Lights, Camera, Nostalgia!

Today, Jennifer shares some great local theatres where you can get your musical fix on a budget:

The first time my parents took me to a musical, I was blown away. My dad surprised us with season tickets to a local theatre and we saw everything from Annie to South Pacific that year. I was in elementary school at the time and boy, nothing I'd seen up to that point compared to the glorious lights, music, costumes, and magic that is live theatre!
My kids are still a bit young for most shows, but I have started to scout out some great local theatres for the years ahead. Broadway shows are amazing, but not all of us have the time or budget to head into Boston for a high-priced show, especially with young kids who may or may not be able to sit through a nearly 3-hour performance. But with so many wonderful community theatres nearby, there's a way to get your musical fix on a budget. Here are a few that I've found so far:

The Reagle Music Theatre in Waltham offers a Christmas show (my kids loved it) that is a fantastic local version of the Radio City Music Hall show. And their version of Annie last year was stellar (Sally Struthers makes for one fab Mrs. Hannigan!).

We've also visited the very cool North Shore Music Theatre. It's got a great "theatre in the round" set up that gives even more life to the wonderful lighting, costumes, acting, and singing. This year you can catch My Fair Lady, Tarzan, The King and I, Footloose, and Legally Blonde.

I saw a lovely version of Singing in the Rain last spring (tough to pull off at a community theatre!) at Emerson Umbrella Theatre in Concord; last month they put on a production of Ragtime.

In this day and age of over scheduling and way too much digital stuff, it's wonderful to take a step back in time and enjoy the live theatre, whether for the kids or just the grown-ups!