2020: Shows 3 & 4

Shows 3 & 4!

This has been a long week! Somehow it is less than a week until February, I'm not quite sure how that happened! It was a busy week in the arts world and I ended up skipping a show because I was exhausted and driving three hours to Granbury, Texas was not on my agenda for Saturday morning, but sleeping was!

Onto the week!

Show 3: The Secret Garden - Outcry Youth Theatre, Addison. TX

So I TRIED to go see this show the weekend before, but they were sold out (awesome for a youth theatre!). I jumped on and grabbed a $10 ticket and drove to Addison on Thursday after my kids' rehearsal. The Secret Garden is set to be revived in a few years on Broadway and it's a show that I've wanted to see for quite some time. Even if it's a youth production I will try my hardest to pick up a show that I want to see because even if the production is awful (this one was not) I can still see whether it is a good show or not.

I was thoroughly impressed with most everything about this show. The theatre was small (around 80 seats I'd estimate). The set was very simple, generally more furniture than actual 'sets' which I love, especially in a small setting. One of the most impressive parts was the cast and by that I mean the sheer volume of them! They double cast almost the entire show with the ensemble being filled by those not on for the main role. As I was reading the program there were kids who had done up to 55 shows with this company. They do seven or eight shows a year based on what I gathered from their website and they do good shows, not just junior or kids shows and they do shows that adult theatres do (Shakespeare in Love is coming soon).

As for the show itself there were things I liked and some things I didn't like. I thought the kids playing Martha and Dickon the night that I saw the show were AMAZING. I loved everything about their performances (except Dickon's mic kept cutting out). I thought the choreography was a little 'big' for the space they were in. It wasn't bad, but it felt a bit overwhelming. Some of the acting was the same way. If you threw these kids on a full size stage rather than a black box they would 1000% kill it.

Overall, it seems to be an amazing program and I will certainly return.

Coming Soon:

The Little Prince: March 20-29, 2020

Shakespeare in Love: April 17-25, 2020

Show 4: Ada and the Engine - Stage West, Ft. Worth, TX

Can I just say how much I love this theatre? Like SO much. I happened upon them last fall on TodayTix when they were producing First Date in conjunction with Texas Christian University.

The theatre is small (about 150 seats) and the seating is more akin to movie theatre seating (read: super comfortable!). In the front they have the Lobby Café where they serve dinner or brunch before the shows, if you make reservations. I have not opted to do this yet, but want to try it soon! They also have a bar and offer desserts from a local bakery at intermission. They are about to start completely redoing the theatre space and I'm excited for the renovations!

I won't lie, when I went to see The Lifespan of a Fact and saw that they were producing Ada and the Engine the title didn't really spark my interest. At one of the performances I saw before the executive director mentioned season tickets and how sometimes you end up seeing a show that you haven't heard of and you end up loving. This was 100% the case for this show!

The show tells the story of Ada Byron Lovelace who is known as the mother of computing. She and Charles Babbage were creating the math for what would turn into binary code...in the 1800s. I love when a show teaches me something and this one certainly did. Ada was the daughter of poet (and philander) Lord Byron. There was so much about this fascinating woman that I didn't know...like all of it.

The set was simple and enhanced the story beautifully. The acting was INCREDIBLE. At the end of the show they did a talkback with the cast and it was hard for me to get them being their characters out of my mind. It was truly phenomenal. There were moments of laughter and moments of tears.

Overall I thoroughly enjoyed this show and I highly recommend you ALL go see it, especially if you have a kid who likes theatre, history, a little romance, and math! The show runs Thursday through Sunday until February 9. There is a link above so go check this theatre and this show out. I am so impressed that I am going to become a season ticket holder!

Remaining Shows: Thursday, January 30 through Sunday, February 2 and Thursday, February 6 through Sunday, February 9. (Thursdays at 7:30 pm, Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00 pm, and Sundays at 3:00 pm)

It also seems they do a few 'pay what you can' shows, which I will be adding to my 'how to see shows cheap' post. :)

Concert 1: Faith Prince - University of Central Oklahoma Broadway Tonight Series

I LOVE FAITH PRINCE. There, I've said it. She's amazing, that's all you really need to know!

But seriously, I saw and met her for the first time about three years ago at a concert called 4 Girls 4 in Broken Arrow. When I started teaching I began going to the Kristin Chenoweth Broadway Boot Camp educator session and Faith is part of the faculty. She is a truly amazing human. She's played really interesting characters and she's been kind of a quirky lead (like Sutton Foster, another favorite). Her road to Broadway wasn't a straight line and she really lived a life complete with a husband and son.

Her show was funny and showcased not only her singing talent, but also her storytelling. I swear I could sit for twelve hours and just listen to her tell stories of her life. She is amazing.

If you ever get a chance to see her I highly recommend. She will be in 42nd Street in Chicago this summer and I plan on jumping on a plane for a day to see her in an actual show!

Showcase 1: Broadway Bound Academy of Dance and Broadway Kids Showcase - Ardmore, OK

Okay this could almost fall into the dance recital category, but they call it a showcase so I will too. These two wonderful programs come together to give the BBAD dancers a chance to perform their competition numbers before their competition season starts. Sprinkled in are solos and group numbers by the Broadway Kids.

I have a bunch of kids in both of these programs and I love supporting my kids and watching them do the things that they love. It's also fun to watch different dance studios realizing the differences in style.

If you have kids' programs in your town, go watch them! Support organizations that encourage kids to be involved in the arts!

Theatre News

OKC Broadway announced their season tonight (I skipped the announcement party because OKC is still a long drive for a school night!). It's a good one! You can get more information here.

In Next Week's Post

Tuesday: Intrusion
Thursday: First rehearsal of Leap of Faith
Saturday: First tournament of 2020