Bad theater experiences

[Amy Z]

Jen wrote:

> > Anyway, I wanted to ask you all (if you're down here
> > by this point): 
> > if any of you have ever walked out of a movie, which
> > one was it?

Loved Sheryll's date story.  Something tells me we could start a 
thread on Dates from Hell that would go on for months (the thread, not 
the dates, though either would apply).  Sounds like you got out of 
THAT relationship while the getting was good, Sheryll.

I've walked out of plays and movies more than once, but the one that 
stands out was a Wole Soyinka play called, I think, The Dictators?  Or 
anyway, it was about several African dictators, a sort of "put Amin, 
Mobutu, etc. in a room and see what happens" thing.  The playwright 
went on to win the Nobel Prize and the theater was a very prestigious 
one where I've seen many a terrific performance, but everyone has 
their off days, and it was AWFUL.  It basically consisted of guys in 
generals' uniforms strutting around having these really embarrassing 
temper tantrums, and the moral seemed to be "dictators are like 
spoiled 2-year-olds," a concept I got after about 10 seconds and 
didn't need to keep having shoved down my throat.  I was there with a 
good friend and we both cringed through the entire first act, then 
left without hesitation at intermission, so that I will never know 
what happens to the naive reporter after they put his head in the 
toilet bowl.  I'm a firm disbeliever in the theory, "we paid all this 
money for the tickets, damn it, we're going to watch this thing."  I 
figure it this way:  the money is gone.  Now do I want to have a nice 
evening or a miserable one?

Amy