I don’t know what I was thinking last Friday when a colleague’s rejection of my last-minute invitation to the theater made me jealous. The Arkansas Repertory Theater’s production of Smokey Joe’s Café just didn’t sound interesting to her, at least compared to her other options. And I have to admit, it didn’t seem like a hot ticket to me either, which is probably why I waited until the run’s last weekend to confirm my seats as a season ticket holder. Maybe the ‘50s and ‘60s music made it seem unappealing – I don’t know. But I found some willing alternate theatergoers, and we showed up at Sixth and Main for the show.
We sat somewhere new (and I’m not saying where) in what I’m now convinced are the best seats in the house. I often come to this conclusion after a night at the intimate theater, though — there really are no bad seats at the Rep. But the experience from this new vantage point was the same old, same old — a thrilling live performance by talented artists. I’ve never walked out of the Rep and said, ‘Well, that sucked,’ so what was I thinking, being so reluctant this time?
I can’t even say that it would have helped had I known some of the performers’ bios, because the Rep always casts stars in their own right. In Smokey Joe’s Café, I was most impressed with Alltrinna Grayson, who not only performed the same role “BJ) in the first national touring company of the production but also has performed on Broadway, for the Pope, with gospel greats like the late James Cleveland and in one of Tyler Perry’s productions. And that’s just the condensed version of her bio. I walked out of the theater still hearing a particular note she held on to for what seemed like 30 seconds, along with the Amy Miller Brennan’s humorous rendition of the earworm Pearl’s a Singer.
I would have gone back again to see Krisha Marcano work that boa in Don Juan and Morgan Smith dance in Teach Me How to Shimmy if I’d first seen the show earlier in the run. I won’t be making that mistake again next season, and you won’t ever catch me dragging my feet en route to a Rep performance again.
I’m about to order tickets right now, in fact. I’d highly recommend you do the same, which is why I didn’t tell you where my new best seats in the house are. Of course, if you don’t see any shows next season, you won’t know what you missed or have any reason to question what you were thinking. But I’ll wonder for you.