Ryan's birthday was last Wednesday and so I surprised him with tickets to see Aida at the Hale Center Theater. We were thrilled to discover that the smallish theater was actually really good, and not small-town potatoes after all. We had such a great time- Melese and Kyle babysat our bug for us and so we actually felt like we were all cool and dating again. It was sweet. :)
The whole way home we couldn't stop talking about how amazing the play had been, despite the weird 80's twist (I'm pretty sure the pharoahs didn't wear anything near as tight as those leather pants with puff paint hieroglyphics, or have a femmy egyptian punk working on their daughters' nails). And their voices- especially the girl who played Aida- were absolutely fabulous. It was intimate theater, and I had forgotten how much fun it is to get completely caught up in the fantasy of it all.
The storyline was definitely different, but I was thinking about it, and I can totally picture the writers at work, dreaming it all up-
"Hmm, you know, I really like the story of Romeo and Juliet, but it's just so depressing. You know what should have happened? They should have been reincarnated."
"Yeah, that's it. Ok, now where could we set a story like that- I mean, who believes in reincarnation? "
" I know- Egypt!"
"That's it. Now all we need are some jazzy, up-tempo show numbers that virtually scream Elton John's name and we're set."
"Oh, man. This is gonna be so sweet."
Yeah, I'm bettin' that's pretty much how it all happened. Although, Ry pointed out that I probably ruined it for all those that don't know the story. Oh well, now at least you know that if you're lookin' for down and out tragedy than this isn't the show for you.
Its funny because both Ry and I said at the same time on the way home that you know, normally we don't believe in reincarnation, but sometimes, in the interest of a story not ending as a total downer, we're ok to let that one slide for a while. Yup. Stand up for what you believe in, people. :)