West Siiiiiiiide

Wednesday night we went to a production of West Side Story at the MUNY in Forest Park. I think it's something like the largest outdoor musical theater in the country, or something crazy like that. I'm not sure. Check the website if you really want to know. I also don't know what MUNY stands for. Municipal.....something. It's just the MUNY.

Anyway, the MUNY has free seats available in the back rows of the theater to those who want to show up early and claim them. So food in hand (and plenty of water), this is what we did. We arrived at the theater to see a line winding way down the street, but fortunately everyone was allowed in, and we managed to get some pretty decent seats. So then it was just us (all the early-coming cheapskates) and the rest of the empty theater. It sort of felt like a baseball game, and I thought it would be funny if someone came around selling peanuts or beer. And sure enough, a few minutes later someone came around with bottled water and juice. Not quite the same, but you get the picture. Eventually, the actual ticketholders showed up, and the place filled up quickly.

Another way in which the play was like a baseball game: right before it started, an announcer asked everyone to stand for the National Anthem. I can honestly say I've never done that prior to a theater performance before. At the end, the urge to scream "Play ball!" was overwhelming.

Overall, the play was good. Pretty standard production, I think. It reminded of the production I was in during high school, when I was a Jet. And let me tell you, I was a Jet all the way. It also reminded me of some of the bloopers, if you will, from rehearsal:

-one of the characters is supposed to say, "Maria, where are your parents?" But with his accent, it always sounded like, "Maria, where are your pants?" Classic.

-during rehearsal for the final scene, Maria and Tony are running into each other's arms, and the gun goes off, supposedly to shoot Tony, but Maria slipped and fell right at that moment, prompting cries of, "You shot Maria!"

Ok, I could only think of two. But there were more, trust me.