June 22, 2005

Bring-your-own-Doritos performance of 'Piazza'

An open letter to the woman who sat next to me this afternoon eating Doritos through the first act of "The Light in the Piazza,"

First off – what a lovely performance at the matinee today! Their voices were just stunning, the costumes and sets gorgeous and of course you can see why the music and actress Victoria Clark received Tony Awards.

Did you know the show was based on an Elizabeth Spencer novella originally published in The New Yorker in in 1959? And wasn’t it nice that our programs were stuffed with a free 2-song CD from the soundtrack?

Though it was a shame that the stage at the Lincoln Center’s Vivian Beaumont juts so far out into the audience, serving up disappointment to anyone seated in the outer two of the theater’s four orchestra sections. And since we saw the actors’ backs so often, maybe that’s what led you to conclude they wouldn’t notice you chomping on your bag of chips for the first hour and 15 minutes. And I should commend you on how well you concealed your food. Keeping it wrapped in aluminum foil and a plastic bag from the drugstore was sly indeed.

The smell of the Doritos probably only wafted five rows up -- not even halfway to the stage -- so I think you got away with it just fine.

Also, I thought it was great that you didn’t once tell anyone around us to shush as they talked throughout the entire matinee. Maybe everyone had to talk so loud because the theater told them to turn off hearing aids if they used infrared technology? I thought it was especially touching when the woman three rows behind us used a dramatic pause on stage to explain to her husband the medical problem of one of the characters: "She’s retarded!"

Anyhow, I hope you had a great time at the show. And I hope you enjoyed the rest of your lunch.

June 22, 2005 05:22 PM in Broadway

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