Expectations and Realizations

PianoLady and I have been trying since 2006 to see "Jersey Boys". Whenever we schedule our Girls' Broadway Weekend, we try to get our tickets early enough so we sit within, oh, ten rows of the stage. But to do so in the "Jersey Boys" audience would mean paying $300, at least, per ticket. And we're willing to take our obsessions only so far.

So when I discovered that "Jersey Boys" was playing in Chicago and I would be able to get a [what I thought would be] decent seat for only $150, I jumped at the chance.

Lesson learned: things aren't always what I expect them to be.

First, my $150 seat was on the mezzanine, with a ceiling at a mere seven feet, or maybe six-and-a-half. Low ceilings equal restricted air flow and elevated temperature. And the view was so restricted that the woman behind me asked me to take my glasses off my head so she could see. Really! I was shocked, and annoyed that I had to hold my glasses throughout the entire production.

Next, the pacing. As the show started, I kept thinking, "When is it going to take off?" It never took off. It's just a biography of one of the original "boy bands". It's a story of their lives, and there's really nothing compelling about the story or the show except the music.

I'm always incredibly annoyed when I hear people, at classical concerts, say they'd rather stay home and listen to the CD. Well, for this show I'm right there with them. I would rather just listen to the cast recording. I could listen to it over and over and sing along and enjoy the music without having to sit through a tedious script.

And speaking of singing. The man sitting behind me, who couldn't match pitches, kept singing along with the songs. Honey, you know if you can't sing. If you can't sing, don't!

I guess I'm glad I saw this show, because now I know what it is. But really, I would rather have gone to see "Wicked", which was playing in a theatre a few blocks away. It would have been my third time to see "Wicked", but I would have enjoyed it far more than I enjoyed "Jersey Boys".