Drop the popcorn and five live drama another chance

Last Friday night, I handed my ticket to an usher who tore it and waved me through a… Last Friday night, I handed my ticket to an usher who tore it and waved me through a door. I settled into a plush red seat, careful not to bump the man next to me. I surveyed the room, filled with eager audience members waiting for the lights to dim.

And not a bucket of popcorn in sight.

I was at the opening of the Charity Randall Theatre, Pitt’s new main stage, to see “Much Ado About Nothing” by William Shakespeare.

I glanced at the people sitting around me. They were far older than me, well-dressed, no tattoos or piercings. I felt a little uncomfortable. Out of place.

Perhaps all the students were up in the balcony section and my orchestra ticket was a fluke. Perhaps the $25 admission proved too pricey for all but the most enthusiastic student. Or perhaps the many clubs, bars and parties of Oakland had lured them all away on this stormy Friday night.

So where are my peers? Why wouldn’t they want to spend an evening being entertained by actors that are almost close enough to touch, real flesh and blood people creating an experience that will never happen again?

My friend had an answer for that.

“You can see a movie for $8,” she said. “And they let you eat at the movies. And if the movie’s bad, you can leave without looking rude. But you go to see a play and it’s $20 for a ticket, no popcorn and a bunch of stuffy old rich people. And the show is probably all ‘thees’ and ‘thous’ and uppity.”

I found I couldn’t argue with her, at a loss to combat all her assertions. But I couldn’t help but feel she was missing the point.

I should admit, I’m biased. I’m a theater major. And as such, I’ve managed to construct a number of comebacks to my friend’s claims.

Maybe you can’t have snacks in the theater, but you can be in a darkened room with real live actors. Anything can happen. Maybe they miss a line and the whole play falls apart. Maybe they nail it and create magic. There’s that chance, that danger, that opportunity. You truly don’t know how the show will end. Does a bucket o’ popcorn and a vat o’ pop make up for that?

Is theater inherently “uppity?” There’s a lesson on that to be learned in Shakespeare. The Bard wasn’t writing just for the Queen and her court; he threw in a ton of bawdy humor for the groundlings, the common folk who’d pay a penny to stand near the stage. Theater was a social event for these people, a gathering place for the rich and the poor, a place where a poor man could share an experience with a king.

As I sat in the Charity Randall last weekend, I realized Shakespeare’s not for everyone. I’m not a big fan myself. But even though the popular conception of “theater” is people in ruffled costumes speaking in a language that sounds like English but makes no sense, all theater is not Shakespeare.

There’s plenty of drama out there that students can relate to, that will speak to our generation.

A girl comes to terms with the sexual abuse she suffered as a child at her uncle’s hands. She is brave, passionate, and funny as she tells her story, taking the audience on an emotional journey from the time when she was an 18-year-old college freshman breaking away from her family back to when she was a scared 11-year-old.

A misogynistic rock star crashes a Lilith Fair type concert, much to the dismay of the three girl-rockers running the show.

A young woman in a mental hospital thinks she’s the reincarnation of Mary Magdalene. She has a series of vivid flashbacks of her own take on Biblical times.

Sound like what’s showing down at the local Cinema I, II, III?

All three of these are shows the University of Pittsburgh Repertory Theatre has produced or will produce this year: “How I Learned to Drive,” “ThesmoPhair” and “The Magdalene Project,” respectively.

Maybe a ticket to the newest touring Broadway show will cost you $50. But as a student, there’s a wide variety of theater open to you for not so much more than a movie ticket. Carnegie Mellon has student tickets as low as $6. Point Park offers rates of $12. Pitt Rep charges $5 for admission to lab Productions – $5! That’s less than a movie!

There’s no reason not to give live drama another chance. Next time you see a poster for a play you’ve never heard of, pony up the $5. You can feel cultured for the price of a mixed drink at Hemingway’s.

Of course, even I sometimes still miss the popcorn.

Beth Hommel hopes people take a chance on “The Magdalene Project,” Pitt Rep’s final lab production. She can be reached at bhommel@pittnews.com.