Now that’s more like it

To be honest, I’ve not always been a big fan of CenterStage’s “Broadway in Richmond” series. This past year, in particular, seemed uninspired to me. “The Lion King” and the return of “Wicked” were the biggies and they didn’t really do much to raise my blood pressure. And I say that having seen “The Lion King” and thinking it was pretty magnificent. But still, “South Pacific” was the most recently produced Broadway show and that’s from 2008. Also, it was “South Pacific” which I enjoyed when I saw it on Broadway but that would not have inspired me to pay big bucks for the muddy acoustics of the Landmark Theater.

In contrast, I’m nearly giddy about the announcement of the 2012-13 series. It’s a line-up with four shows I’m eagerly looking forward to seeing and one that I could easily be talked into seeing. Of course, “Les Mis” I’d go to almost anywhere and almost anytime. “Billy Elliott” is phenomenal. “Mary Poppins” takes the strong foundation of the movie and the old musical and melds them into a vibrant new concoction bolstered by “dazzling stagecraft” (as the news release puts it). The revamped “West Side Story” was glorious on Broadway. And I saw the stage version of “The Grinch” in NYC several years back and, even though my expectations were low, it proved a thoroughly entertaining production (I had the benefit of sitting in the front row with my two boys who were tiny at the time, meaning that some of the action nearly landed in our laps, an extra bonus!)

So, for perhaps the first time in my life, I’m considering investing in a season subscription. That either means that Broadway in Richmond has finally put together a truly inspired slate of shows or that I’ve finally landed firmly in middle age. Or perhaps both.