A Chorus Line

Yesterday afternoon we delighted in the matinee performance of A Chorus Line at the Scranton Cultural Center, with S, J, and S-prime.

I had seen the show on Broadway probably 20 years ago when it was still on it's first run. It went on to set the all-time record for first-run performances which stood for quite a while only to be surpassed by Cats. Yikes!

(At least I think it was Cats... And speaking of Cats, unfortunately I had the dubious distinction of being herded there multiple times while it went on to its own record run. Alas, there is no real story to Cats: First act's great and the second act sucks--until the very last number were it's ultimately redeemed.)

A Chorus Line is a moving and heartfelt story that while told in the milieu of a theater audition, just as well applies to all of us as we try to find our way in this world. It covers the trials and tribulations, the triumphs and heartbreaks, that we all encounter as we sometimes strive for what we love, never settling, and at other times strive and are forced to compromise due to need. This performance was not as breathtaking as the first time I saw it, but the story carries the show.

Afterwords, it was off to Cooper's. Not for the food, but the beer.

(Ok, the food is none too shabby either.)

Alas, S still hasn't had her Fall pumpkin ale fix!

Stymied again!

No fear: it's just not yet--it's still early. Still, it's highly doubtful she'll turn to a pumpkin if she doesn't find some, but my esteem is dropping for not delivering post haste.

She settled (if you can ever call choosing any Dogfish Head beer settling), for Dogfish Head Punkin Ale. She wasn't impressed: the pumpkin flavor just wasn't as punchy compared to others she's had.

S-prime and J asked moi to pick a beer for them and there really wasn't anything that really caught my eye on the draught list--everything seemed to be Oktoberfest/Marzen styles or higher ABVs--I wanted them to get home safe and sound after all! Finally, on the back page, my eye fell to Victory Hop Devil on the hand pump.

We have a winner!

J likes a hoppy beer and the Hop Devil was the first time he and S-prime had tried this particular beer. Both J and S-prime enjoyed it immensely. As did I.

(You know: Victory Hop Devil may just be the perfect hoppy ale to whet the burgeoning beer drinker's tongues as a step up from the relatively tame Saison's, Witte's, Pilsners, Hefeweizen's and such....)

Best part of every day.