what a difference a day makes.....

yesterday morning, somewhat raw, this morning great happiness! Why, one word: Oklahoma. Saw it last night---and had a great time. Songs, that I have known since my childhood are ringing in my ears. This production, in the round, has been talked about as a deconstruction of the piece, but for me, only the last 15 minutes and the Dream Ballet really stretched the vision of the musical. For the most part, I found it incredibly faithful to the original version---yes, the cast is smaller (there is no chorus) and the full orchestra has been replaced by an incredibly talented 6 or 7 piece on stage band, but not a word of dialogue, as far as I know has been changed; all the songs, even the reprises are exactly where they were as written. What was great about the production was its immediacy in the Circle in the Square theater, and the remarkable cast---I was fortunate enough to see all of its original members from when it was first performed last fall at Saint Ann's. And they were incredibly fresh and spirited, totally spontaneous. The text and the music, I feel are nothing short of remarkable. The first time I saw Oklahoma was in September of 1953 at the City Center theater, this was the last ride for the last touring company of the show---and they played at City Center for a couple of weeks. That day was also the first time my brother, then six, attended a musical. That production, at full proscenium had Ridge Bond as Curley, Florence Henderson as Laurie and Barbara Cook as Ado Annie. So absorbing the show yesterday seemed like a kind of completion of that time.Anyway, really glad I decided to spend the money (a lot for me) and see it.
  This evening I will see a very different kind of play, It is called Is This A Room, and it is basically the text of an interrogation by the FBI of a young woman who is thought to give secrets to the Russians about the 2016 election. My friend Frank is in it. May go out with him afterwards and "hang" It should be very austere, compared to Oklahoma.
  About six more theater evenings are interesting to me in the next 9 days, of course, how many of them I will go to..? Not sure. Money is definitely a factor.
 So this is it---am returning to the apartment now to rest up for the evening, will report soon.