New Experiences

It has been awhile and I want to share a lot with people and introduce them to my blog. I love being able to write and share my experiences at the Majestic Theatre.  I feel bad that I have not taken the time to keep up with my blog but I am going to turn over a new leaf.  There have been so many shows I have seen and many exciting experiences. I can't catch up but I will review some highlights.

One show that was absolutely amazing was The Lion King.  That show came through during the Christmas season last year and was well attended.  The Lion King was like no other show I had seen in my life. The actors were amazing. I was especially impressed with the boy who played Young Simba. Dawna liked the actor who played Scar (I suppose she has a little rebellion in her, HA).  But, the entire production was amazing and there were many specific instructions for us ushers to follow.  One important part of the show was at the very beginning when characters came right down the aisles. These characters are not just people in costumes...they are productions in and of themselves.  We had to make sure that the patrons didn't stand up or walk in the aisles when the costumed performers came down their aisles. I worried every night if one of the actors would fall. I decided that The Lion King was my favorite show ever. The theatrics were amazing and kept you riveted to the stage from beginning to end.

Another show we enjoyed doing was one called 1964 - The Tribute.  It was another tribute Beatles Band and they were amazing too.  We had an all around good time. Entertained the entire evening. The actors/singers had a meet and greet at the end. Dawna and I stayed to help with the line of people waiting for the meet and greet and afterwards took some pics with them.  It was just a fun time for us. I love the Beatles so seeing this was enjoyable to hear their music from the early days of the band.  Here is a picture we took with them.

 "Weird Al"  came and he was truly entertaining.  His show was one of the best shows I have ever seen. I was so. impressed with the man's talents and the ability that he had to put on a phenomenal show. Everyone went away from the show entertained.  I loved his "White and Nerdy" song when he had came out on stage driving a segway. They played a video in the background of Donny Osmond being all nerdy and I cracked up. 

The audience was a mix of young and old; male and female. He appeals to many. My husband Ken took our son Ian to see it and they had a great time too. Ian got a T-shirt and thought it was cool to be sitting just 10 rows back. 

I do love the volunteers at the Majestic and all the years of dedication many have put into it.  Some have been there for more than 20 years and others just a few years. But, we all work together with some of the greatest staff members in any business.  The house managers are a blast to work with and they are enthusiastic about the shows and great with the patrons.

It took me forever to finalize this post one put it up, but I will add more later.  I hope to keep up with this more regularly now too.

P.S. Since I took so long to publish this, I have decided there is a new favorite show. Stay tuned for updates soon on what my favorite show is now.

Observations

OK, so I graduated from college in May 2009; a dream come true. It was 30 years in the making for me (yes, I'm old). So, it was off to find the dream job. Hard to find jobs during economic hard times. I have a part-time position and I like it a lot. I work at a local community college as a writing tutor. It's nice and the students are good people.

But, what to do with my free time? I love Broadway shows and concerts but since I'm only working part-time, I can't afford to go to them. Then I heard about the Majestic Theatre http://majesticempire.com/ here in San Antonio, Texas. You can sign up to be a volunteer usher. So I did. I decided it might be an interesting endeavor for me. I invited my good friend Dawna to volunteer with me. We quickly discovered it was a very interesting place to volunteer. The shows are great,and the experience is so rewarding on many levels. This blog is about the performances and about the patrons who attend these shows.
The first show I worked was a Broadway Across America series show; Mama Mia. http://www.mamma-mia.com/ I was working at the doors to the house and the patrons had to wait until the stage was ready to go to their seats. People crowded the doors, trying to peek through the small windows to catch a glimpse of the stage or the actors. They started to ask me all kinds of questions about the show, about the actors, about the stage and about the songs. I didn't have a clue. I had never seen the show, wouldn't know the actors if I tripped over them, couldn't see the stage myself and only knew the songs of Abba from my youth. The crowd was an interesting mix. Since it was a matinee, parents, aunts, uncles, grandmas and grandpas brought younger children with them (not that the show was particularly appropriate for young children). Also in attendance were single men and women who seemed to be Broadway play aficionados. They knew everything there was to know about every play especially Mamma Mia. They couldn't wait to share that knowledge with me. One guy kept asking me if I could get him backstage to meet the actors (Heck, I can't even get backstage. I don't even know where the backstage door is). When the doors finally opened, the flood of people going in all directions was an interesting sight. All the ushers worked together to make the patrons comfortable and help them all find their seats. It was as if all the ushers were part of a well oiled machine, yet, many of us were there for the first time.
During the show, we sat in the back section and watched. During intermission, we returned to our posts and directed people to the bathroom or bar. One man came up to me with his wife and told me he was very appreciative of the work I was doing. He reached over and before I knew it, he was hugging me! I didn't even know this man. When the show was over and the people began to trickle out, many who had been talking to me before the show, found me again to comment on the performance. Comments ranged from "amazing" to "great show" or "not appropriate for children" (DUH).

The next show I did was a San Antonio Symphony. http://www.sasymphony.org/ The crowds were small and varied. The people were very nice and cordial. One man made it a point to talk to me when he walked into the theater. He shared with me some of past Symphony performances he attended and told me how great it was to have season tickets.

A couple of weeks later, I worked for Rain. http://raintribute.com/ Here were grown men and women (hippies in their heyday, I suppose) with children and grandchildren in attendance. They were screaming and singing as if it was the real Beatles up there. I must say, I was memorized by the talents of Rain. I almost thought it was the real Beatles up there a few times. Amazing. The clothing worn by the patrons varied from old tie-dyed shirts and Birkenstocks to elegant strappy dresses and high-heels. Everyone stood and danced to songs like "Back in the USSR" or "Get Back" and swayed to ballads like "Yesterday" or "Hey, Jude." I swore I even saw one lady wiping away tears from her cheeks as the band played on.

Well, there are many more tales to share and experiences too. Check back often for updates on new and past show experiences. I hope you will enjoy following this as much as I will enjoy writing it.