Live Theater Lasts Forever

When I was about 8 or 9 years old my mother would take me to, (what I thought at the time were) boring Broadway and Off Broadway Plays and/or Musicals. Like most boys that age, I would have rather been playing baseball, basketball, watching anything on the 5 TV Channels that existed at the time or even cleaning my room. 

I had to get dressed up in some Sunday or Easter suits with a terrible clip on ties, and shoes either too big or too small. Only sit there and watch hours of stories about life I just didn’t understand. I honestly, thought time went backwards during those moments. Who knew it would lead to meaning more than I thought.

Here I am, 30 years later taking my children to theater productions. After seeing “A Christmas Carol” at Geva Theater and “The Lion King” at Auditorium Theater this past week. I was blessed to see my kids eyes full of interest, wonder, and amazement and not a 2nd generation of grumpy faces and bored looks.

Not only did my family enjoy the theater experience. I enjoyed the experience myself. Not just the fact that they were having fun, but the fact that some of the production value in live theater is amazing. If you’re looking for the best Live Theatrical Experience right now, you can’t go wrong with either “The Lion King” or “A Christmas Carol”.

But it wasn’t just that, it was the fact that I had continued a tradition that my mother started with me over 30 years ago. I didn’t get the point of going to see the fine arts, before I spent my first decade on this planet. I do now. So what seemed as a waste of time for me at 8 years old, turned out to be a great cultural lesson, I learned years later. And one I would encourage everyone to at least try. It may not turn into tradition, but it will not be forgotten.

Tariq Spence