Santa brought us a great family gift this year, tickets to see Mary Poppins at the Ahmanson Theatre here in LA. My kids loved watching the movie when they were younger and even now every now and then they will actually pop it in the DVD player and watch it. As for the thought of going to the actual musical, the kids weren’t too thrilled. Our tickets were for the day after Christmas and some of our relatives from the east coast had just arrived. The last thing they wanted to do was drive downtown to see a musical.
Reluctantly, they showered and dressed and with long faces, they got into the car. The ride was relatively quiet. We arrived early at the theatre and had to wait for the doors to open. Once inside, they looked around in amazement as this was their first time in a real theatre (sure they saw The Wiggles when they were younger, but there’s no comparison!) Our seats were great, first row of the balcony pretty close to center stage. Once the coolness of checking out the theatre wore off they started firing questions at us…when will it start, how long will it be, do you think I’ll fall asleep?? My daughter was a bit disgusted with me when I told her that no, you can’t get popcorn at this type of theatre.
Finally, the show started. The kids really had no idea what to expect so when the lights dimmed, the stage lit up and the performers started to sing and dance, their eyes were front and center. I glanced over at them now and again and saw them singing the songs and dancing in their seats (although they would never admit to it.) At the intermission they actually told us they were enjoying themselves and couldn’t wait for the show to start up again.
In the end, they were so glad they went. I couldn’t believe how excited they were. The show was fabulous, the cast was so talented and Mary Poppins even flew through the air. Their only request for the next show, they want to sit in the seats right in front of the stage…ok, orchestra center stage, let me get right on that…NOT!
