Sunday, June 14, 2009

Beef and Boards Presents "Annie"

This afternoon, Christy and I had a real treat. We got to take Teagan to Beef and Boards Dinner Theatre to see "Annie." We arrived at the theatre and picked up the tickets. The buffet is set up where the stage eventually comes out. We are taken to our table, order our drinks (coffee for Christy, iced tea for me, lemonade for Teagan). We load up on food in the buffet- Teagan wanted some of everything. Fruit, salad, baked fish, mashed potatoes, corn on the cob, mac n cheese, chicken fingers. That was everything TEAGAN ate. Christy and I also had roast beef and fresh veggies and Christy managed to snag some baked apples. We ate well! The show starts after the buffet is removed. The emcee comes out and goes through the basics and then announces birthdays, groups, celebrations in the audience. There was a married couple there celebrating their 70th wedding anniversary! Pretty amazing. The lights go to half. The music starts. The lights go dark, the curtain rises, the set moves into place. The lights come up on a few beds overloaded with orphans. I had to force myself to not stare at my daughter. She was sitting on Aunt Christy's lap on the other side of the table. Every time I would turn to catch a glimpse of how she was enjoying the opening... I'd get all choked up. First few numbers of the show... I was all kinds of teary and fighting off these emotions. Not sadness, of course. But the excitement of seeing a show like Annie... one I'd not ever seen on stage but had grown to love passionately through the soundtrack and, later, through the movie. I'd acted out every song, every role, in my bedroom. Soundtrack at full volume... Miss Hanigan, Annie, Grace, Rooster, Lily St Regis, Daddy Warbucks, The Lovely Boylan Sisters. When I was a camp counselor for a summer day camp for kids with emotional disorders... I actually started many a morning by being totally silly to "You're Never Fully Dressed Without A Smile," to the delight of the kids. I had daydreams of being discovered and being asked to be an orphan... but I didn't dare to dream of being Annie... except while in my bedroom, on my bed-stage... To take all of that and pass it along to my daughter like this... I'm not sure there are words for it, really.

7 comments:

Boozy Tooth said...

It's a hard knock life!

So happy you got to experiece the joy of theater (again!) with your young little darlin.

Annie has to just be the best show for a gal your daughter's age. We took Adrian to see the movie Annie, but it's not the same thing. Live performances are so much more magical.

I'm so thrilled for you that you can share this with sweet Teagan. And by the way... I've been a tad behind with my blog reading because of moving my Aunt down from NY, but the ballet post and photos? Melted my heart. How beautiful and endearing.

You are a lucky and amazing mom, Liz. God bless you and your family always.

Eternal Lizdom said...

Wanna know what I'm doing as I do my start-up-the-week chores (laundry, dishes, etc)? Watching the movie! The stage show and the movie are pretty different... and the movie contains its own special magic... and it was on sale at Target for $4!! Couldn't resist... and I only feel mildly guilty that I am watching it without Teagan!!

Jackie E. said...

In my best Annie voice.......
"Sandy, Sandy's his name if you please.
If you don't believe me, ask anyone of the fleas!
Residing on Sandy
True he ain't pedigree
Sandy, there ain't no better breed
And he, really comes in handy
You're the most presu-ming dog
That a human could know!"

I'm such a huge fan of this musical!!! And of course I know way too many of the lyrics to the songs, lol.

Sound like you guys had some awesome mommy/daughter time and that is priceless:-)

Joanie said...

Ah, I wish I could have been there to see the wonder on Teagan's face!

Annie was the first professional musical I ever saw. It was in Philadelphia and my then-fiance', now-ex took me for my 25th birthday. Andrea McArdle was Annie. I fell in love with musical theatre right then and there. No surprise I have one kid with a degree in theatre, another who will be pursuing her degree in theatre in 2 short months (which also explains the trip to Indiana, PA now) and a son who plans to go to grad school for media management.

Hit 40 said...

Maybe your kids will pick up the acting bug from watching the play!!

I took Austin to see our Jazz Orchestra last night. It inspires him to work harder on his sax and guitar!! He enjoyed the performance.

The Courteous Chihuahua said...

I took my younger daughter (the theater nerd) to see Annie at Clowes Hall a few years ago - we both loved it!

Anonymous said...

I'm so excited for you, Christy and T. How awesome! Annie was one of my favorites growing up!