Thursday evening, Mel C and I went to see Les Miserables at the Benedum Center. Like last year, I had given her theater tickets for her birthday, so I guess this is becoming our annual night out.
We got the night started on the right foot by stopping for martinis and appetizers at Atria's. This is Mel C's mango martini, which was much prettier than mine, but despite it colorlessness, I thoroughly enjoyed my pear martini.
This was my fourth time seeing Les Mis, but Mel C's first. Since this version was a Civic Light Opera presentation, and not the Broadway production, there were differences, mostly to the sets and the blocking. So poor Mel C, who was none the wiser, had to listen to me blathering complaints the whole time about the changes. The biggest was the omission of the turn table in the middle of the stage, and I have to say that I really missed it. Javert's suicide looked ridiculous without it, and the barricades were especially lacking. Oh, and Eponine was played by a blonde, which I still can't get over. Otherwise, it was my beloved Les Mis, with the beautiful score and wonderful lyrics that I can still recite word by word in my head.
Unfortunately, I can't say that about the others around us. Like when we saw Wicked last year, a group of kids sat behind us who would burst out into song now and then. At intermission, Mel C decided to chat them up, using their cinnamon roasted nuts as a conversation starter, since although you can smell them throughout the theater, you can't actually find them anywhere. When asked how he knew all the words to the songs, one the boys said that he had the whole soundtrack bootlegged on his computer. Then he insisted that Mel C take what was left of his nuts, which Mel C politely yet firmly refused, for fear she would be arrested for propositioning a minor.
When it was all said and done, we had a marvelous time and are already looking forward to next year's outing. Will it be Young Frankenstein or Grease with Taylor Hicks?
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