Friday, March 12, 2010

Me and Christine, keeping it real

Christine Lavin is one of my favorite entertainers. She's funny, smart, and her songs can be either moving or hilarious (sometimes both!). I first discovered her, lo, these many years since, when the theater god came home from work with one of her CDs.

I listened.

I loved.

I listened some more.

Says I to TG, "I must see her in person."

Says TG to me, "But you never want to come to a show."

Says I, "That's because I'm always too exhausted from riding herd on the children you begot upon me." (Subtext: You owe me, mister!)

Says TG, "Look, I had the vasectomy. Can we drop this, please?"

Says I, "Sure. Right after I see Christine in person. Coincidentally, that's when our sex life will resume, too."

Says TG, "Anything for you, dollface."

(Okay, I made up that last bit. TG has never called me dollface. If he had, he wouldn't have needed the vasectomy.)

Soooo, anyway, I arranged for the kiddos' grandparents to babysit, and I got myself down to the theater on the appointed night. I was so excited! When you're married to a theater god, you spend a lot of time at home in the evenings, because (A.) The last thing theater gods want to do on a night off is spend more time away from home, and (B.) see (A.)

[Let me insert here, lest anyone think TG was/is an awful husband, I am perfectly welcome to go to any show I want--and there are well over a hundred a year to choose from. But, as with anything readily available, one tends to take it for granted and dismiss it with an airy "Oh, I can do that any time, no need to bother tonight."]

However, since I Really Wanted to see Christine, I made an effort. I gussied myself up and drove myself to the theater, where TG ushered me to one of the best seats in the house. I was so excited to not be home watching Winnie the Pooh videos, I turned to the stranger next to me (um, yeah, did I mention TG couldn't sit with me, because he actually had to run the sound for the show?) and voiced my enthusiasm for the upcoming performance, perhaps a tad over-exuberantly.

The stranger sipped his wine (yes, one of the wonderful things about the Barns at Wolf Trap is, you can actually enjoy a drink while you watch the performance--tres civilized!) and said, "You don't get out much, do you, dear?"

I shut up.

When lights dimmed and Christine entered stage right, I felt a shiver. I was really there. I was out of the house. I was surrounded by adults!

A few lines into her opening patter, she said, "I want to give a special welcome to a member of our audience tonight. She's married to the Production Manager--otherwise known as the genius at the soundboard--and this is a big night for her. Her husband finally asked her out. Sure, she had to drive herself to the theater, and she'll be driving herself back home, and she's sitting by herself in the audience, but this is the closest thing she's had to a date in four years, so she's not complaining."

I should've been mortified at being singled out, but hey, I got a standing ovation. So I bowed.

Anyway, here's a little sample of why I liked Christine Lavin so much back then (listen to the words & be careful not to spew your drink):



She's a little older now--who isn't?--but I still love her unique mixture of music, comedy, and commentary. And guess what? She's coming back to the Barns in early April.

Yep, I'll be there. Sitting by myself and loving every minute of it.

6 comments:

Melanie Sherman said...

Okay, I didn't believe she really said that but after listening to her song, I SO believe it. Great blog. You made me laugh.

Linda G. said...

Hi Melanie! Welcome to my blog. :)

Yes, she definitely said it, and I blushed like mad...but still bowed. Reflexes, I guess.

Anonymous said...

Just lost a long and quite adoring comment. Rather than obsessive over the obvious cyber meaning of such mysterious events, I'll just say this:

What a lovely post. Between it and the double maraschino cherries, you've won me over. :)

Linda G. said...

Aw, thanks, Kristina. And welcome. :)

The double cherries are key to the headache cure. They turn an ordinary drink into a dessert, and who can maintain a headache while having dessert?

TAWNA FENSKE said...

How fun! Had never heard of Christine Lavin before, but I'm now a fan. Thanks for sharing!

Tawna

Linda G. said...

Always happy to make another Christine Lavin fan. Some of her songs are even funnier than the one I posted--it was hard to decide which one to share here.