Disco Inferno

Photo: Vincent DiSalvio, The Journal News

Disco Inferno is a deeply silly jukebox musical that manages to thoroughly entertain with its wisecracks, vintage disco ("I Will Survive," "Don't Give Up On Us Baby"), ridiculous fashions (platform shoes!), and energetic dances. At Nyack High School this past weekend, the dozens of wonderful teens on stage gave it their all, and a great time was had by pretty much everyone. (Full disclosure: my nephew has a fairly large role in the show, and when people told me how incredible he was, I saw no reason to argue.)

I love community theatre. To me it's like sherbert to clear my palate of the gossip and stunt casting and overpriced tickets and sometimes tremendous letdown of professional (particularly Broadway) theatre, allowing me a clear, clean enjoyment of the energy and immediacy of live performance. I enjoy watching people on stage working their butts off for the love of it. I appreciate the surprisingly large amount of talent in the world, and I admire the bravery of people who perform without any talent at all. There's a purity to community theatre that is refreshing and touching. I would hate to go a year without seeing at least one amateur (as in, from the Latin to love) show.