In today’s technologically advanced society of big screens, high definition televisions and computers, many young people haven’t experienced live theatre. I may never have been interested in theatre if it wasn’t for my 6th grade English teacher, Ms. Frisch. She gave my class the opportunity to see a production of the musical Guys and Dolls at the Marriott Lincolnshire. I had never been to a real play before and thought it might be fun, so I signed up. That night started my life-long love affair with the stage. There isn’t anything quite the same as the excitement of going to a theatre and watching actors bring a story to life in front of your eyes.
Film and television give you access to special effects that theatre cannot reproduce, but there can be amazing things that do happen. Peter Pan can fly, dancing girls pop out of a treasure chest, a helicopter could lift off (inside the building!), as happens in some productions of Miss Saigon. I know how they do it, and I am still amazed. Being there and seeing these things with your own eyes is an awesome experience.
I was in a production of Neil Simon’s God’s Favorite, where we burnt the house down between acts. When people came back from intermission, we could hear them gasping and talking about it. On closing night, one of the ceiling beams that had “fallen” onto the couch during the fire, flipped over when I sat down, knocking into me. Everyone thought that was funny. It was not supposed to happen, but the audience didn’t know that. Same play – opening night – the actor portraying my son got up from a chair, the chair flew off the stage. Another character needed the chair later and jumped off the stage, improvising dialogue while doing so, to get the chair back where it belonged.
These things are some of the reasons that I encourage you to see what theatre is like in person. You can go to the same play many times and never see the same performance. Lines get delivered differently from one time to the next, sometimes they are forgotten altogether. Props may not be where an actor expects and that has to be worked around. The audience differs daily, actors feel the energy of the people viewing them, and this influences the performance as well.
How do you know what to go and see then? It all depends on what you like. Actors rehearse a long time before a show opens; they are prepared for things that happen (mostly). Any play that interests you should be good. Reviews can be found in newspapers and online at places like metromix.com or citysearch.com. Whether you love to laugh, feel like a good cry, prefer to contemplate life’s mysteries, or are the type of person who sings show tunes, it’s all on the stage. I attended a performance written by a friend-of-a-friend of a “murder-muzical” (misspelling intentional) in which the audience decided the ending. Audience participation can be quite fun and brings the entertainment value of the evening up.
Ticket prices can range in degree also, scaring some people away. A small theatre troupe with a basement stage probably won’t charge as much as a big scale production, but even for the flashiest shows, there are ways to get reasonably priced tickets. Don’t let price stop you from an evening of entertainment. Most theatres have rush tickets. These are seats that haven’t been reserved on the day of the performance and the theatre wants to sell them. If you have an NEIU ID card or work for the university, Stage Center shows are free! Student discounts, group rates, even free shows are available at many theatres. Call the box office where you are interested in going to find out if these options are available. You can search online at places like Goldstar Events and Hot Tix to find discounted tickets.
There are also options in the way you can dress for the performances. If you choose to see a production that takes place outdoors, chances are good you don’t have to put on an evening dress or suit. On the other hand, if you are going to see a big Broadway musical at a fancy theatre at 9:00 p.m., you might want to dress up. Business casual almost never goes wrong.
No matter what the show is, where it’s located or how you dress, there is an exhilaration felt when the lights go off, the curtain comes down, the actors come out for the curtain call, and the audience erupts in applause, that you cannot receive from watching non-live entertainment. If you haven’t ever experienced live theatre, you really need to give it a shot. You never know what you may find. You may even see me, either in the audience watching with you, or up on the stage entertaining you.