Whew! Here we are at the New Year. I can hardly believe it. The last month kind of went by like a blur for me, the usual holiday madness enhanced by record number of theater performances I attended or was in some way responsible for getting a child to. It was a month for the record books for the T-lines.
I’ve been a little absent on the blog front but hope you few readers out there have been enjoying the other Richmond theater-related blogs out there that have been chronicling various journeys these past weeks, from culinary-related to holiday-related, from New York bound to taking off the pounds.
Besides the usual back-to-(school/work) blah-ness I would expect this time of year, I’ve felt a little additional melancholy thanks to the closing of many Broadway shows -- not great for Broadway and also not great personally now that I will never see them in their Broadway incarnations – and news from the Middle East to the tragedy of the Travoltas to the trouble in Obama’s cabinet.
But I’m trying to keep a positive outlook. Several people have contacted me and reassured me that I shouldn’t take too seriously the Cultural Census stuff that I reported on in Style last week (and here several weeks ago). Personally, I’m heading to DC this coming weekend to see “Les Miz” at the Signature, which has me nearly giddy with anticipation.
And the news was recently released that Tim Kaine will be taking over as head of the Democratic National Committee. I don’t know that this will have a positive impact on Richmond theater but it makes me happy just the same. As Phil Whiteway mentioned during his curtain speech for the last performance of Theatre IV’s “Best Christmas Pageant Ever,” Gov. Kaine has been a friend to the local arts scene and I choose to interpret his continued prominence in national politics as an affirmation that you can be an arts supporter and still do well in politics. I hope our new Mayor keeps that in mind in the coming year.
4 comments:
The Reverend Mayor will surely love those "cutting edge" productions that local companies produce and support them accordingly.
Gov. Kaine will continue to support the arts, but instead of Theatre IV he'll be at the Kennedy Center and other pricey venues with the big bucks donors.
Glad you're happy, though. Hope
'09 us a great year for Richmond Theatre, regardless of the level of support it gets from the Mayor and the DNC Chair.
I saw Les Miz at Signature Theatre over XMas. Terrific voices and great staging. It's been extended a month, so everyone - go check it out. Signature is a beautiful space is a neat area of South Arlington, VA. Just two hours away and worth every penny.
Re: Closing of Broadway shows
GYPSY is INCREDIBLE! Patti Lupone tore the hell out of it! The strippers, all three, were inspiredly hysterical! The choices were great! Much darker. LOVED IT!
Les Miz was very good -- but worth every penny? Not if you were sitting on the side. We got $83!!! seats and were not told that they were obstructed view. The show was staged for the center -- lots of times I saw backs (sometimes for whole songs). Lighting effects were lost on me because I saw them from behind -- and anything that went on near the windows I missed completely. I actually have no idea what young Cosette looked like even though I was in the "front row."
Even so, I still enjoyed it and was reduced to a mess of tears at the end. Some performers left me cold and the thing with the chairs was just weird, but the final moments with Val Jean, Marius, and Cosette were just stunning. But I gladly would have ponied up the extra dough for a seat where I could actually see.
So, absolutely -- take the trip -- but pay for good seats!
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