The Purple Rose

I wonder how many people know what's in their backyard? What exciting, interesting things you can take advantage of without going to far. Yes, yes, there's been a lot of talk of the "staycation" this year - not traveling because of the price of fuel (mind you I flew a long way to get to my vacation so this really doesn't apply to me) but I'm talking about all the time. Taking advantage of the community you live in - that's what we did Sunday and it was a truly entertaining experience.

Jeff Daniels, the actor (yes, he of Dumb and Dumber fame, among many other, better movies), founded The Purple Rose Theater Company back in 1991. I remember, when I was much, much younger, my parents and their friends went to a play there and always recalled the experience fondly but never returned. I'm not sure why, we went to other plays, to MSU, to WMU, to Detroit, etc. but never back to the Purple Rose. Until this past weekend.

My mom and I read about Jeff Daniels' latest play in the paper. Panhandle Slim and the Oklahoma Kid. Yes, in addition to acting, Daniels is quite the accomplished playwright. It was to be the world-premiere of this play, and it was only about 45 minutes from our house. I called up the box office and away we went.

We walked through downtown Chelsea, where the theater is located, because we got there early. (We also got rear-ended by a woman while we were waiting at a red light but luckily there was no damage. The funny part is, it happened in front of the police station and there was quite the noise and no, no one from the station or the patrol car parked out front came out to investigate.) We browsed in shops and art galleries and then headed to the theater.

I remember my mom always saying how small the theater was but this was quite the shock. It holds just over 200 patrons and is intimate enough in it's setting that you see everything on stage, AND all the people in the crowd around you. But there were comfy seats and nice ushers and then the show began.

It was the perfect way to spend 90 minutes of a Sunday afternoon. Laughing, smiling, tapping toes as the four actors sang songs and even a hymn. The play was about death, life, regret, experiences, spirituality, love, and owning up to it all. It was funny, smart, and included one character watering an invisible horse. It was great.

I'm so glad that Jeff Daniels decided to put his little theater right here smack-dab in the middle of Michigan. I'm glad that on Sunday afternoon I could watch this play with families and senior citizens and just ordinary people who, like me, probably don't get to the theater very much. I'm glad that we moved out of our backyard for a day and found something new, something enjoyable.

In December I'd love to go back, there's a revival of one of Daniels' other plays (he's quite prolific). And I'm excited to keep discovering things in my backyard, where ever that happens to be!