My night at the Gillioz

"Hey, are we going to go eat before the play tonight?", I asked. The answer I got was less than the desirable one. "We'll have to eat on the road. I don't think we'll have time to go sit down somewhere. Are you ready for your test? Do we need to go to the play tomorrow night?"

That was the phone conversation that played out at around 4 yesterday afternoon. I was supposed to make my mind up what I was going to do. Well, that was pretty easy. My head was starting to spin on my shoulders and I could feel a dull ache in my temporal region. I figured it was best to get up from my corner that I had stayed in almost all day and leave behind the words that were becoming all fuzzy and clustered on the pages.

I made it into the shower at 4:45 and an hour later I was dressed and ready to go. As Steve called his mom to find out where the Gillioz Theatre was, I made a a sashay through the house one last time. It was quiet. I paused in silence at the boys' end of the house. Their rooms both is disarray where Paden had played in them all day. I could only imagine the fit that Colton would throw when he got home and seen how his brother had cluttered his.

As we left, Steve asked where I wanted to eat. My response was, "No McDonald's and no Dairy Queen." He muttered at me that he was hungry and now that had left out eating in town. I told him he still had Hardee's and Sonic, but for me that was less than desirable also. We headed on south, he told me we would find someplace in Springfield. When we got to Bluegrass Road he asked me again where I wanted to eat. We finally settled on Braum's.

We headed on downtown. We drove by the Shrine where a clown was outside waving and greeting the crowd. He looked more like a rodeo clown instead of a circus clown. Parents with children in tow, happily skipping along between mom and dad seemed to come from all directions. As we headed further into the downtown area traffic became lighter. I was the first to spot the lighted marquee of the Gillioz. We circled the block and settled into a parking spot.

The temperature outside was comfortable but cool as we walked hand in hand up the sidewalk. The red doors of the theatre were locked, except for one. As we slipped inside the inner sanctum, we paused for a moment to take in our surroundings. The marble floors echoed beneath our boots as we walked the hallowed hallway. I paused at each picture, studying. Instead of going through the next set of doors we took a left turn towards the elevators and looked at more of the photography hanging on the walls. The "Ghost Train" is now etched in my mind. Though only in black and white, the image of the broken carriage car is burned in my brain. Alongside it hung a couple pictures from the Civil War reenactments. Then, another black and white, a set of hands on a chainlink fence.

Steve and I decided to go through the next set of doors. The marble was now gone beneath our feet replaced by carpeting. The rotunda loomed over our heads. The grand staircase to the second floor seemed to beckon and I fought the urge to explore further. As I cautiously opened the theatre doors, I seen the actors on the stage doing last minute run throughs. As I made my was to the second row, center stage I tried to take in my surroundings. The walls were textured and the lower half was painted a chocolate brown. The upper levels were more of a golden color and the mixture of the two was warm and inviting. The trim around the upper wall was both colors mixed with a rich turquoise. At each side of the stage was ornate details of cherubs and what I seen as flowers. The curtains were black velvety looking with golden fringes.

The stage was awesome. To my right, as I was facing the stage, was a small bar. Zebra print covered the front of the bar. Barstools of chrome and white leather stood tall in front of it. To my left was a small "lip" sofa on a raised platform. The white and orange pod chair with matching ottoman set slightly to my right also. Oranges and vivid reds popped out at me from all directions. Behind me lights were spinning and projecting towards the stage and I felt like I had stepped into the 60's.

I heard from behind me, "10 minutes till the doors open." Actors scurried like mice from the stage. The inflow of the crowd as they came through the doors was like a small wave. Though I have never been to a play, let alone a dress rehearsal I thought it was a decent sized crowd.

The actors came on to the stage in shifts. Acting our pieces here and there to entertain the waiting crowd. I tried to speculate as to who was who. Then the play began. I had a Julia Roberts, "Pretty Woman" moment as I set enthralled by the happenings around me. I couldn't move nor take my eyes from the stage for fear that I might miss something. Steve fidgeted and huffed beside me. I knew he was bored and that he was only doing this for me. At intermission he says, "Are you really liking this?" "Yes." I replied, "very much." He mumbled something about he would try to go with me one more time to a play but he hoped the actors didn't rhyme.

The dress rehearsal went smoothly. Very few times did I notice any mistakes and each time the actor made a smooth recovery. My favorite part of the play was the scene with Orgon's wife and Tartuffe towards the end. I thought it was funny when Orgon had hid in the chair and that Tartuffe was making passes at her and she couldn't get Orgon to come out. At the beginning of the scene, the actress has sprayed perfume on herself. Unlike sitting at a movie theatre, in a few minutes the smell of perfume came wafting out into the crowd. Steve said it reminded him a lot of "Laugh In" when they would come out dancing in between scenes.

At the end, the actors came dancing through the crowd and out the back doors where they received the audience as we left.

Overall, I think it was an awesome play. I may not subject my husband to another play but I will definitely go to another production given an opportunity.