They Say the Neon Lights are Bright....

Well, Austin may not be home to Broadway, but it can host off-Broadway productions.

It all started when James expressed an interest in theatre. (Here in TX we say thee-aye-terr, ya'll) And never one to miss an opportunity to co-mingle fine arts with culture, I did my darndest to make sure that we'd see some theatre. While in London, we watched The Phantom of The Opera at Her Majesty's Theatre. We were completely fascinated with the production and I think both of us walked out of there a little starry eyed.

James mentioned it recently again. And I saw that The Producers was coming to town. So I casually mentioned it, and he said "yes, dear", and I booked our tickets for Saturday, May 28 at UT Bass Concert Hall. Both of us have had a busy month, and he never really asked me details (like ticket costs), and I never really offered up what the play was about. But, it's won numerous Tonys, it's written by Mel Brooks, and featured both Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick.

So Saturday saw James and I "going to the theatre". He finally asked about ticket prices ($60/each), and I gave him a very generalized overview of the musical. Which, how do you explain that it involves 2 greedy men - one who wants to make money, the other to be "somebody", a play idolizing Hitler, a gay director, and a buxom blonde. Doesn't make for good story the way I depicted it. And after James got over the cost of the tickets (which, for the record, I did NOT think was that bad for an off-Broadway production), we settled in to enjoy the show.

And I must say - We Laughed Our Heads Off. It was the most over the top, clever, outlandish, production I've ever seen. I didn't know I'd enjoy it so much. The double entendre, the over-generalized stereo-types, and the over-the-top romance made for a wonderful Saturday afternoon. I laughed non-stop the whole 2nd half after intermission.

So Thank You - UT Performing Arts for making the thee-aye-terr available to us.