Uh-oh, here we go.
Gentle Readers,
What is the best show, concert, musical and/or play you've ever seen?
As always, more than one answer is welcome. That's because I have more than one answer.
Best Show: First, When Favorite Young Man was in high school, he played the trombone in the marching band. Their half-time shows were always creative, but his senior year was the best of all. The opening notes were that familiar little tune from Close Encounters of the Third Kind. The students (100+) marched onto the field inside a space ship built by some of the parents. They played the Cantina music from Star Wars and I don't remember what else, but the piece de resistance was when they all put on sun glasses and did The Men In Black Dance. And favorite young man was in the front row for the dance and for good reason. My boy can bust a move. Second, FYM used to play trombone in a pretty successful Christian punk ska band. Every single show they did was their best ever.
Concert: RFK Stadium, July 4th, 1989 was the year I think. Paul McCartney. He shouted, America! It's your birthday! Then he went to the piano and played and sang Birthday. Yesterday. Michelle. Live and Let Die was great with fireworks. The entire evening was a childhood dream come true. Several years ago I saw Bon Jovi in Chicago. Those guys really put on a show. They played for three hours and I adored every minute of it.
Musical: Oi! I love Broadway. Saw Julie Andrews in Victor/Victoria; Bernadette Peters in Annie Get Your Gun; and Mathew Broderick and Sarah Jessica Parker in How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. But the very best was Bring In Da Noise, Bring In Da Funk. Way cool.
Looking forward to reading your responses. Bring me some noise and funk, or off with your heads!
Infinities of love,
Lola
My motto as an editor: Authors are the authority on their work. I'm a full-service editor. For a reasonable fee, I'm your writing coach from the first suggested revision to the correction of the final typo.
I have been to any of them in years upon years, no idea on this one.
ReplyDeleteBest concert hands down was Journey.
ReplyDeleteBest Show - The Diviners - I saw a production of it done by the University of South Florida (Tampa) when my high school went to a performing arts competition. I've never laughed and cried so much through one show.
Best Musical - Annie- because I wanted to be her.
Best concert: Styx "Paradise Theater" in Chicago. Best show: Hubbard Street Dance Company, also in Chicago, mid 80's. Riverdance was a close second.
ReplyDeleteYou have the best answers (and comments) for everything. I LOVE it :) Oh and Julie Andrews--how cool is that.
ReplyDeleteMy best show would be "Annie" because I got to see it with my grandma before she passed away.
Best Movie...Debbie Does Dallas
ReplyDeleteBest Stage Show...CATS
Best Concert...PP&M...I know all the words to all their songs.
or
Alabama...you cannot set still when they are playing.
Coffey, PP&M? Is that anything like S&M? Stephanie, You wanted to be an orphan scrubbing floors or you wanted to play the part of Annie? Pat, You didn't even see White Stripes when they hit Nova Scotia? I know it's not exactly a bustling place, but you need to get out more dude. Suz, I almost got to see Styx once, but they canceled their show. I guess somebody finally admitted to them that they were booked in Topeka and they said NO WAY. Elisa, Thank you so much. Another Annie lover. And Julie Andrews was amazing. Second row seats. She must have been close to 60 but she looked gorgeous.
ReplyDeleteYou got to see Paul McCartney? That is awesome. My favorite concert was a toss up between ZZ Top and The Moody Blues. But then Barry White, Meatloaf and a few others are in there too! Loved your post.
ReplyDeleteHey Barb, LegalMist just saw ZZ Top recently. Said they look the same. I bet Meat Loaf was great. Seeing McCartney was quite a thrill for me.
ReplyDeleteSorry! You young kids don't know that PP&M is Peter, Paul and Mary. Back in the day they were amazing. The two different guitar beats and the harmony...they were brilliant. Socialist liberals, but great singers.
ReplyDeleteOh I love Peter, Paul, and Mary. I just never heard them called PP&M. They were great and they're still great. I saw them on TV just a few weeks ago. Those gorgeous harmonies.
ReplyDeleteTwo of the only worthwhile experiences I had in Santa Clarita was seeing Hal Holbrook as Mark Twain in "Mark Twain Tonight!" and Frank Ferrante as Groucho Marx in "An Evening with Groucho." Both one-man shows and both at the College of the Canyons Performing Arts Center.
ReplyDeleteThe program for "Mark Twain Tonight!" warned of the pervasity of cigar smoke, since Holbrook uses one in the show and they weren't kidding. It wasn't casino-style, but it was noticeable. It was like Twain had come back to life and I had really wanted to see this because my 11th grade English teacher at Hollywood Hills High in Florida showed the 1967 TV special that aired on CBS and I was hooked. This made it come full circle.
Ferrante made it seem like Groucho Marx was alive again as well, and improvised a great deal. He clearly studied wherever he was performing, because he joked about Santa Clarita and his references were accurate. He came to my row and for some reason that I forget now, something about togetherness, about community theater or something, implored my row to hug this wheelchair-bound woman near us and so we did. After the show, I met Ferrante briefly and his pianist, Jim Furmston, and asked them to sign my program. I also complimented Ferrante via Facebook after finding his account. It was an incredible experience.
I saw Holbrook as Twain on TV. It was very good. I'm happy two good things happened in Santa Clarita. It's better than nothin'.
ReplyDeleteI'm happy two good things happened in Santa Clarita. It's better than nothin'.
ReplyDeleteThe only other things I count as happenings in this valley is the Galaga arcade machine at Valencia Ice Station (two league- and school-sized rinks, and one smaller one) and the end of the year trips to Disneyland with my dad's school, and chaperoning my sister's Grad Nite to Disneyland in 2007, though, as with anything interesting in this valley, you have to leave for it. Those were only the starting points, so they count as 1/8.