What I did this weekend: Got eaten by a 3-story high, singing plant
When my friend Eric Kurland called Tuesday evening to see if I wanted to go see Little Shop of Horrors, I was bummed because I had to work. Grr. So I checked to see about getting tickets for the weekend. SOLD OUT??? There was only one thing to do. Ebay it. Found front row tickets, and for that amount I could have paid for a red light violation. But how many times do you get to be that close to a giant, singing plant in motion?
Of course I needed someone to go with. My usual suspects were out. One was in San Diego. The other said not only was she busy, but that she "just doesn't like singing plants." (She told me about a guy she knew who has a similar problem, with any singing inanimate objects! Whoa! I have dubbed his condition "anthropomorphophobia.") Then I tried my lesbian friend ("I'd love to go, but I have a birthday party that I don't really want to go to, but they live right across from me and I can't get out of it.") Desperate, I tried a friend's younger sister whom I hadn't talked to in a year! "OH! I'D LOVE TO GO" she said "BUT I HAVE TO WORK!!" But she offered to let me into Disneyland sometime at least. *sigh* On to the guy friends. I have one that I knew right away would hate it. Another had a previous engagement. Another had a poker game. Then, amazingly, I got a call from a friend who's been working at Michael Curry Productions (the guy who made the puppets and set for The Lion King) who was in town for a business trip over the weekend. Told him I had tickets. "Oh I'd LOVE to go. But there's a chance I have to do a meeting with Disney at 8" And of course, he did have a meeting.
So I was stuck seeing it myself. The plan was to sell off the other ticket, but I got lost and was about 20 minutes late (!). Arrrrgh. Driving to that theatre if you don't do it right is like trying to swim up a waterfall. But I caught my favorite numbers at least. Besides the plant, my favorite performer was actually in the female chorus, named Yasemeen Steilman. Oh my. So adorable. Yes, being in the front row has its advantages.
Incidentally, it's moments like these where I can't stand copyright law, because I ought to have been able to take a photo from that distance (sans flash) and show you my experience. How can I possibly communicate to you the magnitude of the plant, which during the final act, extrudes up and out over the audience, right over my head and looking like it would arch down and bite my head off?
Ah well. Your imagination will have to suffice.
Of course I needed someone to go with. My usual suspects were out. One was in San Diego. The other said not only was she busy, but that she "just doesn't like singing plants." (She told me about a guy she knew who has a similar problem, with any singing inanimate objects! Whoa! I have dubbed his condition "anthropomorphophobia.") Then I tried my lesbian friend ("I'd love to go, but I have a birthday party that I don't really want to go to, but they live right across from me and I can't get out of it.") Desperate, I tried a friend's younger sister whom I hadn't talked to in a year! "OH! I'D LOVE TO GO" she said "BUT I HAVE TO WORK!!" But she offered to let me into Disneyland sometime at least. *sigh* On to the guy friends. I have one that I knew right away would hate it. Another had a previous engagement. Another had a poker game. Then, amazingly, I got a call from a friend who's been working at Michael Curry Productions (the guy who made the puppets and set for The Lion King) who was in town for a business trip over the weekend. Told him I had tickets. "Oh I'd LOVE to go. But there's a chance I have to do a meeting with Disney at 8" And of course, he did have a meeting.
So I was stuck seeing it myself. The plan was to sell off the other ticket, but I got lost and was about 20 minutes late (!). Arrrrgh. Driving to that theatre if you don't do it right is like trying to swim up a waterfall. But I caught my favorite numbers at least. Besides the plant, my favorite performer was actually in the female chorus, named Yasemeen Steilman. Oh my. So adorable. Yes, being in the front row has its advantages.
Incidentally, it's moments like these where I can't stand copyright law, because I ought to have been able to take a photo from that distance (sans flash) and show you my experience. How can I possibly communicate to you the magnitude of the plant, which during the final act, extrudes up and out over the audience, right over my head and looking like it would arch down and bite my head off?
Ah well. Your imagination will have to suffice.
Labels: animatronics, puppetry, theatre
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