Are we we are, are we we are the waiting...

One of the great things about moving to Tennessee is that we have babysitters!  Chad and I have actually been able to have date nights on a pretty regular basis.  Before we moved it had been...awhile.  Another cool thing?  My new employer regularly does ticket lotteries for cool things around Nashville and lucky for me - I won the first one I entered.  Sweet.  So last Friday Chad and I went to go see The Circle Players' production of American Idiot at Tennessee State University (it was a community production - not a college one...it was just performed at the campus).

We started the night with dinner at ML Rose Craft Beer & Burgers.

They had a fairly limited menu, but if you know what you're good at, that's not a bad thing.  And the burger choices were pretty creative.  I was not feeling particularly creative that night, so I just went with a basic cheeseburger with waffle fries.  It was pretty delicious though.  Chad was bummed that they didn't have his new favorite beer (the Vanilla Creme Ale) - which is brewed in Tennessee, but apparently not carried anywhere locally. Would I go back? Meh.  If someone else wanted to go, sure.  But I probably wouldn't choose it on my own.

So after we finished eating we headed over to the theatre.  Our neighbors were supposed to go as well, but their daughter got sick right before they left so they had to stay home.  That was a bit of a bummer, but luckily we were able to get their tickets transferred to the next night's performance for them.

We were really early, so we got our choice of seats - front and center (well...not front front.  but toward the front. They were good).  I didn't know what to expect from the performance...community theatre can be pretty hit or miss.  I also didn't know much about the show itself.  I knew it was all music from Green Day's American Idiot and I read the Circle Players' synopsis and gathered that it was a rock opera about 3 guys trying to find their place in a post-911 world.  I took that to mean Rent in the 2000s (without the AIDS) - naturally - and I kept waiting for someone to die of a drug overdose (spoiler alert - nobody does).

American Idiot Cast | Source: Circle Players

Overall, I really enjoyed the show.  I have to say most of that came from the exceptionally talented cast - I felt like the story line was a bit weak (and it really was a bit like Rent Lite).  But the music was great (I've loved Green Day since Dookie came out when I was in the 5th grade) and the cast did an awesome job performing it - the leads and the ensemble.  I was especially impressed with the actors playing Tunny and Will (Taylor Novak and Steven Griffin) and the female leads - Whatsername, Heather, & Extraordinary Girl, and Alysha - who is not really a lead but girl rocked it (Julia Nettles, Sarah Shepherd, Carrie Estes, & Rae Roberson).

Tunny, Johnny, & Will | Source: Circle Players

I've pretty much had Are We the Waiting in my head since we left the theatre...and it definitely makes me want to check out more Circle performances in the future (especially their upcoming performance of Sister Act)!
Tickets are still available for this weekend's performance, if you're in the Nashville area, I would highly recommend you check it out!  If you're not in the Nashville area, check out some of the community theatre companies in your area and give them some support - it's a great way to get an inexpensive night out, some culture, and to support your community!

Source: Circle Players

All in all, it was a great date night (and I'm looking forward to another one tomorrow...thanks, Dad)!