Thursday, April 29, 2010

RENT adventure

As you know -- I love planning adventures for the little people in my life. It recently occurred to me that it would be fun to spend some time with their interesting 30-something-parents! So I planned an "adventure" with my two nieces, Amy & Nicole. (The last time I did something one-on-one with them -- Nicole was 9!)

These two sisters are busy young working mothers -- they both have three young elementary age children, a house, a husband, a job -- IT'S A LOT...So I was delighted when they managed to clear the decks for an "Aunt Rita Adventure"...

We started off with dinner at a downtown Davenport bistro -- the Front Street Brewery. Rare tuna steak and sweet potato fries -- yummo. Then, I had tickets for "RENT", altho the girls had NOOOOO idea where we were going.



The Harrison Hilltop Theater is a new professional theater group that is performing a very ambitious 2010 schedule. The theater only seats 60 people -- so we were right ON TOP of the stage...and I was a little worried when I saw the cramped theater and crummy folding chairs...

But their production of RENT was wonderful. Truly. The play is about a group of young people living in an abandoned building in New York City, many of them diagnosed with HIV -- and it is about one year in their life....

I love this play...and this cast had wonderful voices. As they sang Another Day...I cried...the same way I did 10 years ago, when I heard it for the very first time...

There Is No Future
There Is No Past
I Live This Moment
As My Last

There's Only Us
There's Only This
Forget Regret
Or Life Is Yours To Miss

No Other Road
No Other Way
No Day But Today

The first time I saw RENT in NYC....I had to walk 40 blocks in the rain to buy a single ticket. I bought the cast recording in the lobby after the show and wore out the cassette tape...I have listened to "Another Day" at least a thousand times since then....

On this night, in a small theater in Davenport, Iowa, I got to experience the play all over again -- with my beautiful nieces, Nicole and Amy. Here we are, outside the theater, with the guy who played the part of "Mark".


I know it's a fuzzy picture -- but it's the only one I have. And I will treasure it...WHAT A GREAT NIGHT...

what a great message...forget regret...or life is yours to miss...

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