The opening of Theatre by the Sea marks the official start of summer. This beautiful barn theatre has been a staple in our community, showing four shows each summer season for 91 years. I remember way back when the barn had wooden benches, no A/C, unlike todays fancy barn digs with mini splits and comfy seats. Fortunately the charm of this old theatre has remained in tact. From the exposed wooded beams to the immaculately cared for grounds the venue is worth visiting regardless of what show is running. This season kicked off with A Chorus Line and once again this tiny 300 seat, theatre delighted and entertained locals bringing Broadway to Matunuck. There was no intermission, but the two hours and fifteen minutes were packed with singing and dancing performances so it went by quickly. I was delighted to finally see this show for the first time and although it won't be on my all time favorites list I enjoyed it very much. My favorites are tough to beat, Hair, Miss Saigon and newly added A Beautiful Noise and MJ the musical, and of course anything starring Andrew Burnap. If you missed reading about what a superstar Andrew is, you'll have to go back and review my Camelot blog, he's awesome....but back to last night. I sat snuggled in between Tim and one of my oldest dearest friends, Collette. She bought season tickets and requested seats next to mine, being extra good to locals, the theatre accommodated. We're hoping the two tall men that sat in front of us were just visiting for the night....taking a break from their professional basketball tour, based on their height. Another high school friend sits across the aisle from us and swears that us shorter gals need to have a side aisle seat in order to see, I really can't disagree. I do wonder that why the tallest people don't look behind and check out who they are blocking, maybe switch seats with their wives and for once block Tim instead of me. It really wasn't that bad, I only missed anything to the far right stage, so I'd put my head down and soak in the beautiful sounds. Tim and I hustled home after the show, slowly coming out of our winter hibernation but since it was a weeknight we needed to get to bed relatively early, or at least try. Fortunately, Theatre by the Sea is only a few minutes from home, so we were back in a flash. We appreciate how lucky we are to have this amazing slice of historic theatre right in our backyard, the least we can do is show our support by being season ticket holders. I can only imagine how great the party will be in nine years, when they celebrate their 100 year anniversary! It was a beautiful night, great show and since the theatre is open it means summer is right around the corner...yes please.
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