I went to see the Motown play at the Orpheum in Minneapolis this afternoon. I stayed on the email list after seeing a Broadway play in 2005- 'Rent'- so I know what plays are still there. Thankful it went on tour, makes it easier to see. I had a seat on the main floor, in the back. I had a good view of not just the stage but also of the sign language interpreters. After a few minutes into the play I knew I needed to pay more attention to the stage. I bought a program there at intermission, along with some Reese's peanut butter cups. As usual the program had good photos in it all around, much like when I got ones at Million Dollar Quartet or the Harlem Globetrotters or the Barnum and Bailey Circus. My favorites likely were some of the bit players, the actors playing Ed Sullivan and Rick James. I had seen the Motown museum on a Detroit visit in 2008, same weekend as the college basketball tournament. So I was familiar with much of the storyline, except probably for a movie about Billie Holliday. I saw the Sun Records museum in Memphis in the same year as Motown's. I think of 'Quartet'- about some of the performers at Sun Records- to be a companion to this play I just saw. Both were independent labels where many famous musicians got started, then signed with other labels.
I had just enough time to get lunch at a nearby restaurant before the show, using a gift card I had won at a comedy-related event last year. There was live music on the stage that I could see from the bar. First song I heard was 'East bound and down'- from the movie 'Smokey and The Bandit'. Another I found out was called 'Paradise' by John Prine. The hook was about going back to a certain county, down by the green river. Also heard the one about going back to a Texas town, Willie and Waylon and the boys. So of course this was a cover band. I liked the food I ate more than the drink. I had a walleye BLT and sweet potato fries. But the drink left a lot to be desired- tomato juice. It just didn't taste right to me.
In the evening while watching the Seahawks-Cardinals football game I got to work on sending out Christmas cards, 6 in all to those who had sent them to me.
I had just enough time to get lunch at a nearby restaurant before the show, using a gift card I had won at a comedy-related event last year. There was live music on the stage that I could see from the bar. First song I heard was 'East bound and down'- from the movie 'Smokey and The Bandit'. Another I found out was called 'Paradise' by John Prine. The hook was about going back to a certain county, down by the green river. Also heard the one about going back to a Texas town, Willie and Waylon and the boys. So of course this was a cover band. I liked the food I ate more than the drink. I had a walleye BLT and sweet potato fries. But the drink left a lot to be desired- tomato juice. It just didn't taste right to me.
In the evening while watching the Seahawks-Cardinals football game I got to work on sending out Christmas cards, 6 in all to those who had sent them to me.
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