If you’re brand new to my blog, you need to know that I love theater. I love all aspects of it; performing, producing, directing, set-building, costumes, lighting, sound, music, choreography, blocking, even the layout of the house, the ornamentation of the lobby, and the mechanics of the stage. Since the purpose of moving to New England was to be closer to our daughter in New Jersey, we’ve taken many opportunities to see shows in New York. Recently we’ve also been attending shows a little closer to home. The Boston area is blessed with some great houses in the city, and also some wonderful regional theaters in outlying areas. This month we took the opportunity to visit two of these theaters to see shows I’ve listened to for years, but never seen performed.

A Chorus Line came out when I was in Junior High, and was very popular when I was developing an interest in musical theater in High School. I fell in love with the two signature songs, “What I Did for Love” and “One.” One time I used a portion of “One” as my ring tone, which unfortunately went off during a funeral. That’s another story for another day. A few weeks ago I was visiting playbill.com and noticed that the show was playing at the Cape Playhouse in Dennis, MA.  With a near all equity cast, I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to finally see the show.

The cape is about a 2 hour drive from our home in good traffic. And traffic was really good, even through Boston, until two miles from the Sagamore bridge that leads onto the cape. At this point traffic slowed to a stifling crawl that took thirty minutes to travel two miles. The cape is certainly a popular place in the summer. Fortunately, our lunch reservation wasn’t until 2:00 and we had planned appropriately. I picked a really nice sea side restaurant to enjoy our lobster roll and quesadilla!

We arrived at the theater in good time. The place was looked like a picture from a New England architecture magazine complete with wood shake siding, white trim, and patriotic bunting.  I love the houses that are often smaller than a high school auditorium. The interior reminded me of the Country Bear Jamboree at Disney World. The show was great! The acting, singing, and dancing were all as great as I’d hoped for. The performance began at 4:00 PM and was out by 6:30 so there was still plenty of light to enjoy a scenic drive through Barnstable and Sandwich before returning home.

Evita is another show I’ve listened to for years but never had the opportunity to see. The SeaCoast Repertory Theatre in Portsmouth, NH has been recommended to me by many people so we decided to give it a try. Portsmouth is a beautiful little city and I make any opportunity to visit it when I can. We invited Dillard and Laurie to join us for a waterfront dinner at the Martingale Wharf restaurant and the show.

Unlike A Chorus Line, this cast was not comprised of Broadway performers so I was unsure of the quality going in. My fears were soon dispelled as they presented a first-rate performance of a challenging show. The venue is small, with stadium seating that surrounds most of the stage. The cast utilized the house to great effect giving the audience the sense they are a part of the scene. SeaCoast rep has certainly earned another patron.

Not only do I love theater, I can also be a snob. I figure if I am going to pay comparable prices to a Broadway show, it better be of comparable quality. While neither of these shows were quite that expensive, they certainly met the standards of my snooty sensibilities. I am certainly blessed to live in an area that has amazing opportunities even outside the major cities. Just another charm about living in New England!

“Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all.” – Helen Keller