Bob: Have you ever figured out women?
Phil: They're smarter than we are and they have longer hair.
A friend wanted to take me to see "White Christmas" today at the Empire Theater and it was impossible for me to pass up a chance to see someone I knew, a former actor-turned-restaurateur-turned-actor, do musical theater.
Of course I'm talking abut Barry Pruitt, the original owner of Davis and Main and the recent seller of White Dog. My best memories of White Dog are of late evenings with Barry belting out Sinatra and show tunes to whomever was at the bar, so I'd be the first to acknowledge that he had a great voice.
Barry was playing the General Waverly character and acquitted himself admirably in a production full of big dance numbers, frequent costume changes and classic Irving Berlin songs.
At the big Christmas Eve finale when it finally starts snowing at the inn, the audience got to share the experience as fake snow was blown out over us during the singalong to "White Christmas." Truth be told, I was a fake snow virgin before today; it falls prettily enough, but it doesn't amount to much.
During the singalong, I kept my singing to myself (my grandmother used to tell me that I couldn't carry a tune in a bucket, so I know better than to inflict my singing on others), but the older woman next to me had a beautiful voice and was belting it out.
As a theater lover, I was happy to see that the show was all but sold out, happy except at intermission when the bathroom lines were so long that I knew I had no chance of using them. Giving up on bodily functions, I opted for a piece of coconut cake instead, courtesy of Rostov's Coffee.
The white-haired gentleman who sold it to me advised me to eat quickly and then leaned in and said, "Really you have four to five minutes once they call you back in." No doubt that would be so that the bathroom goers had a fighting chance of seeing the opening number of the second act.
Inadequate bathrooms aside, the production was very sweet, even if it bore very little resemblance to the classic holiday movie of the same name. Fortunately, when they didn't use the original snappy 50s dialog, they made up something almost as clever.
Betty: Let's just say that Bob wasn't the man I thought he was.
Judy: What man ever is?
Some lines are timeless...and always get a big laugh.
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