Community Theatre Better Than Expected

As a guy who has done an awful lot of musical comedy (don't hold it against me!) in the past, it is an art form that I have grown to be less fond of over the years since I withdrew.

so it was with some apprehension that I took in The Eau Claire Children's Theatre Production of Meredith Wilson's Music Man last night.

I guess there are a couple of reasons: I saw the original production on Broadway while on weekend pass in NYC from Fort Dix, New Jersey with Robert Preston, Shirley Jones, and Buddy Hackett in principal roles and ended up doing the Buddy Hackett role myself some years later at The Wagon Wheel Playhouse in Warsaw, Indiana --- a rather shitty part actually -- I wasn't much fond of doing "Shapoopie" every night for two weeks.

But I have to say that the cast and orchestra did a good job with the show last night. I was especially impressed with the choreography and the teen agers that performed it. It was quite obvious that they had done their homework. Kudos to their professional approach! There was one young man who caught my eye in each number and in the warm afterglow outside the theatre when the cast mingled with the crowd, I tried to seek him out but was unable to locate him, as I wanted to express to him that I thought he should pursue his art in New York eventually.

The entrance of the Wells Fargo Wagon, complete with a live horse, led by an acquaintance, Keith Lee, brought a smile of remembrance to my face as I recalled the Broadway production when the wagon made it's entrance, the horse lifted his tail, and a booted leg was thrust from within the wagon right under the horse's ass, which put a stop to his intended business, and left the audience weeping in laughter.

The singing was also excellent and for an opening night, the performance went very smoothly with only a few stumbles and minor technical difficulties.

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I go back and forth on the Brett Favre thing. Today I am not very fond of the man and his ego. He has put the Packer nation in a very precarious position -- thinking selfishly, I fear. If he did not want to retire, Ted Thompson certainly could nor MAKE him retire, not matter what he says to the contrary and the latest news that his cell phone bill shows numerous calls to both Darrell Bevel and Brad Childress really sickens me.

He ran into a gentleman at the bank this morning who commented how much he liked my bumper stickers and we visited a while. turns out he's from northern Minnesota and having recently retired, moved to the Eau Claire area to be closer to family.

I got around to kiddingly asking him how he would like Favre playing for the Vikings and he said that he wasn't really a Viking fan -- has always been a Packer fan -- but he, too, feels Brett is really marring his legacy with the present shenanigans.

He made the point that it was Brett that threw away our opportunity (literally) last year when we had the Giants on the ropes in overtime.

Brett Favre is a man whose time has passed. I wish he could be man enough to realize it. What say you, MPLSPCKR?


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