Stuff 60: A Night at the Opera

Have you gone to the opera?

By J.J. Atwell

The Marx Brothers made a film in 1935 titled A Night at the Opera. As you might expect from the cast, it was played for laughs. In addition to the expected slapstick, it also gave a good example of how things go at a big show like that. For a more recent film, you might want to check out Phantom Of the Opera for the scenes where the public arrives at the opera house.

Today, though, I’d like to write about going to a play in girl mode. I’ve actually done this twice. No, actually it wasn’t an opera. Instead, they were Broadway-style stage shows held in large venues. Exactly the kind of places with large lobbies where people mingle before the curtain while they show off their style.

Didn’t you already cover that outing?

Yes, you are correct, I did mention those outings in a previous Stuff. See Stuff 54 and 55, both from early January. They were such a great experience that I keep re-living them in my head. And what’s in my head tends to fall out onto the page when I’m writing. 

With the benefit of hindsight, I should say that the whole experience wasn’t anywhere near as complex as I expected. I had imagined all kinds of situations where I would be exposed. None of that happened. 

The first outing was at a smaller, regional playhouse and I was there with a half dozen other CDs and their SOs. We all went to dinner beforehand at a nearby restaurant. As a group, I didn’t think that any of us stood out as obvious CDs. At any rate, I’m sure that we were clocked by the servers and probably some other patrons at the restaurant. I’m not so sure about at the actual play afterwards, though. 

The second outing was at a major, big city venue. I was there with two other CDs and their SOs, a party of six. Again we did dinner beforehand at a restaurant we had all been to before. We were welcomed back and had an enjoyable meal. From there we spent about 30 minutes in stop-and-go traffic to go the approximate two miles to the play. 

When we finally got there and turned into the valet lane, we were greeted as ladies and into the lobby we went. That’s where I started to get concerned again because we had to show our tickets on our phone and then go through security. So there was indeed some extra scrutiny. But no alarms went off and we were off to find our way to our seats. Well, after a stop at the rest room that is. And hanging around in the lobby looking at all the various outfits. There was a huge variety in what the women were wearing. Some nothing more dressy than jeans and a t-shirt. Others really decked out in slinky, sequined dresses with stiletto heels. I envied several of this outfits and wished I could have pulled off that look.

That brings me to another point

I regularly go out to eat with my SO at fancy restaurants. We are regulars at one upscale steak house where the staff knows us by name and always welcomes us back. Whenever we go there, we see most of the women are really dressed up for the occasion. It got me wondering what it would be like to there en femme. What would I wear? Something that fits the definition of quiet elegance would be appropriate in that kind of place. Since we are so well-known at that particular restaurant, we would have to go elsewhere. Fortunately, there are several other places we could try. 

I’ll be back

I’ve rambled quite a bit in this installment of Stuff, so I’ll end it here. There will certainly be more dreaming about outings en femme. In the meantime, I’ll be finding more Stuff to write about. I welcome comments and suggestions here on Stana’s blog or by email at Jenn6nov at-sign gmail dot com.

Wearing Lafayette 148

Christian De Sica femulating in the Italian film Amici Come Prima (Friends Like Before).