Musical in Toronto

My niece, Valerie, got free tickets for four of us to see a musical comedy in Toronto this afternoon. We got into Toronto early enough to have lunch at a nice restaurant and then take a little walk downtown before going to the theatre.

Downtown Toronto is an amazing place. I'm sure I looked like I just crawled out of the sticks because I couldn't stop staring around in awe at the skyscrapers, the massive crowds of people, and the heavy duty traffic. I've been there many times but I'm always impressed by the majestic size of that city. It's not even close to a place I'd like to live but it's the top of the line as a place to go for entertainment.

We saw "The Drowsy Chaperone" at the Elgin theatre and, again, I stared around in open admiration at the grandeur of the theatre. If I remember correctly it is over 90 years old and was refurbished a few years back. Many of the theatres in Toronto are old, refurbished, masterpieces of architecture that are a joy to see because this kind of building isn't being done anymore. They are gaudy displays of days long ago when the cost of building was low enough to allow extravagantly decorative finishing. I'm not sure if the modern, streamlined architecture of today is because of changing tastes or prohibitive building costs. Personally, I much prefer the character found in old buildings.

Back to the musical...Val had told us it didn't have much of a story so I was half way expecting not to be fully entertained but the show turned out to be just wonderful. Bob Martin acted as the "man in chair" and his role was that of narrator. He was so good that you could almost forget he was acting...my favorite kind of actor! Val was right about the story being inconsequential but the singing, dancing, and unique concept of the presentation was terrific entertainment.

Valerie was our driver and I have to commend her driving ability in Toronto traffic. Despite one U-turn in bumper to bumper traffic, she impressed me with her fine tuned ability to weave through downtown Toronto like a pro. Good job, Val!

It was a wonderful day with good people. We ate a really nice meal, saw a fun show, and got home before dark. You can't ask much more than that from your day.