Best live entertainment

I used to think that most people primarily fall into one medium or another when it comes to live entertainment. You're a theatre person, or a concert person, or a comedy person, or a sports person. I love music and comedy, but my experience with live venues for those are limited. I always thought that I was an outlier. My problem lies in the fact that I'm both a theatre and sports person. Given the opportunity to see one or the other, depending on the situation it might be a toss-up which I'd go to.

If you want my best live theatre experience go check out the blog where I squee about seeing Next to Normal in Des Moines. Like Blake I'm including sports in live entertainment. Best sports experience? Probably a tie between watching the Badger men's basketball team beat Ohio State in 2007 or clinching the Big Ten title and rushing the court in 2008.

Autumn got me thinking tonight about how many theatre shows I'd seen live. I'd always thought it was a few but not anything out of the ordinary, but then I started counting. I am no where near Autumn or Emily in this category for sure, but I think I hold my own against the rest of the populace pretty well. I've seen the following shows live (including community, college, regional, or national productions, but not high school):

• Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (Fireside Theatre)
• Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (Fireside Theatre)
• Titantic (Fireside Theatre)
• Fiddler on the Roof (Fireside Theatre)
• Sound of Music (Fireside Theatre)
• Annie (Fireside Theatre)
• Jesus Christ Superstar (Fireside Theatre)
• Once Upon A Mattress (Fireside Theatre)
• Hello Dolly (Fireside Theatre)
• Thoroughly Modern Millie (Fireside Theatre)
• A Streetcar Named Desire (Washington DC)
• King Hedley II (Kennedy Center-Washington DC)
• Jekyll and Hyde (community theatre)
• West Side Story (community theatre)
• South Pacific (community theatre)
• Midsummer Night's Dream (community)
• Twelfth Night (community)
• Wicked (Chicago)
• Carmen--Opera (Madison)
• Noises Off! (Cornell)
• Polaroid Stories (Cornell)
• Sweeney Todd (Cornell)
• HAIR (Cornell)
• The Baker's Wife (Cornell)
• The Laramie Project (Cornell)
• Don Juan in Chicago (Cornell)
• Beirut (Cornell)
• The Last Five Years (Riverside in Iowa City/Five Flags Center in Dubuque)
• Mamma Mia (Civic Center-Des Moines)
• RENT (Civic Center-Des Moines)
• Next to Normal (Civic Center-Des Moines)

Anything I missed? Did I see a show with you but forget it on the list? Let me know. I was spoiled rotten in college with theatre. My friends were in a lot of the productions and there was always something going on. These were just the mainstage stuff from there. One of my fave experiences there was actually seeing the students put on A Charlie Brown Christmas every year. There was the regular PG kid's version (in the afternoon) and the R-rated college version (late night edition). Not the most professional or anything, but will always be a highlight of my college theatre experience!