderful. Not only is he doing Drama at his new school, he's acing academically (Something I really had to push him in last year; school did not come easy for him). I guess that just reinforced how rewarding my job can be, but also that it's a responsibility I should never take lightly. Wow.

Thursday night, I drove myself up to South Lake Tahoe High School to see their production of Laughter in the Dark, which was also very funny. The title sounded very familiar to me, but I've never seen it. Nanette (who was Nettie) directed it. Josh, Briana, and Bubba were all in it. I saw it with Stephanie. Overall, it was a very random play. All three had told me of the show, so I also had some of the backstage gossip, which affected my thinking during the show. Very funny! I got in for free, because I was with Stephanie, so I made sure I bought some refreshments and such so that I would be supporting their drama department. Josh, Bri, and Bubba all told me that it meant a lot to them that I was there, so I'm very glad I went. It was also good, because I was able to really listen to the OBC CD of Beauty and the Beast in the car, and practice along with it. We'll see . . .

Friday night, I went to my church's musical (which they always call Sweet Sounds of Christmas). The show was called Extreme Christmas Makeover, and was written by Don Baumann (The pastor I'm closest to at church. He used to be a Drama teacher as well!). Also a very funny show. This was where the other $6 for my $11 weekend came. Stephanie and Jeanne came with me and they had a good time. Kristen had the lead role, and got her inspiration from Paige Davis (Whom I saw in the Broadway tour of Beauty and the Beast in Denver when I was in high school; I think she played a spoon.). Also a very funny show.

Saturday, I was going to see a musical in Reno called Ruthless with Hana, Chris and some people I don't know, but it was sold out on Friday afternoon for Saturday evening's performance. Dash it! I graded all day, went to church, and graded all night instead! It's not as fun as it sounds, trust me.

Today, because I finished so much grading yesterday, I gave myself the chance to go back to Sweet Sounds. There were a couple of reasons behind my wanting to go again, but the main one was to see the Sanborn family. Patty was our secretary last year, and Evan was one of my 8th graders last year. I desperately miss them this year, so it was great to see them and Bill today! I was talking to Laura Dunn before Sweet Sounds, and mentioned I needed to get a ticket. She had an extra for her table, and refused to let me pay her! Laura's great. I was able to "babysit" Rachel Ply while watching, since Linda and the kids were in the production this year. I'm not sure where Kevin was, but I was glad to do it. Rachel's only a month old, and so adorable. However, she slept through the whole show, so I didn't have much to do! The show was much better today than it was on their opening night, I must say.

So, all in all, a great week of theatre. I love seeing shows, almost as much as being in them! Theatre is one the greatest things about life, as far as I'm concerned. Right up there with reading, good friends, etc. Sigh.

The title, again, comes from "Dressing for the Night" in Maury Yeston's Phantom. I got to be one of the actresses in the opera. Since the opera was A Midsummer Night's Dream, and the character of Titania was played by the character Christine Daee (Julie Checketts was amazing!), I always pretended to be the singer playing the part of Helena. I like Helena ever so much more than Hermia in A Midsummer Night's Dream. I think it's because I truly can sympathize with her situation, and Hermia can tend to be a little snot.