FEBRUARY 22, 2015
WE COULD KICK OURSELVES! We could just kick ourselves for not discovering until today the
intimate VK Garage Theater here in Kerrville. I don’t know why it’s called “the Garage” but it doesn’t matter. Absolutely charming! We’ve not seen much live theater since we left home, so a couple weeks ago when I discovered this tiny theater I made reservations to see a performance of “Weekend Comedy.” We truly enjoyed ourselves this evening! It was a steady “rat-a-tat of laugh lines.” Had we known about this gem of a place when we arrived in town about four months ago, we’d have purchased season tickets. There are only about 5 presentations each season and today’s was unfortunately the last.
HOW FUN…COMEDY WITH A MESSAGE. Today’s performance was “comedy with a message.” And the message is: “Marriage is tricky business. What begins as irrepressible love can morph into something more complicated and challenging…yet even more fulfilling, if the couple persists.” We laughed throughout the performance. Well, almost throughout. I admit that on a couple of occasions a few tears welled in my eyes. But that’s more than OK. I love it when there’s a message!
The VK Garage theater, Kerrville’s tiny live theater venue.
“Frank” and “Peggy” chatted with me after the show and graciously allowed me to take their picture.
PLAYHOUSE 2000. Playhouse 2000 is the management company for the Caillioux Center for Performing Arts. It produces events for the nearby Caillloux Theater and also for the tiny VK Garage. Its mission is to provide education and enlightenment in the theater arts to people of all ages. Its founders believed that live theater can combine the spoken word with physical actions on stage in a way that creates a positive, effective and memorable message. For us today, management’s mission and the founders’ beliefs were both very evident.
We saw “Weekend Comedy” at the VK Garage Theater in Kerrville, Texas.
WE SAW “WEEKEND COMEDY.” Here’s how it goes: Frank and Peggy, a married-forever couple in their mid-fifties, have booked a secluded vacation cabin, hoping for a romantic spark to enliven their 25th wedding anniversary. Unfortunately, Jill and Tony, an attractive couple in their mid-twenties, disinterested in marriage, have booked the exact same cabin. After the couples decide to make the best of things and share the cabin during a fateful Memorial Day weekend, we watched a comedic clash between generations. Both couples came to a new understanding of mankind’s grandest institution, and we, their audience, enjoyed a lot of laughs. I was was reminded of some wonderful things about our marriage that make it special. I knew Florence was feeling the same way, when in the darkness of the theater she reached over, held my hand and put her head on my shoulder. Here come a few of those tears I mentioned!
The stage for “Weekend Comedy.” What you’re looking at is the inside of the cabin accidentally rented by two couples for the Memorial Day Weekend. Ooops! Oh well, “Maybe we can learn something from all of this.”
There was some serious bickering as the couples sorted out their feelings about the institution of marriage.
On Friday evening, Jill and Tony were completely disinterested in marriage. But by Sunday afternoon, Jill wouldn’t take “no” for an answer!
A corner in the lobby of the tiny VK Garage Theater in Kerrville.
Another view of the lobby. Very small lobby. Very small theater, too. I doubt that it seats more than about 200 folks. There’s not a bad seat in the house. We were only about 10 or 15 feet from center stage.
AND HERE’S MY TAKE-AWAY: If you’ve been following this blog for any length of time, you know what this Journey across America is all about for me. Sure I want to see all the sights…that’s huge. But even more important is meeting the people who live in this great land of ours. Learning about what they believe. And why. Experiencing all that makes our country what it is. Seeing and meeting the actors this afternoon who live and work in the Texas Hill Country and who believe that legitimate theater is important was part of that experience. I’m so glad I found this little gem in the hills. And I’m so glad we’re exploring the country on Our Great American Adventure.
JOIN US NEXT TIME, WON’T YOU? OUR ADVENTURE CONTINUES.
