What a Rare Mood I'm In...

First of all, I have to apologize to all the people that have been eagerly awaiting my next blog (Sorry Mom...)
There are many reasons I haven't blogged all over the place in a couple weeks, such as slight writers block, my internet going all wonky, having 12 shifts in the last two weeks, and just overall laziness, but the main reason I'm gonna go with is a little Eau Claire Children's Theatre performance I'm involved with called "BRIGADOON." For those of you that have not seen or heard of it (I'm gonna go out on a limb and say that's everybody) I guess it's a classic play, basically revolving around one man's love for a two-hundred-year-old woman. It's a little more complicated than that, but you get the idea.

Here's the situation with me and this play. First of all, I'm an extra. No lines, no solos, I'm not even in any of the dances. If you know my track record in theatre, you know I'm not exactly used to that. It's hard for me to show up to practice knowing that I'm not going to have a legitimate chance to make a giant ass of myself (not that this prevents me from doing so, it just moves it more behind-the-scenes.) The play is also really long and kinda boring (it's made by the same people that did My Fair Lady, so this isn't that surprising.) Plus, we've been practicing this show since the middle of December (we did take two weeks off for the holidays, but still...that's almost three months, a long time by ECCT standards.) So, I've pretty much hated this show from day one, and my hatred has incrementally grown with each passing day.

But now that we've moved from the ECCT building to the theatre for practices, the weirdest thing has happened. I still hate practices, but I actually like the show itself.

For starters, there's the talent involved. With few exceptions, the leads are my friends; from the new (Kevin Sieg, the most hilariously awkward dude in the world, for instance) to the very very old (my dear friend Greg Kernkamp.) I love these people to death. And songs I once thought boring, complete with the kind of lyrics you find in fifty cent greeting cards, come alive in the mouths of our main characters (especially the romantic lead, Tom Anderson. I love that man like one dude should not love another dude.) The costumes and sets are fun (kilts are surprisingly comfortable, by the way,) and as much as I hate the sound of bagpipes, having a live bagpiper on stage is kinda cool. The dances are complex and awe-inspiring (viewed from the proper distance) and a few of the lines are genuinely funny.

If I had written this blog a week ago, I would have advised you to stay away from this play with all your might. But now I'm not so sure. Don't go because of me, though (unless you really want to see me in a kilt.) I'm not downplaying my role when I say I do nothing. If you've got a night free later this week, however, there are bigger wastes of your time than seeing Brigadoon.

For those of you that might go, it's Feb. 28-March 1 at 7:30, March 2 at 1:30. State Theatre, Eau Claire.