The Difference

I went to a national touring production of "Fiddler on the Roof" http://www.fiddlerontour.com/itinerary.html on 10/29/10.  I love musicals, and this is one of my favorites.  It was very well done, and as I do every time I see the play or musical, I cried through most of the last half. 

I was totally impressed with the professionalism of this production:  the sound system was good, the dance moves intricate but synchronized, the presentation of the actors was strong and confident...

I love the Lubbock Moonlight Musicals
http://www.lubbockmoonlight.org/Lubbock_Moonlight_Musicals/Home.html  but their amateurish presentation, and poor sound system really do represent them poorly...

I suspect, with time the Moonlight Musicals will increase their polish, and I have seen it as the years progress.  I suspect, thought, that audiences want the presentation now, and are not willing to wait....

"Bye, Bye Birdie"

I heard a talk by the founder of "Lubbock Moonlight Musicals" as it was in the planning stages.  He talked about needing community support, and maybe getting some from AT&T, as we have a large call center here.  I suggested he do the movie "Bye, Bye Birdie" and ask them to sponser "The Telephone Song" ("Going Steady."  He looked at me as if I were speaking a foreign language.  And, they have not presented the play.

The play was back on Broadway http://www.roundabouttheatre.org/birdie/.  Just recently, I watched the movie, http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0056891/  and as I remembered, there were phones galore in the scenes for "Going Steady."  They had them everywhere, and remember, this movie was made before cell phones and mobile phones in general (1963.)

The story is a fun spoof of Elvis Presley being drafted, the movie includes Ed Sullivan http://www.timvp.com/sullivan.html  as himself, and it sure is a lot of fun!