A Friday Night Trip to the South Pacific

After reading about a New Yorkers trip to see The Nose at the Met (Walking Off The Big Apple, another blog), I had the pleasure tonight of seeing South Pacific at Memphis' own artsy hotspot, The Orpheum. I had seen this production once at the high school where my aunt helped produce the show, but this performance was slightly more sophisticated than the other...

Any chance I get to go to the Orpheum is always a treat. Last time I had the thrill of experiencing Broadway's Wicked. (Soooo great!) Anyways, no matter how many times I go I'm always looking up, drawn to the ornate ceilings and sparkling chandeliers. I can't get enough of that theater feel. As a stage manager in high school, I can always appreciate how much work it takes to get the audience from the door through the 2-3 hour performance. And making friends with people in line at the bathroom is just a must because the wait is so dadgum long. My mom and I had the pleasure of meeting an older woman in a halter who had the misfortune of climbing the stairs with her champagne and spilling it on her dress (which was a halter dress by the way, a surprisingly nice pick for someone of such an age).

The first song was surprisingly perfect as the lead actress playing Nellie Forbush, Carmen Cusack, sang with the most classic Judy-Garland-esque voice I have yet to hear. The frenchman opposite her, Rod Gilfry, had a great quality sound, but I was never quite able to make out what he was trying to sing about... Lieutenant Cable was, of course, gorgeous with the voice of an angel. Everybody else did great too, but the main characters were chosen as the main characters for a reason.

Intermission as always was a rush of theater nazis to get at the rest of the wine and champagne. Not being 21 myself, I got my bottled water and peanut m&ms to make it back to my new seat just in time for the show to begin again. Mom and I had changed seats by this point due to the lady in front of me originally who insisted on being that "sit on the edge of my seat and lean over" kinda person. And she was nothing compared to the "crinkle my candy wrapper at the loudest possible volume" woman and the "forgot to silence my cell phone" gentleman.

Overall, great experience at the theater and a wonderful coincidence that I happened to go the same night I was inspired to see a show at the Met! (Thanks to my grandfather and grandmother who bailed at the last minute and gave my mom and I free tickets. )