The Plaza Theatre — Attraction in El Paso

We went to see Gordon Lightfoot. Last saw him in the early seventies at Boston Symphony Hall. Then, he hadn't yet written Wreck of the Edmond Fitzgerald, or Sundown. In April of 2018, his voice was weak, but identifiably Lightfoot, and his poetry was as strong as ever. And it was "a rustic old hall," not "a musty old hall" where "a bell rang twenty-nine times."

I first went to the Plaza Theatre sometime in the late fifties or early sixties, long before I ever heard any of Lightfoot's songs. It was just a movie theater then, a block or two from El Paso's town square: San Jacinto Plaza. Hence the theater name. I remember seeing Rodan! The Flying Monster! there at Saturday matinee and laughing at the monster when I was thirteen the way thirteen-year-old boys laugh at monster movies. Later I saw How the West Was Won there in Cinerama. Look it up! It had an amazing cast and was a true John Ford epic.

Getting to your seat is a trip! You enter past the ticket booth as in all old theaters, but there the similarity ends. The lobby becomes a wide ornamented hall, turning to your left. You go up a couple of steps, turn a little more left, and find yourself in a grand entry hall. On your left, stairways rise left and right to the capacious balcony. Beneath those others descend to the restrooms. On your right, curtained entries admit you to the orchestra level aisles. You actually have to make a U-turn to reach the right-side aisles as you are standing just behind the center section of the orchestra center.

The auditorium is as grand as the entry to it. I think I recall stars twinkling in the ceiling back in the sixties, but I didn't notice them this time.

Now they're on the stage.

Go! ...

I paid $200 for a show to treat myself, I arrived early, dressed according to their dress ode requirements "evening attire". They made me walk around the entire building in hills after a very long walk from the parking lot to the entrance (they should definitely write "comfortable walking shoes in this dress code!) then made me miss the first part of the show to demand my soldier husband who's in training be there (even though I bought the ticket myself, not sure how his name which is on my ID got there) clearly they've never seen a military ID in this "military town". So I ended up standing in hills more... A lit more.... They finally let us in & they employee that I asked for help to find my seat took my ticket, ignored me & led someone else until they started the next part & I had to stand longer in hills until it was over! Finally found my seat, & the elevation is so bad, that the guy infront of me's hat blocked the entire stage! Seriously, don't they build for people of all heights? It's the most expansive ticket very close to the stage, & I can't see because it's so flat! Huge waste of money! I'm going through too much, & decided to treat myself to a tinny break, & do something nice for the first time in so many years... All I got is sore feet & embraced that I obeyed their dress code. The show was incredible! But they're international, I can go see them somewhere else if I really want to in the future. The overall experience is very disappointing! Honestly, if their dress code had prepared me saying "parking is far from the door, wear comfortable walking shoes" then I would have had a wonderful experience! Amazing how one very painful thing can destroy your evening before it...

I really liked how the Plaza Theater 🎭 was so easy to get to. I have to admit that, although I'm not a huge fan of most parking structures in downtown, the parking structure right across from the theater was already somewhat better than most parking structures in downtown. It's a little tricky going uphill in the structure. But once you get to the floor where you want to park, there is plenty of parking space without feeling crammed 🙂! The Plaza Theater 🎭 itself is an old building. But it has really interesting architecture, exterior design and interior design that make it very nostalgic 😍! The ceiling is very celestial 🌙 🌌 , with a heavenly aura ☺️!

It was my first time seeing 👀 a show there 😃! I watched "Mean Girls 💄 💅 👛 👠 " the musical 🎶 on Sat (4/6) for the matinee showing and absolutely ❤️ it 🥰! It really brought back wonderful memories ❤️ of the original 2004 movie 🎥 🍿 starring Lindsay Lohan and Rachel McAdams 😆! The Broadway cast was absolutely spectacular 🤩! I purchased an orchestra seat ticket 🎫 for myself since I went solo, and I got to meet and chat with a super nice family 🙂 sitting next to me who have season tickets 🎫 to the Plaza 🎭 !

I didn't really try any of the speciality drinks 🍹 🍸 or snacks 😋! But a lot of people were in line! I may try these on a future outing to the Plaza 🎭 because they have some exciting shows and concerts coming up later this year 😃!

Thank you ❤️ for such a fantabulous 🤩 first time at the Plaza Theater 🎭, El Paso Live 🎸 🎹 🎶 😄🙌 ! I will definitely...