Pittsburgh CLO presents Mame

Well, last night Mom and I went to see Mame at the Benedum downtown. Mom met me on the corner of 6th and Penn, and we went to dinner before the show. It was an exciting time to be downtown; the Pirates v. Yankees game was being made up last night as well (this deserves a rant later, btw), so downtown was lively and bustling with activity. After considering a few places to eat, we settled for the Grille on 7th, which is diagonal from the Benedum. I ordered this fantastic piece of baked salmon with a pretzel crust and honey mustard drizzled over it. It was fabulous! I even got Mom to try the fish, and she really liked it! If you don't like fish, that doesn't mean you wouldn't like salmon. I would tell you this: when you see it on a menu, try a salmon caesar salad. That's a good starting point.

Anyway, after dinner we went over and we were in our seats by 7:30. I thought this would be normal, but we were some of the first people in there. I don't know proper theatre etiquette, but 15-20 minutes seemed appropriate in Pittsburgh. Also, I wasn't sure about dress; I went with biz casual, and that seemed ok. Some of the elder gents were wearing ties and coats; I guess that's to be expected from the old guard.

So as we are sitting there, we are looking through the program. I say to Mom, "hey, the person playing Mame was on Knots Landing, her name is Michele Lee." And Mom started freaking out! She was so excited because she knew her, and of course seeing a star adds a whole dimension to a show. This just adds to the thrill of seeing live musical theatre!

The show itself was just ok; my quibbles are more with the actual show and not the performers. I think the premise is interesting, but the script really didn't develop it well. The bond between Mame and Patrick seemed forced and rushed; the conclusion was anti-climactic; the second act was very bare (this is a problem of a lot of musicals). The musical numbers were alright, as well. "Mame" ended the first act and was on the Southern plantation; it was the best number of the show.

Michele Lee was great as the title character. The young boy from the South Hills that played 10 year old Patrick was awesome! Very talented kid. Agnes was the comic relief, and she was pretty funny for a generally humorless show.

So, that's one CLO production down for the summer and two to go. Our seats were really good; 7th row right-center. Our Annie Get Your Gun seats are even better, so that should be fun. West Side Story is the third show and we have good seats for that as well. Should be exciting for the rest of the summer!