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I had to make it a 1 day trip because I couldn't miss any work, so I flew to Santa Barbara on Sunday morning, landed at 12 noon and saw the 2 p.m. matinee, and flew back home that same evening (not getting in until midnight.) Between the airfare and taxi rides to and from the theater, my bank account is severely suffering. I wasn't going to go at first, but I made a snap decision last Wednesday and decided I just couldn't miss the opportunity to see the play when it was only 1 state away from me.
This is what the stage looked like as the audience filed into the theater. An aged Salieri (Daniel Gerroll) is seated in the wheelchair, ready to narrate the tale of his great jealousy of and rivalry with the young musical genius Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
Randy was perfect in this role, portraying the many facets of Mozart brilliantly. (Yes, I'm biased and love him to pieces, but his talent speaks for itself.) The play taps into several aspects of Mozart's life - his genius, trying to find his place in the royal court, the ladies man in him who flirts with the pretty soprano in his opera (to the consternation of his young wife), his child-like qualities, his playfulness, his seriousness, and in his later years his poverty, desperation, ill health, and mental instability. Randy imbued each of them with raw emotion and sensitivity; it was fascinating to witness his Mozart. I wanted to cry near the end as he lay dying.
Randy's gift with voices and accents really him served him well in this play. There were times when he spoke in flawless French and Italian, as if they were his native languages. I knew he speaks French, but I had no idea about the Italian. Even if he's not fluent in Italian and only memorized the dialogue needed for the play, it was pitch perfect. (I don't speak it, but I grew up with Italian grandparents who got off the boat in New York in the 1920's and never learned English, and he sounded exactly like them. LOL) One of my favorite parts of the play was when Randy seated himself at the piano and simulated playing Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star. He sang the words in Italian to the pre-recorded music with the look of a humble, innocent child on his face, keeping time with his head lilting back and forth - just priceless to watch.
The play is just shy of 3 hours long, but I thought it went by in the blink of an eye. I could have sat there all day and all night and was sorry to see it end. I wasn't surprised when Randy didn't come out afterwards. It ended just before 5 p.m., and the final performance of the run was going to start at 7 p.m. I'm sure the actors needed to eat and rest a little bit before starting all over again.
I was just happy that I got to see Amadeus.
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no subject
Date: 2014-10-28 11:10 am (UTC)From:no subject
Date: 2014-11-01 06:38 am (UTC)From:Another classical music buff here. It was really great to see Randy as Mozart. He just embodied the role.
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Date: 2014-10-28 11:36 am (UTC)From:no subject
Date: 2014-11-01 06:39 am (UTC)From:no subject
Date: 2014-10-28 12:36 pm (UTC)From:And a WOW for you too. Talk about a long day. Wowza...
That is an interesting view you get of the stage from the audience side.
I would find it kind of distracting during a performance.
Hugs, Jon
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Date: 2014-11-01 06:42 am (UTC)From:no subject
Date: 2014-11-01 11:32 am (UTC)From:no subject
Date: 2014-10-28 12:43 pm (UTC)From:I'm sure that if you were able to meet him briefly between shows it would have been the icing on the cake but he was obviously exhausted himself after almost three hours on stage.
Thank you so much for sharing that my dear
*hugs*
V.
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Date: 2014-11-01 06:46 am (UTC)From:Yeah, I was very lucky. That's why I just couldn't let the opportunity pass without seeing the performance. I mean, how often does Randy perform 1 state away from me?? The answer is never!! LOL
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Date: 2014-10-28 01:41 pm (UTC)From:I'm sorry that Randy didn't come out, but you had such a great experience meeting him at Kinky Boots that I don't know how anything could top that!
Thanks so much for sharing!
*Hugs*
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Date: 2014-11-01 06:55 am (UTC)From:You're right about my great experience talking to him at Kinky Boots. I would have loved to have seen him in Santa Barbara, but I'm okay with it not happening. The performance was a memory I'll have forever.
You're welcome!
Hugs
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Date: 2014-10-28 02:18 pm (UTC)From:Thank you very much for sharing!
* Hugs *
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Date: 2014-11-01 06:57 am (UTC)From:hugs
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Date: 2014-10-28 04:15 pm (UTC)From:no subject
Date: 2014-11-01 06:59 am (UTC)From:no subject
Date: 2014-10-28 06:41 pm (UTC)From:Thanks so much for sharing your experience.
Hugs, Meggi
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Date: 2014-11-01 07:28 am (UTC)From:no subject
Date: 2014-10-28 09:07 pm (UTC)From:*Hugs* ~Kim
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Date: 2014-11-01 07:37 am (UTC)From:He was definitely outstanding. Just embodied the role of Mozart completely. Such a joy to see.
Your reports are awesome. I enjoy reading everyone's - we all have things that another one of us might not stress or even mention.
Hugs
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Date: 2014-10-28 10:18 pm (UTC)From:Maybe we'll have another chance at something equally exciting soon.
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Date: 2014-11-01 07:42 am (UTC)From:So hoping something equally exciting pops up soon - after my bank account recovers, that is!
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Date: 2014-10-28 11:18 pm (UTC)From:no subject
Date: 2014-11-01 07:47 am (UTC)From:no subject
Date: 2014-10-29 06:20 am (UTC)From:Hugs,
Pet
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Date: 2014-11-01 07:52 am (UTC)From:I truly enjoyed Randy's Mozart. He was born to play this role.
*Hugs you back*
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Date: 2014-10-29 12:07 pm (UTC)From:Sounds like you had a terrific time. :)
Thanks for sharing the details and pics with us. :)
xo
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Date: 2014-11-01 07:55 am (UTC)From:You're so welcome for the details and pics. I love sharing my Randy experiences with everyone!
xo
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Date: 2014-10-29 06:01 pm (UTC)From:no subject
Date: 2014-11-01 07:59 am (UTC)From:I do feel very lucky that I got to see Randy in Amadeus. Wish you didn't live so far away. But I'm glad you enjoyed reading this!
Greeting to you in Germany. ♥
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Date: 2014-10-31 11:39 pm (UTC)From:no subject
Date: 2014-11-01 08:08 am (UTC)From:no subject
Date: 2014-11-01 05:58 pm (UTC)From:p.s. your "around the corner" journey to see Randy was almost the length of my country :-)
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Date: 2014-11-02 04:07 pm (UTC)From:You're so welcome! I love to share my Randy experiences with my LJ friends. So glad you can 'see' Randy's performance from my description. It really was wonderful.
Wow - I didn't realize that my 'around the corner' journey was the length of your country. I need to brush up on my geography. LOL
*Hugs you*
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Date: 2014-11-02 12:38 am (UTC)From:Glad you had the opportunity to see the show, despite the costs.
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Date: 2014-11-02 04:11 pm (UTC)From:Yeah, I'm glad I took advantage of the opportunity to see it. It was a once in a lifetime thing I just couldn't pass up.
♥
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Date: 2014-11-02 07:15 pm (UTC)From:no subject
Date: 2014-11-02 08:01 pm (UTC)From:I'd love to live in Long Island - it'd be so easy to get to the events and performances he does in NYC.
Hope you get to attend one at some point. Let us know if you do! ♥