The Hills are Aliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiive, with the Sound of Mucus....Ahhhhhhhhhhhaaahhahhhhackhackhack

I have arrived home from seeing the Eight 'O Clock theatre production of The Sound of Music and to be quite honest, it was not that bad at all. First of all, I am not a fan of that show. I am not a fan of many older musicals, which I know is sacrilege to utter and believe, considering how much of a show queen I am. But I find many of them dated and constructed poorly. I understand their relevance considering the times and understand their immense contribution to the face of musical theatre today, but I still don't like 'em. As such, I have never been a fan of R&H musicals, especially the Von Trapp one. Oddly enough, I reveled in the movie when I was younger and would watch it endlessly. I saw only one other live production of this show and hated it. This one, I actually enjoyed. Aside from a few lackluster performances, and some performances which could and should have been stronger and which I felt were restrained, I enjoyed it. Tucker assembled a great orchestra, as usual. Amanda made a great Maria and it was wonderful to hear her sing soprano; she has made some great strides as a performer. Gary was a compassionate Captain and played the part against stereotype; his singing was surprisingly on key for most of the show. I winced only once or twice. And David wholeheartedly surprised me with his dancing prowess onstage. I was taken aback and shocked that he was moving that well, despite his huge progress in dance class. That proud and shocked feeling gave way to my feeling like a total failure for not being able to make him look that good in Footloose. James got him to look like a dancer, and I didn't. To say nothing of James' abilities, I felt like a waste of space. I often wondered if I had tried just a little harder or spent a little more time. . . . S***y D. I do feel that I let you down and last night kind of proved it. But kudos to you for that stuff, it looked great. The sets were great. I LOVED listening to the pieces sung by the nuns (something about canonical music really stirs my soul). I HATED having to say "hi" to so many people and to get overcrowded. I wish I could be the kind of person who enjoyed all the attention, but I just don;t and hate to be in those situations. People find that hard to believe because most assume I am an egomaniac. But that assumption stems from my being aloof, a perfectionist, and overly passionate about my work. Although the show was long, I did enjoy it. Could use a wee bit more polish, but I suspect that will happen as the show progresses. No show I ever opened was perfect on opening night. The magic of live theatre. And still....watching the show did not give me the itch to get on that stage. Although I seriously regret having to drop out of Of Thee I Sing with Fortner, I am so relieved that I don't have to step foot on a stage, and I just don't know if I ever will or ever will want to again. One night things or industrials sure. Rehearsals and long performance weeks, I don't know.

Anyway, kudos to all three of you and break a leg for the rest of it.