Saturday, March 24, 2012

Great Balls of Fire!

Last night, there was a whole lot of shakin' going on.

It was one of those evenings that just...shines. Sparkles. Resonates. Impresses. And leaves a lasting impression.

Hubby and I gussied up a bit and then headed into the "big city", downtown Kansas City, to attend a show at the brand new Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts.

This building is brand spankin' new, and man, does it impress.


The "backside" of the KPAC

Designed by architect Moshe Safdie, the building is absolutely, stunningly beautiful - no matter which direction you see it from.


The "frontside" of the KPC - or the lobby side

The parking garage, located under a grassy lawn in the front, is beautiful in itself...with light features, as well as beautiful music piped in. Once we made our way to the lobby, we were both in awe of the architecture wonder that surrounded us...indulge me as I take you on a short, photographic tour of the lobby from various vantage points, as Hubby and I scurried from corner to corner, trying to take it all in:













At some point, we attempted to take the inevitable self-portrait, without much success...and to our delight, an usher immediately ran over and offered to take our photo:



Seating soon began for our show, so inside we went...we were there to see "Million Dollar Quartet" - and this show absolutely DELIVERED.



If you've never seen this show - stop what you're doing right this minute, find out where the nearest showing to you is, and immediately get tickets.

Seriously.

It's THAT good.

It's a toe-tapping, dancing-in-the-aisle trip back to rock 'n roll's birthplace, to the magical evening of December 4, 1956...when four of rock's eventual legends, Carl Perkins, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Elvis Presley, all found themselves at Sun Records.


The iconic photo taken from that evening

True story.

What followed that cold, winter night in Memphis was a jam session like no other...and this show recreates the magic from that evening.

The actors were AMAZING. If I didn't know better, I would have thought they were using pre-recorded tracks of the music, because that's how GOOD the actors were when singing the songs. And not only did they have the voices down, but they all had the iconic mannerisms, twitches, movements, etc that made these rock 'n roll legends...well...legends.

I really thought I was watching Elvis, and Jerry Lee, and Johnny, and Carl up on stage...it was fantastic.

A two-hour set...no intermission...and by the end of the evening, the sold-out crowd was on their feet for the last four numbers, giving the actors a standing ovation that they were due.

GREAT BALLS OF FIRE, it was good!

A great show...in a great venue...with a great date for company...it just doesn't get much better than that!

Peace.

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1 comment:

LuAnne Lizotte said...

You are so fortunate. I miss Kansas City and what it has to offer. Thanks for the post. You made it seem like I was there. Thanks again!