Backflip

This past Saturday I went to the Aluminum Show with some friends from work (Glenn, Theresa and Uy). Beforehand we met Juan at Dublin Pub for some delicious food and then took a leisurely stroll to the Victoria Theatre for the show.

First, let me state the positives (when someone says that you know they didn’t enjoy the experience, this story is no exception). It was different, the opening was pretty neat, the performers were talented (wandering around on stage in a huge aluminum tubes cannot be easy), it was short, and it had potential.

With that being said, the overall feeling I got from the show was boredom. I kept waiting for something interesting to happen but it never did. There was a lot of melodramatic music (I was hoping for techno), movement on the stage, strange costumes and of course aluminum but somehow they didn’t come together to form something enjoyable. Two scenes or ideas seem to stick out from the show and hopefully these will give you an idea of why I didn’t find it interesting.

The first memorable occurrence happened at the start of the show. 3 aluminum clad figures emerged and proceeded to give gestures and meaning to a disembodied voice that gave instructions. It was the same idea as a plane stewardess at the start of a flight. The figures had lamps embedded in their hats and I got a big kick out of their gestures and accompanying sound effects. This started the show off on a good food and I was a bummer that this turned out to be my favorite part of the show.

The next thing I remember is a long (excruciatingly long) scene in which the aluminum clad people build a giant aluminum person. Doesn’t sound so bad right? And actually could have been kinda cool. However, combine it with sleep inducing music and make everyone move in slow motion for about 10 minutes (it was definitely longer than 5). What was created was an effect similar to watching paint dry.

I would have overlooked this painfully slow buildup if the giant aluminum dude actually did something interesting. But it was not so. They had him walk around a little bit, sit down and then walked him through the audience sitting below (we were in a balcony so we missed whatever it did down below us).

Which brings up a good point. My friend Glenn pointed out that the show may have been more enjoyable if we were actually sitting level with the performers and got to participate in the numerous times they shot, threw, launched and gave different kinda of aluminum to the audience. Sitting in the balcony we missed most of this excitement and we could see how they were doing some of the “tricks” because apparently the show was not meant to be performed in buildings with a balcony.

The show lacked a “wow” factor. It never built up to anything big. There were some neat moments but nothing really worth mentioning. There was no definite storyline or song choice or theme to the show (besides doing everything with aluminum) and it left me confused and disappointed.

In closing, the show could be pretty entertaining and cool if a little more thought was put in with regard to making it fun for the audience. The actors looked like they were having fun and some of the stuff they were doing was neat but they lost the audience somewhere along the way (me right at the beginning) and didn’t stop to pick us back up.

This past weekend I attended a Broadway production at the Victoria Theatre with some friends from work. It was called Broadway Holiday and it was enjoyable. A handful of famous Broadway singers sang a smorgasborg of Holiday and Broadway music (as the title suggests). The performance was good but I was a bit disappointed. This is due to a few reasons.

First off, my expectations for the show were a bit high. I went in expecting to be awed and wowed. And while there were one or two moments during the show that I was amazed it was not nearly as impressive as I was hoping. Don’t get me wrong, the singing was great and the performers did a good job of entertaining the audience. However, it seemed to me that they weren’t trying very hard.

This brings me to my second point, effort. The performers were good at what they were doing. Heck, they mentioned they did the show in over 100 cities this year alone so I’m sure they could perform with their eyes closed. However, the performance was missing that special something that comes with putting forth all ones effort. It was missing a life or realism that usually draws in an audience. It seemed like they were just performing their jobs and reciting an act.

As a comparison, a few months ago I went to a Muse Machine performance a few months ago and was blown away and astonished at the show. The Muse Machine is composed of High School and College age kids from the Dayton area. For the show they put on a variety of musical numbers just as in the Broadway Holiday show. However, the performers from Muse were much more into their songs and were really achieving and overcoming their fears by performing in such a venue. It was exhilarating and very enjoyable to partake in such a triumph.

I will admit, my expectations for the Muse Machine performance were very low. I didn’t expect the level of singing and professionalism I saw in the performance. So this definitely played a roll in me enjoying the show.

But going back to the point of effort. It is amazing to me that such famous Broadway performers can get away with slacking at their jobs. They are professional entertainers at the top level of the business. I expect more from them.

Looking to the future, I am going to see Phantom of the Opera and Wicked as well as a handful of other performances this year and I’m a bit anxious about the experience. Ever since I was little I have been listening to music from Phantom since my parents went to a show and bought a CD. I love the music and what pieces of the story I have been able to piece together.

I fear my expectations for the live performance will be through the roof. And expectations are a tricky beast. How can one diminish or curb such thoughts? I have planned on not listening to the Phantom recording in the 2 months leading up to the live performance in hopes that I will not compare the two. This seems an effort in futility but I can’t think of what else to do.

I want to enjoy the show and the performance by the actors. But if it doesn’t live up to my expectations I know I will be dissatisfied. So what to do?