A BEAUTIFUL NOISE

Have you heard of it—the Neil Diamond musical currently playing to packed houses at the Princess of Wales Theatre in downtown Toronto?

A few weeks ago, I tried to get tickets myself. I was unsuccessful, after a series of online attempts were thwarted either by my limited computer skills, my lack of perseverance… or possibly both.

A neighbour then suggested we try our luck with rush tickets on the day of the show—half price, first come first served. A brilliant idea, I thought. Easy peasy.

On our way to the theatre last week, we passed another venue when a middle-aged woman approached us and asked if we might want free tickets to a play called After Juliet. She explained she was a teacher, and that four of her students had been unable to attend. She was hoping to pass the tickets along to “kind-looking people.”

Were we those people? Apparently so.

We thanked her for the generous offer, and I later suggested to Terry that we might want to start spending more time loitering around theatres at night.

In the end, we did make it into the Neil Diamond show. It was a good performance, with excellent music, though something about the presentation felt a little too much like the expose of a tortured soul.

Strangely enough, the highlight of my evening wasn’t even the show itself, but that unexpected kindness from a complete stranger.