The Long Red Road

Yesterday we went to see a matinee performance of The Long Red Road at the Goodman Theater. We drove down to the city with our friends, Peggy and Butch, and enjoyed lunch first. I adore the Goodman Theater because of its cozy quaintness, charm and intimate seating. We were able to get front-row seats and sit just a foot away from the stage. I could have reached out and touched the actors! (But I didn’t. No worries there. Super Hubs was vigilant to see that I behaved myself.) Being up close to see the mannerisms and expressions of these brilliant performers at so evocative a drama was thrilling and deeply personal. I love to act; hence, this art form makes my heart soar.

The matinee patrons were an interesting motley group of largely AARPers The lady above me spilled an entire bag of M&Ms which trickled down the steps with a kerplunk, kerplink, kerplunk, and were then kicked under the seat by a man down the row. Another senior dropped her cell phone from the mezzanine onto the back of a man sitting on the main floor. I heard a ringing sound throughout Act 1 of the play, which I recognized later as coming from the hearing aid of the woman sitting next to me. Ahhh.....I felt young and spry for the first time in a long time. Thank you, Theater Patron Seniors!

When the performance was over, we happened to run into the playwright, Brett C. Leonard. Can I express how thrilling that meeting was for me? I shall try. It.Was.Profoundly.Exciting.To me!! I babbled to him about how amazing I felt the play was, using eloquent verbiage such as “awesome” and “super.” Though I sounded like a star-struck 13-year-old, he was gracious and humble and seemed sincerely touched by our encouragement.

How I love the theater! I must get season tickets somewhere someday soon. (Note to self: Put that on my Bucket List.)

"I regard the theater as the greatest of all art forms, the most immediate way in which a human being can share with another the sense of what it is to be a human being."
Oscar Wilde