one…singular sensation?

There’s something you *might* not know about me. i LOVE the theater. LOVE is probably an understatement. i grew up going to the theater with my parents. We took trips to New York City with the sole purpose of catching 5 shows in 3 days. Phantom. Les Miserables. Annie Get Your Gun. Showboat. Oklahoma. Starlight Express. Evita. Hair. The Lion King. West Side Story. Godspell. Jesus Christ Superstar. Guys and Dolls. Aida. 42nd Street. Joseph. Chicago. Miss Saigon. Yes, even Cats. you name it, we saw it.

I would sit in the first few rows. with my jaw on the floor. for the entire show. I remember the first time i saw A Chorus Line. I LOVED it. every song. every word. every dance. i bought the TAPE at the end of the show and three days later knew every single word. and a tshirt, which i wore proudly for YEARS. I watched the movie. and loved it. i mean, come on, A Chorus line with Michael Douglas as ZAch? AWESOME.

so, naturally, when i got the chance to drag take the husband to see the Toronto production last night, i was beyond excied. i mean, i knew all the songs (and promised to try not to sing along). i knew what to expect. (leg warmers!)

but yet…the show left me…

a little COLD.

i didn’t love it. everything about the show just seemed, well, dated. the songs came across a little bit cheesy (and somewhat rushed…as if the entire production was some in fast forward) and Cassie’s Music and the Mirror solo went on for too long. i was bored. i was fidgety. i guess things that seemed so BIG and monumental when i was younger, in the 80s, like Val singing about getting tits and ass (when i was a kid! holy cow! she used the "T" word, and my mom let me sing about it!) and a whole song about gonorrhea and wet dreams! an openly gay man talking about it. wow. amazing. at the time. but now, well, i mean, it was the chorus. of course there are some gay men.

i was underwhelmed. i mean, of course, i enjoyed it for nostalgic reasons. it was such a huge part of my childhood…i mean, singing along to "second week, more advanced we had to be a table, be a sports car, ice cream cone…" and remembering all the names and where they stood in line was fun. but, if you were someone who had never seen it, like my husband, i can’t imagine it being a satisfying theater experience.