Life Lesson Learned: Beware the “fog”
My family absolutely loves Christmas, so every season we make sure to do at least one Christmas-y thing to really get in the spirit. This year, we opted to see the Great Lakes Theater production of A Christmas Carol at the Playhouse Square in Cleveland.
Not only is it my mom’s favorite Christmas story by far, it’s a production we’ve seen before, so we knew just how good it was. Our last time there was just a day or two after my college graduation on Dec. 21 (how we had the energy I have no idea!). We first went in 2011 and I’ll be honest that all three of us still find the details of the experience to be so fuzzy that we couldn’t even remember when we saw it. Even my mom, ever the avid photographer, didn’t snap any photos of the theater itself. Strange!
On at least one of those occasions, our seats were in the balcony. It’s definitely more affordable, and you do get a nice birds-eye view of the show! Thankfully, the special effects in this rendition of Dickens’ famous story are fantastic, so you can truly appreciate them no matter where you’re seated. One of the aspects that I remembered clearly over the last eight years was the larger-than-life Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come. It was so eerie that even from the balcony, it almost gave me chills. (Think a non-flying Dementor from Harry Potter that’s more than three times the size of an adult male).
This time when choosing seats, we discovered that those closest to the stage were more affordable than expected. Of course no one wants to sit right next to the movie theater screen unless you’re okay with craning your neck like Jerry and Elaine in Seinfeld. But when watching a play? Sign me up! You get to appreciate the actors’ expressions even more, but in this case…I was especially eager to see the special effects up close.
After arriving at Playhouse Square and navigating the crowds of families to snap so many photos of pretty, decorated Christmas trees that I was starting to lose count…..
We headed to the Mimi Ohio Theatre to take our seats. My first impression was, “Wow! We can practically identify Scrooge’s eye color from here!”
My second impression was “It’s a good thing I’m wedged between my parents and not next to a stranger because these seats are tight. Were they this small before? They couldn’t have been this small.”
The play itself was just as magical as I remembered, and…of course… I found myself mentally quoting much of the story as I do with every version of A Christmas Carol.
As I anticipated, the special effects were still impressive. Seeing the Ghost of Christmas Present walk around the stage with Scrooge was entertaining since we were able to appreciate his size more than we had on the balcony. Naturally, I was in awe when The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come appeared (as expected!) and all I kept thinking was how much I wanted to sneak backstage and figure out how the Hell that thing operated. That, and what a wicked Halloween costume that would be for gliding down the street!
The one aspect of our great seats that I was not anticipating? Feeling the effects of all of that mood-setting “fog.” I have no idea if it was dry ice or something else, but I quickly noticed it affecting my sinuses and even heard others in the audience clearing their throats or coughing at various times. How the actors manage to breathe through that daily is beyond me!
Despite feeling like I was in the fog “splash zone” at times, I had a great time seeing the show. Nothing gets you into the Christmas spirit quite like hearing Tiny Tim say “God bless us, everyone!”
Life Lesson Learned: The Rockettes are a Christmas must-see in NYC
Every single Christmas while living in New Jersey, I made it a tradition to spend at least one evening in NYC visiting the Rockefeller Tree and admiring the department store windows that had been decorated for the holidays. Even if it meant braving the insane crowds, those were non-negotiables for me!
In 2016, I decided to add another popular Christmas attraction to that season’s itinerary: The Radio City Rockettes Christmas Spectacular.
If I remember correctly, tickets were on par with Broadway (maybe slightly cheaper). So in order not to end up living in a box on the street, I opted for the least expensive ticket option in the balcony near the back. Sure, it would probably look like expressionless blobs dancing around to Christmas music during the performance, but that was okay with me. At least I’d be there!
The venue was buzzing with holiday cheer when I arrived, and I quickly observed guests loading up on treats and souvenirs.
I couldn’t resist buying a souvenir program for my scrapbook and a keychain for my keychain collection. Plus, all purchases came in a cute, themed shopping bag which I still have today and like to use to haul over holiday items to my parents’ house.
The show itself was chock full of holiday spirit! I think even Ebenezer Scrooge would have had a hard time keeping a smile off his face. Each of the dance numbers had its own unique theme and I still fondly remember most like it was yesterday! The fall of the toy soldiers, Clara from the Nutcracker dancing with massive teddy bears, “Santas” ringing bells in sync, and the Rockettes dancing their way through a “tour” of New York City in winter were some of my favorites.
Between the festive costumes, twinkling lights, upbeat music and incredibly talented dancers, it was clear to me quite quickly why their annual show is such a spectacular hit. Whether you’re a tourist or a local, if you have the chance to catch a performance during the holidays, I highly recommend it!
And when you’re done, don’t forget to admire the awesome Christmas decorations waiting just outside the building!
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