NO PEOPLE LIKE SHOW PEOPLE
By Dan Miller
February 21, 2007
She walked down the aisle at the Looby Theatre and exclaimed, “I love this place!"
It was her first time back inside the theatre since her performance in The Music Man last summer.
Yep, there she was.... my eight year old.... back in, what seems to be emerging as, "her element".... or at least one of them.
It was the night of their first full dress rehearsal.
Wait!! I promise, we’re not pushy show-biz parents trying to recapture our own unfulfilled dreams by having our child audition for these plays.
It's her choice.... it's something she wants, and asks, and loves to do.
Frankly, we weren’t even sure the commitment to such long hours -- during the school year -- was something a 2nd grader should do.
But, for the run of the show, the late hours are something she’s willing to endure.
And by endure, I mean she’s agreed to take a nap every afternoon after finishing her homework.
This play is The King and I -- and McKensie plays a princess.
During the initial rehearsals she had watched carefully as the other, more seasoned actors, carefully went through their scripts, marking each of their lines in bright yellow or pink highlighter.
That was something she had to do.
So now, she carries around a big loose leaf binder, with the entire script inside, and -- somewhere near the middle -- there’s one little line, highlighted in yellow.
That’s her line.
Six words.
In The Music Man she had a line with 4 words, so -- for this play -- her speaking part increased by a full 50%.
Back in the summer I wrote about The Music Man.
I wrote how impressed I was with Circle Players.
For example, did you know that Circle Players is the oldest active community theatre group in this country?
And I talked about what a wholesome, nurturing environment it was for a young girl or boy.
The older actors -- some of them with professional theatre backgrounds -- treat the young ones with respect and kindness. Everybody’s pulling together.
And the performances are as good as most of what I've seen on the bright lights of Broadway.
Am I doing a PR job here?
You bet I am.
But nobody’s asked me to.... I’m simply impressed.
You can travel to New York.... and spend considerable money for a Broadway musical...
Or, you can drive your family right out to the Looby Theatre at Metro Center, and for just a few bucks see The King and I performed superbly by local actors doing what they love to do.
I'll bet that as every person involved in the play walked into the Looby, they whispered, "I love this place!"
I'm certain that's what you'll say after you've watched the performance.
Here’s a link to a website for The King and I.
Meet the cast, and read all about it.
Hopefully, I’ll see you there.
**(Note: The King and I ended March 10th)
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