Down the Tubes Productions

I grew up in a family of performers. It was practically a requirement that you would either pick up an instrument, belt out a tune, orate a soliloquy, or shuffle off to Buffalo a la Cab Calloway. For many of us, it was a combination of the above listed familial expectations, if not all of them (looking at you, Joe, our family’s version of Harold Hill). 

My hearing loss made singing very challenging which has always been a bit of a sore spot for me as my lineage includes a World War 2 era lounge singer by the name of Madeline Starr – my Grandfather’s sister – who remains one of the coolest people to ever grace the stage. I joined the high school chorus anyway, and reveled in switching over to the soprano side of the aisle while I belonged (barely) with the alto range. But, in my defense, the musical medley from Gershwin’s “Porgy and Bess” was just so much more fun on the melody end than the harmony side where the altoists were constantly mired!

While I may not be the most musically gifted of my family, I do have an impressive musical memory for melodies and lyrics. On command, I can sing portions – if not an entire score – of many, many musicals. My personal jukebox repertoire includes selections from the following: 

• “Jesus Christ Superstar”
• “Les Misérables”
• “Miss Saigon”
• “Phantom of the Opera”
• “The Music Man” 
• “Avenue Q”
• “Hamilton
• “Wicked”
• “Little Shop of Horrors”
• “Chicago”
• “West Side Story”
• “South Pacific”  (in all of it is controversy)

And of course – after a few libations – I can be persuaded with little encouragement to belt out “New York, New York” in the style of Liza Manelli (complete with the high kicking). A few more drinkies leads to my rendition of “Memories” from the musical “Cats” – and ultimately also leads to my being removed from the gathering and put to bed with a glass of water, crackers, and two Advil. 

While I did not have a chance to tread the boards professionally, I love attending live theater. I have lost count of how many performances I have attended of a variety of musicals and plays both on the big and small stages (though I have seen the stage production of “Wicked” 6 times…some call it an obsession, I call it a lifestyle). I am ecstatic to have the opportunity to see the relatively new musical, “The Outsiders” in April at The Opera House in Boston! An already exciting theater outing made better by this performance having open captions! 

I have attended several performances with open captions at The Opera House and it has been fantastic to have the captions there to support what is being seen and heard from the stage even when I know everything about the musical – from the original cast to the songs to the dialogue – there is a comfort in having the backup of the captions. 

It is important to “note” (get it?) that there is a level of preparation that I do prior to seeing a show regardless if there is a caption option to ensure maximum enjoyment of the performance. I always do the following prep steps before attending: 

1. Read the synopsis
2. Find the lyrics
3. Listen to the soundtrack with the lyrics. Repeatedly. 
4. Remove the lyrics and listen to the soundtrack to learn the melodies of each song. Repeatedly. 
5. Read the synopsis (again)
6. Find a recorded version of the musical if possible, watch it through with the lyrics. 
7. Watch said recorded version of the musical a second time without the lyrics so I can focus on the storyline without having to look up and down from the pages of lyrics if captions are not available on the recording. 
8. Read reviews of the show as well as hunt down any YouTube clips from the musical to glean more information about the characters, stage production, set, lighting and any other facets that I can preview prior to attending. 

Last step – assemble an outfit. Arguably the most important part of the process as I dress for the occasion as much as possible. For example, I wore a leopard scarf in homage to Barbra to “Funny Girl” and had plans to wear a snazzy faux fur cropped jacket number to “Kinky Boots” prior to the performance cancellation due to that pesky impending blizzard. For “The Outsiders”, I may need to bring in some denim and leather combination or go full on preppy – it remains to be seen whether I lean towards the “Greasers” or the “Socs”. 

From the opening “Hello, Gorgeous” from “Funny Girl” to the unexpected and tragic sacrifice of Kim from “Miss Saigon”, there is a magic of live theater that cannot be understated. 

And how lucky am I to be able to experience it.