Today I woke up thinking about concerts, plays, and musical productions I have seen in person during my life. I remember the following, but the list is probably incomplete and the items are not presented in chronological order:
1. Liberace in concert at TCU in Fort Worth. His brother George was there too, playing violin.
2. The First Piano Quartet at TCU in Fort Worth.
3. South Pacific at the Texas State Fair Musicals in Dallas. It starred Mitzi Gaynor as Nellie Forbush and Kay Armen as Bloody Mary.
4. Victor Herbert's operetta Naughty Marietta at the Texas State Fair Musicals in Dallas. I can still hear Patrice Munsel singing "Ah, Sweet Mystery Of Life, At Last I Found You".
5. Amahl And The Night Visitors by Gian-Carlo Menotti at Arlington State College (now UTA) in Arlington, Texas.
6. Man Of La Mancha starring Jack Cassidy at Midnight Sun Dinner Theater in Atlanta.
7. The Rainmaker at Harlequin Dinner Theater in Atlanta.
8. The Fantasticks in 1975 at the
Academy Theater in Atlanta.
9. Hello, Dolly! starring Carol Channing at the Fox Theater in Atlanta.
10. Don't Drink The Water, a non-musical play by Woody Allen, at a theater in Manhattan in 1967. It starred Lou Jacobi, Peggy Cass, and Anita Gillette.
11. Evita at a small theater-in-the-round in Atlanta around 1988.
12. You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown, a play based on Charles Schulz's comic strip Peanuts, at (I think) the Strand Theater in Marietta, Georgia.
13. The Great Divorce, a play based on the book by C.S. Lewis, at the Alliance Theater in Atlanta.
14. The Screwtape Letters, a play based on the book by C.S. Lewis, at the Ferst Center For The Performing Arts in Atlanta.
15. My Fair Lady starring Noel Harrison (son of Rex Harrison who originated the role of Henry Higgins) at the Parker Playhouse in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
16. Dave Brubeck, Stan Getz, and Gerry Mulligan all in the same evening at the Fox Theater in Atlanta during an Atlanta Jazz Festival around 1979 or 1980.
The 16 items above were all professional productions. Items 1-5 occurred during the 1950s. I have seen many amateur productions as well, including:
17. Oklahoma! at the Murray Arts Center in Kennesaw, Georgia.
18. Fiddler On The Roof at the Murray Arts Center in Kennesaw,Georgia.
19. Little Women at the Murray Arts Center in Kennesaw, Georgia.
20. Our Town at the Murray Arts Center in Kennesaw, Georgia.
21. H.M.S. Pinafore at Jacksonville State University in Jacksonville, Alabama.
22. Cabaret at Jacksonville State University in Jacksonville, Alabama.
23. Beauty And The Beast at the Murray Arts Center in Kennesaw, Georgia.
24. Handel's Messiah in Omaha, Nebraska; Boca Raton, Florida; and a few other places.
25. Bach's Magnificat in Arlington, Texas.
26. Mendelssohn's Elijah in Atlanta, Georgia.
My daughter saw Cats on Broadway and has seen national touring productions of Les Miserables several times.
Everyone's interaction with the arts is unique. I'm sure my list pales in comparison to what or whom some of you have seen.
Speaking of seeing, I once saw Ronnie Millsap walking down a concourse at the Atlanta airport, and I once saw Angie Dickinson and Burt Bacharach eating dinner at a restaurant in Manhattan, and I once sat in an auditorium not far from Irving Berlin. I suppose those don't count since the people mentioned were not performing their craft at the time. Oh, I almost forgot that I also breathed the same air as Dick Clark when I was 17 and spent an afternoon on American Bandstand at a television station in Philadelphia. Just one more sign of advancing age, I guess; my memory is starting to go.
I would love to hear about your concert- and play-going experiences in the comments section.
Itzhak Perlman at the Royal Albert Hall (RAH), Nigel Kennedy in Guildford, Igor Oistrakh in London somewhere, possibly the Barbican, Yehudi Menuhin (conducting) at RAH, 'Cats' in London, 'Stop the World, I want to get off' in London, a number of Shakespeare plays at the Old Vic, 'War Horse' in London, Mstislav Rostropovich at the RAH, Royal Ballet in London - there are others that I cannot recall. Oh, yes, I saw Paul Anka, in Rochester, Kent - I didn't particularly like him but my friend at the time did and met him backstage.
ReplyDeleteGreat list! I have also been to symphonies and ballets (Nutcracker, Gisele, and others). Don't know why I forgot to include them. Itzhak Perlman must have been wonderful. I have seen him on television but that's not the same. I would love to have seen Yehudi Menuin. And let me just say that mentioning Royal Albert Hall and the Old Vic puts you in an entirely different orbit from those of us in the former colonies. Thank you, Janice!
DeleteMy attendance was much less but I began to think about it and I didn't do too bad. My first concert was a Grand Ol' Opry presentation . Skeeter Davis was the headliner. Gary Lewis and the Playboys were riding high when I saw them. I have seen Grease (the movie, the play, and on ice) so many times. Disney on Ice. Queen. KISS. Plays amd ballet. I have known a lot of famous folks. The girl who became Miss Iowa twice satbehind me in geometry. When I was a little girl I had a crush on a pitcher for the local Junior Legion team. He was in the Yankees farm system for years. I knew Rosa Parks. You would never meet a more quiet elegant sweet Southern belle. My granddaughter and I were regulars when the Irish Rovers came to town. I guess I did okay.
ReplyDeleteI am fascinated by the diverse musical tastes of readers of this blog! Also, please elaborate on how you happen to have known Rosa Parks! I’m, as my mirror verifies, all ears! Thank you, Emma!
DeleteA friend was a member of the Detroit City Council. Rosa Parks was her friend. I met her at a political function and we became friends. I suppose now would be a good time to mention that Mayor Coleman Young and I were not friends. Among other names he called me he also said I was a "smart-ass".
DeleteI associated Rosa Parks with Montgomery, Alabama. I had forgotten that she moved to Detroit. Makes sense now knowing that you moved around the Midwest. You are smart. The mayor was only half right.
DeleteI've seen the Rolling Stones back in the 1970s but they were too far away to really "see" them!
ReplyDeleteI saw the Doobie Brothers and couldn't hear for 2 weeks after that because the music was so loud!
I remember when The Association performed a concert at my college.
I saw the Blue Man Group in Chicago and that was great fun.
I haven't gone to many plays or musicals that I can remember.
I don’t think I have ever been to a pop concert or a rock concert. However, I did become good friends in middle age with a man we had sung bass in The Jordannaires, the group who made many recordings and appearances with Elvis Presley. Thank you, Ellen!
DeleteBob, how on earth do you recall all those details?
ReplyDeleteI started going to 'classical' concerts at Liverpool's famous Philharmonic Hall at the age of 16 and I went week in and week out until I left the City. After that in the last half century my concert going has become more sporadic because I have not lived anywhere where 'classical' concerts are readily available.
Some people think I have a photographic memory, but I would say I have a ‘very good, quite retentive’ memory. It is certainly not photographic as there is much I cannot recall. That phrase could come in handy if I should ever receive a subpoena to appear before a Congressional committee.
DeleteI do love hearing classical music but have attended very few symphony concerts over the years because the cost proved to be prohibitive. I remember watching a Vladimir Horowitz concert on television that was wonderful. Thank you, Graham!