Both last night and today we had performances of OEDIPUS that were packed nearly to sold out.  I have to say, I’m really thrilled with that!  The wonderful, humbling second half of this story is that on Thursday, we only had *almost* enough people to fill the front rows of our 4-sided space.  I guess this goes to show that You Just Never Know!  

I really went into this production unsure if anyone would be interested.  We’ve been fortunate enough to get wonderful reviews – speaking of which, I forgot to post the most recent one:  

The Rogue Critic says: It would be a mistake to pass off this show as simple merely because its fine ensemble makes it look easy. By earning the audience’s rapt attention to its juicy, catastrophic plot and subtly insisting on the thematic undertones that make this myth a classic, the production should give a willing viewer food for thought that satiates well beyond the play’s end.  Read the whole review here!

What I’m excited about, despite having a couple of very small houses, is that we’ve also had some medium houses, and some packed houses: people are coming.  They’re coming, and they’re enjoying it and, most of all, being moved by it!   It’s not going to be a blockbuster at the box office, but still, that’s okay!  We had a talkback after the show today and it was great to sit with the cast and chat with the audience about the show, the process, the script, the decision to do it, etc… There were a ton of great questions and observations.  The thing that gets me is the thing that still gets me every time we have an event or I get up to give the curtain speech before a performance:  People came!  People are interested enough, excited enough, to spend time in our building. 

That’s been a great thing to see during this season: as we’ve intentionally experimented with a varied selection of productions, our patrons have been supportive. That’s encouraging. 

It’s more than encouraging, it’s exciting and humbling and rewarding – and it’s also, probably MOST importantly, a reminder:  We have to earn that.  

Every time.

It’s good to be reminded.