why does it always rain when i see shows in naperville?

Last night - we trundled off in the rain to see Patti LuPone in Pleasantville, whoops, I mean Naperville. I've told y'all, right, about going to visit my aunt and uncle who live there, and running into their relentlessly cheery and helpful neighbors? It was like a scene out of a 50s movie or something, where everyone is tanned and wholesome and having bbqs and playing frisbee in the street and all the kids are football players and cheerleaders and in the boy/girl scouts where they have commited themselves to public service and Good Deeds, etc. Not that any of this is a bad thing, but compared to my neighborhood, they might as well be on another planet somewhere. It's weird, isn't it? Freakish. And incredibly Republican(which is why I will never live there). But I digress.

The last time I visited Pfeiffer Hall was a few years ago when I saw Bernadette Peters perform there. It's a little tiny hall on the campus of North Central College - as Bob put it, like a high school auditorium (although I think the NiWe auditorium is actually nicer!) so when Patti greeted us with "Gee whiz, it's like a dream come true!" I had to laugh. Since the weather was so gross (this had better bring some May flowers, dang it!) and because I live in constant fear of Missing Curtain, we left at 5:30. For an 8:00 show. I know. But it was pouring rain, and people turn into idiots when stuff starts falling out of the sky on them. And also we were in the front row - and I for one, did not want to get there late and face The Wrath. I didn't have to worry, because we got there ridiculously early. It would have been a nice night for a little stroll around the picturesque little campus, but even though it had stopped raining, it had gotten really really cold. No matter. We sat in the car for a while and watched people trying to park. What larks.

Finally we were allowed inside the theater, where we sat and then chatted with RivB and Gator for a while (our seats were directly in front of theirs and we didn't even plan it that way) and then it was... Show Time. Curtain up, light the lights, etc. But not so fast - the head of the organization walked out, and commenced to give a speech, accompanied by powerpoint presentation (am not making that one up, I swear) about their upcoming season. See? I didn't have to worry so much about being late, since I would have just missed that thrilling announcement. Their season featured Gloria Gaynor, Michael Feinstein, Boyz to Men and the Fab Four (from Beyond the Veil, apparently) and, oh yes, the season had a theme, and I wonder how long it took them to think it up - Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed and Something Blue (not making that one up, either.) Now, I understand the need to renew subscribers, because as a whole, subscription sales are down pretty much across the board, times is hard, etc. but there's a time and place, you know? And they handed out brochures later, which accomplished the same thing, without the powerpoint. Don't they do this subscription thing every year? Their patrons seemed kind of old, but I am assuming they're not morons. I am sure they could look at the brochure and figure it out, yes?? So I was a little annoyed. Hey, Mister Man, shuddup already, will ya? You're keeping me from seeing Patti! He was seconds away from incurring MY wrath, which is not as awesome to behold as others I could name, but I would like to think is plenty feasome...

But then he got off the stage and it really was showtime, and for the second time in a month, I was in the Presence of The Patti. And it was great. I have seen this show, Coulda Shoulda Woulda before (at the JCC gala a few years ago - they have only recently stopped sending me mail since I told them that 1. I am not Jewish and 2. the only reason I shelled out the cash for their event was to see Patti so unless they planned to bring her back, they were wasting their postage) so it was familiar, but she changed it up since I saw it last, adding in "Everything's Coming Up Roses" and "A Quiet Thing" to the first part, along with the others that are usually in there like "Easy to be Hard" and "Meadowlark" and "Don't Cry for Me, Argentina" and her West Side Story duet with herself. We were sitting close, and she worked both sides of the stage pretty well. She'd come over to our end and loom Fiercely (capital F - because that is Fierce, as in Tyra Banks'usage of the word "Giiirrrl, you are Fierce!")over us for a while, and I'd find myself shifting in my seat to look up at her, to avoid staring at her knees.

Anyway, I was already pretty happy going into the second half, but I was beside myself ecstatic when she went into what she called "the Sondheim section" which she'd also changed up from the last time I saw the show because it included - "I Never Do Anything Twice" (where she brandished the whip!) "Anyone Can Whistle" "Send in the Clowns" and "Being Alive" (!!!)- have I ever told you how much I've wanted to see her sing "Being Alive" live??? It's my favorite - and after a busy, hard week, I felt like she was singing it just for me (how did you know, Patti??). Cloud 9 time, for sure. She looked really great, too, in black and white, although I wanted to reach up there and straighten her shirt collar, since one side of it was flipped up and the other side was not. I was just thinking 'come over here, let me fix that...' Anyway, she ended it with "The Ladies Who Lunch" (another appropriate one, for me given that last week was Gala week) and "The Way You Look Tonight" where she ran around the stage taking pictures of the audience with a little disposable camera. She actually got a fun one (I think) of me and mom with Bob in the background - which would be an awesome one to have, dontcha think?? And then closed with "100 years from Today" a capella. And then it was over and we went back out into the rainy night. Over too soon.

Thanks again for another great show, Ms. Patti, and I can now die a happy woman, hearing you sing "Being Alive" right in front of me. Or, in Randy speak "Yo, yo, yo, listen up! Patti baby, you did your thing and I've got mad love for you."