The theater…
Allyson loves theater. Allyson was a theater minor at UCLA. Allyson would not stop talking about Singing in the Rain. “It’s coming to Athens! It’s coming to Athens!” she would say to anyone who would listen. Should I listen to her ask me if I wanted to go with her 20 more times or should I just break down and fork up the 32 euro for a ticket? The choice was clear… after finding a hidden little ticket office in an apartment-type building near our house, we were on our way to a fellows-night-out at the theater. But in all seriousness, I was excited. I do enjoy the theater, and what better place to see a show set in Los Angeles than in… Greece? Well, we considered that a minor detail. The show was performed by a London-based company at a very nice theater about 10 minutes from our house, in Neo Psychico (we live in Palio Psychico, or “Old” Psychico). Despite the occasional British accent slipping through, the show was excellent and Allyson, Stephanie, Chris Shukla, and I were glad we went. We even ran into a few of the teachers from our school at the show, and I must say, seeing teachers outside the school setting is still weird… even when you are now one of them.
Going to the theater in Greece was much like going to the theater in the US, with only a few differences. Here were the highlights, some not surprising, others quite striking:
1. We went on the opening night. The significance of this detail was lost on us, until we walked into a mob of paparazzi pushing and shoving us aside. Upon this startling entrance, I turned to my right to see one of those photo-shoot back drop things set up like this was a red carpet event. Photographers were everywhere trying to get a glimpse of the hotshots walking through the “VIP” entrance, taking there 13.5 second stand at the back drop for a picture or two, and then moving on with their body guards. One women turned and asked me in Greek who the celebrities were. She quickly learned that I don’t speak Greek when I said “I’m not sure, I’m from America” and she replied “Oh, haha, ok I really wonder who they are” in English before she ran off. I thought this was the last I had seen of her, until she reappeared, told me it was “Alexandropolou Mitriakiopolous,” or some variation there of (it could have been Dimitris Papaziglou for all I know, I couldn’t understand what she was saying, Greek names are impossible!!) and ran off again. Although, I do remember she said he was a famous singer. Looks like I need to brush up on my Greek popstars.
2. They started the show before everyone was seated. To be honest, you may get a better understanding of what it was like if I were to say “before anyone was seated.” Now don’t go thinking that they began the show before the time written on our ticket… rather, they began about 40 minutes late! And yet, there were still hoards of Greeks yet to be ushered in. Suffice it to say, Greeks are not known for their punctuality.
3. There were NO LINES FOR THE BATHROOM AT INTERMISSION!! This baffled me. I was dreading the long line awaiting me, and was shocked when I able to walk right into a stall. Upon exiting the ladies room, I looked around the theater to see where everyone had gone. I knew I had seen hundreds of people get up during intermission. This was a mystery that must be solved. Low and behold, I thought to peek outside, and there they were… hundreds of Greek socialites enjoying a cigarette (ok, maybe not hundreds, I’m not good at estimations).
4. People left before the curtain closed. In fact, people started leaving at the beginning of the final song. I guess they wanted to beat the rush, but it was a real shame. This was no baseball game. Wait, what am I saying, never leave a baseball game before the final pitch either! But I digress. I felt bad for the performers, but apparently in Greek culture, this is an acceptable thing to do. Very interesting.
5. They sang the famous line, “I’m singing in the rain” in Greek!!
