Last week I took my two oldest kids to the Marvel Universe Live action theater show in Indy. I’d never been to anything like it before and I definitely learned a few things while I was there.
1. Just like any concert or sporting event, even kids get “searched” by security before going into the show. My son (Middle Man) had to lift his coat for the security guard which wasn’t a big deal, but then I was nervous when he asked First Born to open her purse. I didn’t even realize she’d brought one. There could’ve been anything in that purse. Luckily for all of us, its only contents were five sticks of lip balm and six dollars.
2. Speaking of money, six bucks wouldn’t get you much from the souvenir stand either. I do think I saw a couple of banks there offering people personal loans so they could buy a few souvenirs for their kids. To be fair, the Spiderman snow cones were cool, but not $15 cool.
3. Superhero plots are complicated. Within the first five minutes of the show I was completely confused. Which guys were good, which guys were bad? Why were they always beating each other up and driving motorcycles in circles around each other?
4. Photography and use of cellphones at live events is not something the general public is ready for. With the ever increasing size of smartphones, it was like I was surrounded by people holding televisions in front of them. And peoples’ use of flash photography was nonstop. Maybe we all need to pass a test on cellphone etiquette before we’re allowed to get a new phone.
5. The worst people on the planet aren’t the villains trying to destroy the world (SPOILER ALERT: The superheroes save the day), the worst people on the planet are the people who came up with the idea to parade around all the fancy flashing light up souvenirs up and down the aisles during intermission. Those evil bastards. I already told my kids they weren’t getting those things at the beginning of the show, now I have to have the same conversation again, and this time I can’t walk AROUND the souvenir stand because I’m trapped in my seat.
Don’t get me wrong, the show was great and I would definitely go again. Next time I’ll be more prepared by making sure my daughter doesn’t bring a purse and paying closer attention to the plot so I know why everyone is beating each other up.
Now I just have to find a way to avoid those souvenir salespeople…
-Pete