Poor Jud is 'Daid and the Boy Who Lived

Like a dozen other communities around this state, my small town received a grant from the State Centennial Committee to fund a performance of what is arguably the greatest musical of all time...say it with me now....O-K-L-A-H-O-M-A...Oooooooooo-klahoma!

We're about as far off-Broadway as you can get, and the only stage/auditorium in town is at the old recently abandoned high school/middle school. However the good folks involved in the production are doing their darndest to put on a good show and with only a few days left until showtime, the rehearsals are starting to get that frenetically excited feel to them.

Since C wanted to participate in some way when we told her about it, we took her to the chorus auditions. She barely managed to squeek out a note or two, and since the Play runners were taking just about anyone who showed up for auditions, we found our 2nd grader playing the part of a pioneer girl in the roving chorus of the show.

Rehearsals have been Sunday afternoons for the last month or so, and stage rehearsals have been going over for several weeks.

C seems to be enjoying herself since several of her friends have joined her in the chorus, PK loves running around the auditorium during rehearsals and pretending that she herself is "Laurie" whenever the pretty young coed who is playing the surrey-with-the-fringe-on-top riding girl takes the stage.

And I have been taking advantage of the semi-alone time to read Harry Potter #7.

After many stolen moments in the drive-up line at Sonic, in the parking lot waiting to pick up Wifey's car from the mechanic (100K mile service), on the throne at home (ahem), one late night marathon session and three 3-hour play rehearsals later, I finished the 700+ page tome.

It was after 10 p.m. and the cast looked as drained physically as I was emotionally, after reading the final 100 pages of the Deathly Hallows.

In a perfectly iconically ironic literary moment, I found myself reading the "19-years later" epilogue at the close of the book as the cast was singing the final stanzas of the final song of the play,"Oh what a beautiful morning," on stage (you know you know the words...go ahead and sing it).

Have to add that wherever and whenever I was out in public reading the book, somebody commented to me about it -- "How's THE book?", "What part are you up to?", "I finished it yesterday," "I had to get two copies because I couldn't wait for my daughter to finish it," etc., etc.

How's that for pop culture product awareness.

Finally, I must comment on a previous post wherein I listed a few predictions of the outcome of the 7th and final installment of the Harry Potter series. Toes to toes I was 2.5 for 8 in my predictions. Not good enough to be inducted into the Harry Potter Fanboy Hall of Fame, I'm afraid.

Which, could be a good thing.