Moving from Netflix to live theatre
Trio of Stratford Festival shows proves perfect getaway for local dad and teen daughters
My daughters and I step off the bus to Stratford, Ont., ready to binge-watch. We have a busy schedule: three plays in just over a day. While Agnes, 15, and Cordelia, 13, have seen school plays before, this will be the first exposure to professional theatre for a pair of girls who live on Netflix and YouTube.
My wife and I have tried to expose them to every cultural experience we can, but live theatre has been punted down the queue for too many years.
After checking into our accommodations (the lovely Bruce Hotel, just a short walk away from the Festival Theatre), we make our way across the park to the matinee show of The Music Man, Meredith Willson’s musical about a con man in a small town.
The lights go down and the cast launches into the first number — travelling salesmen on a train, singing their sales patter. I wonder if it’s too abstract for kids who’ve grown up with digital special effects. I needn’t have worried. “IT WAS AMAAAAAAZING” my youngest texts to her mother after the show. “EVERYONE WAS SO TALENTED!!”
As luck would have it, this might have been their perfect introduction to live theatre, and Stratford knows it: It has made kids’ tickets for The Music Man, The Tempest and To Kill A Mockingbird just 76 cents all summer, with the purchase of an adult ticket.
The girls talk about how impressed they are with the cast, especially the younger actors, whose confidence in front of the crowds impressed them immensely.
That night is — to me — the big event: The Tempest and my kids’ first sight of Shakespeare on a stage. They’ve studied the plays in school and have seen Kiss Me Kate on DVD, so I hope that one of Shakespeare’s wildest and most fantastical plays won’t leave them behind.
The stagecraft is impeccable — the huge black bird conjured up by Prospero and Ariel makes my youngest shrink back into her seat.
Walking back to the hotel, I quiz them on what they’ve seen: They had no trouble with the language or the plot, and loved the casting of Martha Henry as Prospero.
Their introduction to live Shakespeare is a success.
The next morning, we get a tour of Stratford’s costume and set warehouse — a hit even be- fore they try on hats and costumes near the end of the tour. Agnes says she likes how easy it is to get around Stratford on foot, and Cordelia is already making plans to move here.
The girls have read Harper Lee’s book and have seen the movie, but are still moved — to tears, and frequently — by Stratford’s production of To Kill A Mockingbird. Seeing it on stage actually enriched her understanding of the story, Agnes tells me later.
Both girls want to come back, and want to know what Stratford is doing next year.
Says Agnes: “Seeing live theatre is a lot better than a movie.”
“Seeing live theatre is a lot better than a movie.”
AGNES MCGINNIS, 15 ON HER FIRST VISIT TO THE STRATFORD FESTIVAL