The show goes on

I am constantly amazed at the talent in this town, and I've never been more amazed than this week seeing "The Wedding Singer" twice at Circle Theatre.
I went to Wednesday's dress rehearsal with my church group and then gladly returned Thursday to review. Such energy. Such powerful singing voices. How do they sing and execute those tricky dance moves at the same time? And the characters! Every cast member is a standout.

So I'm a little surprised that some of the cast members take exception to my review pointing out the extra challenge that was overcome in the execution of the opening number Thursday. I know things go wrong in every performance; things I never see; things of which the audience is blissfully unaware. But since I did notice that one of the performers was struggling with a "wardrobe malfunction",  why shouldn't it be mentioned?

The point is not that a problem arose; the point is that it was handled with such grace and professionalism.

I know performers deal with much bigger problems than a costume snag, so perhaps they don't think it's worth mentioning.  But it is in coping with ordinary realities, like wardrobe malfunctions, that we're able to connect on a very human basis.

Theater is about creating illusion, but why pretend those illusions happen without overcoming obstacles? This isn't the movies where you can stop the camera and reshoot the scene. Theater is real time. The actors and the audience breathe the same air in the same room. And if a real live dancer is able to maintain the illusion when her costume isn't cooperating, those real people in the real audience are real impressed.