The Extravaganza

I forgot to write about this yesterday. We went to the Monday night song and dance extravaganza as is our custom, but something about that night's performance was different. Randall, Beth, Jason and I went, and for whatever reason we were all really amped to see the show. When we first saw it a month ago, we all thought it was a little over the top and kitschy, but now I think it's one of the most beautiful pieces of theater I have ever seen. Plus, we are friendly with a lot of the cast members so we feel more of an emotional investment.

If any of you ever get to see the show, I would insist that you sit eight rows back either house left or house right, as we did Monday night. This gets you into the thick of the action, as it's where the ribbon dancers and some of the musicians come out to in the audience. It just makes you feel like you're getting a more special experience than the rest of the audience.

The pre-show announcement encourages people to dance in the aisles and sing along to the songs. No one ever does this, either because it's early in the cruise and people feel reserved or because the majority of the audience isn't familiar with the lyrics to “ No Me Ames.” We haven't made that leap yet either, but it's Beth's wish that the last week we're on the ship we stake out one of the balconies and sing and dance the entire time. I'm not sure if this would be a good idea or not, but I'm willing to take the challenge.

The audience seemed unsure of basic theater etiquette. People streamed in thirty-five minutes into the show, which lasts fifty minutes, and they were irritated when people wouldn't readily stand up to make way for them or the dancers in the aisle were blocking their way. Also, they wouldn't always clap when the principal dancers would exit the stage during a number (kind of like how you clap for a pitcher leaving the mound during a ballgame) or when the adage couple would perform a particularly difficult feat. To counter this, I clapped extra loud and started a couple of appreciation applauses during the later numbers (I'm something of an Applause Whisperer, and can get audiences to applaud even when they think they don't want to).

Anyway, we were rewarded for our positive behavior later that week by one of the dancers teaching us the opening moves to “Let's Get Loud.” Little did she know that she was creating a Frankenstein monster by doing so. Beth is already threatening to stand up and dance along at next week's show.