When I was growing up, we went to see "A Christmas Carol" every year ever since I can remember. I have vivid memories of Jacob Marley being suspended above the audience and flying overhead to make his entrance, the ghost of Christmas present's large body, colorful robes, loud voice and laughter, and bright red lipstick. I know specific lines by heart. I also remember wearing a fancy Christmas dress every year. The tradition was kept alive up until we had kids. Most theaters don't allow such little kids. Now we have a couple of them that are above the age limit (at the Heritage-ours here in town-the age minimum is only 4). We realized last year that our kids (well, so far, the older ones) like to go to plays after we went to see the Lion King (Broadway) in Salt Lake. So when I saw that our little theater up here in Perry was doing this play, I decided it was tme to revive the tradition!
It really was fantastic. It was on the complete opposite end of the spectrum from the Dallas Theater Center or the Hale Center Theatre, who put on major productions. It was small, low budget, and completely charming. The stage was small, so on one corner, the scene was taking place, and on the other the set was being changed. There were no English accents, Scrooge's bed was made of pvc pipes painted brown, the bed curtains fell off at times, Scrooge forgot some of his lines, they had several actors that played multiple roles, and Jacob Marley sang-which was a first for me. I sat watching this play loving every second of it partly because it made me think of the tradition that is so dear to me and partly because the beauty part of seeing this play SO many times, in so many different ways, in so many different places, is that it is never the same, and I love that.
It was Jared, Sarah, Chloe, Porter, Matt and I. We all grabbed a quick bite before the play. The kids enjoyed the entire thing--except for the Jacob Marley part, which is probably the one part we were a little worried about because it's a little scary. Port just burrowed into his dad's side and covered his ears and eyes. Then he'd ask once in a while if Jacob Marley was coming back.
We're so glad we got to go! I just can't say that enough. We're so glad J and Sare came with us! We hope they'll come with us again next year. We think it might be fun to go to the Hale and see a big production just to see the difference. I can't say that Matt's terribly excited at the idea of going again next year (and the next and the next, etc), but, as his mom said, it's just one of those things he's just going to have to dress up and go do. Don't you just love her?
In other news
I know this is cliche', but I can't believe that Christmas is in 13 days!! I've still got a lot to do! Christmas parties are coming up, the kids get done with school next week, and I feel like I'm not even done decorating my house! I bought some garland to be hung along the top of my front porch, and the Grinch Matt still hasn't hung it! I always have a hard time being done shopping. Even if I've satisfied my list, I feel like we should get one more thing. Is that weird? I get nervous too that we'll get ready to wrap on Christmas eve and find that our piles (for each child) will be completely uneven, and all the stores are closed. I try really hard to be organized, but I still worry. But we love Christmas!! Even though it's a little crazy and goes by way too fast, we LOVE it!
