Benja and I went to see School of Rock the musical (!). When we arrived the usher shouted way up to the tippy top of the theatre that we were the ones in row O (the very last row). If I'd had the energy, I would have raced up those stairs like Rocky. It was exciting to feel "recognized", even for being the back row sitters. To make you even more jealous, we had the entire back row to ourselves (all four seats). Luxurious, I know. So we spread out and enjoyed the view from up there. I had consumed a large cup of tea and suddenly in the middle of the first act, I urgently needed to use the bathroom. When we sat down, I noticed that there was an exit door close to our seats. I took the door, but noticed as it closed, that it locked behind me. I was confident there must be another way out. I walked down the hallway and saw there was a staff bathroom, with a handwritten sign, requesting the door remain open. I was desperate at this point, so I closed the door and peed as fast as I humanly could. Feeling relieved, I emerged, ready to enjoy the rest of the show. I saw a door back into the theatre, but it said, "staff only" also. I checked it anyway. It was locked. I raced up and double checked the door I had emerged from. Still locked. There was one other option, the only door (besides the bathroom) that was open. It said "Exit to Mifflin Street". This being my only option, I took it.
Again, the door locked behind me. I raced down to the next floor. It was locked. The next floor, same deal...until, I made it to street level and exited the building. I raced around the block, where every door was an exit door until finally finding the door we had originally entered. Standing at the entrance were three security guards. I must have looked strange, with no coat or bag, just a flustered person race walking into the building. I quickly explained that I'd gotten locked out. One of the guards, scoffed, saying this was not possible. The other guard, realized I had exited the fire exit. He offered to escort me back in. As we began walking, he asked, "So you need to go back stage?" I spluttered, no, I was in the audience, when he realized I wasn't actually a part of the show, he lost interest in me and pointed me towards an elevator. In front of the elevator, there were two more ushers who asked what I was doing. After explaining, once again, as quickly as I could, I raced up the elevator (OVERexplaining is the only kind of explaining I do). Luckily the usher on my floor recognized me (I'm row O!) During the intermission, Benja and I laughed over how funny it would have been if I'd ended up wandering on stage, yelling that I would find my way back to the last row. I didn't leave our row again till the show was finished. Just in case....
