Hairspray

My husband is just amazing. A month or so ago, he called me up, very excited, telling me that "Hairspray" was coming to town. He told me to find out if my sister wanted to go with me, and that he was buying us tickets. Well, of course my sister wanted to go with me! I got online to get the tickets, and found some about in the middle of the hall, and they were just fine tickets. But he was all up in arms--no, he wanted us to get the front-row tickets. Yes, the ones that cost about $175 for two tickets. Squee!

So last night was the night. It had been a difficult and frustrating day. Our Mom's in town, and our brother and his girlfriend were also coming to town. I was trying to arrange and rearrange everything so that no one would feel slighted. It wasn't easy, but we finally got everything planned out. So when Liz and I left to go to her apartment to get ready for the evening, we were both in a very grouchy mood. That mood dissipated as soon as we got to our seats. We were in the front row on the left side, about in the middle. We were able to look down into the orchestra pit and see the musicians.

The show was just fantastic. The guy who was playing Edna Turnblad was absolutely hysterical, and he was definitely playing to Liz and me. I know that sounds boastful (along the lines of, "Sting was singing to me!"), but it's the truth. I have a very loud laugh, something that can be embarrassing for me if I'm in a place where I need to be quiet, but something that actors really enjoy. And I don't know how anyone could sit still as they listened to that great music--I think I mostly managed to keep my upper body still, but my legs and feet were dancing throughout the whole show. So Edna looked our way quite often, winked at us a few times, and at the end of the show, when everyone was taking their bows, s/he blew us a kiss.

My husband may have set a dangerous precedent. It was the first time I've been to a Broadway touring production and had seats so close that I didn't need opera glasses. I was able to see the actors' facial expressions. I was able to catch the things the peripheral characters were doing on stage; there was a hilarious bit where Penny Pingleton was playing with her gum. She had the most ecstatic look on her face as she stretched it to ghastly lengths before trying to dangle it into her mouth. And during the sock hop, there was one couple on our side of the stage who were dry humping each other--sounds gross, I know, but it was very funny.

The Bass Hall in Fort Worth is a fabulous place to see a show. Unlike the Dallas Fair Park Music Hall, they do not seat patrons once the show has started. Liz and I, several years ago, went to see "Aida" and "Kiss Me, Kate" at Dallas, and were astounded to see ushers seating patrons all through the show. I have never been to a theatre--amateur, college, or professional--that permitted people to come in after the show had started, and found it extremely distracting. And the Bass Hall is laid out so beautifully that I don't think there's a bad seat in the house.

The summer series includes "A Chorus Line" and "Oklahoma!". I will casually mention it to Joe, just in case he feels like being charitable! I'm joking here--I don't think I'd ask him to do that. That's what made it such an awesome experience. He thought of it himself, knowing how much we would enjoy it, and wanting us to have a great time. And we did, and we're grateful to him.