Wednesday Why: Why I Love Free Theater Tickets

Note: I think I did a pretty excellent job writing this post without including any spoilers... just in case someone still wants to see either work discussed. Go Me.

I'd been hearing advertisements on the radio for this musical for quite a while:

I didn't know anything about it, except that it had to do with Hollywood, the music had been written by Andrew Lloyd Webber, and it was playing at Pioneer Theater. I love Hollywood, I  love the music of Andrew Lloyd Webber, and I love Pioneer Theater, so naturally I wanted to see it. My dad had mentioned that he had seen it in New York and didn't like it, but I still thought I might enjoy it if I could somehow come up with the cash to go.

 Luckily for me, Megan's grandparents found themselves unable to use their tickets to the Monday night show, and so I got to go with her. I'll rarely say no to anything free, but in this particular case, this is why I love free theater tickets:

If the show isn't worth the money, you don't have to feel buyer's remorse.

I can definitely say that Sunset Boulevard was worth what I paid. (Just in case you forgot already... the tickets were free) The story seems promising when you read the synopsis:

"Based on the 1950 film of the same title, the plot revolves around Norma Desmond, a faded star of the silent screen era, living in the past in her decaying mansion on the fabled Los Angeles street. When young screenwriter Joe Gillis accidentally crosses her path, she sees in him an opportunity to make her comeback to the big screen. Romance and tragedy follow."

-Courtesy of Wikipedia... the greatest source of 

possibly true information ever-

Romance? Yes. Tragedy? Absolutely. But what they fail to mention is that most of the romance is anything but romantic (in fact, it's a little creepy. Or a lot.) and the tragedy is that you sat through the entire thing. I'd rather read the synopsis than actually see the show.


Ok. It wasn't THAT bad. The music was actually fantastic and the actors were incredibly talented. It really was just the story that disturbed me. Some of the characters and relationships seemed super under-developed where I thought that they could have been explored a little more fully. Some of the relationships just never should have happened because they kind of gave me nightmares. Speaking of nightmares, Norma Desmond (main-character and certifiable loon) looked like this:

No joke. I'm pretty sure Ysma was Norma Desmond in a pre-animated life. Overall, I can honestly say I would never pay money to see this show... but I was happy to be disappointed in and slightly creeped out by it for free.


Speaking of disappointment...  I saw Something Borrowed last night. I've been waiting WEEKS for a good chick-flick movie (because there has been an incredible lack of good chick movies at the theaters lately) and all my hopes were shattered in this one. Maybe it was just leftover disappointment from the theater the day before, or maybe I expected too much, but I really REALLY didn't like how it ended. Now I must get my hands on the book and see if it has anything better to offer, or at least a little more detail as to why it ended the way it did. 


In other news... my birthday is this Friday! Here's to hoping that all this disappointment doesn't make it to the weekend.