rock opera {zen}

The kids and I went to see Alice and Wonderland performed as a rock opera today and I have to say I was pleasantly surprised. I had no idea what to expect going in and kept pushing aside the phrase rock opera, as though it weren't really important to my understanding of what show we were going to see. Or even more likely, I wasn't interested and/or didn't have enough energy to figure out what a rock opera of Alice in Wonderland might look like. I imagined something vague, with a bit of music thrown in. A few songs.

Well, I was wrong. It was the kind of show where if someone had tried to tell me what it would be like or if I had really understood what it would be like or {more likely} thought I understood what it would be like, I would probably not have bought tickets. And that would have been too bad because it was also the kind of show where I actually burst out laughing at the beginning of the second song because of how ludicrous it seemed. It was then that I truly understood what I was watching {what a rock opera of Alice and Wonderland *actually* looked like.} Oh, I get it now, I thought. Rock opera. It all suddenly became clear. Rock opera.

Around about the time that I burst out laughing, one of the other mom's there sitting next to me turned and smiled at me. She said, "This isn't what I expected at all." No kidding. And yet, I knew there was a choice to be made right then and there. I could either immerse myself. Thoroughly enjoy myself. Get involved in and swept up by the music, the inspiration, the hilarity of it all. Or, I could decide it was too cheesy. Too weird. And count down the minutes until it ended. I chose the former. And am pleased to say that now I will forever continue to chuckle as I remember a man dressed up as a large egg (Humpty Dumpty, no less) singing a rock! rendition of the Jabberwocky. I'm not kidding. It was that good.

My kids, I am happy to say, made the same choice, though I would not have blamed them if they hadn't been able to transition over to the appreciating side. If they had continued to grumble until the end, it would have been completely understandable. It was that crazy. Out-there. Unexpected. Samuel turned around for good around about the time that Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum sang about the Walrus and the Carpenter. Something about the little puppet oysters, I'm sure. And those guys really had a way about them. I was partial to the Mock Turtle's song and his Don't Mock Me Tour. Clever.

Still, I have to say that the choice to enjoy or not to enjoy doesn't always work. Or rather, it isn't always the wrong choice not to enjoy. Sometimes, the amount of enthusiasm necessary to muster outweighs the actual enjoyment. Sometimes, you've already tried. Sometimes, it really just isn't your thing and no matter how much you try, you can only go so far. This time, however, it worked. This time, I was able to meet the show head on. This time, it was me and the rock opera. A perfect match. And I loved {almost} every minute of it. (When I remembered to, that is.)