The Autograph's the Thing

For Dorothy in Jerry Maquire, all it took was "Hello." I mean, he "had her" with that one word. For me to register my children and myself to see a play at JMU's Forbes Center for the Performing Arts, it actually took five words..."The Mouse and the Motorcycle." That's all I needed to hear, and I was sold. Well, actually, I was paying the $7.50 for myself and $6.50 per child. So, the total cost of tickets: $21.50; total cost of popcorn and drink: $0 (because they only take cash, and exact change at that); total value of the entire experience: definitely priceless. Anytime I get to leave a place with my kids without wanting to run to the car as fast as I can just so I can tell them how much they embarrassed me publicly is a good time. And, tonight was one of those nights.

I mean, it didn't start out that way, which is usually a good indicator that, if it starts out on a bad note, it will end up on one as well. Since we didn't realize parking for the event is slightly tricky, we spent some time trying to figure out just where to go to park. So, let me save you some trouble if you're going and aren't sure. Basically, you must take your left (or right depending on which way you're coming) beside the Forbes' Center, drive past it and past the parking garage, take a right at the stop sign, and enter the parking garage that way. That should save you that hassle. Also, we weren't exactly sure which doors in the actual building to enter. The Forbes' Center is massive and gorgeous and a work of art on its own. We pretty much just walked through one of the many doors there and explored for ten minutes before we realized where we needed to go. It was neat. We were walking around by ourselves. The only downside to that is that, of course, my children found vending machines, and they desperately wanted candy. Of course, we couldn't find the Box Office or any other signs of life anywhere, but my kids could sniff out glowing vending machines filled with any candy imaginable. Luckily, I didn't have cash, or that's where we would most likely have stayed.

We soon heard voices and realized we were headed in the right direction. I approached the Will Call ticket window and asked for the tickets, which I'd paid for a month in advance. Score. (I always worry about what could potentially go wrong in a situation like this. Luckily, it worked out this time.) We presented our tickets, and I asked my children to pick out seats. The thing I love about children's theater at the Forbes' Center is that there are these beautifully, vibrantly colored seats front and center just for kids...a few rows of them. Children can sit there without their parents and just be right there smack dab in front of all of the play's action. That's where I would've sat as a kid. That's where I'd expect any kid to want to sit...not mine. They headed up the stairs to the balcony. My son insisted. "Why would I sit with a bunch of kids I don't know?" Yeah, he's more of a loner. 

Photo found at: http://www.jmu.edu/jmuarts/forbescenter/venues.shtml

My daughter, on the other hand, she actually wanted to jump up on the stage and be part of the action; she would've if I'd let her. At one point, poor Ralph, the mouse, was trying to roll an aspirin pill to sick Keith, and he just couldn't do it because it was too big for a poor, little mouse to carry. Harlan looked at me at one point and said, "Why isn't anyone helping Ralph?" 

"It's a play, honey," I said. 

"OK, well, can I go help out?" 

That was my most favorite part of all.

My daughter had fun; she just grew a little fidgety at times. It's hard for her to sit still for five minutes, much less an hour. The time flew by, though, and the plot was engaging and fun. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that, when I was in elementary school, Ralph S. Mouse was my favorite character of all. I read the books with my kids, hoping they'd fall in love with them just like I did. Unfortunately, my seven year old somehow skipped all of those books and is a huge Harry Potter fan. Poor little Ralph S. Mouse can't compete. If Ralph was a princess, Harlan would be into him.

So, what I can say is this: my kids thought the play was OK, even great and funny at times. When the hour was up, they were happy just to leave...until, that is, they heard that they would get the chance to meet the characters and have the entire cast sign their programs. Knowing that made my children perk up and take notice.

Yeah, so in Hamlet, it goes like this: "The play's the thing wherein I'll catch the conscience of the King." For my kids tonight, it was more like this: "The autograph's the thing wherein the cast of 'The Mouse and the Motorcycle' caught the attention, the adoration of my kids even"...They are now fans for life and ecstatic to go back to see their new friends perform in Charlotte's Web.