Sight and Sound

November 29th, 2005


Our church took a trip to Lancaster, PA to see the Sight and Sound Christmas production. Very impressive. We rode out in Dr. Stagno's car with Paul Funchess. Part way there, in stop-and-go traffic on the highway, Anna got sick. She was a real trooper about it, and due to her and Joy's efforts, they managed not to make a mess of the car.

We wound up getting separated from another car in our group, and that car had our tickets. Fortunately, someone in a car we hadn't been separated from had the purchase receipt, so they let us all in only a few minutes late. Like I said, the performance was very impressive. Large, talented and skillful cast. Live animals, and a nearly half circle stage that wrapped around the front of the auditorium made this a very immersive event. The sets were amazing, and the special effects were pretty good for a stage production. Paul Funchess pointed out an actress I thought looked familiar; turns out that she went to school with us. We would have liked to speak with her afterward, but there wasn't an opportunity to do that.

Anna in particular had a great time, really enjoying the performance. Some of us who were a little older were disturbed by some of the interpretive and artistic liberties taken, but on the whole, it wasn't bad. In a lot of ways, this was every bit as impressive as most Broadway productions (excluding the canned music instead of a live orchestra; at least the singing was live). In some ways, even more so (I mean, when was the last time anyone saw a camel ridden down the aisle through the audience and up onto the stage in a Broadway show?) My wife's blog, Joy's Pleasure, has a more detailed entry about the day, including some pictures.