Quality Entertainment

Last night, Otto and I had our first night out without the baby. I was really proud of myself when I realized how easy it was to walk out the door. Then I spent the next three hours convinced he would not still be alive when I got back. Ah well... little by little. :)

The good news is, we shared an amazing evening full of some of the best quality entertainment I have seen in quite some time. We saw "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" put on by the Hale Center Theatre. You can find them here:
http://www.halecentretheatre.org/

I can't tell you how much I recommend Hale. I told Otto on the way home last night that I am amazed at how often Hale amazes me. Coming from one who has seen countless Broadway productions, and been around music my entire life, I know how to recognize quality when I see it. These tickets only cost $26 a piece, and the quality is often similar to what I've seen on Broadway. WOW!!! The acting, the voices, the costumes, the set design, ALL of it is top quality. When Joseph sang, "Close every door to me" I was pretty sure I had died and gone to heaven. And then he did an encore. AWESOME. This guy was incredible tenor, and even put Donny to shame. So much fun to be a part of.

I have always loved the musical "Joseph." In fact, the first week after Otto and I met, I spent a good amount of time convincing him one night that he needed to see it. We even spent time looking up clips of it on youtube. Lucky for us, as we continued to google it, we found that there was a local production of it being done that weekend, and thus Otto found a GREAT excuse to ask me on our first date. Here we on our first date and our first production of "Joseph" (Aug 1st, 2009)

One of the things that made our experience last night so enjoyable (besides that we were reliving our first date by going on our first date without baby) was that our neighbors and dear friends, Dave and Sarah Martin both had substantial roles in this show. I was blown away by how good they both were. Here is a picture of the four of us after the production:

 Dave was one of the brothers, with a big solo number, and Sarah was a wife of one of the brothers, and also Potipher's wife.

And then of course to document, here is one of Otto and I outside the theater. One of the things I love most about Otto is that he goes to musicals with me, and enjoys them ALMOST as much as I do. How could he be more perfect?

I asked Otto if he would be mad if I paid another $26 to go back and see it again next week before it closes. Oh yeah... that whole we have no incomes thing again. Dang.

I love musicals, and always have. I was raised on them. I see great advantage in raising kids to appreciate classics that most people don't because they are not accustomed to them. But I seem to have rediscovered them lately in a new way as I have sought after good quality, clean, wholesome and uplifting entertainment to bring a good spirit into my home. I have found since becoming a mother, I am much more sensitive to language, sexual innuendos and violence than I ever was before. I want more than anything for my home to be an uplifting place for my children to grow up. And let's be honest, I can't watch anything violent or frightening anymore... I have a hard enough time not freaking myself out about every little thing as it is! So lately, we have been exploring all the oldies but goodies. If you are looking for some clean, uplifting entertainment for your families, here are some of the Shill's suggestions. These have been our favorites in the last few months. You can buy most of them on
www.amazon.com
or rent them at your local library.

Hello Dolly (Barbara Streisand)
7 Brides for 7 Brothers
The Music Man
Kiss me Kate (Howard Keel)
Annie get your Gun
Sound of Music
Brigadoon

Must see plays (if they come to your area)
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
Ragtime
Scarlett Pimpernel (the musical)
Les Miserables
Phantom of the Opera

What are some of your favorite classics? What are ways that you provide good quality entertainment for your children and families?