come on babe why don't we paint the town

Chicago was amazing!

Rachel and Emily met Mamaw and me at the American Cafe, where we had nervous and/or gay waiter who was simultaneously "flirting with" Emily. He made us very uncomfortable. I think maybe his boss was considering firing him, so he was under a lot of pressure. Or maybe he was just wierd. "Bye Emilyyyy." :-p

We walked over to the theatre where we stood around for a little bit waiting for the doors to open. We went in right at 7:30, as soon as the doors opened, and found our seats--in front of the balcony on the center line of the stage. They were wonderful seats, though personally, I would have liked to be closer (i.e. not in the balcony) so I could see the actors' faces more clearly. Though, I shouldn't be complaining. I should feel bad for those who are literally blind and simply see little blobs of black moving around crazily.

Rachel, Emily and I were contemplating for several minutes whether or not their was an orchestra. We noticed, however, that the orchestra pit was open, and filled with chairs on which people were sitting. A few minutes after our discussion, Emily noted some music, and said it was the orchestra practicing. "That's just background music," I said matter-of-factly. "Nope. They're warming up." The curtain came up, and there was the orchestra - fully outfitted on the stage, outlined by a huge gold frame which was hung at a diagonal angle and it made the orchestra look as if it was a painting that had come to life. The play had limited proppage, but the orchestra was the primary backdrop and it was all incorporated into the play. At one point, Roxie Hart went over the the conductor, showed him a newspaper with her name on it, forced him to read it, and took his stick--attempting to conduct the orchestra herself. Very impressively, they stayed perfectly on tempo, and it made me wonder why they needed a conductor at all. I thought it was extremely clever though--the incorporation of the orchestra with the cast. The conductor even had a speaking part or two, introducing some of the numbers.

The whole play took place in front of the elaborate orchestra set up, and each corp cast member doubled, tripled, even quadrupled as various parts. From prisoners, to club dancers, to reporters, to court observers (and a one man jury), they did it all. And, not only did they switch characters, but a fascinating element was that they never switched costumes from the very beginning. So, kind of odd, but the reporters were wearing the same thing that the club dancers were wearing. In other words, Chicago was full of women in fish nets and 10 inch high heels and men in black leather pants and mesh shirts. So, very little props, almost no costume changes ... and the show was nonstop singing and dancing.

So, was it better than the movie? Well, having seen the movie first, I went into to see the play with that as my expectation, because it was all I knew. At first, I kept comparing the show with the movie. Finally, I had to separate the two deliberately so I would stop anticipating something only to be disappointed when it didn't match the movie. I don't think one is better than the other. I think the play is phenomenal, and if you like the theatre, you'll love the play. I think the movie is awesome as well, but it's a film. It's not the theatre. And they did try very hard to give the feel that it was on stage. But it's not. They are both completely different spectrums, and you can't really compare them. However, I think that the play was more entertaining in terms of the singing and dancing--because it's Broadway. And, you can't top that. Not even with a movie; not even with Catherine Zeta Jones and Renee Zellwegger. It's still a movie and it always will be, and Broadway will always be Broadway.

I'm presently at my mom's office, and anxiously awaiting her to get done with whatever it is she needs to do so we can go the the Town Center. Hm. I wonder if we're always going to call it the Town Center of if we'll always call it the new mall. Or the mall. Or St. Johns. :thinks: Anyway, that's where I'm going when my mom's done. Hopefully I'm going to find a sweater, shoes, and jewelry to go with my dinner cruise dress. :) Hope everyone's having a good Saturday!

God bless,
lv

O.A.S.N.
I don't have any set plans over spring break, though there are some in the making, so let me know what you guys are up to. I'd love to hang out with some lovely people. :) Maybe...the beach when it warms up? ^_^