Night at the Opera...ummm...Theater

I love live theatre, especially musicals. There is something special about a bunch of people crowding into a dark room with uncomfortable seating to lose yourself in a world of song and dance. I've never been a great performer and know my place is in the audience. My brother's place is on the stage. Growing up I think my brother struggled to find his niche. He tried sports, scouts, Camp Fire, but it just wasn't a good fit. When we moved to Arkansas my mom signed him up for Youth Theatre at UCA and the rest is history. (Warning...soapbox 103) I admire my parents for standing up to fuddy-duddies who questioned a boy singing and dancing. Once they saw how invested David was, they were equally invested as well. You've heard of the soccer mom? My mom was the theatre mom. One Christmas she even bought her son a case for his makeup. David took his passion for theatre and moved to NYC. As the eldest, type-A, practical to a fault child this seemed like a daunting and at time foolish adventure. However, he did it and can therefore live his life without that particular "what-if." I can't say the same. I don't know what my brother's "destiny" holds, but I know performing will always be a part. And I'm glad to be in his audience.

Ok, so where is this blog heading? Heck, I never know. Allow me to pull back onto the tracks and finish my initial train of thought. (get it, train...this thing on?) I recently took Logan to his first movie, The Princess and the Frog. (eh.) As I was leaving the movie theater, I saw a sign for the children's series at the Orpheum (Memphis' historic theater). I wasn't sure how Logan would do sitting through a live show but when I saw that there was a musical based on one of our favorite book series "Frog and Toad," I knew the show must go on! I bought tickets and began rereading the "Frog and Toad" books to Logan several times a week so he was fresh. A few days before the show I finally broke the news to my little cultured guy. I told him all about wearing fancy clothes, parking downtown, going to a play about "Frog and Toad," and that we had tickets. He was sold when I agreed he could carry his own ticket. I was nervous about managing my less than calm child in downtown Memphis between the parking garage and the Orpheum (and back). On the way to the show, he did great. He insisted on bringing one of his "Frog and Toad" books with him, which I thought was adorable. We sat in our seats (aisle because I anticipated, correctly, several potty runs...and I do mean runs...those sloped aisles are really appealing to a 3 year old boy) and waited anxiously for the show to start. Soon the curtains parted, the music started, and the lights came on. And we had a problem...men dressed in the tradition of "Frog and Toad" began to perform. To an adult or an older child, this isn't a problem. You simply understand that one man is playing Frog and the other Toad. However, this simply won't fly in the literal world of a 3 year old. Logan was quiet and polite but kept tugging on my shirt and whispering "but where is my Frog and my Toad?" Fortunately the show moved at a good pace and had funny songs to keep his interest. I don't think the entire night was a flop, far from it. Even though "Frog and Toad" were not what was expected, we will remember our first night at the theatre together. And if I had any anxieties at all, they were squashed when Logan told me at bedtime, "Mommy, I like our date today."