Dreams Reimagined

On the evening of February 27th, Frank and I went to a local singing production at the Firehouse Arts Center in Pleasanton CA, a theater in our neighboring town. The show was titled Dreams Reimagined: A Miscast Cabaret. Publicity for the performance hinted at what to expect.

Come see some of your favorite performers sing roles you’d never be cast in! Dreams Reimagined is a bold and heartfelt evening of theater where the usual rules don’t apply. Gender? Age? Type? Forget it. If it inspires them, they get to perform it!

In the theatre lobby, while waiting to be seated for the show we explored some of the costumes on display. I recognized Belle from Beauty and the Beast and Eva Perón from Don't Cry for Me Argentina. I am guessing that the pleated skirt ensemble was from Nine to Five. These songs were not necessarily in the repertoire but the costumes were fun to look at nonetheless.

The only accompaniment to the singers was a piano with a set of drums. The staging was minimal with minor props like tables, or stools, or chairs. However, in one case in particular, a two piece toilet complete with tank and bowl was carried out and assembled on the stage by two people. The singing was highly enjoyable and the vocalists were powerful and clearly very talented. Our seats in Row D out of K rows on the main level were just perfect for sound and visual. A projected image displayed what song (or songs when two were counter-played with each other) were being performed. The majority of songs I knew, but for those lesser known, both Frank and I found this projection helpful.

Here is a complete list of the songs from ACT I and ACT II. In some cases the male and female roles were the opposite of the norm and, impressively, this mis-casting worked! Afterward I comment on a select few I liked in particular.

• The woman who sang You'll Be Back from Hamilton was excellent in her mannerisms, sarcasm, and intonations. She was a great runty king who tickled the audience as much as the royalty on broadway. 
  
  
• The "girl" who sang 16 Going on 17 from The Sound of Music came on stage in a mini skirt, a low-cut cleavage-revealing top, black mesh stockings, and toting two beer bottles. The presentation was hilarious.
  
  
• In the aria duet from The Phantom of the Opera, a woman played the phantom in the half mask and a man played the soprano Christine. I waited with bated breath and damn — if he didn't succeed spectacularly in hitting that final high note spot on!
  
  
• A quartet of four women did a medley of hits as the Jersey Boys. I thoroughly enjoyed their crisp harmony and walking motion like the original four guys performing Sherry,  Big Girls Don't Cry,  Walk Like a Man from the musical and real life Jersey Boys.
  
  
• I never would have imagined to counter-sing Winner Takes It All from Mama Mia against I Dreamed a Dream from Les Miserables but it worked. Both have themes of dashed love.
  
  
• Even the songs I had never heard appealed. Micheal in the Bathroom from Be Chill was sung with such angst I could really feel that terror and struggles of teen years. This song benefited greatly from the toilet bowl prop. Here is a sample of the lyrics from the song Michael in the Bathroom. Complete lyrics are at this link.

I am hanging in the bathroom at the biggest party of the fall.
I could stay right here or disappear and nobody'd even notice at all.
I'm a creeper in a bathroom 'cause my buddy kinda left me alone.
But I'd rather fake pee than stand awkwardly or pretend to check a text on my phone.

The Firehouse Arts Center is a small venue, created in what used to be a fire station. Our seats on the main level were great.

This 20,000 sq. ft. cultural arts center features a 221-seat theater, a 2,000 sq. ft. fine arts gallery, an 1,800 sq. ft. classroom space, and an hourglass shaped grand lobby that links Downtown Pleasanton to the facility’s 3,000 sq. ft. Parkside patio and adjacent Lions Wayside Park.

If a similar show plays where you live, I would highly recommend attending. Granted the particular performance was a collection of local talent and so can be greatly varied based on singers and venue. My guess is that there must be licensing of some sort, so perhaps there is continuity to some degree. Frank and I were certainly glad we'd gone and feel fortunate that such an experience was available to us so close to home.

Revisit to Chabot Space and Science Center

Frank and I took Alex to the Chabot Space & Science Center for an afternoon outing on March 8th. The complex, sprawling over the hills of Oakland, consists of two main buildings, the Spees and the Dellums connected by a Sky Bridge. The last time we had been there was in the May 22nd, 2022 and I commented on that visit in my post dated 6/5/22. Alex really enjoyed himself then, but we were a bit disappointed this visit. There seemed to be fewer things for him to do and those hands on exhibits that he could get engaged in, seemed worn out from use and in need of freshening or refurbishment.  

Our first stop upon arrival was to see the Planetarium show. It focused on how Pluto lost its status as a planet and is now categorized as a dwarf planet. The voiceover was fascinating for Frank and me but it was the visuals that really seemed to engage Alex. The swirling motion seemed to mesmerize him. We sat in the first row but after a few minuets I had to change seats. Alex kept jiggling and swaying. His movements combined with the whirling visual made me nauseous and I had to move a row back where Alex's motions did not make my seat move, too. Despite my initial queasiness, I think this was the best part of our visit.

There were many empty deserted "classrooms", most likely intended for school visits. "Studios" contained "exhibits". After the planetarium show we set out to find some interesting, low key exhibits. We found very few and the ones we found I actually thought could have been far better presented. In our travels from studio to studio we came across this phases of the moon demo that Alex liked from last time but that was about it.

It was not until we got to the third floor of the second building that we found two hands on activities that could engage Alex (and Frank and me). One was to build a structure, then shake it to simulate a quake on Mars. Alex much preferred putting the blocks back in their milk crate source. Frank got involved with him and then Alex did show a short-lived interest in building. On our previous visit he had lingered there, engaged for nearly an hour. Gone also were the giant LEGOs which had entertianed him on a previous visit.

There was one other demo that was to illustrate magnet-powered trains. Blocks with metal on the bottom would slide down an incline more rapidly, drawn along by magnets. Putting the blocks metal side down held no interest for Alex. Instead he rolled balls from a neighboring, non-functioning exhibit down the slope.

This facility seems to have changed its demographic to appeal to scheduled visits by school field trips. Other than the planetarium shows, not much is going on for impromptu touring by the general public. Either the focus has changed or the funding has dwindled. We will not be going there again soon. The pleasant ride there and the mesmerizing planetarium show were successful activities that allowed us to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat on this impromptu Sunday outing with Alex.