  I wet to the Civic Center in the downtown area of my hometown tonight to go see a production of "Stomp. " Now, had this been 10 years ago I would have wet myself if I had given the chance to see this performance at all and especially for free.
However the fact that it was free was the only reason I went at all this time. Then novelty has worn off over the years. Sure it was enjoyable, but not $40 enjoyable. There was also kind of a cheap feel to it. I remember before the renovation of the Civic Center, when the art decco design was still left over.
Although slowly falling apart it did make me feel as if I were attending a grand affair. Standing in the lobby with the beautiful carpet and light fixtures. Sigh. Now the lobby resembles a very large movie theater with reds and purples and glass. To now for my tastes. The outside is still quite nice. It was left untouched except for just beyond the the bottom step, a drop off area was installed. Yes it used to be so much nicer going to the theater when I was a kid, I would dress up nice and it was an actual evening well spent. A good 3 hours at least watching live actors on stage presenting a story that hopefully kept your interest. And if it didn't you would have a sack of tomatoes. There were many people in t- shirts, even the rich folks who chuckled on the floor and in the boxed seats. Beside me was a very big woman and I was surprised she wasn't wearing a t-shirt that featured some Loony Tunes character. Sadly her shirt was striped. But who are these people going to the theater. Eh, at least there is something going on, and at least there is the movie theater at the art museum where they play just about everything that doesn't come to the big theater (which is a lot surprisingly).
Going to that theater is a much grander affair in my opinion and with such a smaller crowd too. Oh well, maybe one day I will get to be rich and in my own way revitalize the notion that you put on a tux or at least a good suit to see a live performance. 
