Date Night, Redux - Part II

Many of you have asked about our last week's date night idea: The Play.

Ask and you shall receive.

After grabbing some dinner, we put on our heavy coats, boots, gloves, and hats because the minute we walked outside, we were greeted by a lovely April blizzard. In case you were wondering: no, this is not typical for Seattle... ever... nevermind the fact that it was April. Five minutes into our trip north (Hallelujah! for not having to brave downtown, weekend traffic!) , the snow completely stopped and there was no evidence of our blizzard. Seriously, there was not even a trace of snow on the road.

We continued north until we arrived at our destination: the NET or New Everett Theatre. The theatre's name is funny because the NET is actually really old. When we were seated, the executive director explained that it was built in 1901 and was one of several large theatres in the area. After a fire in 1921, it was rebuilt and was known as the New Everett Theatre. Years later, they renamed it the Historic Everett Theater (we used to go to movies there when I was a kid). A few more years passed and a renovation brought the revival of the new, old name. Look, you got a lovely history lesson about this fair city and you didn't even ask for it - lucky you!

Oh, I must mention this. Walking up to the theater, we were (I was) bursting at the seams with excitement for our new adventure. The name of the play, "Something's Afoot", was bathed in the bold, yellow lights of the marquee. In slightly smaller subtext, it read "A Musical Mystery.. blah... blah.. blah!". The keyword there is musical. As Dave's eyes locked on the marquee, he gasped at the vile 7-letter word - the word which I somehow didn't notice when I was buying the tickets. Oopsie... heh-heh. I reminded him that it was "my turn" for planning and he could plan his date (revenge) this week. Problem solved.

As we nestled back into our cozy seats, the live symphony started playing a silly tune and those feelings of excitement returned. Unfortunately, things went downhill from there. As it is a mystery, I don't want to ruin anything for anyone that decides to go - but just don't. As the curtains opened, a butler, a maid and a gardener took center stage; shortly thereafter, our man Jeeves forgot his lines. Seriously. He stammered until he caught up, but by then I think my jaw was on the floor. I mean, I wasn't expecting Broadway, but I have been to high school plays that were better than this.

Then, the music started and Lettie, the lovely house maid, started singing. She was ok. She was also the best singer that night. The rest of it sounded like, what Dave prefers to describe as, "The Alcatraz Glee Club." The more off-key they sang, the louder they belted their part. It was painful. Again, I'm thinking to myself "we paid money for this?" and my jaw continued to lounge on the floor. As if the bad acting and singing were not enough, then the dance sequences begin. Oy. I think it is sufficient to say that the actors were moving in a syncopated, rather than coordinated motion. I keep looking over at Dave - mostly to make sure he is not trying to strangle me for inflicting this painful experience on him.

So, what have we learned? Something was definitely afoot, and it was definitely not high quality theater. The lesson is this: spontaneity is a great idea, but sometimes it is not. While I'm glad we tried something new, maybe next time I'll grab a rental at Blockbuster.