A Great Night!

The CB's saw a new musical based on A Tale of Two Cities last night and thoroughly enjoyed a great night of theatre, the likes of which you can only see on Broadway--a big cast, great costumes, clever set, terrific talent, full orchestra, and music that soars. The pace of the story line is brisk, and there is a good amount of lightness added to the serious themes of class struggle, revolution, sacrifice, and redemption. The most enjoyable aspect of the production is the talent that has been assembled for this large cast. The voices, down to the most minor character, are crystal clear and lovely to listen to. When the lead, James Barbour, opens his mouth to sing, you know you will be in good hands for the night (it's hard not to swoon, to be truthful).

We had several classic CB moments after the performance. Somehow I sensed that a woman who came down to talk with some people sitting in front of us might be Jill Santoriellio, who wrote the book, music, and lyrics. I touched her on her shoulder and asked her if she happened to be the one responsible for the show. She said she was, and I told her how much we loved it despite the sometimes cranky NY critics who gave the show a bad review. She immeditately gave me a big hug and was very sweet to us. I told her I had listened to her extended interview on Playbill Radio.com and admired her fortitude in getting the play produced. We even gave her a CultureBuddy card! Very cool moment.

We went to the stage door afterwards and hung around for awhile, decided to leave, then at the corner, Ann convinced me to turn around and we went back to wait for the more major stars to come out. Broadway regular, Greg Edelman, who plays Dr. Manette couldn't have been nicer, and the young lady who is making her Broadway debut in the lead female role (Brandi Burkhardt) is really beautiful and very gracious. Of course, we were waiting for James Barbour, and by the time he came out there were three people waiting at the stage door--a cute young girl and the two CBs. What losers! Anyways, we chatted with him, got his autograph on the program (and on his CD that I bought), took the picture here, and Ann and he had the following exchange: Ann: I wish you would sing to me all night. James: I just did for 2 1/2 hours, Honey. Ann: But you made me swoon! At this point, I grabbed her and we made a hasty retreat . . .

We met Ann's son and his girlfriend, Sara, at The House of Brews nearby after all this excitement and were able to see the Red Sox come back to win Game 5 of the ALCS--the biggest post-season comeback in 79 years! The perfect end to a great day . . .