A Real Theater

We were in a real theater. A real, serious, professional, old vaudeville theater. The Kirby Theater in Wilkes Barre, PA. With an IATSE crew that made our load-out take less than 45 minutes.

It’s a different show on a stage. When we’re in a gymnatorium or classroom, the kids are right in front of us. In the opening, when we sing “We’re looking for Max,” almost everyone had gotten into the habit of looking the little munchkins in their eyes, which invariably makes some cry and some become gripped with excitement (sometimes so much that they seem to soil themselves). In a theater, that imaginary “4th wall” is much more present. The kids respond a little differently. They’re quieter, certainly, and much more polite which, at times, isn’t quite as fun (Exhibit A: today’s “kid quote of the day”).

However, this show has moments that are a little larger than life and, in classrooms, it just doesn’t work the same way. The stage gives us the space (literally and figuratively) to let go, move around, kick high and rock out. So, it is no wonder that this was the most exhausting performance I’ve done so far. And, for the first time, it felt like a real show. Lights, the reverb from sound, wing space, dressing rooms and a balcony. Nothin’ better.



Kid quote of the day: During “Blue Tarantula,” a little boy curled up under his coat like it was a blanket, with only his eyes above the collar.

Call tomorrow: 6:30am, Motel 6 in Essington, PA.