The Theater, The Theater

Ashlyn's London post from this week has prompted this day's blog. 
 " I sat next to a lady who was in London on business and who had grown up in Manhattan, so she was curious as to how I got my love of theatre (growing up in Iowa). I explained to her how we grew up on Rodgers and Hammerstein and went to all the shows we could. I feel like my age combined with my heritage always makes people who don't know me a little surprised, but I do my best to educate the world one New Yorker at a time!"
When I was a little girl in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, I was treated several times to live theater.  Most of the performances were at the Paramount Theatre.  The Paramount Theatre, when I was a child, is what I imagined all grand and glorious theaters looked like.  The Paramount had an enormous organ that came up out of the orchestra pit.  There was all the gilt and velvet and plush.  It was just so amazing.  And as I recall, our seats were often front row, balcony.  Nothing to inhibit our viewing pleasure. 
Looking back, I feel very fortunate that my parents saw it as a necessity that we were exposed to live musical theater.  Not only were we exposed to theater, but it was on a regular basis that we listened to the music associated with the plays that we saw.  My parents had many of the Rodgers and Hammerstein albums.  There was also Man of La Mancha amongst others.  Most exposure came from my dad singing bits of old musicals from stage and movies.  Often, I didn't even know they were real songs until I stumbled on them later.  We were so lucky!
Now before any of you begin to think I saw a second class production in the small city of Cedar Rapids, think again!  Sound of Music was amazing.  I remember thinking how lucky those kids were to get to be a part of the greatest musical family ever (sorry Osmonds, but you are no Von Trapp!).  But it was the Theatre of Cedar Rapids production of The Music Man that sold me on the magic of live theater.  You know the opening scene that takes place on the train?  Well, they did that, they rocked and swayed and clicked and clacked just like they were on a train.  And then, you know at the end when Harold Hill has been caught and the jig is up?  There he is ready to be tarred and feathered.  Marian's heart is broken.  The town is demanding a band!  So up on stage is a gathered group of a dozen or so poorly trained band members.  There is a trombone, a clarinet and maybe a fugle horn or two but nothing much to make a town proud.  And then, out of nowhere, the theatre fills with the sounds of Washington High School's marching band.  As a kid, I jumped out of my seat. 
When Danny and I had kids, exposing them to the classics of twentieth century musical theater seemed very natural.  As babies, the girls were listening to my dad sing South Pacific and Man of La Mancha.  We had the Rodgers and Hammerstein collection on VHS.  Follow that up with a little My Fair Lady and toss in all of the Disney classics and that makes for some pretty musical moments.  They also watched The Music Man on a fairly regular basis as well.
In 1999, Danny, Sheila, the girls and I went to see Joseph.  I did not know the music except that Sheila sang it for the better part of a school year.  The production was local and incredible.  Several years later, the kids and I would go to a traveling Broadway show and it paled in comparision. 
Living in Des Moines, we are fortunate to have Broadway shows come through all of the time.  Our most recent show was Rock of Ages.  Ashlyn just saw Singing in the Rain in London and Danny, Ashlyn and I are going to see We Will Rock You, the rockopera based on the music of Queen. 
So, thank you, Mom and Dad, for seeing the importance in getting us dressed up for a Sunday matinee of song on stage.  Thank you, Dad for telling me to come watch Singing in the Rain.  For telling me to just watch Donald O'Connor dance.  You were right, there really is nothing like that.  Thank you for having an extensive record collection that we were allowed to play.  Most of all, thank you for making sure that we knew what the good stuff was when it came to movies and music. 
And to the woman in London that had the good fortune to be educated by my daughter, it is all in how you are raised.