Friday, January 25, 2013

A Night at the Hipp

For those of you who don't know, the Hippodrome Theatre is one of the oldest remaining Broadway-type venues left. It was renovated several years ago and offers touring Broadway productions of a very high caliber.

My wife Geri & I are season ticket holders & enjoy all the performances.

Last evening we left home for a 7:30pm performance of Beauty & The Beast. We arrived in front of the "Hipp" at 7:05. I dropped my wife off in front as she was recovering from being ill & began scouting for a parking spot. I refuse to pay $10 in a lot so I drove around looking for a spot on the street.

. As I turned the corner there was a line of cars waiting for a lady driving a Ford Expedition trying to pull into a space large enough for a Ford Escort. She pulled in & out, in & out, in & out while the rest of us watched in horror as there was no way to get around her. Finally she navigated enough for all of us to get by even though she needed to negotiate this a few more times.

I drove around the corner & found a spot about 2 1/2 blks from the theatre. It was now 7:15 & 17 degrees. I was wearing my Ravens hoodie & began running up the street in a rather "challenged" neighborhood. As I got to the corner a cop spied me with my hoodie up running down the street. He stared at me while I hollered, "I'm going to the theatre". I guess he believed me because he didn't shoot.

At 7:25 I arrived at the Hipp and found my wife happily designating our seats with plenty of room in front & around us. Then a few minutes later a guy and gal slid in front of us. He was 6'7 & she was 5'11. My wife looked at me with sad eyes so I changed seats with her. We had our heavy coats on a seat next to us and as sure as the Republicans own the House two people slid into those seats. So now I have a guy 6'7 right in front of me while I'm holding two heavy coats on my lap.

During the show, every time the guy leans right I lean left, when he leans left I lean right. Finally, after intermission he falls asleep and leans forward & I can now see the show.

As fate would have it, during the 2nd half a baby starts crying. That's right folks, somebody brought a baby to a Broadway performance that I paid $65 to see!

Now we're near the end of the show, getting ready for the big finale with everyone on stage. A bunch of people in front of us decide they want to get an early exit. So of course everyone in the isle had to stand up to let them pass because the seats at the Hipp were built for members of the Lilliputian Tribe.

I give the show 3 Schlenoff stars (out of 5). Too much dialogue, not enough singing and way too much "Schtick" typical for a Disney production.