During our trip to Atlanta, based on our experience at the Petrified Forest, I decide, just for fun, to start characterizing everying in and around Jackson as “lame.” I do this in my best bored teenager voice, sighing deeply and gazing off into the distance. “It’s lame,” I say. “Just so … lame.”
Clyde calls me on this. When I say Jubilee Jam is lame, he asks, “Have you been there?” When I compare our art fairs to those in Atlanta, he asks, “Do you go to them?” When I say that almost every event I have attended in Jackson feels like a pale imitation of real events in real cities, Clyde asks, “Just how often do you go to these events?”
I come home to Jackson with a renewed determination to go to every darn cultural event within the city limits. Tuesday morning’s paper trumpets the two-night limited run of “Broadway’s award-winning musical, Fame” at downtown’s Thalia Mara Hall … so I pounce on the opportunity, scarfing up two pretty good tickets at the last minute.
(Tickets, by the way, must be purchased by phone — from a perpetually busy line – or in person. There are no online ticket sales. That’s so lame!)
I do this with some trepidation. We’ve attended other shows at Thalia Mara Hall, including a tepid rendition of Oklahoma, a bad rip-off of the Vennia Boy’s Choir (we noticed, too late, the performance was by the Vennia Choir Boys … a far less talented group, it seems), and the odd premiere of Ghosts of Mississippi.
But, determined to make the best of what Jackson has to offer, we make our way to our seats and join a surprisingly large crowd for the show. The curtain rises. The actors appear. Instantly, the acoustics of the place work against the players — the music is all screeching treble and no bass, as though the sound system consists of nothing but loud AM radios.
And, sadly, while the show is titled Fame … it’s just lame. The performances are painfully mediocre. Usually, even when a roadshow features C- or D-list stage actors, at least one cast member will transcend his or her fellows and steal the show … but tonight, every line plods along, every song falls flat, and every dance number looks forced and uninspired.
Frankly? The Jackson audience deserves nothing better. An amazing number of late arrivals wander in five, ten, and fifteen minutes after the show begins. Management admits them during the opening number, during the little dramatic bridge that connects that number to the next, and during the following song, too. They talk loudly as they make their way down the aisles, peering at their tickets in the theatre’s gloom. During the first hour, I hear three cell phones ring. The couple sitting to my right chats throughout the show, oblivious to my glares and stares.
Intermission comes precisely at the one-hour mark. We join a number of other couples who make a beeline for the parking lots.
On the way home, we laugh about Fame being lame (“It’s a shame,” Clyde quips. “And I was really game,” I say, giggling). Deep inside, though, we’re both a little restless and disappointed.
I wanted to be wrong. I’m not happy I was right.
That is lame. Thalia’s accoustics are lame as well. It is definitely more of a performance (read: ballet and performance art) auditorium… To think of it, I do not know of any auditoriums/theaters in the city that have decent acoustics. The coliseum is a prime example of wasted space unless you are a monster truck.
A nice hall dedicated to music and the necessary acoustics would be a great addition to the city. The bad acoustics and lacking professionalism may be the key reason many of these shows go under the radar with no notice.
On a side-note…. Have you been to the Dresden/Baroque exhibit?
I’ve been to previous shows but this one has not stimulated enough local interest. Am curious why? I personally have seen few ads for the exhibit in local weeklies and newspapers and have not heard one personal review describing the experience.
We were discussing on Jackson Free Press’ site that something covering more modern works might attract a more diverse crowd — especially age-wise.