Saturday, November 07, 2009

And a Little Child Shall Lead Them



Elizabethtown, Kentucky


I want to lead off by saying that Kentucky is still one of the most beautiful states in the nation, and it doesn't seem to matter what season. In the spring it's bright green, and in the fall are autumn colors splashed everywhere, rolling mists and frosty mornings. Yesterday as we drove (early!) everything was gold and smelled like woodsmoke. For a couple of minutes, I felt like I was driving through the Flathead Valley.

We had a small but mighty audience here in Kentucky. The best crowd was last night. They loved the humor, they wept at the parts full of grief. And many of them stayed for our post-show talkback. The most poignant part of that was how many families attended the show and stayed to talk with the cast.

The first audience member to meet the cast was a tiny boy, whose father lifted him onto the stage so he could introduce himself - his name? Atticus. He shook hands with the cast and, of course, I was too slow on the draw to get a picture of this beautiful moment. Next a young girl in the balcony started to charge downstairs to ask her question when Katie said she could call from the balcony. ("How long have you been doing this?") Then the family came down to sit at the orchestra level for the rest of the talkback.

Another young girl asked if it was hard for Tom to be sad during the play, and for Atticus - "The man in the white suit" how long he had to work on his lines, and how old was the character Jem... I loved that not only did these families come to see this show together, but they remained to talk about it with the people who came to tell the story... and I hope they're still talking about it.

1 comment:

Lauren said...

It's the moments like the that really make me love kids. I'm so glad to hear that so many families went and stayed to ask questions, especially with what sounds like very young children. That's an Important Life Lesson kind of story, so awesome for the parents for introducing it to their kids so early.

And I do remember Kentucky being really pretty....I have a very vivid memory of rolling green hills with white picket fences and horses. I hope you got some pictures. :)