I am the type of person who likes to dress appropriately for occasions. I don’t wear velour gym suits to work and I don’t run to the store in my around-the-house pants and tops.
And when I go to the theatre, I look nice. Nicer than I would running over to Shoppers Drug Mart for example. Nicer than I might going to a movie.
As far as I know theatres don’t have dress codes. I’ve seen plays in New York, Toronto and Minneapolis wearing a variety of outfits including jeans. Not shocking, right?
But jeans , running shoes and sweat suits are forbidden at Stage West in Mississauga. The rules are also printed on their tickets.
Why do I know this? I went to a brunch performance of Breaking Up is Hard to Do today and I spent some time trying to figure out what to wear so early on a Sunday morning.
The show was enjoyable (surprisingly very much so) but I spent some time wondering where this unremarkable venue with dated decor — not to mention the fact that it’s situated by the airport in a unattractive part of Mississauga — cared so much about what the audience (most of whom were too old to even own jeans) wore.
Bizarre.